Assess the media's response to the U.S. presence in the Persian Gulf

Overview: Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld signed deployment orders last Friday to send more U.S. troops to the Persian Gulf. These latest deployments will nearly double the size of the force in the region.

After students read "U.S. deploys thousands of additional troops to Persian Gulf" and watch the first segment of CNN Student News (the video can be accessed from CNNStudentNews.com) pose the following questions:

RESOURCES • CNN.com: U.S. doubles forces in Persian Gulf region  • CNN.com: With troops shipping out, inspectors urge patience  • CNN.com: Special: Showdown Iraq

1. Who is Donald Rumsfeld? How many troops did he order into the Persian Gulf region on Friday? How many ships will comprise the U.S. amphibian task force? Why has Rumsfeld increased the number of U.S. troops in the Persian Gulf? What kind of "signal" does the U.S. want to give Iraq? How many U.S. troops will be needed if America goes to war with Iraq?

2. If any of your students have loved ones who have been, or will be, deployed overseas, ask them to share their reactions to the situation with the class. Encourage these students to express their thoughts and feelings about their deployed loved ones in journal entries.

3. Instruct students to keep a class log during the next month of how different local, national and international media respond to the intensified U.S. presence in the Persian Gulf. As a class, have students analyze the logged responses and challenge them to predict:

• the direction U.S. public sentiment will take

• the impact military action might have on President Bush's approval rating

• the degree to which former U.S. allies in the Persian Gulf aid or distance themselves from U.S. action there.

Save students' predictions to compare with final outcomes.