7 Ways to build empathy and awareness on World Refugee Day

Every year on June 20, World Refugee Day brings global attention to the millions of people forced to leave their homes because of conflict, persecution, and disaster. For educators, it’s a powerful opportunity to build empathy, spark meaningful conversations, and help students understand one of the most pressing humanitarian issues of our time.

But where do you start? Refugee stories are deeply human, and teaching them well means going beyond statistics and headlines. It means giving students the space to listen, question, and reflect on what it truly means to leave everything behind.

Whether you teach elementary, middle, or high school, the activities in this guide are designed to make World Refugee Day more than a single lesson. They’re practical, adaptable, and grounded in real stories that stay with students long after the day itself.

Why World Refugee Day matters in the classroom

World Refugee Day was first observed on 20 June 2001, established by the United Nations General Assembly to honor the strength and resilience of refugees worldwide. Today, more children than ever before spend their school years displaced from their home countries. That reality makes this topic not just relevant, but essential.

Teaching about refugees helps students develop empathy, critical thinking, and a sense of global citizenship. It also gives them the language and framework to understand why people are forced to flee, what challenges they face, and what communities and countries do (and don’t do) to help. These are conversations that belong in every grade level, from elementary through high school.

7 Activities to teach students about World Refugee Day

1) Start with the basics: What is a refugee?

Before diving into activities, students need a shared understanding of key terms like “refugee,” “asylum seeker,” and “migration.” This foundational step prevents misconceptions and sets the stage for deeper learning.

• Show What is a Refugee? to give students an accessible overview of who refugees are and why millions of people have been forced to leave their home countries.
• For students who need more context around migration, follow up with Global Connections: Migration, Education, and Trade, which introduces the terms “migration” and “seeking asylum” and connects them to World Refugee Day.
• After watching, ask students to write or discuss their answers to these questions: What is the difference between a refugee and an immigrant? Why does it matter that we use the right words?

This activity works well across grade levels. Elementary students benefit from the clear definitions, while middle and high school students are ready to dig into the nuances of language and legal status.

2) Explore real refugee stories through video

Statistics tell part of the story, but personal accounts are what build genuine understanding. The ClickView series Woven Threads: Stories from Afar features first-person accounts from young refugees, and each one is short enough to fit into a single class period.

• Watch Hisham: The Day I Got Back My Dad, the story of a 13-year-old in Homs, Syria, whose father was shot by a sniper during peaceful protests. When his father disappeared, Hisham stepped into the role of head of the family.
• Pair this with Abraham: How Football Saved My Life, which shows how sport became a lifeline for one young refugee.
• For a story centered on the value of education, try Atika: The Amazing Gift of Education.

After viewing, ask students to identify the emotions, challenges, and turning points in each story. What surprised them? What do these stories have in common, and where do they differ? Younger students might draw or dictate their responses, while older students write reflective journal entries.

3) Hold a structured debate on refugee policy

Should countries accept refugees, and if so, how many? This is exactly the kind of question that gets students thinking critically about ethics, policy, and global responsibility.

• Show Should Countries Accept Refugees?, which lays out the arguments on multiple sides of the debate.
• After watching, divide students into small groups and assign each group a position to research and defend.
• Encourage students to consider both short-term and long-term impacts of refugee resettlement. What are the benefits to the host country? What are the challenges? What happens when countries close their borders?

This activity is especially effective for 5th grade and up. For younger students, simplify the debate by framing it as a classroom discussion: “If a new student joined our class from far away, what would we want to do to help them feel welcome?”

4) Create a problem-and-solution chart

This activity turns empathy into action by asking students to think practically about the challenges refugees face and what individuals, communities, and governments might do in response.

• After engaging with the videos and stories from Activities 1 through 3, ask students to brainstorm the problems faced by people with refugee status.
• Use a T-chart or anchor chart to organize their ideas. Prompt them to think about problems related to: safety, physical space, transportation, employment, housing, cultural and language barriers, food and water access, medical care, and mental health support.
• On the other side, students propose solutions. What could your school do? Your community? Your country? The world?

This works beautifully as a collaborative activity. Pair elementary students for partner brainstorming, or have middle and high school students research one specific challenge in depth and present their proposed solutions to the class.

5) Map a refugee’s journey

For younger students in particular, visualizing a refugee’s journey makes an abstract concept concrete. But this activity adapts well for older students too, especially when paired with geography or social studies standards.

