Coverage | A Resource for Teachers
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Women’s suffrage, ancient Rome x2, Winnipeg skateboard history, Indigenous justice and more

Hello colleagues, and welcome to Coverage, the newsletter of the Free Press Media Literacy and Learning Project! For many of us, the time has come to head back to the classroom to begin getting ready for the first day of class. Below you’ll find news stories that relate current events to your subject area, hand picked for teachers at the Free Press!

Your youngest learners will find stories of exploration in nature and the importance of play at any age. Social Studies teachers have a plum primer on women’s suffrage in Canada this week. And the right to repair is a growing topic in the global clothing and textile industry.

How often does ancient Rome make the paper? Twice just this week, in fact! A drought-revealed bridge associated with Emperor Nero and a collection of ancient papyrus documents on display in Winnipeg are keeping the Romans on our minds (and our modern papyrus).

This feature about the history of skateboarding in Winnipeg is fascinating. From the stairs and rails of Broadway to City Hall, The Forks, Portage Place and beyond, this is a fascinating journey through time and culture in our city. Fun fodder for Phys Ed and Environmental Design.

Now’s the time to take a break from shuffling those desks around (are we doing table groups this year? Rows? One big circle?) and dig into some of the best of the week. You can also check out our full Summer archive for even more news you can use!

—Rebecca Chambers

 
 

For the youngest learners

Two stories of grown-ups who started businesses because of something they loved when they were children. What is something you love to do right now? Do you think you’ll still love it when you’re a grown-up?

Gabrielle Piché:

City Lego seller continues to build up its business

Brick by brick, a Winnipeg Lego seller is building its third expansion — in less than two years. Read More

 

Aaron Epp:

Living the ice cream dream

Classic Scoop founder left lucrative job to start business offering treats on-site for parties, festivals Read More

 

This writer asks us to notice small things that we may pass by every day. When you walk through your community or school yard, can you find some small things you hadn’t before? What words can you use to describe them?

Russell Wangersky:

An elegy for the smalls

Dad’s darkroom was a place of alchemy: dark except for the one red light that wouldn’t spoil the photographic paper, trays of developer and fixer and rinse water, the enlarger with its timer, a quiet darkened patch of peace. Read More

 

See our full collection of news for young children here.

News for debate and discussion

Should all Canadian lawmakers have to pledge allegiance to the King?

Caroline Plante, The Canadian Press:

Lawyer challenges Quebec’s law ending manadatory oath of allegiance to the King

A University of Ottawa law professor is challenging a 2022 Quebec law that made it optional for legislature members to swear an oath of allegiance to the King. Read More

 

Should politicians be placed on leave if charged with a criminal offence?

Joyanne Pursaga:

Councillors seek new rules for elected officials facing serious charges

City charter ties council’s hands in wake of criminal allegations against Transcona councillor Read More

 

Should governments be influenced by the ethical principles of religion?

John R. Wiens:

Differing goals of religion, politics

Kudos to David Driedger for modelling a more appropriate and constructive role for religion in politics than the one that has become commonplace today (Take care of them; there is enough, Think Tank, … Read More

 

See our full collection of topics for debate and discussion here.

News by school subject

A round-up of the latest Free Press news articles, with suggestions for use in the classroom. Click on any subject name below to access our full online archive of stories related to that subject.

APPLIED COMMERCE

A Winnipeg entrepreneur creates an app for people who just need some help with moving a few bulky items, but don’t need a moving van:

Aaron Epp:

Truckbud offers transport solutions

Ridesharing platform lets people connect with local drivers with trucks, cargo vans Read More

 

A campaign promise to increase local businesses’ ability to bid on city contracts:

Joyanne Pursaga:

Gillingham promises to help level playing field for local biz if re-elected

Scott Gillingham promises to take new steps to ensure local businesses can compete for the hundreds of millions of dollars in city contracts awarded each year, if re-elected as mayor.

