What happens when the same building is needed both as a school and as a temporary home?

This thought-provoking B1+/B2 lesson introduces students to the concept of education in emergencies through a contemporary case study from Lebanon. Instead of beginning with political background or a conventional reading comprehension, the lesson opens with a genuine moral dilemma:

“A school building is needed by two groups: children who need education and families who need somewhere to live. Who gets priority?”

Working with an imaginary emergency budget of €100, students must distribute limited funding among temporary housing, school reopening, transport, online lessons, books and devices, and psychological support. Because they cannot fund everything equally, they must negotiate priorities, consider consequences and defend difficult choices.

A new-event challenge then forces groups to reconsider their original plan when circumstances change. The lesson concludes with structured discussion, an individual written response and a reflective quick check.

Students practise:

• crisis and humanitarian vocabulary
• critical thinking and ethical decision-making
• negotiation and collaborative problem-solving
• expressing priorities and justifying choices
• considering opposing viewpoints
• writing a balanced 90–120-word response

The resource includes:

• a three-page student worksheet
• a concise two-page teacher’s guide
• lesson timing and step-by-step guidance
• vocabulary answer key
• speaking and reasoning prompts
• differentiated support and extension ideas
• four pressure-test scenario cards
• sensitive-topic classroom guidance
• a simple writing assessment rubric
• dated background information and source links

Suitable for B1+/B2 teenage learners, global citizenship lessons, current-affairs classes, discussion lessons and units exploring education, displacement, human rights or humanitarian crises.

The lesson encourages informed empathy without asking students to imitate or role-play the experiences of displaced people.