News Lessons
Home » Adults » General EnglishOur news lessons, at three levels, are sourced from articles published by The Guardian. They include downloadable worksheets and teacher's notes for you to use in class.
Rage rooms: can smashing stuff up really help to relieve anger and stress?
Read about rage rooms, or places where people pay to safely break or damage items to deal with stress and anger.
Four reasons trees are more like humans than you think
Read about some of the remarkable similarities between humans and trees.
In a reading rut? How to get back into reading for fun
Read about the advantages of reading, why people tend to fall out of the habit and tips on how to rebuild it.
How Mortal Kombat (and moral panic) changed the gaming world
Read about the historical importance of Mortal Kombat and how it created a whole new market for video games.
Load and behold: should you opt for an electric cargo bike over a second car?
Read about what cargo electric bikes are and some of the benefits of using them rather than buying a second cars.
The big idea: could the English language die?
Read about why languages change over time and how the English language is also likely to change or possibly even die out.
‘It made my day more meaningful’: the Japanese gen Zers attempting a two-hour limit on smartphone use
Read about the rule that a Japanese town put in place to restrict smartphone usage and the effect that it had on people.
Teflon diet, garlic milk and zebra cows triumph at 2025 Ig Nobel prizes
Read about some of the unusual scientific research that was carried out by the winners of the 2025 Ig Nobel awards.
Does a song conjure painful memories? Try to rehabilitate it, say scientists
Read about the effects that music has on memory and how people can change the negative associations they have with particular songs.
When a sick possum showed up in my garden my heart overtook my head. Is it ever OK to feed urban wildlife?
Read about what happened when the author found an injured possum in her garden and whether it is a good or bad idea to feed urban wildlife.
‘Horrendous blisters’: Retired UK banker, 65, attempts to run 200 marathons in 200 days
Read about how one retired banker from Devon decided to run 200 marathons in 200 days, and how scientists are using him as a case study.
Milk, carbohydrates or a late-night pudding: what’s the secret to eating for a good night’s sleep?
Read about the relationship between the food we eat, when we eat it and how it can affect the quality of sleep that we get.
You be the judge: should my partner use a co-working space so I can have our flat to myself?
Read about the different needs of two people, Claire and Xavier, who have asked for advice on working from their shared home.
We told young people that degrees were their ticket to a better life. It’s become a great betrayal
Read about the several factors, including the rise of AI, that contribute to declining job prospects for recent graduates of UK universities.
From Joyce’s death mask to Bono’s sunglasses: a look around the Little Museum of Dublin’s grand curiosities
Read about the Little Museum of Dublin, how it started and what many people particularly enjoy about it.
The big idea: should we embrace boredom?
Read about the effects that smartphones have had on how we react to, and deal with, feelings of boredom.
‘Smellmaxxing’ and ‘frag heads’: how the gen Z perfume boom came up roses for indie brands
Read about how younger generations are creating new ways to wear perfumes.
‘It really is possible to be zero waste’: the restaurant with no bin
Read about a Mexico City restaurant’s efforts to produce ‘zero waste’ and how it works in partnership with local farmers.
UK and Spain strike ‘historic’ deal over Gibraltar’s future and borders
Read about the new agreement between the UK and Spain on the territory of Gibraltar.
‘Tastes like water’: how a US facility is recycling sewage to drink
Read about a California project that turns sewage into drinking water in less than an hour and could be a blueprint for other water-scarce regions.
‘Beautiful locations to learn in’: readers’ favourite creative breaks
Read about some of the Guardian readers’ experiences with retreats and holidays focused on learning and personal growth.
‘No two days are the same and you can make a real difference’: four social workers reflect on their careers
Read about the career paths of four people and the different ways they became social workers.
Walking 42 miles in one day: tackling North Yorkshire’s Lyke Wake route on its 70th anniversary
Read about the Lyke Wake walking route across the North Yorkshire Moors in England and its significance to some people.
Given up on reading? Elif Shafak on why we still need novels
Explore why people have fallen out of love with reading, and why novels are still needed today.
A chiweenie with an overbite and 1.9m followers: how Tuna and Instagram’s other top dogs rake in thousands per post
Find out what ‘dogfluencers’ are and how they make money for their owners from social media content.
Ditch the balloons and swap the plastic toys for cake: how to have a waste-free birthday party
Read about what we can do to make parties more sustainable.
‘The only thing you need is your own mind’: how to start meditating
Read about the different techniques of meditation and their benefits.
‘It brings you in and shelters you’: NHS creates ‘recovery gardens’ for staff and patients
Explore the benefits that wellbeing gardens bring to patients and staff in hospitals in the UK.
Australian women are doing 50% more housework than men. It’s creating ‘volcanic levels of resentment’
Read about how women in Australia do the majority of unpaid domestic work and the possible ways to address the problem.
Who is ‘working class’ and why does it matter in the arts?
Read about why working-class representation in the arts is important.
What can we learn from the clothes we buy but never wear?
Read about insights into why we buy certain clothes but don’t wear them and what to do about it.
Are noise-cancelling headphones impairing our hearing skills? Some audiologists are beginning to worry
Explore the possible effects of overusing noise-cancelling headphones and whether they can cause hearing problems.
In the most untouched, pristine parts of the Amazon, birds are dying. Scientists may finally know why
Read about how experts have spent two decades trying to understand the bird population decline in the Amazon.
‘Dear, did you say pastry?’: meet the ‘AI granny’ driving scammers up the wall
Read about how an AI bot impersonating a grandma has successfully stopped scammers.
The big idea: can what you eat change your mind?
Explore the relationship between gut health and general and mental well-being.
They say a name like mine can hold you back in life, but I will never change it
What is the impact of having an unusual name on person’s employment prospects?
One Hundred Years of Solitude review – Gabriel García Márquez’s classic makes for startling TV beauty
Revisit Gabriel García Márquez’s classic magical realism novel which has been adapted into a TV series.
‘You have to find your own recipe’: Dutch suburb where residents must grow food on at least half of their property
Read about the suburb of Oosterwold, a creative urban agriculture project in the Netherlands.
Milan’s Via Monte Napoleone becomes world’s most expensive shopping street
Explore why Via Monte Napoleone has grown to become the most expensive shopping street in the world.