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The European Union & Population DilemmasBy: Nathan Willis

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Table of ContentsTitle page: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Page 1

Table of Contents: --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Context Analysis: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Pages 3-5

Rationale: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 6

Concept Map: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 7

Content Outline: ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pages 8-9

Unit Standards/Benchmarks: ------------------------------------------------------ Pages 10-12

Unit Objectives: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Pages 13-14

Pre-Assessment: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Pages 15-18

Unit Framework: --------------------------------------------------------------------- Pages 19-20

Daily Lessons: ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Pages 21-100

Culminating Activity: ------------------------------------------------------------ Pages 101-108

Student Learning Analysis: ----------------------------------------------------- Pages 109-120

Unit and Self-Reflections: ------------------------------------------------------- Pages 121-124

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Saline Middle School Context AnalysisSchool Community and Classroom Make Up:

The community of Saline contains eight different schools. The lowest level is an

early childhood building called Houghton, which houses early childhood classes, pre-

school, and kindergarten. There are three buildings that contain the elementary levels first

through fourth grades: Harvest, Pleasant Ridge, and Woodland. Following them is one

fifth and sixth grade building, which is called Heritage. Saline Middle School, which is

where my student teaching experience is taking place, contains grades seventh and

eighth. The newly constructed Saline High School contains grades ninth through twelfth.

There is also another school, Union, which is used as an alternative education building.

The class I have been student teaching in is quite unique compared to the other

rooms in the building, because we have one of the two smallest classrooms in the school.

We do, however, have 11 tables that can seat up to 3-4 students each. With such a small

classroom, at certain times during the week we share a large middle room, which serves

both our and Mrs. Nelson’s Language Arts classes. This room contains a large couch,

beanbag chairs, and about 12-13 tables for students to sit at. Our class does not use the

furniture in the back of the room, nor do we take books off of Mrs. Nelson’s bookshelf.

We are fortunate enough to have an EPSON projector, not only in our main room, but in

this large room as well. The projector is also connected to a shared computer, which can

print documents in either Mrs. Erby’s or Mrs. Nelson’s rooms.

Mrs. Erby’s class again is one of the smallest rooms in the school, which makes it

hard at times with the sizes of our classes. Upon entering the room there are about 11 or

12 tables, which can seat 3-4 students comfortably. To the left are large bookshelves,

which contain: the student’s in-bins, graded assignments wrack, our extra textbooks, and

paper. The computer for the classroom sits next to the bookshelf, with a printer to its side.

The other two items, which sit at the back of the classroom, are the EPSON projection

screen and my desk. Coming around the room clockwise, you will then encounter a small

whiteboard, which is used as a large calendar, for the students to see what is due or what

we will be doing in class each day. Moving around the walls you would notice there are

also smaller bookshelves containing the students textbooks and geo-journals. At the front

of the class, tucked in the corner, is Mrs. Erby’s desk. Lining the entire front wall is the

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main whiteboard, which is also used for student’s informational needs. We are very lucky

to have the supplies in these two rooms to use for our student teaching experience.

Community, School, and Classroom Demographics:

The City of Saline has a population of 8,034 people with 53.6% of that population

being female and the remaining 46.4% male. An appealing fact about this community is

that 74% of people that are over the age of sixteen are in the workforce. This number

includes all the high school students who do not work, along with all the retired citizens.

Another fascinating fact about this community is that 517 people speak a language other

than English in their home. This could mean that many students are exposed to different

cultures daily, which will be interesting to see if those students do better in class. Two

major factors looked at were age and race: 7.4% of Saline citizens are under the age of

five, while 71.4% are over the age of eighteen. Taking a look at race Caucasians

dominate the population with 95.2% of Saline citizens being Caucasian, which leaves the

remaining groups of: 1.9% Asian, 1.7% Hispanic, 0.6% African American, 0.3% Native

American, and 0.3% of other races. Compared to neighboring towns, the amount of

African American residents is dramatically lower than in other towns.

(http://fact.finder.census.gov)

Saline Middle School is made up of 902 students that are in the seventh and

eighth grades, with an average class size of thirty-one students. (www.salineschools.com)

There were commonalities found between the community of Saline and our Middle

School when it came to demographics: 92% of the students are Caucasian (compared to

the state average of 71%). Next, 4% of the school is made up of Asian students

(compared to the state average of 2%). The state average of African American students is

20%, and Saline only has 2%, followed by Hispanic students with 2% of the student body

(compared to the state average of 5%), which leaves less than 1% of other races. The

number of students eligible for free or reduced lunches in our state was 37% of the

school’s student body. But, here at Saline Middle School we only have 5% eligible.

(www.greatschools.net) Saline Middle School’s students come mostly from higher

income homes, which may affect the way students do in school.

Taking a look over all of the demographics led to our own classroom setting.

There are four sections of seventh grade Social Studies with a total of 113 students, 56

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http://www.greatschools.net/

http://www.salineschools.com/

female and 57 male. 12 of the 113 students are also on a special education caseload,

which in the first hour class we have 9 of those 12. Out of the 113 students, 92 are

Caucasian, which is 81% of my students. There are 5 African American students, as well

as 5 Hispanic students both accounting for about 4% of the classes. Next to Caucasian,

the highest racial group would be Asian, with 7 students. There are also a variety of

other races in these classes with 4 students being Middle Eastern.

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RationaleWhy are you teaching this unit? Why would students want to learn this?

There were several options for me to choose from during my student teaching

process ranging from a unit on maps and mapping, to a one where we would go back in

time to learn about some of the world’s most ancient civilizations. One of the options

stood out above the rest, which was a unit where the students would begin to take a look

at Europe and the European Union and population dilemmas. Within this unit lies

Chapters 14 (Supranational Cooperation in the European Union) and 15 (Population

Dilemmas in Europe), both of which I thought could be easily tied together into one large

unit. Having a background in geographic studies in college, especially European

geography, it made the decision more concrete.

Cooperation was chosen as the theme of the unit, and the tying force between the

two chapters. For years past the students have been learning about North, South, and

Latin America, and the different forces in all of the different countries including

economic, political, and cultural. Many students have a very limited view of what Europe

even consists of, let alone knowing about the European Union or the population

dilemmas they are having. It is always delightful teaching information, for some students,

which is completely foreign to them.

As said above, most of the students are learning about Europe for the first time in

their lives. Some of them may have heard about the more popular Western European

countries, for example France and England, but have never heard of countries like

Hungary and Estonia. The basis for the unit was for the students to have some kind of

stake in what they were learning, therefore, the students were each assigned a country

from the current EU 27. The unit consists of a variety of different teaching methods and

activities, which will engage the students in a thought provoking way, for example our

final culminating activity the Model EU Conference.

The ultimate decision was made based on a combination of my strong background

of knowledge, and the student’s unfamiliarity with the topics we will be discussing in this

unit. The unit will hopefully bring thoughtfulness and reflection, and a continued want to

learn more about Europe, the European Union, and their populations.

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Concept Map

Centripetal ForcesCentrifugal Forces

Supranational CooperationTotal Fertility RatesReplacement Rate

Thinking GloballyMaking DecisionsDiscussing Issues

Sharing IdeasWorking on Differences

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Content OutlineChapter 14: Supranational Cooperation in the European UnionEssential Question –What forces work for and against supranational cooperation among nations?

Centripetal Forces:o A force that unites people and countries

War, tariffs, etc. Centrifugal Forces:

o A force that divides people and countries Common market, removing trade barriers, etc.

Economic Cooperation:o Uniting Forces:

Common currency, the euro Trade bloc Shared economic goals

o Dividing Forces: Allocating monies Wealth/job differences (Eastern & Western Europe) Euro issues (non-adoption)

Political Cooperation:o Uniting Forces:

Work toward shared problems Think of themselves as citizens of Europe Directly elect their representatives Speaking with one voice

o Dividing Forces: Giving up some power The growing size European citizenship

Cultural Cooperation:o Uniting Forces:

Common European cultural identity Recognizing diversity of member nations Supports cultural programs Making travel easier

o Dividing Forces: Many different languages spoken National pride Competition and rivalry Cultural traditions (e.g. food)

Chapter 15: Population Dilemmas in EuropeEssential Question –How do population trends affect a country’s future?

Demography:

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o The study of human populations, including how they change due to births, deaths, aging, and migration.

Replacement rate:o The total fertility rate needed for a population to replace itself. This

number varies by country, but is about 2.1 in most developed countries.

A shrinking population:o Causes:

Total fertility rates Put off having children Childcare expenses Women’s education

o Problems: Fewer schools, and fewer teachers Loss of jobs/ less workers Closing of businesses

o Responses: Cash incentives for having babies

For each baby born Family-friendly policies for parents

Longer leave terms An aging population:

o Causes: The baby boom of the 1950’s and 60’s

An era where many babies were born Generation is now at retirement age

The rise in life expectancy Living past the age of 80

o Problems: Pensions (like our social security) Healthcare systems

o Responses: Dealing with pension costs Providing Health Care

A declining workforce:o Causes:

More workers leaving the workforce then entering Baby boomers are beginning to retire (compound)

o Problems: Closing businesses Less number of highly skilled workers Amount of taxes paid into the government system

o Responses: Finding more workers in Europe Looking for workers outside of Europe

Model EU Conference

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Unit Standards/BenchmarksG1.2 Geographical Inquiry and Analysis:

Use geographic inquiry and analysis to answer important questions about relationships

between people, cultures, their environment, and relations within the larger world

context.

Geographers use information and skills to reach conclusions about significant questions

regarding the relationships between people, their cultures, the environments in which

they live, and the relationships within the larger world context. Students will reach their

own conclusions using this information and make a reasoned judgment about the most

justifiable conclusion based on the authenticity of the information, their skill at critically

analyzing and synthesizing the information, and presenting the results of the inquiry.

7 – G1.2.1: Locate the major landforms, rivers and climate regions of the Eastern

Hemisphere.

7 – G1.2.6: Apply the skills of geographic inquiry (asking geographic questions,

acquiring geographic information, organizing geographic information, analyzing

geographic information, and answering geographic questions) to analyze a problem or

issue of importance to a region of the Eastern

Hemisphere.

G2.2 Human Characteristics of Place:

Describe the human characteristics of places.

7 – G2.2.1: Describe the human characteristics of the region under study (including

languages, religion, economic system, governmental system, cultural traditions).

G4.4 Forces of Cooperation and Conflict:

Explain how forces of conflict and cooperation among people influence the division and

control of the Earth’s surface.

Forces of cooperation and conflict divide Earth’s space and involve the control of land,

resources, strategic routes, and domination of other peoples.

