CHOOSE YOUR STORY
Peace and Conflict includes stories about conflicts around the world, what drives them, how they impact people, and pathways to peace. Explore the stories below to find one that moves you. Then, use this worksheet to support you with writing your Fighting Words poem.
Stories for Grades 3 and Up
| Story | Media | Publication | Content Warnings |
| “Safe in School” by Jaime Joyce | Photo, Text | TIME for Kids | N/A |
| “Uncertain Futures: Ukrainian Refugees in Turkey, One Year On” by Diana Rayes | Photo, Text | Pulitzer Center | Discussion of mental health crises |
Stories for Grades 6 and Up
| Story | Media | Publication | Content Warnings |
| “Growing Up During Wartime: Kyiv Yearbook 2024” by Natalie Keyysar | Photo, Text | Rolling Stone | N/A |
| “In Congo, Embroidery Artist Stitches an Archive of War” by Sophie Neiman and Hugh Kinsella Cunningham | Photo, Text | The Christian Science Monitor | Mention of sexual violence |
| “‘We Must Not Show ... Fear’: Colombia’s Children Learn To Defend Their Way of Life” by Nadège Mazars and Steven Grattan | Photo, Text | The Guardian | Discussion of violence |
| “Rebellion in Resistance: Profile of a Palestinian Educator” by Laila Shadid | Photo, Text | Fenjan | Discussion of violence |
| “Afghanistan: In a New Light” by Bram Janssen and Rodrigo Abd | Video | Associated Press | Sounds of gunfire |
| “Art on the Front Lines of a Changing Sudan” by Antoaneta Roussi and Matteo Lonardi | Photo, Text | Al Jazeera | N/A |
| “The War of the Past Is Still Present” by Colleen Digney | Photo, Text | Pulitzer Center | Discussion of violence |
Stories for Grades 9 and Up
| Story | Media | Publication | Content Warnings |
| “How the World’s Deadliest Crises Go Unseen” by Amy Maxmen | Photo, Text | Undark Magazine | Descriptions of violence |
| “Syria Through the Eyes of the People Who Live There and Their Hope for What Happens Next” by George Butler | Illustrations, Text | The Independent | Discussion of wartime violence and torture |
| “Young Palestinians Face a Steep Toll on Mental Health” by Kern Hendricks | Video | Undark Magazine | Discussion of trauma from violence |
| “Sudanese Teachers and Shopkeepers Join the Fight Against Rebels in Nation’s Civil War” by Leila Molana-Allen and Jorgen Samso Nielsen | Video, Text | PBS NewsHour | Descriptions of violence, mention of sexual violence |
| “The Confession: A Colombian Colonel Faces His Victims” by Bruno Federico, Simone Bruno, and Jeremy Raff | Video | Al Jazeera | Descriptions of violence |
| “Mexican Government Vows To Continue Legal Fight Against U.S. Gun Manufacturers” by Stephania Corpi Arnaud and Toya Sarno Jordan | Audio, Text | Texas Public Radio | N/A |
| “For a Century, the American Way of War Has Meant Killing Civilians” by Nick Turse | Text | The Intercept | N/A |
| “A Mother and Baby From Gaza Are Reunited 11 Months After Being Separated at Birth” by Elissa Nadworny, Fatima Al-Kassab and Claire Harbage | Photo, Text | NPR | Descriptions of violence, injury, and death |
