Aim: Why has it been so difficult to revolve conflict in the Middle East

Ms. S. Muhammad

Pelham Preparatory Academy

Jane Aronoff, Principal

Aim: Why has it been so difficult to revolve conflict in the Middle East?

VS.

Detailed map of the region

STEPS

Introduction

Have you ever considered the typical causes of disputes, who are involved with them, what prolongs them and how they are resolved? When conflict or war breaks out in the international world, how do you go about choosing which side to side with? Have you ever thought about or imagined a solution to end the conflict at hand? The Middle East has been a crossroads for people of Africa, Asia, and Europe since ancient times. This fact led to an enormous diversity of people’s, belief systems, and cultures. Since 1945, the Middle East has been an area of tension and change. The state of Palestine was divided in 1947 to establish the nation of Israel, resulting in two separate homelands for the Arab and Jewish people. This land division has polarized Arabs and Israelis for over 50 years, resulting in ongoing violent conflicts. In this lesson, students examine the root causes of the crisis and analyze past and present attempts at peace.

Tasks

In groups:

Determine the common elements of disputes and the challenges in resolving them
Identify the key factors in the Middle East crisis
Analyze a past peace plan for resolving Arab/Israeli crisis
Design a peace plan to resolve the Mid East conflict

Process

Before attempting to accomplish your task your group should understand the history and current status of the Middle East conflict News Hour Extra: Israel - Palestinian Conflict - April 10, 2002
For the most recent news hyperlink to website Online NewsHour -- The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Identify the conflict or issue at hand. Worksheet1: Defining the Social Problem
Consider the typical causes of disputes? What were the causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?Worksheet2: Gathering evidence of the problem
What is at the core of the ongoing conflict between the Arabs and Israelis? Conduct research on the conflict and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Worksheet3: Determining the causes of the problem
Explain that during the course of the Arab-Israeli conflict, peace-making efforts have been undertaken, but have typically lasted a very short period of time or have not taken at all. The Mitchell Report, the result of a presidential committee investigation of an Israeli/Palestinian peace process, proposes a halt to the current violence in order for the parties to resume peace negotiations. Why have efforts to resolve the conflict and establish peace failed? 1) Online NewsHour: George Mitchell -- May 7, 2001; 2) Current Events Lesson Plan: Mitchell Report ; 3) Worksheet4: Evaluating existing public policies
GHPPA: Comparative Analysis In groups, discuss the pros and cons of The Mitchell Report key recommendations , taking into consideration both Arab and Israeli perspectives Online NewsHour: George Mitchell -- May 7, 2001
Finally, apply your understanding of the history and current status of the Arab/Israeli conflict and the Mitchell Report, in your small groups representing a presidential investigation committee to construct a recommended peace plan. Each group will present its plan/recommendations at a mock international conference focused on resolving the Israeli/Arab conflict. Students, as conference attendees, may pose questions of the presenters to challenge or substantiate a proposed action.

Resources:

Evaluation

Groups will be graded based on the table below

Performance	Excellent 5	Good 4	Satisfactory 3	Needs Improvement 2
Completion of Worksheets	Full understanding of the social problem, has a creative and pertinent solution, and fully completes worksheets	Good understanding of the social problem, has a reasonable solution, and completes worksheets	Satisfactory understanding of social problem, has a satisfactory solution, and satisfactory completes worksheets	Minimal understanding of social problem and solution needed. Failure to complete worksheets.
Completion of Proposal	Proposal fully details and explains social problem and proposed solution. Creative.	Proposal details and explains social problem and proposed solution. Creative	Proposal explains social problem and proposed solution. Some creativity lacking.	Proposal fails to explain social problem and proposed solution. Not creative.
Oral Presentation	Presentation is professional, detailed and accurate. All group members participate.	Presentation is detailed and accurate but not all group members participate.	Presentation is sufficient or not all group members participate.	Presentation is lacking important details.
Organization	Group worked together on all projects and handed in signed group summary (or spoke to Mr. Cohen regarding any group issues).	Group worked together on most projects and handed in signed group summary (or spoke to Mr. Cohen regarding any group issues).	Group worked together on most projects but failed to hand in group summary (or spoke to Mr. Cohen regarding any group issues).	Group did not work well together (and did not speak to Mr. Cohen regarding any group issues).

A= 20-17

B= 16-14

C= 13-11

F= 10-1

Standards

This Webquest responds to the followings curriculum standards:

Standard 2: World History

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in world history and examine the broad sweep of history from a variety of perspectives.

Standard 3: Geography

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the geography of the interdependent world in which we live local, national, and global-including the distribution of people, places and environments over the Earth’s surface.

English Learning Standard 1:

Students will read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding - As listeners and readers, students will collect data, facts, and ideas; discover relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and use knowledge generated from oral, written, and electronically produced texts. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language to acquire, interpret, apply, and transmit information.

Conclusion

Congratulations, with the completion of this WebQuest, you have completed many tasks, which include: understanding what a public policy is; researching the public policy of conflict in the Middle East; designed a proposal for peace that would help identify and combat violence in the Middle East. With these tasks completed you have showed understanding of how to follow directions, proper Internet navigation skills and clear understanding of the material learned.