7 – G4.4.1: Identify and explain factors that contribute to conflict and cooperation

between and among cultural groups (e.g., natural resources, power, culture, wealth).

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7 – G4.4.2: Describe examples of cooperation and conflict within the European

Union (e.g., European Parliament, Euro as currency in some countries but not others,

open migration within the European Union, free trade, and cultural impacts such as a

multi-lingual population).

C4.3 Conflict and Cooperation Between and Among Nations:

Explain the various ways that nations interact both positively and negatively.

Governmental and nongovernmental organizations provide avenues through which

nation-states can interact and attempt to manage their affairs and conflicts peacefully.

7 – C4.3.1: Explain how governments address national issues and form policies,

and how the policies may not be consistent with those of other countries (e.g., population

pressures in China compared to Sweden; international immigration quotas, international

aid, energy needs for natural gas and oil and military aid).

7 – C4.3.2: Explain the challenges to governments and the cooperation needed to

address international issues (e.g., migration and human rights).

7 – C4.3.3: Explain why governments belong to different types of international and

regional organizations (e.g., United Nations (UN), North Atlantic Treaty Organization

(NATO), Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), European Union

(EU), and African Union (AU), G-8 countries (leading economic/political)).

E2.3 Role of Government:

Describe how national governments make decisions that affect the national economy.

Governmental decisions on taxation, spending, protections, and regulation affect the

national economy.

7 – E2.3.1: Explain how national governments make decisions that impact both that

country and other countries that use its resources (e.g., sanctions and tariffs enacted by a

national government to prevent imports, most favored trade agreements, the impact China

is having on the global economy and the U.S. economy in particular).

P3.1 Identifying and Analyzing Issues, Decision Making, Persuasive Communication

About a Public Issue, and Citizen Involvement

7 – P3.1.1: Clearly state an issue as a question or public policy, trace the origins of

an issue, analyze and synthesize various perspectives, and generate and evaluate

alternative resolutions. Deeply examine policy issues in-group discussions and debates to

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make reasoned and informed decisions. Write persuasive/argumentative essays

expressing and justifying decisions on public policy issues. Plan and conduct activities

intended to advance views on matters of public policy, report the results, and evaluate

effectiveness.

• Identify public policy issues related to global topics and issues studied.

• Clearly state the issue as a question of public policy orally or in written form.

• Use inquiry methods to acquire content knowledge and appropriate data about the issue.

• Identify the causes and consequences and analyze the impact, both positive and

negative.

• Share and discuss findings of research and issue analysis in group discussions and

debates.

• Compose a persuasive essay justifying the position with a reasoned argument.

• Develop an action plan to address or inform others about the issue at the local to global

scales.

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Unit ObjectivesGoals/ Objectives:

Students will:

Week 1:

Discuss why it is important for countries to cooperate

Define what supranational cooperation is

Create a list of ways in which countries can work together to solve a common

problem

Discuss and analyze the essential question for the chapter

List possible economic and political forces, which may either unite or divide the

European Union

Label the physical geography of Europe and Russia

Read about and identify key characteristics of the region’s physical geography

Week 2:

Share what their family culture is, and the cultures who reside in their EU country

List ways in which cultural cooperation can either unite or divide the EU

Describe ways in which their EU countries think globally

List and explain reasons why international cooperation is important

Show at least 3 pieces of research they found for the Culminating Activity

Assemble Student-Led Conference Folders with this trimesters work

Week 3:

List the forces that unite or divide the EU according to chapter 14

Answer the essential question for chapter 14 in an essay exam

Lead parents through student-led conference folders, and gathered work

Construct mini-project for their EU country for our culminating activity

List reasons why Europe is experiencing population dilemmas

Explain the importance of learning about population dilemmas

Create a link between what we are learning in this section to our projects

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Week 4:

Turn in 3 assignments: Population Dilemmas Question Packet, Diplomatic

Statements, and Mini-Projects

Role-Play peoples who’s lives have been affected by population change

Discuss ways other people can be affected by population change

Represent their countries in a Model EU Conference

Propose a common position on population dilemmas to deliberate

Deliberate the common position, and propose changes

Negotiate with fellow classmates to discuss the issue

Vote on the common proposal presented

Discuss and explain what they have learned overall in this unit

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Pre-Assessment Process Chapter 14 Pre-Assessment:

The pre-assessment for chapter 14 took place on Monday, November 16th, and

included the students in all of the hours 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 5th. The assessment was taken

from the final exam given in the Geography Alive materials. The test consists of 8

multiple choice questions, each containing a varying difficulty level, and also has 4 small

answer questions where the students are to apply geography skills by analyzing a political

cartogram of the EU. In this case the students were able to work in pairs or small groups

of three, but some chose to work on the assessment alone. The test was not to be graded,

but was used to see if the students had some prior knowledge of the material. The

assessment process breaks down as follows:

The teacher should explain to the students that this is just a pre-assessment, and

will not be graded (participation grade).

The teacher will then allow the students to work together in pairs, or in small

groups of three

The assessment will then be administered by the teacher to the students, and the

teacher should inform students not to be disruptive

The students will be given the last part of the class period to finish the pre-

assessment, if they do not finish, the teacher will collect what they have done

After the students have finished the test, the teacher will collect them

A sample from the 4th hour class is given below, along with the rubric. The students

names are crossed out for liability reasons.

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Unit Daily Framework

November/December Calendar 2009Monday 16th Tuesday 17th Wednesday 18th Thursday 19th Friday 20th

Unit Introduction: Chapters 14 &

15 Country

Assignments imovie Student-Teacher

Discussion Pre-Assessment

Chapter 14

Chapter 14:Beginning of the culminating activity:Computer Lab What is

supranational cooperation?

How will we work together to solve a problem?

Sections 14.1 & 14.2- Introduction & The Geographic Setting: European Union

Cartogram & Discussion

Essential Question

Geoterms & Workbook Page

Section 14.3- Economic Cooperation in the EU: Economic Forces

that unite & divide the EU

Analyzing the Euro Political Cartoon

Workbook Page

Section 14.4-Political Cooperation: Is your country

properly represented in the EU? Discussion

Political Forces that Unite & Divide the EU

Workbook Page

Monday 23rd Tuesday 24th Wednesday 25th Thursday 26th Friday 27th Section 14.5 –Cultural Cooperation in the EU: Student Culture

Sharing (full hour)

Section 14.5 –Cultural Cooperation in the EU: Re-cap Section

14.4 Cultural

uniting and dividing factors

Student-Led Conference Folders

Sections 14.6 7 14.7 –Beginning to Think Globally: No 5th Hour:

Hands on Museum in gymnasium

How do we think globally?

Europe Trivia Game

ThanksgivingRecess

ThanksgivingRecess

Monday 30th Tuesday 1st Wednesday 2nd Thursday 3rd Friday 4th Chapter 14 Review: Sections 14.1-

14.5 Student-Led

Conferences ½ Day Students

Chapter14 Test: On sections

14.1-14.5 Answer

Essential Question

Student-Led Conferences

No School

Chapter 15: Population Dilemmas in Europe Finish Chapter

14 Test EU Discussion

& Mini-Project Population

Chapter 15: Population

dilemmas reading activity

Condensed Overview: Sections 15.3-15.5

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½ Day Students

Pyramids Activity

EU Conference discussion

Monday 7th Tuesday 8th Wednesday 9th Thursday 10th Friday 11th Chapter 15: Population

Dilemmas Role-Play Activity

Class discussion on Model EU

Due: 3 assignments

Final Day of Unit: Culminating

Activity: Model EU Conference

Diplomatic Statements

Conference Discussion

EU Summary Sheet

Phase Out Phase Out Final Day of Student Teaching

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Week 1 Daily Lessons & ScheduleSummary:

For the next week the students will be beginning to take a look at Chapter 14,

titled Supranational Cooperation in the European Union. The week will consist of a

chapter introduction, followed sequentially by the following sections (14.1-14.4), which

will be introducing the students to the multiple types of cooperation, which may unite or

divide the different countries of the EU. The four sections we will be discussing this

week will be: the Introduction and The Geographic Setting (14.1 & 14.2); Economic

Cooperation: Forces that unite & divide the EU (14.3); and Political Cooperation:

Forces that unite & divide the EU (14.4). Activities for the week will include: Student-

Teacher Discussion Groups, Computer Lab (culminating activity), European Union

Cartogram, EU Political Cartoon Analysis, and Mapping Lab #1.

The weekly schedule is as follows:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday FridayUnit Introduction: Chapters 14 &

15 Country

Assignments imovie Student-Teacher

Discussion Pre-Assessment

Chapter 14

Chapter 14:Beginning of the culminating activity:Computer Lab What is

supranational cooperation?

How will we work together to solve a problem?

Sections 14.1 & 14.2- Introduction & The Geographic Setting: European Union

Cartogram & Discussion

Essential Question

Geoterms & Workbook Page

Section 14.3- Economic Cooperation in the EU: Economic Forces

that unite & divide the EU

Analyzing the Euro Political Cartoon

Workbook Page

Section 14.4-Political Cooperation: Is your country

properly represented in the EU? Discussion

Political Forces that Unite & Divide the EU

Workbook Page

Goals/ Objectives:

Students will:

Discuss why it is important for countries to cooperate

Define what supranational cooperation is

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Create a list of ways in which countries can work together to solve a common

problem

Discuss and analyze the essential question for the chapter

List possible economic and political forces, which may either unite or divide the

European Union

Label the physical geography of Europe and Russia

Read about and identify key characteristics of the region’s physical geography

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Lesson 1/ Monday, November 16 th Goals/ Objectives:

Students will:

List possible examples in which people would cooperate toward a common goal

Self-define: What is cooperation?

Discuss and explain why it is important for countries to work together

Standards and Benchmarks:

G5.2 Physical and Human Systems:

Describe how physical and human systems shape patterns on the Earth’s surface.

7 – G5.2.1: Describe the effects that a change in the physical environment could

have on human activities and the choices people would have to make in adjusting to the

change (e.g., drought in Africa, pollution from volcanic eruptions in Indonesia,

earthquakes in Turkey, and flooding in Bangladesh).








Anticipatory Set:

Today we will be taking a look at what the next two units we will be covering

(The European Union & Population Dilemmas). The room will be set up to represent the

European Parliament, with each seat containing a name placard, which will have their

name, and the country they will be representing for the two units. We will then watch an

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imovie, which is a fun way to show all of the material we will be covering for these next

two chapters. The model EU and the imovie both serve as the anticipatory set for today

and for the two units. We will be acting as a Model European Union throughout the two

units, discussing why it is important for these countries to use cooperation to come to a

compromise. The Mode EU will also be tied to the culminating activity on the last day of

the chapter on Population Dilemmas. These two portions of the class should get the

students excited about learning about Europe, because it gives them more initiative to be

part of lesson (each being a country in the EU).