The campaign … Read More

 

ARTS

A profile and review of an actor with an ambitious outlook on auditions:

Ben Waldman:

Rainbow Stage star relates to Elle Woods’ perseverance

Nearly 9,000 aspiring barristers and solicitors cross their fingers and send in their LSAT scores to Harvard University each year, but less than 10 per cent of applicants wind up on campus in Cambridg… Read More

 

Holly Harris:

Pink and powerful

Rainbow Stage’s Legally Blonde a lovely legal musical Read More

 

A WAG-Qaumajuq exhibit looks at our relationship to land and Canadian landscape art and artists:

Jen Zoratti:

Lay of the land

Exhibition offers up 125 different ways to look at Canada Read More

 

CAREER DEVELOPMENT

Some training programs for in-demand jobs aren’t available in Manitoba:

Maggie Macintosh:

Coalition dismayed after U of M decides not to establish master’s in speech-language pathology

A new coalition representing students who stutter, speak with a lisp and struggle with other speech challenges is decrying the University of Manitoba’s decision to shelve plans to train in-demand clin… Read More

 

Canada anticipates growth in demand for careers in bioscience in coming years:

Erika Morris, The Canadian Press:

Inside the Montreal lab working to prepare Canada against future pandemics

MONTREAL – In a biomedicine laboratory at Polytechnique Montréal, animal protein grows in a bubbling orange solution as researchers in white lab coats take samples with large syringes.

Neatly-label… Read More

 

ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS

Persuasive writing through storytelling and advocacy:

David Kron:

Let’s move forward on disability rights

Tyson Sylvester wants to study computer science.

He has the intelligence, the determination, and the ambition to succeed in post-secondary education. Like thousands of young Manitobans graduating f… Read More

 

Bringing attention to an issue using humour and personal voice:

Gwynne Dyer:

A grand jeté of climate-change denial

The first hurricane to hit Hawaii in 34 years. The Mediterranean on fire from Spain to Greece. ‘Heat domes’ one after another for months on end in Europe and North America. Thousands of excess deaths…. Read More

 

FRENCH COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE

The importance of francophone culture in small towns:

Jaider Cabarcas:

Célébrer des employés qui mettent la main à la pâte

L’immigration francophone joue un rôle grandissant dans la vitalité de Saint-Pierre-Jolys. À la Boulangerie Saint-Pierre, des employés venus de plusieurs pays contribuent à la croissance de l’entrepri… Read More

 

Quebec law challenges the requirement of oaths to the King:

Caroline Plante, The Canadian Press:

Lawyer challenges Quebec’s law ending manadatory oath of allegiance to the King

A University of Ottawa law professor is challenging a 2022 Quebec law that made it optional for legislature members to swear an oath of allegiance to the King. Read More

 

HUMAN ECOLOGY

A new trend sees major clothing retailers offering sewing classes to extend the life of their product:

Anne D’innocenzio, The Associated Press:

From Uniqlo to Zara, clothing brands try to win over Gen Z with a needle and thread

NEW YORK (AP) — Encouraging customers to mend worn clothes instead of buying new ones might seem like a self-defeating sales strategy. But in-store repairs and sewing workshops are becoming essential … Read More

 

Tips for successful long-haul flights with babies:

Claire Rush, The Associated Press:

With the right preparation, international trips with babies are possible and even fun

Traveling with babies and toddlers can be daunting for parents. Questions about air travel, what to pack and safety are often top of mind, especially on long-distance flights and international trips…. Read More

 

INDIGENOUS EDUCATION

A new court is being established, practising Indigenous restorative justice models:

Erik Pindera:

Opaskwayak restorative justice court to give offenders opportunity to ‘heal’

The Manitoba government, provincial court and Opaskwayak Cree Nation are signing a memorandum of understanding today to establish a community-led court focused on Indigenous restorative justice princi… Read More

 

Indigenous participation in voting is rising, but gaps remain:

Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press:

Elections Canada says 40% of people in Indigenous communities voted federally in 2025

OTTAWA – More than 40 per cent of registered electors living in Indigenous communities voted in the federal election last year, a new Elections Canada report shows.

