Secondary teaching resources

Our free teaching resources help young people aged 11 to 19 to examine the world around them from a humanitarian perspective and learn about topics related to the work of the Red Cross.

These curriculum-linked activities, session plans and teaching packages are ideal for subjects such as PSHE, Citizenship, Geography, History and informal learning time. Learners gain new perspectives, develop new life skills and develop understanding, values and critical thinking.


A child soldier

Age: 14-19

Type: Lesson plan

Subjects: Citizenship

Lesson plan exploring child soldiers and how some armies and militias forcibly recruit young people into armed conflict.

  • Conflict
Woman dances in traditional cultural clothing in front of a crowd.

Age: 7-11, 11-14

Type: Lesson plan, images

Subjects: PSHE

Activities to help learners consider identity, belonging and the impact stigma can have on refugee and migrant communities.

  • Refugees and migration
Children standing in the aftermath of an earthquake

Age: 11-19

Type: Teaching package, images, videos, case studies

Subjects: Geography

Explore how individuals and communities prepare for and respond to life-changing natural disasters and learn how the Red Cross helps communities recover and build resilience.

  • Disasters and emergencies
Vietnamese artist Hong Dam.

Age: 14-19

Type: Lesson plan, images

Subjects: Citizenship, PSHE, Art and design

Celebrate the contributions of refugees to art and culture, and consider how it may feel to have to flee your country.

  • Refugees and migration
Syrian refugees and other volunteers fill sandbags to stem flood water in York city centre, December 2015.

Age: 11-16

Type: Lesson plan, video

Subjects: Citizenship, SMSC

Help learners see refugees as 'someone like me' to build mutual respect and empathy and build a shared future.

  • Refugees and migration
  • Humanitarianism and the Red Cross
Soldiers in the trenches in WWI.

Age: 14-19

Type: Lesson plan, video

Subjects: Citizenship, Drama, English

Learn more about World War One and what it might have been like to “go over the top” using an impactful film to explore the humanitarian impact of armed conflict.

  • Conflict
Smiling woman walks alongside Red Cross volunteers

Age: 14-19

Type: Lesson plan, video

Subjects: Citizenship, History

A lesson plan about humanitarianism and how it guides the principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

  • Humanitarianism and the Red Cross
Black and white photo of Red Cross medics during the Blitz

Age: 14-16

Type: Lesson plan, video

Subjects: Citizenship, PSHE

Use these thought-provoking activities to help young people explore International Humanitarian Law and how it is applied in situations of armed conflict.

  • Conflict
People in Haiti use a handmade ladder after a bridge has been destroyed by Hurricane Matthew.

Age: 11-19

Type: Lesson plan, photos

Subjects: Geography, PSHE

Explore the impact of Hurricane Matthew in Haiti one year on, and the importance of building resilience.

  • Disasters and emergencies