• Tools:
• Save |
• Print |
• E-mail |
• Most Popular |

Learning Activity: Examining the United Nations

Adjust font size:

(CNN Student News) -- Students will evaluate U.N. activities in the areas of peace and security, economic and social development, human rights, humanitarian activities and international law.

Procedure

Distribute to students the CNN Student News Extra!: United Nations, and have them discuss the objectives of the U.N. as outlined in its charter. Then, share the following quotation from U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

"Whether our challenge is peacemaking, nation-building, democratization or responding to natural or man-made disasters, we have seen that even the strongest among us cannot succeed alone."

As a class, discuss Mr. Annan's quotation in the context of what students know about the history of the U.N., the organization's goals and how these goals have evolved from the founding of the organization in 1945 to today. Organize students into five groups, with each group representing one of the following "subject areas" on the U.N. agenda:

Refer students to the U.N. Web site and to other online and print materials, and have each group conduct research on its assigned U.N. subject area. Challenge groups to list the types of activities that the U.N. does to advance its objectives, and have students select at least three examples to illustrate the U.N.'s activities in their assigned subject areas. For example, in the subject area of humanitarian activities, students might examine the U.N.'s involvement with landmines, child soldiers and refugees. As a class, analyze the results of the groups' findings. Ask students:

Correlated Standards

Historical Understanding

Standard 2: Understands the historical perspective

Benchmark 5: Understands that the consequences of human intentions are influenced by the means of carrying them out.

World History

Standard 44: Understands the search for community, stability and peace in an interdependent world.

Benchmark 10: Understands the effectiveness of United Nations programs (e.g., improvements in health and welfare, whether U.N. programs have been cost-effective, whether programs fulfilled the purpose for which they were created, reasons for economic and arms embargoes sponsored by U.N. resolutions and the political and economic consequences for the sanctioned countries)

Civics

Standard 22: Understands how the world is organized politically into nation-states, how nation-states interact with one another, and issues surrounding U.S. foreign policy.

Benchmark 10: Understands the purposes and functions of major governmental international organizations such as the Organization of American States and major non-governmental international organizations such as the Roman Catholic Church and multinational corporations

Benchmark 11: Understands the role of the United States in establishing and maintaining principal international organizations (e.g., U.N., UNICEF, GATT, NATO, OAS, World Bank, International Monetary Fund)

McREL: Content Knowledge: A Compendium of Standards and Benchmarks for K-12 Education (Copyright 2000 McREL) is published online by Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) (http://www.mcrel.org/standards-benchmarks ), 2550 S. Parker Road, Suite 500, Aurora, CO 80014.

Keywords

United Nations, mediate, disputes, peacemaking, democratization, Kofi Annan, refugee, Security Council, genocide, Darfur, Sudan, General Assembly

Passenger ignites device on plane landing in U.S. A passenger on an international flight bound for the United States Friday ignited a small explosive device shortly before landing in a move the White House ...

---

• Explosive device set off aboard airliner
• Charlie Sheen arrested in domestic dispute
• Passengers: Panic, confusion aboard plane
• Boeing's 787, as innovative inside as outside
• Storm continues to wallop central U.S.

• Charlie Sheen charged with assault
• Deadly snowstorm buries central U.S.
• Video said to show captured U.S. soldier
• Military drops pregnancy ban in Iraq
• Where Christmas is smuggled in

• Talkin' 'Icky Thump' blues (1:40)
• 'Why you treat yourself bad?' (3:15)
• Soviet culture returns (3:47)
• Unseemly rap lyrics targeted (3:29)
• Now In The News