Materials:

Country Placards

Imovie

Pre-Assessment Chapter 14

Pre-Assessment Key

Pencil or Pen and Paper

Time Line:

We have a 70-minute class period. The approximate time breakdown is:

5-10 min. –country designation & Introduction

10-15 min. –Imovie presentation

15-20 min. –Teacher-Student discussion group

20-25 min. –Chapter 14 Pre-Assessment

Methods/ Strategies:

Today we will be starting our unit on Chapters 14 (the European Union) and 15

(Europe’s Population Dilemmas). Today is going to be used as a broad anticipatory set

connecting the two chapters we will be discussing in this unit, as well as a pre-assessment

for Chapter 14. The agenda for the day is as follows:

Country Designation & Introduction:

The students will come into the classroom and they will see the tables are not in

their normal positions. Before class the desks will be placed in a U-formation to represent

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the European Parliament. At each table there will be 2-3 country placards, which again

have each student’s name, country, and the national flag. The students will be given time

to find their countries and get situated once class has begun. (Note: students will be

sitting next to those who joined the EU at the same time; student’s who are

disruptive or seats do not work, will be moved). There will then be a brief introduction

to the day (the daily agenda), which will be also written on the board for the students to

see.

Students will sit behind the countries they have been assigned to

Students will state their names, and the country they will be representing once

they are seated. This will give the students a chance to become briefly acquainted

with the 27 countries of the European Union

We will then go over the agenda for the day

Introduce the two chapters in the unit; describe Chapters 14 & 15 briefly

(The daily agenda will be put up on the board each day for the students to see)

Imovie:

The students will then be watching an Imovie about Chapters 14 & 15. The movie

will be a fun way for students to see what they will learn about in the next few weeks, in

just a matter of minutes. The Imovie will consist of:

Chapter 14 –European Union, centripetal and centrifugal forces, 27 countries of

the EU, EU cooperation, and the other remaining countries of Europe

Chapter 15 –Europe’s Population Dilemmas, population pyramids (rapid, slow,

and negative growth), fertility-rates, demographic transition model, birth control,

female literacy

Fun little excerpts of the teacher talking

Student-Teacher Discussion Group:

After we have watched the small Imovie, we will then come together as a group to

discuss what the basis of these two chapters will be about. The next two chapters will be

centered around the cooperation of the 27 countries of the European Union; ways in

which particular ideas can either unite or divide them, and ways to come to a compromise

for a common goal. The discussion will proceed as follows:

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What do you think of when you hear the word cooperation? How would you

define cooperation (self-definition)? Is any one of these definitions better than the

other?

Give a list of possible examples where people, groups, or countries have to

cooperate together toward a common goal. Does everyone always have the same

ideas or opinion of what should happen in these cases? How could you solve these

differences?

Explain why you think it is important for countries to cooperate?

Chapter 14 Pre-Assessment:

After we have finished the discussion the students will spend the remainder of the

hour on their Chapter 14 pre-assessment. The assessment will allow the teacher to see if

the students understand some of the content, which you will be going over in this chapter.

(Make sure the students understand this will just be an informal assessment, and they will

not be graded on it). The assessment will consist of two main components:

Multiple Choice and Applying Geography Skills: Analyzing a Cartogram: The

students will work in pairs to complete this portion of the pre-assessment

Map of Europe: The students will work alone for this portion of the pre-

assessment, filling out a blank map of Europe (the countries) to the best of their

abilities

Both portions of the pre-assessment will be handed in at the end of class. Again the

assessment will allow the teacher to improve instruction for chapter 14. There will be no

homework for the students today.

Assessment:

There will be two forms of informal assessment for the day. The student-teacher

discussion group is to be used to see if the students understand what cooperation is, and

how it is important both individually and as a group to work together for a common

cause. The pre-assessment is to be used as a method to observe the prior knowledge the

students have about Europe.

Wrap Up:

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Before the students leave, the teacher will give a brief summary of what we had

accomplished that day. We will go step-by-step through the daily agenda, and then it will

be open for any questions the students may have. We will then go over briefly what to be

ready for tomorrow, and what they will need. The students will be dismissed once we

have finished.

Adaptations for Diversity:

Group Discussion on cooperation (small & full group discussions)

Chapter 14 Pre-Assessment (group & individual work)

Imovie (for visual learners)

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Lesson 2/ Tuesday, November 17 th Goals/ Objectives:

Students will:

List examples of supranational cooperation

State reasons why cooperation between countries is important

Examine the types of barriers your countries could encounter as part of the EU

Begin to perform research on the topic of population change in Europe


G1.2 Geographical Inquiry and Analysis:



context.










issue of importance to a region of the Eastern Hemisphere.






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7 – G4.4.1: Identify and explain factors that contribute to conflict and

cooperation between and among cultural groups (e.g., natural resources, power, culture,

wealth).

G6.1 Public Discourse, Decision Making, and Citizen Involvement (P3, P4):

Capstone projects require the student to use geography, history, economics, and

government to inquire about major contemporary and historical issues and events linked

to the world outside the classroom. The core disciplines are used to interpret the past and

plan for the future. During the school year the students will complete at least three

capstone projects. (National Geography Standards 17 and 18, p. 179 and 181)

7 – G6.1.1: Contemporary Investigations – Conduct research on contemporary

global topics and issues, compose persuasive essays, and develop a plan for action.

(H1.4.3, G1.2.6, See P3 and P4)

Anticipatory Set:

For the next two chapters the reoccurring theme will be cooperation between the

27 countries of the European Union. Chapter 14 is about the forces, which may unite and

divide the EU; and Chapter 15 is about population dilemmas Europe is currently facing.

Although some of the countries are experiencing a slow to negative population growth

(much of Eastern Europe), there are still some countries that are growing steadily.

Today we will be spending the entire hour in the computer lab getting ready for

our culminating activity at the end of chapter 15, which will be a mock EU session. The

students will from today forth be researching ways in which each of their countries are

affected by either population growth or decline. At the Model EU Session the students

will be working together using the research they have gathered on how population has

affected each of their countries, and come up with ways they can curb these effects by

cooperation. To get the student’s ready for the computer lab we will be discussing:

What is supranational cooperation?

Why is it important for the countries of the EU to cooperate?

What barriers could these countries encounter along the way?

Materials:

----------------------------------------2929----------------------------------------

Guiding Question Sheet

Pen or Pencil and Paper

Computer (lab, library, & home)

Helpful Websites (handout & Moodle)

EU Country Folder

Time Line:

We have a 70-minute class period. The time breakdown is as follows:

15-20 min. –Class discussion, and daily agenda details

45-50 min. –Student research for culminating activity


Brief Summary of Culminating Activity and Research:

Today we will be starting our research for our final culminating activity, which

will take place at the end of Chapter 15. The students will be beginning to conduct

research on their individual countries, answering a series of questions, which will guide

them through the process. This will be the only day the students will have in class to

work on this however, so most of their research will have to be done either at home or the

local library. To help students out the helpful websites and guided questions sheet will be

posted on our Moodle page. By the end of our unit students should be experts on their

country, and have gathered enough information to share in the Model EU Session. The

session will serve, as both the culminating activity and assessment for the two chapters,

therefore, there will be checkpoints throughout the unit to see where students are on their

research.

Class discussion & Daily Agenda:

We will be beginning the class today with a quick run down of the days events,

and what will be expected of the students during this time. (Give time for any questions

students may have, or concerns). Directions for the computer lab include:

Start your research as soon as you get logged onto your computer

Stay on task; remember this is the only class period we will be spending in the

computer lab, so there will be no room for fooling around

----------------------------------------3030----------------------------------------

Use only the helpful websites given to you; students may choose to use different

websites to conduct their research at home or library

Use the Guiding Questions sheet to conduct your research; this will help them

gather information on their country much more efficiently

After we have finished going over our daily agenda, we will then start our brief

discussion on supranational cooperation (the definition will be given on the board). The

discussion will be structured as follows:

Go over the definition of supranational cooperation, which will be placed on the

board: a form of international cooperation in which countries give up some

control of their affairs as they work together to achieve shared goals. What are

they talking about when it says, “give up control of their affairs”? What could be

some shared goals your countries have?

Why is important for the 27 different member countries to cooperate towards

these shared goals?

What could be some possible barriers your country could have during this process

of supranational cooperation?

Student Research for Culminating Activity:

After we have had our brief discussion on what we will be doing today, along

with our discussion on supranational cooperation, we will head down to the computer lab

for the remainder of the hour. The students will each have their own computers to work

on during this time, and will each be handed one of the guided question sheets prior to

entering the computer lab. The directions for the assignment have already been given,

and they will be stated again on their guiding question sheets as well. The teacher should

be looking for the following while the students are researching:

Students should be on task: make sure all students are on the proper websites

designated for this activity

Check for understanding: Move around the room to answer any questions the

students may have

Use the guided questions sheet: Make sure the students are using the guided

question sheet properly (this will be handed in at the conclusion of our unit)

----------------------------------------3131----------------------------------------

Before the time has expired in the computer lab restate what is expected out of the

students. Explain how this is a continuing project throughout the unit, thus, they will be

checked up on periodically.

Assessment:

Today the teacher will be checking for understanding throughout the course of the

day. The discussion is to prepare the students for the chapters to come, and get them

focused on the topic of cooperation. During the discussion the teacher should be making

sure all students are participating, as to know they are all on the same page. The second

form of assessment is the guided questions sheet, which will be a continuing assessment

of the student’s research on the topic of population dilemmas in Europe. The guided

question sheet will be brought in periodically to be checked over to make sure students

are making progress, and understanding what has been asked of them. They will be

turning this in along with other portions of the culminating activity at the end of this unit.

Wrap Up:

The wrap up to the class period will take place while the students are still in the

computer lab. We will again go over what is expected from this assignment, and how it is

important for them to continue their research on their own. The teacher will then be open

for any questions and/or concerns the students may have about all that is required of

them.


