Foreign Policy Research Institute
Ancient History: The Importance of Logistics in Greek & Roman Armies
Before one can understand the military tactics practiced throughout history, he needs to become familiarized with tactics practiced in the ancient past. Learners take a critical look at the military logistics used by Alexander the Great...
Foreign Policy Research Institute
Asian Islam and Arab Islam
Focus on the impact and practice of Islam throughout Asia and the Middle East. Learners review the seven major religions, the spread of Islam, and Islamic tenets commonly practiced. They then research one country that practices Islamic...
Foreign Policy Research Institute
Defining Democracy and Freedom
This is a simple but effective introduction to democracy. It requires the class to generate working definitions of key terms (provided) and to determine the degree of democracy in various geographic locations today. After they conduct...
Foreign Policy Research Institute
Ancient and Medieval China
This is a thorough lesson on Chinese history that includes readings from primary and secondary sources, guided reading questions, videos, and a take-home final assessment. While it indicates an audience from 9th through 12th grade, it...
Foreign Policy Research Institute
Teaching the 9/11 Anniversary
Here is a lesson on terrorism and 9/11. While outdated, it could be easily revised for today's teens. It includes targeted vocabulary, a background information activity, critical thinking questions, and step-by-step procedures for...
Foreign Policy Research Institute
Life in a Totalitarian State
This interesting role-playing activity helps your class understand some of the qualities of totalitarianism by assigning each one as a spy or comrade citizen for a duration of five days. Students should find this highly engaging and...
Foreign Policy Research Institute
The Mind of a Terrorist: A Psychosocial Perspective
What a great way to make a psychology lesson plan on personality development socio-politically relevant! Class members investigate causes of radicalism--specifically, becoming a terrorist. This resource includes background information,...
Foreign Policy Research Institute
Analyzing Regional Conflicts Involving Terrorism
This is a week-long lesson on analyzing the similarities and differences between sources of tension and terrorism in eight locations around the world. The class is divided into eight groups and assigned one of the locations to research....
Foreign Policy Research Institute
Exploring Korea
A thorough and fun lesson on Korea! In groups of four (Social Chair, Historian, Translator, Travel Agent) class members research North and South Korea to determine a good location for an overseas institute for studying abroad. Once this...
Foreign Policy Research Institute
Imperialism, Arab Nationalism and World War I
Continued conflict in the Middle East makes this lesson relevant, and the inclusion of a critique of Lawrence of Arabia might increase student interest in a potentially challenging topic. The resource includes a solid introduction to the...
Foreign Policy Research Institute
Comparing Regimes: Critical Reading of Memoirs and Experiences from Totalitarian Regimes
Can you imagine living in a totalitarian country? Learners will read several primary source memoirs to gain a deeper understanding of what life is like under a controlled government. They'll discuss each piece in pairs, research...
Foreign Policy Research Institute
Intro to China
Understanding the global interconnection between people of other nations is extremely important in our ever-shrinking world. Emergent global thinkers examine the significance of Chinese culture, religion, and political power. They then...
Foreign Policy Research Institute
Democracy Wall
How free are people in the United States, or in the world for that matter? The class reads and compares two articles that discuss levels of freedom enjoyed by different people around the globe. They discuss why some people have more...
Foreign Policy Research Institute
Islam: A Bottom-Up Approach
Islam is often discussed socio-politically rather than spiritually. Here, students read about this religion from primary and secondary sources including the Quran and a world religions book. They learn key terms in the context of the...
Foreign Policy Research Institute
Islamic Civilization in Spain
There may be elements of this lesson that are useful for a unit on Islamic influence in Spain; however, there is little alignment between the learning objectives and the final product --a ten page report. For example, some of the...
Foreign Policy Research Institute
Understanding China: The Prospects for Democracy in China
This document provides useful information for a unit on democracy in China. While it does not include detailed activities, it does have a list of democratic principles, and important facts about China that facilitate understanding of its...
Foreign Policy Research Institute
The Vietnam War (1963-1973) and the Iraq War (2003---): A Comparison
If you are planning a unit on military history that includes a comparison between the Vietnam War and the Iraq War, this resource may be useful. It lists possible sources for pupils to use to complete the graphic organizer which prepares...
Foreign Policy Research Institute
What is Islam and What are the Root Causes of Muslim Anger with the West?
A video and magazine article provide the foundation for learning about Islam and why some Muslims are angry with Western society. In groups, students identify the causes of hostility and prepare a presentation that explains them. While...
Foreign Policy Research Institute
A Geography Lesson
Fewer and fewer people have a strong grasp of world geography, but this activity helps students understand geopolitics by creating their own original historical map. The activity requires selecting a country from the list provided,...
Foreign Policy Research Institute
Categories of Cold War Histiography
While the objective is to provide an overview of the Cold War in preparation for further study, this resource addresses the topic at a rather advanced level, and might need its own introductory lesson. The handouts include terms such as...
Foreign Policy Research Institute
Islam and Islamic Culture
Whether democracy will ever take hold in Islamic nations continues to be a topic of great debate. Here, a series of questions, research, and discussion provide a foundation for class members to come to their own conclusion which they...
Foreign Policy Research Institute
European Muslim Unemployment
Economics students explore the impact of immigration on the economy, along with other aspects of the Muslim migration into Europe. While the lesson may be effective, the PowerPoint on which it is based is not accessible. Nevertheless,...
Foreign Policy Research Institute
Debate: Islam & Democracy
World religion or social studies classes studying Islam may find this debate-based lesson plan useful for exploring Islam and its compatibility with democracy. The final assessment is a five-paragraph persuasive essay. Some information...
Foreign Policy Research Institute
The People's Republic of China
This resource provides a nice framework for students to explore the perceived shift in China's policymaking from the idealogical to the practical. While this lesson plan includes some dated materials (2006 is the most recent news...