Teaching and learning for secondary and higher education

Find free educational resources on the European Council and Council of the EU for students in secondary and higher education, including ready-made lessons, a role-playing exercise and a quiz-type learning tool.

If you are looking for resources for preschool and primary education, you can visit this page:

Teaching and learning for preschool and primary education

Ready-made teaching lessons

Would you like to teach about the EU and how its 27 member states work together, but lack the time to research and organise your lessons?

The Council's 'Civic education package' includes 7 ready-made teaching lessons designed to help teachers, university lecturers and other education professionals explain the work of the Council of the EU and the work of the European Council.

Each lesson contains the teacher's manuals with the organisation of time and a step-by-step description of the activities, and all the materials to be used in class, including PowerPoint presentations, videos, and links to supporting documents.

The lessons are divided by:

age group: students and learners aged 9-12, 12-19, 17-25 and 60+
teaching method: for students between 12 and 25 year olds, choose between the lessons for theoretical learners and those for practical learners, based on what would work best for your students, or combine both approaches in class.

Download the lessons for free by clicking on the links below:

Lessons for students aged 9-12:

Lessons for age groups 12 to 19 and 17 to 25 – all files include the teacher’s manual and a supporting presentation:

Lessons for learners aged 60 and older:

A teacher stands at the front of a classroom of children, with drawings of an open book, a question mark, the circle of EU stars, a euro symbol, and a small EU flag around them, suggesting a lesson about Europe and its currency. — The 'Civic education package' helps explain the work of the Council of the EU and the European Council

Minister for a day - the Council simulation

Would you like your students to learn by doing and take on an active role in class?

The Council's role play exercise simulates a Council meeting, allowing students to step into the shoes of national ministers. Participants present the position of their countries and negotiate with the other EU countries, while practicing crucial skills, such as public speaking, negotiation, and active listening.

‘Minister for a Day’ is a hands-on experience of EU decision-making for secondary school pupils and university students aged 16 and older. It can be played by groups of 20 to 50 people, and it takes at least 120 minutes to play.

This simulation offers three distinct topics for facilitators and groups to choose from: ‘Regulation on a fair fashion label’, ‘Regulation for CO2 emissions for passenger cars’ and ‘Introducing an AI framework’. Each theme discusses one policy proposal from different perspectives.

It comes with a manual for the teacher/facilitator and 29 role profiles to be distributed to the participants.

Facilitator’s supporting material:

Simulation manual (PDF file, 380Kb)

Role profiles by simulation topic:

Participants in the Council's role-playing-game — The Council simulation is a hands-on experience of EU decision-making

Europa Quest: a quiz-type interactive learning tool

Are you looking for an entertaining way to teach your students about the European Union and how the 27 EU countries work together? Europa Quest is a quiz-based educational tool designed to encourage teamwork and communication among participants, fostering a sense of community and shared learning.

It comes as a PDF manual with step-by-step guide and a supporting PowerPoint presentation that features the questions and answers, which can be projected during the activity (optional), as well as notes for the moderator.

The package includes a beginners version suitable for 9- to 14-year-olds, and an advanced version for students aged 15 and older, so you can adapt the activity to the needs of your pupils.

Download the Europa Quest below:

Quiz abstract image with blue and yellow shapes