Class Discussion

Guided question sheet

----------------------------------------3232----------------------------------------

Lesson 3/ Wednesday, November 18 th Goals/ Objectives:

Students will:

Locate their EU country on a cartogram map of Europe

Define what a cartogram is, and list the different types of information they may

show

Discuss the ways in which the cartogram of Europe is similar and/or different

than other maps we have seen in the past

Explain how countries of the EU can have shared goals, but remain separate

Discuss examples of barriers the EU may face, and factors which may break these

barriers

List and define the following terms: centrifugal force, centripetal force, common

market, and supranational cooperation (defined in lesson 2)


G1.1 Spatial Thinking:

Use maps and other geographic tools to acquire and process information from a spatial

perspective.

Geographer’s use published maps, sketch (mental) maps, and other geographic

representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, organize, process, and report

information from a spatial perspective. World maps made for specific purposes

(population distribution, climate patterns, vegetation patterns) are used to explain the

importance of maps in presenting information that can be compared, contrasted, and

examined to answer the questions “Where is something located?” and “Why is it located

there?” Students will begin with global scale and then refocus the scale to study the

region of the Eastern Hemisphere, and, finally, focus on a specific place.

7 – G1.1.1: Explain and use a variety of maps, globes, and web based geography

technology to study the world, including global, interregional, regional, and local scales

----------------------------------------3333----------------------------------------

G1.3 Geographical Understanding:

Use geographic themes, knowledge about processes and concepts to study the Earth.

The nature and uses of geography as a discipline and the spatial perspective require that

students observe, interpret, assess, and apply geographic information and skills. The uses

of the subject and content of geography are essential in the development of geographical

understanding. A spatial perspective enables students to observe, describe, and analyze

the organizations of people, places, and environments at different scales and is central to

geographic literacy.

7 – G1.3.3: Explain the different ways in which places are connected and how

those connections demonstrate interdependence and accessibility.












Anticipatory Set:

European Union Cartogram:

The anticipatory set for the day will take place in room 206 to give us a little more

room to work with. The day before I will have set up a large cartogram on the floor,

which is depicting representation per country in the European Parliament. Our Geography

Alive books are a little outdated on this material about the European Union, with two

more countries being added in 2007 (Romania & Bulgaria), making 27 countries in all.

We will leave the cartogram blank, because we will be going over it as a class the next

day. This activity will also help the students know where their countries are in relation to

----------------------------------------3434----------------------------------------

other students in the class, and in Europe. Most of the students only know about the

major countries of Western Europe (e.g. the United Kingdom, France, Spain, and

Germany), but know little of the countries in Eastern Europe (e.g. Latvia, Estonia,

Bulgaria, and Slovakia). The anticipatory set will run as follows:

The blank cartogram of Europe will be displayed on the floor as the students walk

into room 206

After the students have been seated in tables surrounding the cartogram we can

begin our discussion of what the cartogram depicts

o What does this map represent?

o How is this map similar and/or different than those we have worked with

this year so far?

o What type of map is this?

What type of information might the cartogram depict?

Can cartograms show more than just political representation?

Where are your countries?

o Have the students one-by-one come up to the cartogram on the floor, and

find their country (if there is more than one person on a country, have both

of them come up to the map)

o If the students have trouble finding their country help them out with

questioning, do not just give the location. Questions may include:

Is your country in Eastern or Western Europe?

Do you know any of your neighboring countries?

o After the students have finished finding there countries we will move back

to room 205 to begin our lesson.

Materials:

Masking Tape

Cartogram (Representation of European Parliament)

Geography Alive Book

Geo-Journals

Pen/Pencil and Paper

----------------------------------------3535----------------------------------------

Time Line:


10 min. –Silent Reading (European books only)

20-25 min. –European Parliament Cartogram (room 206)

20-25 min. –Sections 14.1 & 14.2 in Geography Alive Book

10-15 min. –Geo-Journals (Geoterms)


Silent Reading & Anticipatory Set (full explanation above):

At the start of the day the students will be instructed to silently read for the first

10 minutes of class. There will be books in baskets on their tables to pick out of dealing

with different parts of Europe. (The students should be reading from these baskets, not

from their own books). After the time has passed the students will be instructed to move

into room 206 to begin the anticipatory set. The activity will be a combination of class

discussion, and student involvement. We will be taking a look at the cartogram of Europe

on the floor, and the teacher will lead the student’s in a discussion. The students will then

be instructed to come forth to find their countries on the cartogram to end the activity.

Sections 14.1 (Supranational Cooperation in the European Union) & 14.2

(Geographic Setting):

The students will then be instructed to open their Geography Alive books up to

section 14.1, then 14.2. Have the students then read through section 14.1 & 14.2 while

doing the following:

On one large sticky note, the students will be writing down any key points or

questions they find in the text, and that they feel are important enough to bring

out. The reason for using a sticky note is to only bring out the most important

points in the text, instead of creating a half or full page of notes on such a small

section. There is only so much room to write on this sticky note, so students will

be forced to reevaluate what they actually think is important, versus filler

information.

----------------------------------------3636----------------------------------------

On the top line of the students empty sheet of paper have the students write down the

essential question for the chapter: What forces work for and against supranational

cooperation among nations? For the title of the page have students write, Gut Check.

(Gut checks will take place after each section of the chapter until the end, then they will

hand them in for a grade). These checks will consist of the following:

A cool quote: The students should find something they find to be interesting, or

want to know more about

On the next few lines have students come up with 2-3 ways in which the section

they read might answer the essential question.

The purpose of this small activity is to provoke thought, while also having fun in the

process. As the students finish each section they will come closer to answering the

essential question in its entirety. At the end there will be a larger Gut Check, where

students will have to write in their own words the answer to the essential question.

We will then take part in a small discussion on what they found to be the key

points of the two sections, or questions they may need answered while reading the text.

Then the teacher will ask some questions of the students, which may consist of:

Explain how travel may have been more complicated before the European Union;

and why having “open borders” would help?

What are push factors (centrifugal)? What are pull factors (centripetal)?

Look at the graphic organizer: which map shows forces leading to cooperation;

and what forces may be represented on the second map?

What shared goals may countries of the EU have in common?

In what ways do the countries of the EU remain separate?

Once the discussion is over, have the students turn in their Geo-Journal page 105, titled

Geoterms 14. We will read through the directions as a class, then fill in the first geoterm

with the students as an example. As students finish their geoterms they will raise their

hand quietly, and wait for their page to be assessed by the teacher. By this time class will

almost be over, so we will have to conclude with a very quick wrap up.

Assessment:

----------------------------------------3737----------------------------------------

In this section there will be variables of informal and summative assessments at

work. The informal assessments will include: class discussions, checking for

understanding, talking-to-the-text, and rapid-fire questions. The singular summative

assessment for the chapter will be the Gut Checks the students will continuously work on

throughout the chapter, and will be handed in as grade, along with an answer in their own

words answering the essential question.

Wrap Up:

What did you learn today, and how could you apply this to the theme of

cooperation?


European Cartogram

Discussion Group

Reading Comprehension: Skill Builder

Gut Check

----------------------------------------3838----------------------------------------

Lesson 4/ Thursday, November 19 th Goals/ Objectives:

Students will:

Analyze an economic political cartoon using prior knowledge

Discuss examples of economic cooperation

List economic forces that unite the European Union

List economic forces that divide the European Union














national economy.





E3.1 Economic Interdependence:

Describe patterns and networks of economic interdependence, including trade.

----------------------------------------3939----------------------------------------

Economic interdependence (trade) and economic development can result in challenges

and benefits for individuals, producers, and governments.

7 – E3.1.1: Explain the importance of trade (imports and exports) on national

economies in the Eastern Hemisphere (e.g., natural gas in North Africa, petroleum

Africa, mineral resources in Asia).

Anticipatory Set:

Analyzing a Political Cartoon:

Today, along with everyday during this chapter, the teacher will be arranging the

desks in different ways to keep the teaching environment fresh. We will be starting out

the hour with the anticipatory set of analyzing a political cartoon in pairs of two or three.

The cartoon is labeled as political, which we will be learning about tomorrow in class,

but it also ties into the theme of economic cooperation, due to the use of the euro in the

cartoon. The cartoon was to be used as the assessment for the chapter originally, but will

serve as the beginning activity for the day. The set will run as follows:

Each group of two or three will be given a copy of the sheet with the political

cartoon worksheet. The students will put the names of their group members at the

top. (We will be turning this in at the end of the activity).

The teacher will then instruct the students to read through the section of the

worksheet: The Task: Analyzing a Political Cartoon. They will be told to move

on through the worksheet until all the groups have finished the three steps at the

bottom. The three steps will be written out on a separate sheet of paper, and then

stapled to the worksheet to hand in.

Once the students have completed the worksheet, the teacher will then collect their

work. After everyone has turned the worksheet in, we will begin a short discussion on

what we had learned from working on this worksheet. The discussion may run as follows:

As it said in the text and looking at the cartoon, “Is the euro uniting the EU

countries? Or is the euro dividing the EU countries?” (The students should

support their reasoning with details of why?)

----------------------------------------4040----------------------------------------

Why do you think the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Denmark chose not to adopt

the euro as their national currency? Are they better or worse off, because of this

decision?

What do the borders that are erased in the cartoon represent?

Once we are done with the activity we will move back into the classroom to progress

with the lesson on economic cooperation.

Materials:


Geography Alive Books

Geo-Journals

Political Cartoon Worksheet

Time Line:


10 min. –Silent Reading (again only Europe based books)

20-25 min. –Analyzing Political Cartoon (Group Work)

35-40 min. –Section 14.3 & Guide to Reading Notes 14.3


Silent Reading & Anticipatory Set (Full Description Above):

At the start of the day the students will be instructed to silently read for the first

10 minutes of class. There will be books in baskets on their tables to pick out of dealing

with different parts of Europe. (The students should be reading from these baskets, not

from their own books). The students will then be instructed to put their books away, and

then split into groups of two or three. The teacher should let the students know they will

only be able to pick their partners if they work quietly and collaboratively on the

assignment. We will start the activity once we have gone over the directions to the

activity. Once all the students have finished the worksheet in their small groups, they will

be turning them into the teacher before we start our discussion about the activity. After

we have finished the discussion, we will then begin to take a look at the next section of

Chapter 14.

----------------------------------------4141----------------------------------------

Section 14.3 & Guide to Reading Notes 14:


section 14.3. Have the students then read through section 14.3 while doing the following:

The students will be put into groups of 4 or 5 depending on the number of

students in the classroom. The students will then read through section 14.3

individually, repeating the steps we went through they day before with the large

sticky notes. They will use two large sticky notes this time; 1 for the economic

forces that unite the EU; and 1 for the economic forces that divide the EU.

