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Global Classroom
Global
Studies Curriculum (geared to WA Social Studies CBAs)
We at the Global Classroom program are interested
in supporting high school teachers who are implementing the social
studies Washington State Classroom-Based Assessments (CBAs). To
that end, we have begun adding CBA sections to the resource packets
that we distribute at our professional
development programs.
While these packets are aligned with the Washington
State CBAs, they are also valuable resources for anyone teaching
about world politics, history, geography and economics.
For more information on CBAs, instructions, and rubrics
see the Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction
webpage: http://www.k12.wa.us/assessment/WASL/SocialStudies/default.aspx
2007-2008 Topics:
Curriculum
Units on Venezuela: I.) The U.S. and Venezuela: Comparing and Contrasting
National Priorities; II.) Spinning Hugo: Contradictory Assessments;
III.) Energy Choices Town Meeting (Causes of Conflict – High
School CBA) 6/1/08
Engage your students with this timely exploration of Venezuela.
This unit includes three lesson plans that can stand-alone or be
used together. Students will be encouraged to look at issues facing
Venezuela from Venezuelan perspectives; discuss media literary by
distinguishing between fact and opinion; and discuss the advantages
and disadvantages of three distinct approaches to out nation’s
energy crisis.
"U.S.
and Japanese Transportation Innovations in the 1950s and 1960s"
(Meeting Needs and Wants - Middle School CBA) 5/1/08
During
World War II Japan's economy was destroyed by military attacks,
use of scarce resources for military purposes, and severed trade
relations. Transport was nearly impossible, and urban industrial
production halted. During the 50s and 60s the government rapidly
expanded investment in Japan's infrastructure: building highways,
high-speed railways, subways, airports, port facilities, and dams.
Students will explore not only Japan's transportation innovations
during the middle of the 20th century but also look at the U.S.
expansion of its highway system and the opportunity cost (trade-offs)
of commuting. This unit will introduce students to U.S. and Japanese
geography and population density. Students will also explore who
"won" and "lost" as a result of transportation
developments.
"China's
Environmental Challenge" (Humans and the Environment - High
School CBA) 4/24/08
With its intense economic growth, huge population, and rising energy
consumption, China now faces many serious environmental problems.
In this curriculum unit, students will learn about China's current
environmental situation and explore the complex challenges facing
the leadership and the peoples of this diverse land. This unit includes
an environmental quiz and extensive fact sheets. In a role-playing
exercise, students will use primary sources to explore multiple
perspectives and points of view.
"China:
Factory of the World" (Technology through the Ages - High School
CBA) 3/12/08
Shortly
after Mao Zedong’s death in 1976, Deng Xiaoping and other
reformers moved to grow China’s economy instituting new “reform
and opening” policies. After three decades of spectacular
economic growth, China has emerged as the manufacturing factory
of the world. These lesson plans, activities, and resources will
help students begin to examine China current industrial revolution
and explore the benefits and costs of its spectacular growth. Since
this is huge issue, this unit will guide students in breaking this
topic down and choosing one aspect to research and present.
"The
Golden Age of the Ottoman Empire" (Dig Deep - Middle School CBA)
1/29/08
These lesson plans, activities, and resources
will help students begin to examine the Golden Age of the Ottoman
Empire under Suleiman the Magnificent (1520-1566). The Dig
Deep CBA asks students to select and describe a time period using
specific primary sources. Students’ historical interpretations may
take the form of an essay, a letter to or from a historical character,
a journal entry, or a newspaper article.
"Climate
Change & Global Health" (Humans and the Environment - High School
CBA) 01/15/08
These
lesson plans, activities, and resources
will help students understand how humans interact with the environment.
This lesson requires students to either propose a solution to a
current environmental issue that will improve the health of the
system or analyze a historical situation in terms of the environment
and propose a reasonable alternative that would have improved the
health of the system.
"The U.S.
and Russia: Missile Defense Plans" (U.S. Foreign Policy - High School
CBA) 11/07/07
These
lesson plans, activities, and resources will
help students who wish to examine current U.S. policy toward Russia.
The focus is on current relations between the U.S. and Russia, and
how this relationship is shaped by the history of the Cold War.
As a specific example, it looks at the current tensions around U.S.
plans to place missile defense installations in the Czech Republic
and Poland.
"U.S. Foreign Aid in
Nigeria and Elsewhere" (U.S. Foreign Policy - High School CBA)
10/16/07
These
lesson plans, activities, and resources
will help students who wish to examine U.S. policy in distributing
foreign aid. Topics addressed include the new "tough-love"
policy for foreign aid; President Bush's "new compact for global
development" and the Millennium Challenge Corporation; the
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, which established USAID; and foreign
aid to Nigeria. Students can use these resources to focus on foreign
aid in general, U.S. aid to Nigeria, or U.S. aid to a different
country or region.
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