• Do you know which countries are in the “European Union”? (What is the European Union … or “EU” sometimes people say…? It is a group of nations which have made certain agreements to help and protect each other and to cooperate economically. For example if you are a citizen of Poland, you can go to Germany and work simply because both countries are members!

• Which countries also have joined the “currency” union? That is: which countries use the “euro” ? Right now:

You can see which countries want to join: those countries are purple and called “candidate” countries. This map is a little old … 2008… but it gives you an idea of which countries the EU includes.

What benefits could joining the EU provide for a country? How about a country whose economy is not very developed? …. Yes, people move between countries a lot!!!!

• This map is easier to read. • Let’s ask each other: What language do they speak in _______ ? People in ____ speak__?• What is that country (which is white/blank) south of Germany and east of France and north of

Italy? Why aren’t they members of the EU?

• What does “liberty” mean?

• American currency often has the words “In God We Trust” written on it. But what about european countries? Let’s try to guess about the percentage of people in european countries which believe in God. Each table should try to guess three: like… “Polish people believe the most. Or Most Italians don’t believe in God.” Then we will look at some statistics from recent surveys done in those countries.

• Do these results surprise you.• Let’s make some comparisons: “Most people in Spain and Portugal believe in God, but

less than half of the people in France do. … or … More people in Italy believe in God than in Sweden.”

Here is a graph that compares the number of people who took the GaoKao versus the number of people who passed it.

Of course, we all know what the gaokao is （高考） 。 Now, over half of the people who take the gaokao pass the test. But 35 years ago (in 1977) only a very small percentage of those who took the exam passed it. Let’s talk about this … Why is there such a big change? Is there something about the test itself that has changed? Let’s discuss this with our partners …..

Which countries in the world have nuclear weapons? Does Brazil have nuclear weapons? Does Japan have nuclear weapons? You can see above a huge explosion from a nuclear bomb. If Japan had nuclear bombs would this make you happy? Why yes? Why no?

Who are those military men above?

Let’s each table try to guess which countries in the world have nuclear weapons ….then we will look at a map with the answers …..

(The green countries have nuclear weapons on their land but they are from the United states, England or France. That means they don’t own or control them.)

We think that Iran almost has nuclear weapons … we suspect that they have the technology but not the bombs. They don’t have missles yet.

Pakistan has nuclear weapons. Does this make you happy? Why yes? Why no? Do you trust them? If some countries have nuclear weapons is it more dangerous? Why?

What are the bright spots on the map? What do they stand for? What do they represent? Let’s try to guess….

We can say “Well… many are in the US and Europe and Japan and a country near Pakistan … what country is related to other countries in this way?

All of the bright white spots on the map are American military bases. Let’s ask our classmates: Why are there so many American military bases in Afghanistan? Why so many in Japan? Germany? England? Is this good for the world? What does it show? Can America really be the “world’s cop”? (The slang word “cop”=police)

I think it’s bad because ___________. I think it’s good because ___________.

You can search for people in China, the US, and other cities/countries …..

You can search for people in China, the US, and other cities/countries …..