Once each student in their group has finished reading, and writing down the key

points or questions they have about each section, they will bring the 8-10 large

sticky notes together, and divide them into groups of similar characteristics. This

activity is to help students not only narrow their note-taking down, but to also

allow students to see other’s thoughts besides their own.

After the groups have finished dividing up the large sticky notes into groupings, allow

them to discuss what similarities and differences they had while reading the text, and

taking down the key points and/or questions. We will then come back together as a class

to discuss what we found to be the top three most important points we could pull out of

each section by writing them up on the white board. The discussion could progress as

follows:

(For each group) What were the top three key points or questions we pulled out of

the first section? What about the second section? The teacher will type up their

responses that will be projected on the Epson projector.

What were some of the similarities you noticed from your key points, to others in

your group? Differences?

Was it hard or easy to compromise on which points were more important than

others? Why?

Once we have finished our discussion students will open up their Geo-Journals to

Guide to Reading Notes 14, on section 14.3. They will then complete the page as the

directions instruct, except for the bottom question can be crossed off. Their out ticket for

the day will be for them to complete their Gut Check sheet they created the day before.

Once again they need; 1 cool quote from the section, which they found interesting or

----------------------------------------4242----------------------------------------

wanted to know more about; and 3 ways in which section 14.3 may have answered the

essential question.

Assessment:

Students will be assessed both informally the students analyzing the political

cartoon with class discussion following. The other part of the informal assessment is the

key points group activity, which helps students see what other students might think is

important in the text, rather than always seeing one side. Continuing with the summative

assessment, the students will be ending the day with the Gut Check, which once again

will be turned in at the conclusion of the chapter.

Wrap Up:

Gut Check: 1 cool quote; 2-3 ways this section on economic forces partly

answered the essential question for the chapter.


Analyzing Political Cartoon (Pair Grouping)

Pooling Key Points Activity (Ability Level Grouping)

Gut Check (Piece-by-Piece assessment)

----------------------------------------4343----------------------------------------

Lesson 5/ Friday, November 20 th Goals/ Objectives:

Students will:

Decide whether countries are equally represented in the EU Parliament

List ways in which the European Parliament either unites or divides Europe

Explain how being a smaller country in the EU could be beneficial/ detrimental

Explain how being a larger country in the EU could be beneficial/ detrimental





context.








Hemisphere.



7 – G2.2.1: Describe the human characteristics of the region under study

(including languages, religion, economic system, governmental system, cultural

traditions).



----------------------------------------4444----------------------------------------


















Anticipatory Set:

Is your country properly represented?

Place 27 numbered cards, which represents the number of members of the

European Parliament for each country, in a row down one of the tables in the classroom.

As students come into the room instruct them to first have a seat behind their countries

placard, and wait for directions to start the activity. The teacher will give the students the

following information:

Explain to the students that each of the numbered cards along the table represents

the total membership in the European Parliament for each country, 27 numbers in

all. We will be taking a look at whether their country is properly represented in

Parliament, and the affects this may have on each.

----------------------------------------4545----------------------------------------

To start, have each student come and choose a number from the table, which they

think is the accurate representation in parliament for their country. Once each

student has a number with him or her, move on to the next step of the activity.

o Are we all satisfied with the number we have chosen?

If the students would like to change or swap numbers allow them to do so after

you have asked the previous question. The teacher should then: 1) write the first

country on the board (representing the country with the most members, which is

Germany with 99); 2) write down the population of the country; and then 3) write

the number of members that country has. Continue by writing a mid-sized country

up on the board, and the previous steps, and a small country as well. Ask the

students:

o Do you see a pattern here?

o What is the pattern?

Once the students have recognized the pattern on the board, (the larger the

country is in terms of population, the more representatives they will have) give

them time to change or swap numbers. The teacher will then project each country;

it’s population, and the number of members up on the Epson Projector. Then lead

the students in a discussion, which should go as follows:

o Are your countries properly represented in the European Union?

o For those of you who have smaller countries, what may be some

advantages/ disadvantages of being part of the EU?

o For those of you who have larger countries, what may be some

advantages/ disadvantages of being part of the EU?

After we have finished the discussion have the students open up their books to section

14.4 in their books to begin the lesson for the day, about political factors that either unite

or divide the countries of the EU.

Materials:

Pen/Pencil & Paper

27 numbered cards

Geography Alive Books (Section 14.4)

----------------------------------------4646----------------------------------------

Geo-Journals (Reading Notes 14)

Epson Projector (Anticipatory Set)

Gut Check Sheet

Time Line:


15-20 min. –Is your country accurately represented? (Anticipatory Set)

30-35 min. –Section 14.4 (Political Cooperation) & Geo-Journal

10-15 min. –Mapping Packet


Anticipatory Set (Full Description Above):

There will be no silent reading for the students today, because we have a lot of

material to cover. We will begin the hour with the anticipatory set, which is described in

full detail above. The student’s will be deciding whether their country is accurately

represented in the European Parliament. They will each pick a number they think

represents the member count for their country, and then the teacher will put the top,

middle and smallest number countries on the board. Students will then be asked if they

see a pattern, and the teacher will allow for students to adjust to this pattern if necessary.

We will then move on into a discussion about what we have just learned, which will tie

into section 14.4, political forces that either unite or divide the EU. The idea of this

activity is to help students see that each country should have an equal say in what

happens in the EU, no matter the size or population they have. This activity will also tie

into the culminating activity (model EU) and the theme of the unit, which is cooperation

among the EU member countries.




The students will be put into groups of 4 or 5 depending on the number of

students in the classroom. The students will then read through section 14.4

individually, repeating the steps we went through they day before with the large

----------------------------------------4747----------------------------------------

sticky notes. They will be using two large sticky notes again; 1 for the political

forces that unite the EU; and 1 for the political forces that divide the EU.




activity is to help students not only narrow their note taking down, but to also







follows:







others? Why?



directions instruct, except for the bottom question can be crossed off. They also need to

fill out their Gut Check sheets for this section about political cooperation.

Mapping Packet:

Today the students will be starting on a mapping packet, which contains a variety

of different activities on Europe. The teacher will be instructing the students they will

have the option of either finishing their Geo-Journal pages for the section, or moving on

to the Europe Mapping packet. If the students do choose the mapping packet, they are

also to pick up a large map of Europe to help them answer the questions within in it. The

----------------------------------------4848----------------------------------------

packets will not be worth a grade, but will be getting the students ready for the Europe

Mapping Test in a few weeks.

Assessment:The assessments for the day will be mostly informal in nature: class discussion,

spot-checking student’s work, and having students sharing their answers to the class.

There will also be the Gut Check, which is the summative assessment for the chapter.

With all of these the teacher is constantly assessing the students understanding of the

material for one section (spot-checking, discussion, etc.), or the entire chapter (Gut

Check).

Wrap Up:

The wrap up for all of the sections in this chapter will be the Gut Check sheet,

because it helps the teacher know if they understood the material for the day.


Pair Work (Mapping Lab)

Group Work (Section 14.4)

----------------------------------------4949----------------------------------------

Week 2 Lessons & ScheduleSummary:

For the next three days we will be finishing up Chapter 14 with the following

sections (14.4-14.7), which will be finishing up the final section on cooperation (uniting

and dividing factors), and beginning to take a look at cooperation on a global scale. The

three sections we will be discussing this week will be: Cultural Cooperation in the EU

(14.4); Beginning to Think Globally and Global Connections (14.6 & 14.7). Activities of

the three days will include: Student-Teacher Discussion Groups, Culture Sharing, How

does your country think globally, Student-Led Conference Folders, Research Check

(Culminating Activity), Gut Check turn in. The weekly schedule is as follows:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday FridaySection 14.5 –Cultural Cooperation in the EU: Student Culture

Sharing (full hour)

Section 14.5 –Cultural Cooperation in the EU: Re-cap Section

14.4 Cultural

uniting and dividing factors

Student-Led Conference Folders

Sections 14.6 7 14.7 –Beginning to Think Globally: No 5th Hour:

Hands on Museum in gymnasium

How do we think globally?

Europe Trivia Game

ThanksgivingRecess

ThanksgivingRecess

Goals/ Objectives:

Students will:

Share what their family culture is, and the cultures who reside in their EU country

List ways in which cultural cooperation can either unite or divide the EU

----------------------------------------5050----------------------------------------

Describe ways in which their EU countries think globally

List and explain reasons why international cooperation is important

Show at least 3 pieces of research they found for the Culminating Activity

Assemble Student-Led Conference Folders with this trimesters work

Lesson 6/ Monday, November 23 rd Goals/ Objectives:

Students will:

Share out what their family cultures are

Share out and discuss the different cultures within their EU country





context.










issue of importance to a region of the Eastern

Hemisphere.





----------------------------------------5151----------------------------------------

Anticipatory Set:Student Culture Share:

For the next two days we will be taking a look at cultural cooperation between the

European Union countries, and ways in which it unites or divides them. Thus, the

students will be sharing with the class their family’s cultural backgrounds. The students

will be informed to bring in an artifact(s) (from home, or made) that signifies their

cultural background. Students may need there parents help in sharing their cultural

heritage. Saline Middle School (Team E) is made up of many different cultural

backgrounds, much like Europe is made up of a variety of cultures, which all live within

a fairly close proximity with one another. This will help students see that although we

have different backgrounds, we must set aside our differences to come to a common

ground. Thus, tying into the main theme of the two chapters, which is about cooperation

among the EU member states. The anticipatory set will run as follows:

The students will be told on Thursday, November 19th they will need to bring in

an artifact (drawings, pictures, symbols, etc.) that show values, traditions,

activities, and places that are important for their family. Encourage them to use

words or drawings to represent holidays, foods, sports, flags and so on.

The students will also need a brief written description with the artifact so they can

take them home after class that day. The students will be given a sheet on

Thursday explaining what is due today. (See Materials in back)

Each student will then be instructed to come up in front of the class to give a brief

description of the artifact they brought in. Some follow up questions the teacher

could ask are as follows:

o Why do you think this artifact signifies your family’s cultural

background?

o Did you know much about your cultural background before this

assignment?

o What did you learn from this assignment?

Once all of the students have shared their artifact(s), we will then move on to the

next section in our book dealing with Cultural Cooperation in the European Union, which

we will be beginning tomorrow.

----------------------------------------5252----------------------------------------

Materials:

Culture Share Artifacts (described above)

Time Line:


65-70 min. –Cultural Share Artifacts



There will be no silent reading for the students today, because we have a lot of

material to cover. The full description of the anticipatory set is given in the section above.

The students will be sharing out about their family’s cultural backgrounds today. On

Thursday the students were given a homework assignment to bring in an artifact(s),

which show values, traditions, activities, and places that are important for their family.

