Learning from the Arab Spring

Presented by David Cortright
September 12, 2011

General Country Information

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html
The CIA-maintained website, The World Factbook, allows you to find information on demographics, government, economy, people, foreign affairs, and more for any country.

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/places/find/
National Geographic Kids is a colorful site containing photos, videos, and articles about a number of different countries.

http://www.factmonster.com/countries.html
Fact Monster is a kid-friendly site with information (population, geography, government, etc.) and resources on a wide number of countries.

http://www.infoplease.com/countries.html
Infoplease provides basic information about government and geography for most countries.

Current Events and Up-to-date News

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world/middle_east/
BBC’s website has information on current news in the Middle East.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12813859
A special section of the BBC’s website is dedicated to the latest information on uprisings in the Middle East. It includes an interactive map that charts the changes occurring in different areas.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/interactive/2011/feb/17/arab-world-protests-bahrain-map
The Guardian provides an Interactive Map of uprisings in the Middle East.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/world/middle-east-protests/
The Washington Post provides a chronological timeline of the events of political unrest throughout the Middle East.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/world/middleeast/middle-east-hub.html
The New York Times has a section devoted to recent articles about the political instability or uprisings of relevant Middle Eastern countries.

http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/collection.jsp?id=816
Scholastic has a collection of elementary school-friendly articles on the Arab Spring.

Lesson Plans

http://www.choices.edu/resources/current.php (copy/paste link into browser)
The Choices Program’s “Teaching with the News” initiative has a variety of lesson plans that engage students in understanding current international issues and exploring their significance. The site has many plans relating to situations in the Middle East and Africa.

Suggestions:

Egypt’s Uprising
After Mubarak: A New Middle East
Protests, Revolutions, and Democratic Change
Deliberating “Pros” and “Cons” of Policy Options
Considering the Role of Values in Public Policy

http://www.usip.org/publications/transitions-democracy
The United States Institute of Peace offers a downloadable teaching guide on “Transitions to Democracy” that includes six different lessons. It is designed for high school students.

http://worldsavvy.org/monitor/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=299&Itemid=358
World Savvy Monitor provides an extensive list of resources and lesson plans divided by school subject and age group for discussing democracy in the present age.

http://pulitzercenter.org/sites/default/files/Arab%20Spring%20Writing%20Exercises.pdf
The Pulitzer Center provides a plan for students to write papers or create projects about the uprisings in the Middle East. The site also includes a number of helpful resources for research.

http://cmes.hmdc.harvard.edu/outreach/teachingresources
Harvard University’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies has created this outreach website of teaching resources. It includes online modules and lesson plans about the Middle East, some specifically about the recent uprisings.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/teachers/lessonplans/world/jan-june11/NorthAfrica_MidEast_03-29.html
A lesson for middle and high school students, PBS Newshour uses political cartoons, a news segment, and Google Earth tour to analyze “The Impact of Egypt’s Political Revolution on the Middle East and Northern Africa.”

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/video/blog/2011/02/social_medias_role_in_egypt_pr.html
Watch an online video clip from PBS Newshour and facilitate a discussion on “Social Media’s Role in Egypt Protests.”

http://www.teachablemoment.org/middle/egyptnonviolence.html
This is a lesson plan for middle school students on “Egypt’s Nonviolent Revolution.” It connects what happened in Egypt to Martin Luther King Jr.’s words on nonviolence.

http://www.teachablemoment.org/middle/tunisiaplus.html
Teachable Moment provides this lesson plan for middle school students on “Tunisia to Egypt & Beyond: Freedom and Democracy?” It encourages students to compare our value systems with those in the Islamic world and questions whether Liberalism and Islam can coexist. It uses several videos and songs to guide the lesson.

http://www.teachablemoment.org/high/libya.html
A lesson plan for high school students about Libya, this uses situations from personal accounts in a recorded interview and Twitter updates.

http://www.teachablemoment.org/high/egyptus.html
A lesson plan for high school students about “US Policy toward Egypt: A Dialogue,” this site uses a news clip, op-ed pieces, and an NPR audio file to look at the response of the US to the events in Egypt.

http://www.teachingcitizenship.org.uk/page?p=142
This British site offers a lesson plan (adaptable for various ages) about the Egyptian Revolution from the UK’s Association for Citizenship Teaching. It incorporates news clips and eyewitness accounts.

http://www.aaronshep.com/rt/RTE06.html
A reader’s theater script based on Aaron Shepard’s Middle Eastern fairytale, this idea is suggested for students ages 10-15.

Lesson Plans from the NY Times related to the uprisings in the Middle East