Know:
Current global issues
Terminology related to the topic
How to point out potential impacts of environmental change

Do:
Research and examine international treaties and other agreements
Formulate an opinion as to the agendas of those involved in each treaty and those who refuse to participate
Create informational handouts related to their research
Create an audio/visual presentation based on their research
Engage in classroom discussions

Research has shown that the least effective strategy for teaching vocabulary is having students look up words and write the definitions.  For quality, research-based strategies for teaching content vocabulary, see the Teach 21 Strategy Bank at http://wvde.state.wv.us/strategybank/vocabulary.html.

treaty    
demographics  
assimilation
environment
geopolitical   
standard of living
arms control   
suffrage   
habitat
agenda   
cultural diversity

See Academic Vocabulary and Informational Guide.

Introduction:

Set the stage by directing your students to stand in their seats.  Inform them they live on a small island in the Pacific Ocean and have been noticing that the water continues to rise and erode their shoreline.  Salt water is seeping into your fresh water wells.  You have heard that this is because of global warming and that there is no way to stop the encroaching seas.  Eventually, your island will be totally flooded.  Where will you go?  What will you do for a living?  What country will take you in?  Will you still be a citizen of a nation that no longer exists?  What will become of your culture?  Ask them to stand down and be reseated.  Ask for student responses.

Step 1: 
After students have completed the introductory exercise, distribute the handout titled, If an Island State Vanishes, Is it Still a Nation? to read silently.  Discuss the contents of the article and  inform students that this is only one problem that the international community faces.

Step 2: 
Have a map ready (either paper or displayed on the SmartBoard©) of the Marshall Islands and other Pacific Island nations and atolls for examination.  Estimate how many inhabited islands and/or atolls may be affected by rising waters in the near future.  

Step 3: 
Inform students that one way the international community addresses problems and challenges is to create treaties and agreements with each other.  Distribute the handout titled, What Does Our National Government Say in Regards to Treaties? and inform the class to read the article in its entirety (this could be done orally or silently).  Instruct students to highlight the part of Article 2, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution that deals with treaties.  This information should be filed for future use.

Step 4: 
Direct students in creating a word wall for the academic vocabulary after distributing the handout, Academic Vocabulary and Informational Guide for Module 21 (Module 12 compliments Module 21 and they could easily be combined to create a unit dealing with globalization and international issues).  Have students create or locate graphics that illustrate each term or concept.  Review the content and ensure that students have at least a working knowledge of the vocabulary.

Step 5:  
Divide students into pairs and assign or have them select from a variety of current global issues (e.g., environmental protection, arms control, space exploration, trade, etc.).  They will conduct initial research on these topics in the computer lab over several class periods, depending on time allotted for the class.  In addition to researching these issues, they will also identify and summarize a variety of international treaties or agreements that deal with these issues.  Ask students to analyze the agendas of those nations that engage in or refuse to enter into treaties (e.g., What are their motives?  What do they fear?  What might they lose by such an agreement? What might they gain?).  Direct students to examine demographic data related to those nations who become nation partners in a treaty or refuse to enter into international treaties or agreements (e.g. examine political and cultural boundaries in regard to trade and/or arms agreements, women’s suffrage, migration, cultural diversity and assimilation, standards of living, religious issues, etc.).

Step 6: 
Students will report their findings to their peers via creating fact sheets and an audio/visual presentation dealing with their specified global issue, related treaties, and reporting on the agendas of those who refuse to partner with other nations.  Demographic data will also be reported as part of their presentation.  The teacher will assess the presentations using a rubric of their choice.

Step 7: 
As a culminating activity, engage students in discussing some of the challenges and difficulties they encountered during their research and to analyze the process that citizens and governments must engage in to create a better world.

At the culmination of the unit, students should have a working knowledge of several global issues and the potential impact of environmental change.  They should also have an understanding of the complexity of international treaties and agreements and why nations engage in partnering with other nations, while others refuse to do so.  Students should also understand that individual citizens and groups of citizens need to actively engage in helping to solve global problems and not just leave the task to their governments.

This module compliments Module 12: It’s a Small World After All, and should be paired as the follow-up unit because they do complement each other so well.  As a result, the teacher will be able to convey the concept that all of us live in a rapidly shrinking world (e.g. communication, marketing, cultural exchanges, etc.) and that for the human species to survive we must all work together to solve the problems we share.