They will then be going home to ask parents, grandparents, etc. for help with this

assignment to be ready for Monday. The students will each share their artifact(s) with the

entire class, and hand in a written description of what they brought in. (Full assignment

details are in the materials section). The cultural share ties into the section we will be

beginning today, which is about cultural cooperation in the European Union, and the

forces that unite and divide the countries. The students at Saline Middle School or our

team in general have a variety of different family backgrounds, and in a larger sense so

do the EU nations. This section will help the students see, no matter what a persons

background is, cooperation is still key.

Section 14.5 (To Be Continued the next day)

We will be moving on to section 14.5 in our next lesson to begin learning about Cultural

Cooperation in the European Union.

Assessment:

The assessment for the day will be in the form of questioning, with the teacher asking the

students:

----------------------------------------5353----------------------------------------

How today’s lesson ties into learning about cultural cooperation in the European

Union.

What is the significance of learning about other student’s cultural backgrounds?

What can we learn from this lesson?

Wrap Up:

After all of the students have shared their cultural artifacts, and answered the teacher’s

questions, we will be left with very little time. With the time we do have left the teacher

will both assess what the students have learned today, and the wrap up in the form of

questioning outlined above.


Cultural Share

----------------------------------------5454----------------------------------------

Lesson 7/ Tuesday, November 24 th Goals/ Objectives:

Students will:

List cultural factors which unite and divide the European Union

Submit 3 pieces of their school work to be used for Student-Led Conferences












Anticipatory Set:

The full description of the anticipatory set is given in yesterdays lesson. The

students will be sharing out about their family’s cultural backgrounds today. On

Thursday the students were given a homework assignment to bring in an artifact(s),

which show values, traditions, activities, and places that are important for their family.

They will then be going home to ask parents, grandparents, etc. for help with this

assignment to be ready for Monday. The students will each share their artifact(s) with the

entire class, and hand in a written description of what they brought in. (Full assignment

----------------------------------------5555----------------------------------------

details are in the materials section). The cultural share ties into the section we will be

beginning today, which is about cultural cooperation in the European Union, and the

forces that unite and divide the countries. The students at Saline Middle School or our

team in general have a variety of different family backgrounds, and in a larger sense so

do the EU nations. This section will help the students see, no matter what a persons

background is, cooperation is still key.

Materials:

Geography Alive Book

Geo-Journals

Pencil/Pen & Paper

Gut Check Sheets/ Notes

Mapping Packets

Time Line:


5-10 min. –Re-cap of Section 14.4 (Political Cooperation) & Culture Share

20-25 min. –Section 14.5: Cultural Cooperation; Geo-Journal; Mapping Packets

25-35 min. –Student-Led Conference Folders (cooperating teacher)





The students will be put into groups of 6 or 7 (the groups are gradually getting

larger in order to get them ready for the culminating activity). The students will

then read through section 14.5 individually, repeating the steps we went through

they day before with the large sticky notes. They will be using two large sticky

notes again; 1 for the cultural forces that unite the EU; and 1 for the cultural

forces that divide the EU.



----------------------------------------5656----------------------------------------


activity is to help students not only narrow their note taking down, but to also







follows:







others? Why?



directions instruct, except for the bottom question can be crossed off. They also need to

fill out their Gut Check sheets for this section about cultural cooperation.

Student-Led Conference Folders:

For the second half of the class period, students will be heading into the next

room to create their folders for student-led conferences with the cooperating. The

conferences take place next Monday, November 30th and Tuesday, December 1st, both of

which are half days for the students.

Folders will contain two pieces of work they have created during the first

trimester, which includes: Ancient Civilizations Project, and their Welcome to Saline

Poster. Each of these assignments was graded using a rubric, which was handed back

with both as well. They also will be filling out a reflection sheet, to be answered honestly,

which will lead them through the conference with their parents. The students will then be

given instructions on how the conferences will run:

----------------------------------------5757----------------------------------------

Enter into room 206 (the large room shared two cooperating teachers)

Find your folder, which is in their 5th hour teachers bin

Take their parents to a seat, and begin to go through the folder

Introduce the teacher

The teacher could be busy meeting with other parents at the time of the student’s

conference, so students should be encouraged to go through the folder with their parents

even if the teacher is not present. After the students have gone through the folder with

their parents they are free to go. If parents have any questions they may want to ask

before they leave, we will make sure they get answered.

Assessment:

The assessment for the day will be in the form of a re-cap and questioning about

Section 14.4 at the beginning. Also, Gut Check Sheets must be looked over and approved

before students can leave for the day.

Wrap Up:

The students will be wrapping up the day with the cooperating teacher in room

206. They will be going over student-led conferences, and any questions they may have.


Culture Share

Section 14.5 (Cultural Cooperation)

Pair Work (Mapping Packets)

----------------------------------------5858----------------------------------------

Lesson 8/ Wednesday, November 25 th Goals/ Objectives:

Students will:

Check-in population dilemmas packet

Ask questions about the population dilemmas packet

List ways in which we can begin to think globally in respect to cooperation

Answer questions about Chapter 14 and Europe





context.








Hemisphere.








----------------------------------------5959----------------------------------------


7 – G1.3.3: Explain the different ways in which places are connected and how

those connections demonstrate interdependence and accessibility.















Anticipatory Set:

Packet Check-In & Questions:

Today the students will be showing the teacher they are making progress on their

population dilemmas packet. The population packet was given to the students last

Tuesday, November 17th, and they were then instructed to continue their research at home

until the check-in date of Wednesday, November 25th. At the beginning of the class

students will be instructed to do the following:

Take out the population dilemmas packet to be checked-in

Look over the packets while the teacher checks them in

Come up with any questions they may have to go over with the teacher

The student’s packets should be completed to the best of their ability, and further than

what they had done in the computer lab on the first day of research. For those who have

progressed on their packets, they will be given a check and no points will be deducted

----------------------------------------6060----------------------------------------

from their final packet grade. For those students who have not been continuing their

research, they will be receiving a lower grade for this portion of the final culminating

project. After the teacher has finished checking in all of the student’s packets, we will

then go over any questions they may have on the questions given.

The questioning portion of this set is to help students finish their research and the

population dilemmas packet. Some of the students were concerned about certain

questions on the packet and needed clarification so they could correctly answer them. The

teacher should also go through the entire packet, question-by-question, so the students

understand what should be expected from them. An example of one of the questions was:

Question Example: “I don’t think my country has a population issue, how do you

find this?”

Answer: It may seem that your country does not have a population issue, but we

need to look further into the population statistics. Let’s take Sweden for example, they

have a fairly normal population growth, so this may lead us to think they have no issue,

thus the question. But, if we keep looking at the numbers we will come across a fertility

rate of only 1.67, which means there should be a declining population. The reason for the

countries minimal growth is the net migration into the country, not the actual births. With

no migration, Sweden would have a declining population (issue #1), and if there are

fewer babies being born, this means the aging population may not be supported in the

future (issue #2).

Once the teacher has answered any other questions, we will then move onto the

last section of the chapter, which connects all the parts of the chapter together; Sections

14.6 & 14.7 Beginning to Think Globally.

Materials:


Pen/Pencil & Paper

EU Folders

Population Dilemmas Packet

Time Line:


----------------------------------------6161----------------------------------------

10-15 min. –Packet check-in & questions

15-20 min. –Sections 14.6 & 14.7 (read together)

30-35 min. –Europe Trivia Game


Packet Check-in & Questions:

The full description of the packet check-in and student questions is given above.

Today the students will be getting their population dilemmas question packet checked-in,

to see if they have made progress. The students were given the packet last Tuesday,

November 17th, and were instructed to continue working on the packet at home. On the

19th the students were informed they will be checking the packets in with the teacher the

next week before break, but would not be due. The due date for the population packets is

Monday, December 7th, and they will be handing in the two other assignments in along

with it (Diplomatic Statements & Mini-Project). The students did have questions on the

packet, so the teacher needs to make sure the students are all on the same page. Some of

the questions were confusing, so clarification of what the teacher was looking for should

give the students a better idea of what is to be expected of them. The teacher should go

through each question in the packet, pointing out exactly what the questions are asking,

guiding students, and giving examples (given above). After we have finished, the

students will be given time to open up their books to the next section in the book 14.6 &

14.7, where they will begin to make some global connections.

Sections 14.6-14.7:

Today the students will be ending the chapter with a look at Sections 14.6 & 14.7.

The students will be pulling off what they have learned about the EU, and begin to make

global connections. For the past week the students have been learning about how

different forces can either unite or divide the European Union including economic,

political, and cultural. The students were to take these forces, and apply them to the

essential for the chapter: What forces work for and against supranational cooperation

among nations? Throughout the chapter students were trying to answer this question with

the facts they found in each section. In section 14.6 and 14.7, the students needed to take

----------------------------------------6262----------------------------------------

these concepts, and begin to think globally, and how these same forces may unite and

divide global organizations.

The students will only need to have their books turned to this section in the book,

because the teacher will be reading through the sections with them. There students will

not be filling out their gut check sheets today and will not be required to take notes. The

last two sections will not be part of the final assessment of Chapter 14, which is on

Tuesday, December 1st. The teacher will begin reading once all the students are paying

attention, and quite. The section reading will be as follows:

The students will follow along in their books as the teacher reads the two sections

aloud

The teacher will pause and reflect on what they have just read in each part of the

section, just to make sure the students understand what is being said. Here is an

example from the section titled: Are all international organizations like the EU?

Example: As we have learned in the previous sections there are multiple types of

global organizations, ranging from economic to defense. The EU it says is “the best

example of supranational cooperation”, because they have more shared goals such as

ones we have learned about in this chapter (economic, political, and cultural). NATO on

the other hand is an example of a defense organization, where member countries do not

give up any rights or privileges to be a part of. Therefore, the two although similar, have

to separate goals: the EU is looking to unite the member countries in several ways

(sections 14.3-14.5), thus requiring member nations to give up some of their freedoms;

NATO is a defense organization constructed to help member countries, if another is

attacked, but does not require their members to give up any freedoms or rights as

sovereign nations.

Once the teacher has gone through both sections, the teacher will then ask the

students if they have any questions as to what we had just gone over. If there are

questions from the students, the teacher will answer them, and then we will move on to

the next portion of our day.

