Crisis in Iraq
Help students make sense of their world. Here are some valuable resources to use in the classroom related to the current crisis in Iraq.
Lessons and Activities
CRISIS WITH IRAQ
This Choices for the 21st Century classroom activity by Brown University helps guide students through the options open to the U.S. and Iraq in resolving the current crisis.
THE DECISION TO GO TO WAR: Critical Analysis and Role Play
This lesson may be used to discuss with your students President Bush's arguments in favor of using military force to disarm Iraq. It should take 20 - 30 minutes, although you may choose to extend your discussion or have students write responses to the quotes given below.
Lara Maupin, a social studies teacher at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia
DEBATING IRAQ: Discussion Questions, Role Plays, and Vocabulary Development
This lesson plan is most appropriate for US History/Government or World History classes. It not only focuses on the current debate on Iraq, but it also encourages students to examine America's new security strategy in the post-Cold War era.
Laura Greenwald, The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) of The Johns Hopkins University in Washington, DC
This lesson poses the question, "What is a terrorist?" Students will have an opportunity to explore the debate over legitimate and illegitimate uses of force and the distinction between terrorists and freedom fighters. Students will explore a framework for analyzing political violence and terrorism, apply this framework to historical and contemporary case studies, and develop a working definition of terrorism.
PART-TIME PROTECTORS: Examining the Role of Military Reservists in International Struggles
In this lesson, students will research the roles of the reserve armed forces in a variety of United States military conflicts, then create a documentary that illustrates the contributions of part-time soldiers. New York Times in Education
THE WHOLE STORY: Learning to Write Informative and Thorough News Articles
In this lesson, students learn how to collect and convey information about a current event. The teaching event is the Elizabeth Smart story. By focusing on who, what, when, where, why, and how questions, students learn to thoroughly analyze and report on important world events such as the crisis in Iraq. New York Times in Education.
CRF Lessons on Iraq
These lessons from the Constitutional Rights Foundation examine the Iraq war from the perspective of international law and also look at the role of the media in wartime.
Lehrer News Hour PBS
Specifically designed for classroom use, this PBS site has much to offer in learning about events and issues related to the U.S.-Iraq conflict.
Here is up-to-the-minute news about what is happening in the Middle East and the rest of the world.
This source provides a British view of the news. It has a special section devoted to Iraq.
New York Times International
Here is the latest print news on the Iraq crisis.
C-SPAN War with Iraq Resources
This site has primary resources on every aspect of the Iraq diplomatic and military engagements as well as U.S. news sources, international media resources, and military information about weapons and troops. It is just the resources for the classrooms interested in doing indepth research.