Case Study | Huie Elementary School

How Topical Talk helps teachers navigate sensitive issues in the classroom

Key learnings

Huie Elementary School in Clayton County, Atlanta, sits within a community that faces significant economic disadvantage and political tension. In this challenging context, teachers often feel anxious about teaching current affairs.

Newly qualified teacher Ms Benson, who teaches a class of 8–10 year-olds, has shown how Topical Talk can give educators the confidence to explore real-world issues while meeting curriculum standards. Her students take part in Topical Talk lessons weekly as part of the district’s Gifted programme, which integrates the Georgia Standards of Excellence into teaching.

During TEEF’s visit, Ms Benson taught the Wildfires: prevention v management lesson, which had been published just three weeks earlier. In an increasingly cautious educational environment, Ms Benson’s decision to use a recent lesson demonstrated strong confidence in Topical Talk and its ability to make complex news stories accessible for younger learners.

Students responded with enthusiasm and curiosity. They were particularly engaged in activities that encouraged movement and discussion, showing strong reasoning skills even when prior knowledge was limited. While some tasks needed simplifying, Ms Benson found that the lessons supported opinion writing and helped her students meet literacy standards: “We have a standard where students need to write opinion pieces with details. Topical Talk gives them the information and the motivation to do it.”

She also noticed how Topical Talk strengthened key social and cognitive skills. Students developed problem-solving, listening and learned to “disagree without getting upset”. Ms Benson said the lessons “make the classroom feel realistic and alive”, and that they help students “understand what’s going on in society” in a way that connects to their own lives. Discussing it in a safe and structured setting helped them process difficult emotions and see issues from multiple perspectives.

For teachers, Topical Talk offers a model of how to teach controversial topics safely and confidently. For students, it builds empathy, curiosity and communication skills in classrooms where difficult conversations are often avoided.