Europe Trivia Game:

This is the day before the students will go on Thanksgiving Recess, so the

students will be ending the hour with a Europe themed interactive trivia game. The trivia

----------------------------------------6363----------------------------------------

game will include physical geography questions, along with questions taken from

Chapter 14. This is a fun way to see if the students understood the things we went over

during this chapter. Each class will be split up into 4 or 5 teams depending on the size of

the class. The students will be allowed to pick their own groups, as long as they are quite

and are evenly distributed between the four or five groupings. The directions are as

follows:

Each group pick a group name, and assign a person to record your groups answers

Each question is worth a certain amount of points, if you get the question correct

you will add up the points as we move through the game; if you get the answer

wrong you will receive no points (not negative points)

When the teacher counts down from 5, the students should be starting to finish up

writing their responses; if the do not put down their pencils once the teacher has

hit 1, their answer will be voided and will receive no points for that question

All students are to be working together in their groups to come up with the

answers for the questions; the students should not scream out the answers, but

figure out the answer quietly between them

Once the game has ended, the students will add up their points, and will then hand

in their answer sheets to me

The groups with the highest scores will get a special prize, when they return to

class on Monday.

Full trivia game attached in materials section.

Assessment:

The teacher should be performing two types of informal assessment during the

course of the hour. The teacher will be asking questions periodically through sections

14.6 & 14.7, so the students understand the connection with what they have read in this

chapter, and the last two sections about beginning to think globally. The Europe trivia

game will also be used as an informal assessment for the students. As said above, the

game will include questions from chapter 14, as well as physical geography questions

pertaining to Europe.

Wrap Up:

----------------------------------------6464----------------------------------------

The Europe trivia game will be the wrap up for the day. By the end of the game our class will be over, and the students will be beginning their Thanksgiving Recess.


Group Work (trivia game, skill levels)

Reading Aloud (Sections 14.6 & 14.7; auditory)

Packet Check-In & Questions (all learners)

----------------------------------------6565----------------------------------------


This week the students will be seeing the conclusion of Chapter 14, about the

different forces that either united or divided the European Union; and will be beginning

Chapter 15 on population dilemmas in Europe. We will be putting Chapter 14 to a close

within the first two days we come back from Thanksgiving Recess. We also are dealing

with a shortened schedule for the first two days, with a class period of only 35-minutes

due to student-led conferences. Therefore, on Monday, November 30th the teacher will

be leading the students in a Chapter 14 review, which will consist of: walking

students through the text section-by-section, breaking the sections up into manageable

parts, and asking students questions about the text that may be relevant to the exam. The

next day Tuesday, December 1st we will be concluding the chapter with an essay

exam, where students will be answering the essential question for the chapter. Students

may have a hard time finishing the test in the amount of time given, because of the

shortened day, so we will be finishing the test on Thursday, December 3rd after our day

off Wednesday.

We will be beginning a condensed version of Chapter 15: Population Dilemmas in

Europe on Thursday, December 3rd, after we come back from a day off on Wednesday.

This chapter will be shortened, due to the information being quite repetitive in nature. We

will be going over certain aspects of the chapter within the activities we do for those

days. The activities for the last two days of the week include: introduction to the chapter,

Model EU class discussions, mini-project, and a population dilemmas reading activity.

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday FridayChapter 14 Review: Sections 14.1-

14.5 Student-Led

Conferences ½ Day Students

Chapter14 Test: On sections

14.1-14.5 Answer

Essential Question

Student-Led Conferences

No School

Chapter 15: Population Dilemmas in Europe Finish Chapter

14 Test EU Discussion

& Mini-Project Population

Chapter 15: Population

dilemmas reading activity

Condensed Overview: Sections 15.3-15.5

----------------------------------------6666----------------------------------------

½ Day Students

Pyramids Activity

EU Conference discussion

Goals/ Objectives:

Students will:

List the forces that unite or divide the EU according to chapter 14

Answer the essential question for chapter 14 in an essay exam


Construct mini-project for their EU country for our culminating activity

List reasons why Europe is experiencing population dilemmas

Explain the importance of learning about population dilemmas

Create a link between what we are learning in this section to our projects

----------------------------------------6767----------------------------------------


Students will:

List the forces that either unite or divide the European Union

Answer questions regarding economic, political, cultural, and other forms of

cooperation






context.

















----------------------------------------6868----------------------------------------























national economy.





Anticipatory Set:

----------------------------------------6969----------------------------------------

Today we will be reviewing chapter 14. With a class period of only 35-minutes

we will be beginning the review as soon as class begins. Therefore, there will be no

anticipatory set for this lesson.

Materials:


Gut Check Sheets & Notes

Time Line:

We only have a 35-minute class period today. The time breakdown is as follows:

35 min. –Chapter 14 Review Session (Sections 14.1-14.5)


Chapter 14 Review:

Today the teacher will be leading the students in a chapter 14-review session,

which will take place the entire 35-minute shortened class period. We will be starting at

the beginning with section 14.1 (Introduction and Essential Question), and will be ending

the review with section 14.5 (Cultural Cooperation in the EU). At the beginning of the

class the teacher should open up for any questions they may have regarding the test, or

any other work that will be due the following week. After the teacher has answered all of

the student’s questions, we will move on with the first section of review. The review will

progress as follows:

Section 14.1 & 14.2:

To begin the session the teacher will first go over the importance of knowing the

Essential Question for the chapter –What forces work for and against supranational

cooperation among nations? Students by this time should know the answer to the

essential question, therefore, the teacher should make sure students are not stating

something that is incorrect. In the next section we will be taking a look at the different

terms, which signify the chapters topic on cooperation. What the teacher should be

----------------------------------------7070----------------------------------------

pointing out to the students are, how they do connect to the chapter, and why? While the

teacher is going through each section, questions could include:

Why is it important for us to know the essential question for the chapter?

How does the European Union represent a supranational organization?

What may be some examples of centrifugal forces? Centripetal forces?

What may have been the reason for setting up the European Union?

Why might it be important to have a common market?

Section 14.3:

In this section students began to take a look at the different forms of cooperation

of the European Union, and the forces that either unite or divide the EU, starting with

economic cooperation. The teacher should review with the students the different

economic forces that either unite or divide the EU. Examples of uniting factors include:

the euro; example explanation, before the EU organized each country had a different

currency, but with the introduction of the euro countries do not have to exchange their

money, others include the trade bloc, the creation of jobs, developing resources, and

improvements to encourage trade.

On the other hand students should also know with every uniting factor, there

will be dividing factors, because not everyone will see eye-to-eye. These dividing

factors include: higher wages in Western Europe in comparison to the economically

disadvantaged Eastern Europe, citizens of member states also do not agree how money

should be spent, or where the money should go; and also certain members did not adopt

the euro as their currency, choosing to keep their own, some may not even be aloud to

adopt the euro, such as countries who are still too unstable. Questions for students in

section 14.3 about economic cooperation could include:

What may be some centrifugal (dividing) forces we see in this section?

Centripetal (uniting)?

How does this section answer the essential question?

Why are there economic divisions in the European Union when there are so many

uniting forces?

Explain to the teacher what the cartoon on page 217 of your book represents?

What effect does the euro have on Europe?

----------------------------------------7171----------------------------------------

Section 14.4:

The next section we will be taking a look at in our review session is about

political cooperation in the EU, and forces that either unite or divide it. Students should

be given time to take a glance at the section to prepare them for the review. Remind the

students again about the exercise we did in class with the number of members in the

European Parliament for each member state, and what that number represented. Again,

section 14.4 is divided into two parts (again stress this to the students), how the EU

government unites Europe, and divides.

Some of the forces, which unite Europe politically include: the EU brings

members together to work on an issue they all share, such as environmental problems;

encourages Europeans to think of themselves as a citizen of Europe, where people can

work, live, and vote no matter what member nation they belong to.

The EU government can also have the opposite effect on Europe with

dividing factors, which include: if a nation is to join the EU they are expected to give

up some of their power to the EU; member countries would like to make their own

decisions in areas like defense and foreign affairs; the growing size of the European

Union, with differences among nations and their peoples; some citizens fear the loss of

their national identity, therefore they would not mind of the EU just disappeared.

Questions for students in section 14.4 about political cooperation could include:




Why are there political divisions in the European Union when there are so many

uniting forces?

Section 14.5:

The last section we will be covering in our review session is 14.5 Cultural

Cooperation in the European Union. Last Monday the students shared their cultural

backgrounds with the rest of the class, to get us ready for this section of the book. The

teacher should again describe why we did the culture share, and even ask the students if

they understood the reason why. On Team E there are many different backgrounds to

which the students belong, much like that of the EU. Students should understand that

----------------------------------------7272----------------------------------------

without cultural awareness the European Union would not survive, because there are so

many different beliefs and opinions.

Some of the forces, which unite Europe politically include: promoting a

common European cultural identity and recognizing the diversity (beliefs, religion,

language, and traditions) of it’s members; supports many different cultural programs

across Europe, such as the European Union Youth Wind Orchestra; the euro and EU

passports, which make travel easier for member nations; the EU also encourages youth

to learn different European languages.

There are also forces which may be working against a common European

cultural identity, which include: with efforts toward a common cultural identity,

Europe still contains many languages, and still remains very diverse; the language

barriers also make it difficult for the EU government, having to translate documents into

20 different languages; national pride, competition, and rivalry between member nations;

cultural traditions may also get in the way of cooperation, use example of Czech foods.

Questions for students in section 14.5 about cultural cooperation could include:




Why are there cultural divisions in the European Union when there are so many

uniting forces?

Assessment:

Today the students will be assessed by questions the teacher will come up with

while going through each section. The questioning will be both rhetorical and students

answering these questions, so the teacher will be able to understand if the students are

ready for the test. The formal assessment will take place tomorrow Tuesday, December

1st on chapter 14 sections 14.1-14.5.

Wrap Up:

Students will be leading the wrap up by answering any final questions the teacher

may have about chapter 14. What the teacher should be looking for is a complete

----------------------------------------7373----------------------------------------

understanding of the chapter, and the different forms of cooperation. The teacher should

also explain to the students they can find the book sections on the moodle site.


Chapter 14 review session

Lesson 10/ Tuesday, December 1 st

Goals/ Objectives:

Students will:

List the different forms of cooperation in the EU (economic, political, and

cultural)

List the forces that either unite or divide the European Union

Answer the essential question for chapter 14

Explain how cooperation is important to the EU, this chapter, and to us






context.










----------------------------------------7474----------------------------------------






























national economy.


----------------------------------------7575----------------------------------------




Anticipatory Set:

Today the students will be taking the test on chapter 14. With a class period of

only 35-minutes we will be beginning the test as soon as class begins. Therefore, there

will be no anticipatory set for this lesson.

