To
help students in grades 6-8 understand how the history, culture, and geography
of an area influence a person’s perception, students immerse themselves in
role-playing as either Palestinians, Jews, or Britons in the Middle East during
the time when Israel became a state.
They use this scenario to research and analyze influence factors
and create a multimedia presentation to apply what they learn.
The
teacher divides the class into smaller groups. Each group conducts Internet research to get information
about its role during the time period. The teacher provides each group with the same set of research
questions concerning the perspectives of the groups then and today. The teacher brings to the class
community resource people representing the Middle East groups to share their
perspectives with the students. Or the
teacher could develop e-mail pals with experts from the three Middle East role
groups.
To
immerse themselves in the life and times of their Middle East culture group,
students conduct research through books/magazines, CD-ROMs, and the
Internet. They make journal entries about their group during the time period studied, make a storyboard presentation that synthesizes the information
and resources gathered, and debate the issue of the formation of the state of
Israel with representatives from the other Middle East groups.
CIVICS