The highest level of voter parti… Read More

 

Niigaan Sinclair:

Indigenous peoples are deeply invested in Canada

First Nations voters have only been allowed the legal right to cast a ballot in Canadian elections since 1960, but many in the past — perhaps rightly — felt a sense of complicity in the country’s colonization or, worse, that voting didn’t make a difference. Not anymore. Read More

 

MATH

Personal insolvency is on the rise in Canada:

Craig Lord, The Canadian Press:

Insolvencies jumped 11.5% annually in June, Canada’s bankruptcy monitor shows

OTTAWA – Insolvencies in Canada are floating around levels not seen since the global financial crisis more than 15 years ago, new data shows.

The Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcies releas… Read More

 

How the relevance of data influences the interpretation of it:

Nick Murray, The Canadian Press:

Feds reports progress on climate adaptation but climate groups say it isn’t enough

OTTAWA – Three years after it formally launched its national climate adaptation strategy, the federal government says Canadians are more aware of the risks and more resilient to flooding, wildfires an… Read More

 

PHYSICAL AND HEALTH EDUCATION

What is lawn bowling and how is it played?

Grace Penner:

The scoop on lawn bowling

A beginner’s guide to the game, from the jack to the skip Read More

 

An engrossing portrait of Winnipeg skateboarding history and future:

Ben Waldman:

City skaters’ gnarly narrative

In spite of official efforts down the decades to ban boarding on urban streets, a resilient local scene long revolved around a revered rail on Broadway Read More

 

SCIENCE

The scientific impossibility of large-scale weather manipulation:

Timon Johnson, The Canadian Press:

Fact File: Experts douse viral claim that wildfires caused by ‘weather manipulation’

A post on X featuring a video compilation of wildfires has received hundreds of thousands of views. The post claims “technocratic elites” are manipulating the weather and creating wildfires across the… Read More

 

How a basketball game was no match for the ever-changing states of water:

Joshua Frey-Sam:

CEBL Finals opener put on ice

Unsafe conditions force Sea Bears, Honey Badgers into winner-take-all game here Saturday Read More

 

SOCIAL STUDIES

The proposed social media ban for teens vs. the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms:

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press:

Canada’s social media ban for under-16s likely to face Charter challenge, experts say

OTTAWA – The federal government is likely to face a constitutional challenge to its proposed ban on social media for kids under 16, some experts say.

On Friday, France’s top court struck down that … Read More

 

The ancient Romans are still making news:

Paolo Santalucia, The Associated Press:

Nero’s Bridge emerges from Tiber River as Rome faces water crisis

ROME (AP) — The remains of an ancient bridge have emerged in Rome’s Tiber River, near St. Peter’s Basilica, as weeks with virtually no rain caused water levels to plunge.

The bridge — known as Nero… Read More

 

Zoe Pierce:

U of M exhibition brings ancient Roman Egyptian documents to life

Two thousand years ago, people in Roman Egypt wrote letters, kept receipts, made lists and dealt with the everyday bureaucracy of life. Some of those pieces of ancient life are now on display in Winnipeg. Read More

 

Nellie McClung and women’s suffrage in Canada:

Tiago Resko:

Telling a trailblazer’s story

Volunteer helps keep Nellie McClung’s legacy alive Read More

 

TECHNICAL VOCATIONAL EDUCATION

Aircraft malfunctions and changes to regulations:

Josh Funk And Rio Yamat, The Associated Press:

Broken engine parts shattered the Ryanair plane window that a man’s head got sucked into: NTSB

Broken engine parts shattered a window on a Ryanair flight shortly after takeoff in Greece last month, causing a man’s head to be sucked through the opening before fellow passengers pulled him back in… Read More

 

A portrait of women working in heavy trades:

David Sanderson:

Crushing it

Trailblazing Western Scrap Metals heavy-equipment operator relishes role at massive crane’s control Read More

 

Toronto Blue Jays players discuss their participation in sports podcasts:

Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press:

From the Plate to the Mic: Several former Blue Jays active in baseball podcast space

TORONTO – The post-season hangover lasted a lot longer than Toronto Blue Jays fans expected this year.

A slow start coupled with mid-season struggles nearly derailed the 2026 campaign for Canada’s … Read More

 

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