• After watching Hisham’s story or reading a text like The Stars Are Scattered by Omar Mohammed, ask students to create a timeline or map of the refugee’s journey.
• Include key moments: what happened before they left home, the challenges on the journey itself, and what they encountered when they arrived in a new country.
• Elementary students might illustrate their timeline with drawings and captions, while middle and high school students annotate theirs with research on the countries involved, distances traveled, and the political context.

Have you ever asked students to trace a route on a map and watched the moment it clicks for them just how far some refugees travel? That’s the kind of learning that sticks.

6) Write letters of welcome and encouragement

This activity channels students’ empathy into something tangible. After learning about refugee experiences, students write letters welcoming refugees to their country and community.

• As an introduction, students could read a short story like Suzy and Leah by Jane Yolen, which explores the experiences of two girls in 1944, one a Jewish refugee, the other an American with little understanding of what her new classmate has experienced.
• Discuss as a class: What would you want to hear if you arrived in a brand-new place where you didn’t know anyone? What words would make you feel safe and seen?
• Students draft their letters, focusing on encouragement, hope, and a genuine welcome.
• If possible, deliver the letters to a local organization that assists refugees in your area. Many resettlement agencies appreciate receiving welcome cards and messages from school groups.

This activity is powerful at every grade level. Younger students might write a few sentences and draw a picture, while older students craft more detailed letters that reference what they’ve learned about specific refugee experiences.

7) Launch an advocacy campaign

Empower students to move from learning to doing. This activity asks them to raise awareness about refugee issues through a creative project of their choosing.

• Have students research the story of a refugee, drawing on videos like Atika: The Amazing Gift of Education or Carina: The Gift I Will Never Forget.
• Students then create an advocacy piece: a short video, a podcast episode, a social media campaign, or a poster series. The format depends on your resources and time, but the goal is the same: communicate what they’ve learned to a wider audience.
• Share the finished work with the school community through hallway displays, morning announcements, or the school’s social media channels.

What makes this activity especially valuable is that it puts students in the role of advocate. They’re not just absorbing information; they’re deciding how to share it and why it matters.

Extending the learning for middle and high school

The activities above are designed with elementary classrooms in mind, but they scale up naturally. For middle and high school students looking for more depth, ClickView’s Refugees topic for middle school and Refugees topic for high school offer additional resources that take the conversation further.

Investigate global crises. Use the Refugees in Crisis series to explore specific conflicts driving displacement around the world. The People of Syria examines the origins of the Syrian crisis, The People of Afghanistan looks at the roots of displacement in natural disasters, poverty, and political turmoil, and The People of Cuba explores the factors behind Cuba’s refugee crisis. For a perspective on Southeast Asia, The Rohingya People examines the persecution of the Rohingya community.

Connect to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Ask students to consider the question: how might we create a sustainable world that reduces the need for people to seek refuge? Videos on Goal 01: No Poverty, Goal 04: Quality Education, and Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities provide strong starting points for this discussion.

Study inspirational figures.Malala Yousafzai: Critical Thinking tells the story of how Malala combated gender inequality and gave voice to marginalized communities. Her story connects naturally to discussions about the role of education for displaced young people.

Hear more voices. Additional first-person accounts in the Woven Threads: Stories from Afar series, including Zainab: Feelings of Thankfulness and The Abbouds: The Reunion, give students access to a range of refugee experiences and perspectives.

Tips for ongoing integration

World Refugee Day falls on June 20, but the learning doesn’t have to stop there. Here are a few ways to keep the conversation going throughout the year:

• Revisit refugee stories during units on geography, social studies, English Language Arts, or ethics. Many of the videos and activities in this guide connect to multiple subject areas.
• Connect historical topics to refugee experiences, such as The Aftermath of the Holocaust or The Vietnam War.
• Build a classroom library that includes books by and about refugees, such as Refugee by Alan Gratz or The Stars Are Scattered by Omar Mohammed. These make excellent independent reading choices and literature circle texts.
• Encourage students to follow current events related to displacement and migration. When news stories arise, use them as opportunities to apply the critical thinking and empathy skills they’ve developed.
• Invite a guest speaker from a local refugee resettlement organization to talk with your class about the work they do and how students and families get involved.

Teaching about refugees is about more than a single day on the calendar. It’s about helping students understand the world they live in, and their role in making it more just and compassionate. The stories and activities in this guide are a starting point. Where your students take them is up to you.

Sources

1. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). What is a Refugee? Available at: https://www.unhcr.org/what-is-a-refugee.html
2. United Nations. World Refugee Day, 20 June. Available at: https://www.un.org/en/observances/refugee-day
3. UNESCO. UN Sustainable Development Goals. Available at: https://sdgs.un.org/goals