World Affairs

In this course, students will expand their critical, creative, and analytical social studies skills, as well as refining their speaking and listening skills. Students will develop their abilities in constructing meaningful questions that initiate inquiry, gather and evaluate sources, develop claims using evidence to support reasoning, communicate and critique conclusions, and be civically engaged.  These elements will take a global turn and focus for this class.

World Affairs - Semester One

1. Inquiry Practices and Processes: Students will demonstrate the skills and ability, to construct meaningful questions, gather and evaluate sources, use objective evidence to support one’s reasoning, and clearly communicate a logical argument, opinion and/or conclusion of global situations on; human rights, conflict and peace, and Sustainable Development Goals.

2. Claim and Evidence: Students will develop claims using evidence to support reasoning in written and oral formats; on human rights, conflict and peace, and Sustainable Development Goals.

3. Civic and Global Engagement: Students will become globally and civically engaged using current events and activities on human rights, conflict and peace, and Sustainable Development Goals.

4. Communication: Students will use correct content to inform communications and analysis in both oral and written forms on human rights, conflict and peace, and Sustainable Development Goals.

World Affairs-Semester Two

5. Inquiry Practices and Processes: Students will demonstrate the skills and ability, to construct meaningful questions, gather and evaluate sources, use objective evidence to support one’s reasoning, and clearly communicate a logical argument, opinion and/or conclusion of global situations connected to Model UN, global healthcare, and modern debate topics.

6. Claim and Evidence: Students will develop claims using evidence to support reasoning in written and oral formats connected to Model UN, global healthcare,and modern debate topics.

7. Civic and Global Engagement: Students will become globally and civically engaged using Model UN activities and writings, global healthcare, and modern debate topics.

8. Communication: Students will use correct content to inform communications and analysis in both oral and written forms connected to Model UN, global healthcare, and modern debate topics.

Major Assessments and Success Criteria

This class is largely a performance-based class.  Students are expected to gain an understanding of global situations through news, readings, and discovery learning. Learning by doing is the best way to gain new skills and expand existing critical, creative, and analytical skills and students will be expected to apply new skills and knowledge to global situations.. Students will have a major oral assessment, writing assessments in various forms, and be required to demonstrate collaboration and communication skills on a regular basis.

Key course Learning Experiences

Daily interaction with news and classmates about those news items

Collaboration: working in small groups to develop ideas and procedures to effectively change/impact global situations

Writing: students will write informally and formally to develop ideas and applications for ideas on a myriad of current issues.

Human Rights Oral Presentation - Students will demonstrate an understanding of a global human rights violation,  research and share that knowledge in an oral presentation.

Position Paper- Students will research a nation and use that knowledge to develop a position for that nation in written form on a specific topic.

Model UN - Students will demonstrate their understanding of a nation and its efforts on the topic they have selected in a simulation of the United Nations.  They must demonstrate effectively collaboration, debate, and communication skills while behaving in a mature manner.

Debate - students will select a debate topic.  Research and develop evidence on their topic, design arguments defending their position, and demonstrate their understanding in a traditional debate format model.  They will additionally demonstrate appropriate audience behaviors while others are presenting.

Civic engagement - students will investigate a social issue and determine ways to impact that issue on a local, national, or global scale.  Students will effectively communicate their position by contacting an elected official at the appropriate level of government to impact the issue they have chosen