Unit 3: Are boundaries necessary?

Unit Description -

Students will investigate types of boundaries and how they are created. They will also look at how different countries, defined by boundaries, influence others. The compelling question, “Are boundaries necessary?” requires students to consider that boundaries exist in more than a political sphere and their impact is wide-ranging. Students will investigate multiple types of boundaries and how they are created, but also how they can be crossed. Students will examine a variety of resources to help them develop an argument to answer the compelling question, “Are boundaries necessary?” Boundaries are ever-changing and continue to evolve politically, physically, and culturally.

Supporting Questions -

How are boundaries defined and what purpose do they serve?

What events in history created boundaries between people and nations?

How do countries exert power and influence (culture, military, land, economy, taxes, tariffs, etc) beyond their own boundaries?

Standards and Practices -

SS.IS.2.6-8: Ask essential and focusing questions that will lead to independent research.

SS.IS.3.6-8: Determine sources representing multiple points of view that will assist in organizing a research plan.

SS.IS.4.6-8.MC: Gather relevant information from credible sources and determine whether they support each other.

SS.IS.5.6-8.MdC: Identify evidence from multiple sources to support claims, noting its limitations.

SS.IS.8.6-8.MC: Apply a range of deliberative and democratic procedures to make decisions and take action in schools and community contexts.

SS.CV.1.6-8.MdC: Describe the roles of political, civil and economic organizations in shaping people’s lives

SS.CV.6.6-8.LC: Determine whether specific rules and laws (both actual and proposed) resolve the problems they were meant to address.

SS.G3.6-8.MC: Evaluate the influence of long-term human induced environmental change on spatial patterns of conflict and cooperation.

SS.H.1.6-8.MdC: Analyze connections among events and developments in broader historical contexts.