Covers U.S. foreign relations and foreign policy and U.S. involvement in international organizations.
The United States and World Affairs unit contains 5 learning experiences.
Learning Experiences (Lessons) in The United States and World Affairs Each learning experience takes about 45 minutes to teach in the device-enabled classroom.
What Is Foreign Policy?
Students learn about the differences between domestic policy and foreign policy. Then they examine the military and diplomatic powers of the president and of Congress. Next they analyze five main goals of foreign policy. Finally students evaluate the foreign policy and the domestic issues of a historic scenario.
The United States and International Organizations
Students learn about the general role of various types of international organizations. Then they research a specific organization. Finally they reflect on the United States as a superpower and how that status influences its responsibility as a global leader.
History of U.S. Foreign Policy
Students view a list of recent military conflicts and predict in which ones the United States were involved. Then they trace how the United States adopted non-intervention as its main foreign policy through the nineteenth century. Next they analyze the shift to interventionism during World War II and the Cold War. Finally students draw a continuum from isolationism to interventionist superpower and locate four events on the line.
Current Trends in U.S. Foreign Policy
Students create a What We Know chart about the 9/11 attacks. Then they learn about the U.S. response to the attacks and the War on Terror. Next they explore Donald Trump’s policy of neo-isolationism and write an op-ed article evaluating changes in foreign policy. Finally they research a private American citizen who won a Nobel Peace Prize for work in an international organization.
