GEP - Current Events Email - September 15, 2007

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Dear Teacher:

As a recipient of World Savvy's Current Affairs Update, every two weeks you will receive a set of resources for 3 major recent news stories, including articles at varying reading levels, a list of relevant standards, and curriculum that can be used to teach about the issues covered by that news story. If you are interested in teaching a larger unit on a specific issue, please contact us for support.

Topic 1: Report on Iraq War Troop Surge

Advanced Article: What Crocker and Petreaus Didn’t Say - www.mcclatchydc.com
Intermediate Article: www.mcclatchydc.com
Beginning Article: www.timeforkids.com

Multimedia: www.cnn.com
Background: www.washingtonpost.com (analysis/criticism of Petreaus testimony)
Iraqi Blogs: blog.newsweek.com/blogs

Discussion Questions:

1. Explain what the “troop surge” for the Iraq War is.
2. Why was General David Petreaus testifying before Congress on Monday, Sept. 10?
3. Explain the main points of his testimony. What do critics say about his testimony?
4. Measuring the level of violence is one of the main issues in looking at the effectiveness of the surge. What are the different ways being used to measure violence. Do you agree with how the Bush administration is measuring violence?
5. What do many Democrats believe should be done about the war in Iraq? Do you agree?
6. The advanced article discusses the demographic shift in the neighborhoods of Iraq. Explain this shift. Do you think this is important?

Curriculum:

1. Constitutional Rights Foundation: War in Iraq Read it now >>
2. Educators to Stop the War: Teaching about Iraq (includes an older DBQ on reporting civilian deaths that could be updated with the new figures) Read it now >>
3. Choices Program: Conflict in Iraq Read it now >>

California Standards:

Government: Three Branches of Government, U.S. Political Issues
World History: Modern World Economy, Contemporary Nation Building
Language Arts: Reading and Writing, Analyzing the Media
Math: Evaluating Statistical Data, Data Analysis, Evaluating Graphs

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Topic 2: Russian President Putin Dissolves Government

Advanced Article: edition.cnn.com
Intermediate Article: www.time.com
Beginning Article: www.examiner.com

Discussion Questions:

1. What surprising action did Russian President Vladimir Putin take on Wed., Sept. 12?
2. Why did Putin say he decided to do this?
3. What do some people speculate might be the real reason that Putin appointed a new prime minister?
4. What are some of the criticisms of the current Putin government? What is the response of those who support him?
5. Do some more research on the Russian government, since democracy was established. How do the laws and actions of the Russian government compare to America or other democracies?

Curriculum:

1. PBS: Freedom of Expression – Russian Journalists Read it now >>
2. PBS Frontline: Russia’s Conversion from Communism to Capitalism Read it now >>

California Standards

World History: Modern World Economy, Contemporary Nation Building
Government: Comparative Government, Democratic Thoughts and Principles
Language Arts: Reading and Writing, Analyzing the Media

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Topic 3: Earthquakes in Indonesia

Advanced Articled: www.cnn.com
Intermediate Article: abcnews.go.com
Beginning Article: news.bbc.co.uk

Discussion Questions:

1. What natural disaster has affected Indonesia over the last few days?
2. Locate Indonesia on a map and label the general locations of the most recent quakes. The 2004 tsunami primarily affected the area of Aceh in Indonesia – find and label this area on a map as well.
3. What have been the effects of these recent earthquakes?
4. Why have there been so many earthquakes occurring in this area over the last few years?
5. Compare and contrast this most recent set of earthquakes with the earthquakes/tsunami of 2004.

Curriculum:

1. National Geographic: Natural Disasters - Same Forces, Different Impacts Read it now >>
2. Discovery Education: Tracking Earthquakes around the World Read it now >>
3. Scholastic: Looking at the Short and Long-Term Effects of 2004 Tsunami Read it now >>

California Standards:

Science: Earth Sciences - plate tectonics, geology
Geography: Human-Environment Interaction
Language Arts: Reading and Writing, Analyzing the Media

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The views expressed in the articles and resources listed above are not the views of World Savvy. They are listed here as resources for educators but do not necessarily reflect the opinions and priorities of World Savvy. If you ever want to unsubscribe from this list, just send an email to Kelly at kelly@worldsavvy.org.