Grades:

Grade 11-12

Subjects:

Social Studies

Overview

In this lesson, students examine the motivations, goals and actions of countries considered to harbor terrorist factions. Students will examine the physical and political geography of these countries and check for commonalities. Using this "intelligence," they evaluate the level of the threat posed by these countries. They will make recommendations for an appropriate response from world leaders.

Suggested Time Allowance:

2 hour (2 classes)

Objectives:

Students will:
1. Think deeply about their perception of terrorism.
2. Explore what they know about the current war in Afghanistan.
3. In groups, investigate the physical and political geography of countries where terrorist factions are known to exist; create presentation posters evaluating conditions for eradicating any terrorist threats.
4. Individually, write a summary of their "intelligence" findings; compare proposed action in their assigned country to the war in Iraq.

Materials:

-Student journals
-Classroom board
-One blank map of each of the following countries: Afghanistan, Columbia, Albania, Rwanda, Burundi, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan, Syria, Pakistan. and the Philippines (one map per group)
-Geography resources, contemporary global history texts
-Computers with Internet access
-Poster board or large pieces of construction paper (one per group)
-Markers and colored pencils (enough for students to share)

Lesson Plan

Students respond to the following questions in their journals (written on the board prior to class):

• What is the most recent example of terrorism you heard about?
• What happened? Where? Describe the event in as much detail as you can.
• Why did the group or persons responsible commit this act of terrorism? What were its effects? Did they achieve their goals? (Here invite the students to share their answers with other students….)
• How do acts of terrorism differ from other acts of violence?
• Do the countries harboring terrorism have any common factors? (Geographical, economical, presence of ethnical – religious minority – use http://www.nationmaster.com to support your case)
• What do students think "state-sponsored terrorism" means?
• How do increased global communications and travel play a role in terrorist activities?
• What do the students think about Sanctions imposed on countries sponsoring terrorism? (Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria.). What about Pakistan?

In their journals, students respond to the following prompt (written on the board prior to class): "Why did the United States go to war against Afghanistan? Has this war been won? Why or why not?" After a few minutes, allow students to share their responses. Depending on the responses, you may want to remind students that the United States went to war against the Taliban leadership in Afghanistan for harboring the terrorist organization Al Qaeda, the group believed to be responsible for the attacks of September 11, 2001. Currently, the leader of Al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, and the leader of the Taliban, Mullah Muhammad Omar, have not been captured.

Divide students into fourteen groups and assign each group one of the following countries: Afghanistan, Columbia, Albania, Rwanda, Burundi, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan, Syria, Pakistan and the Philippines. Give each group a blank map of its assigned country.

Explain to students that each of the assigned countries is believed to harbor terrorist organizations that may or may not pose a threat to other countries in the region and around the world. Acting as a team of military intelligence specialists, each group is charged with the mission of evaluating the terrorist threat posed by factions in each country, and to evaluate the physical and political geography of the region. This intelligence will be presented in poster form in a class "briefing session" where groups will give their recommendations for the best way to combat the terrorist threat in each country. Using all available resources, students in each group should begin by gathering the following information about its assigned country (copied on the board or in a handout for easier student access):

-What conditions would foreign troops stationed in this country face? On a blank map of the country, sketch the topography of the terrain. Write down notes on religions practiced, include annotations about the climate conditions, the geographical location and bordering countries. (They may get more details about the country in question by referring to the country profile. Ask them to click the country name in the Countries Page to get all the information about their country of interest.)
-What is the main aim of the terrorist factions? Do the local civilians sympathize with them?
-Evaluate the government in power: What type of government is it? Do the government leaders support the terrorist factions (state-sponsored terrorism) or would they be supportive to coalition forces trying to eradicate the terrorist elements?
-Evaluate the country's economy: How stable is the country's economy? On what products and industries does the economy depend? Who controls these industries?
-Evaluate the country's borders: What countries does this country border? Are they friendly?
-What preliminary recommendations would your team suggest for eradicating the threat of terrorism in this country? Would you recommend an attack or should we try to remove their cause of dissatisfaction? Justify your suggestions.

After students have had a chance to conduct their research, in the next class, allow students to present their intelligence findings and to discuss their recommendations for combating terror in each country. After each group's presentation, students should consider the following questions:
--What physical and political conditions would make a fight against terrorists in this country difficult?
--How do the recommendations the group has made reflect these conditions?

As homework, each student responds in writing to the following prompt: "Write a summary report of your team's analysis of the terrorist threat in your assigned country. Should political leaders in other countries be concerned about the growing terrorist threat in this country? If so, who should be concerned and how should they respond? Does the war in Iraq set a precedent for action in this country? Why or why not? What may be gained, or jeopardized, by attempting to eradicate this terrorist threat?"

Assessment:

Students will be evaluated based on initial journal responses, participation in class discussions, group research  and subsequent individual essays.

Source:

NationMaster