Materials:

Gut Check Sheets & Notes

Chapter 14 Test –Answer Packet & Key

Time Line:

We only have a 35-minute class period today. The time breakdown is as follows:

35 min. –Chapter 14 Test (covering sections 14.1-14.5)


Chapter 14 Test:

Today the students will be taking the Chapter 14 test, which will take up the entire

35-minute class period. The students for the past two weeks have been learning about the

different forces that either unite or divide the European Union (again economic, political,

and cultural). The students were also creating a sheet to help them answer the essential

question for the chapter. The essential question guides the students thinking throughout

the chapter, which by the end they should be able to answer fully. The students also

learned about how important cooperation is, whether that may be at the classroom, state,

nation, or global level. Cooperation is the theme for the chapter, and for our culminating

activity (Model EU), which will take place next Tuesday, December 8th. We will be

beginning the class by passing out the mini-project assignment details, along with any

questions the students may have. The teacher will then begin with the directions for the

----------------------------------------7676----------------------------------------

test, and open up for any questions the students may have. The directions to the test are

as follows:

Do not begin the test until the teacher has gone through all of the directions

Only have a pencil, the test answer packet, gut check sheet, and notes at their

desk, nothing more

For those students who may need assistance at this time can go to the proper room

designated for them

Students should complete each section of the test to the best of their ability, and

should use their gut check sheets and notes to help them

Be quite during the entire exam: if there are any questions concerning the test or

need to leave their seat, students must first raise their hand; if a student is talking

the teacher will assume they are cheating and will collect their work, and mark it

as a 0 in the grade book

Once students are done with the test they must raise their hand, and the teacher

will come and collect it; students may then work on the mapping activity packet,

or can read silently until all have completed the test

Once the teacher has gone through all of the directions for the test the students will

then be able to begin. Students will be given an answer packet to guide them through

their writing. The test will consist of one question: What forces work for and against

supranational cooperation among nations? This question is what the students should have

been trying to answer for the past two weeks, with the help of their gut check sheets. The

answer packet will be broken down into different sections to help the students answer the

question completely; the components of the test include:

A word bank: the word bank will consist of words, which may help students

complete the essay test

5 answer boxes: this is to help students present their answers in paragraph format

Box 1: Introduction –a paragraph containing the essential question; what

the European Union is, and supranational cooperation (section 14.1);

examples of centrifugal and centripetal forces (section 14.2); the three

different types of cooperation we went over economic, political, and

----------------------------------------7777----------------------------------------

cultural (14.3-14.5); and a final statement of why cooperation is important

in the EU.

Box 2: Economic Cooperation –start with an introductory sentence stating what

type of cooperation this paragraph will be talking about; Give two examples of

economic forces that unite the European Union; Give two examples of economic

forces that divide the European Union; give a statement of why economic

cooperation is important to the European Union.

Box 3: Political Cooperation –start with an introductory sentence stating

what type of cooperation this paragraph will be talking about; Give two

examples of political forces that unite the European Union; Give two

examples of political forces that divide the European Union; give a

statement of why political cooperation is important to the European

Union.

Box 4: Cultural Cooperation –start with an introductory sentence stating what


cultural forces that unite the European Union; Give two examples of cultural

forces that divide the European Union; give a statement of why cultural


Box 5: Restatement of the essential question for chapter 14; the three

different types of cooperation within the chapter economic, political, and

cultural; state again why cooperation is important in the European Union;

give two reasons why supranational cooperation is important globally, and

why.

The boxes will give the students room to write down their answers, and again will

help guide them through the test. After the students have completed the test, have them

staple their gut check sheets and notes to the back, which will be part of their final grade.

The students will be given the entire 35 minutes to complete the test, but if there are

students that do not finish, they will be able to complete the test on the next class day in

the hall.

Assessment:

----------------------------------------7878----------------------------------------

The assessment for the day is going to be the test for chapter 14. The students

have been preparing for this test for the past two weeks, by gathering information through

writing notes, and completing their gut check sheets. The full details of the test are given

above, with the test packet and key in the materials section.

Wrap Up:

The wrap up for the day will be having the students turn in their test on chapter

14. If the students have not finished by the end of the 35-minute class period, explain

they will have to finish the test on Thursday, December 3rd during class time in the hall.

Remind the students we do not have school the next day, but will continue on with

chapter 15 on Thursday.


Alternate testing location

Gut check sheets & notes

Test answer boxes

----------------------------------------7979----------------------------------------

Wednesday, December 2 nd

No School

Lesson 11/ Thursday, December 3 rd Goals/ Objectives:

Students will:

Answer the essential question for chapter 14

List the different forms of population change including births, deaths, and

migration

Define the essential terms for chapter 15 on population

Explain what population pyramids show, and why they are important

Discuss what is expected (or the rules) of the EU Conference





context.








----------------------------------------8080----------------------------------------



















Anticipatory Set:

Today the students will be beginning to take a look at chapter 15, which is all

about population dilemmas that are currently going on in Europe. There are many ways

in which we can show a countries population, but for this chapter we will be working

with one type in particular, the population pyramid. A population pyramid is basically a

series of graphs, which indicate the total percentage of a certain age group that lives in a

stated area, such as a city, county, state, nation, or the entire world. These pyramids allow

us to “picture” what the population structure is for these areas, and makes it easier for us

to read the numerical data given to create such a pyramid. Today instead of using the

transparencies given for this chapter we will be using three websites, which will give the

students the full-scale overview of what population pyramids show. The three different

websites that will be projected up on the Epson include:

----------------------------------------8181----------------------------------------

http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idb/informationGateway.php,

http://www.census.gov/population/www/projections/statepyramid.html, and

http://www.ageworks.com/course_demo/200/module2/module2b.htm.

The first two websites come from the U.S. Census Bureaus records, and the third

is a learning module talking about the different kinds of population pyramids. The first of

the two websites gives population figures and pyramids for the different countries around

the world, including those that are in the European Union. The second of the two shows

the population figures and pyramids for all of the U.S. states, including Michigan. And

the last of the three ties in both of the previous websites information, but also goes into

cities and their population structure and pyramids. The anticipatory set will run as

follows:

Project a countries population pyramid that the class has not yet gone over this

year, or in previous years up on the Epson

Discuss the different parts of a population pyramid:

What does the vertical (up-and-down) axis represent? Horizontal (left-to-right)

axis?

How many years does each age band represent? What percent of the total

population is represented by each mark on the horizontal axis?

In which age band are you? What percent of the total population do you lie in?

Questions for discussion:

What can a population pyramid tell us about a country’s population?

Why might the information on a population pyramid be important, especially to

the leaders of a country?

The teacher should then go into a discussion of how there are many different types of

population pyramids, not just ones that show a countries population. We will be then

using the other two websites to take the students on a journey, to state and city level

pyramids. The students need to see that a countries population pyramid is not in direct

relation to the rest of the nation, including states, counties, and cities. After the teacher

has gone through the two different websites describing what the different population

pyramids represent, we will then move on to the first two sections in chapter 15.

----------------------------------------8282----------------------------------------

http://www.ageworks.com/course_demo/200/module2/module2b.htm

http://www.census.gov/population/www/projections/statepyramid.html

http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idb/informationGateway.php

Materials:

Pencil/Pen & Paper


Computer

Epson

Chapter 14 Test

Notes & Gut check sheets

EU Conference Guide

Time Line:


25-30 min. –Mini-Projects & Conclude Chapter 14 Test

20-25 min. –Population Pyramids

15-20 min. –EU Conference beginning discussion

(Possibly an overview of Sections 15.3-15.5)


Mini-Project & Conclude Chapter 14 Test:

On Tuesday, December 1st some of the students could not finish the test in the

amount of time given for the class. We did have a shortened hour due to student-led

conferences, so the students only had 35 minutes to take the test. Therefore, today the

students will be concluding the test on chapter 14, with the help of their notes and gut

check sheets. Once the students have concluded, the teacher should make sure all of the

students notes and gut check sheets are stapled to the back of their tests.

After students have finished their tests we will then go into a discussion about

their mini-projects, which will be due on Monday, December 7th. The mini-project will

not be extensive, but will relate to the topics we have been covering either in chapter 14

or 15. The full description of the mini-project is in the materials section for this week. We

are currently starting a chapter on population dilemmas in Europe, so the mini-project

will be creating a population pyramid for their country. Today’s lesson will go over what

population pyramids are, and what they show. Along with the pyramid, the students will

----------------------------------------8383----------------------------------------

be typing or writing up an explanation describing what the pyramid shows, and how this

may affect their countries, an example is given in the materials section for this week.


Today the students will be beginning to take a look at chapter 15, which is all

about population dilemmas that are currently going on in Europe. There are many ways

in which we can show a countries population, but for this chapter we will be working

with one type in particular, the population pyramid. A population pyramid is basically a

series of graphs, which indicate the total percentage of a certain age group that lives in a

stated area, such as a city, county, state, nation, or the entire world. These pyramids allow

us to “picture” what the population structure is for these areas, and makes it easier for us

to read the numerical data given to create such a pyramid. Today instead of using the

transparencies given for this chapter we will be using three websites, which will give the

students the full-scale overview of what population pyramids show. The three different

websites that will be projected up on the Epson include:

http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idb/informationGateway.php,

http://www.census.gov/population/www/projections/statepyramid.html, and

http://www.ageworks.com/course_demo/200/module2/module2b.htm.

The first two websites come from the U.S. Census Bureaus records, and the third is a

learning module talking about the different kinds of population pyramids. The first of the

two websites gives population figures and pyramids for the different countries around the

world, including those that are in the European Union. The second of the two shows the

population figures and pyramids for all of the U.S. states, including Michigan. And the

last of the three ties in both of the previous websites information, but also goes into cities

and their population structure and pyramids.

EU Conference –Beginning Discussion

After we have finished up our anticipatory set about population pyramids, we will

be moving on into a beginning discussion on the Model EU Conference, which will be

taking place on Tuesday, December 8th. For the next three days the teacher will be going

over the basics of the EU conference, which include: what is expected (or rules), the

structure (or how it is expected to run), and roles (such as a secretary and president).

Today we will be outlining what is expected from the students at the conference. The

----------------------------------------8484----------------------------------------

http://www.ageworks.com/course_demo/200/module2/module2b.htm

http://www.census.gov/population/www/projections/statepyramid.html

http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idb/informationGateway.php

exact outline of the conference will have the topics discussed above, and will also be

posted on moodle and given in hard copy form. We will be continuing these discussions

each day (Friday, December 4th & Monday, December 7th) until the conference date.

Assessment:

Today questioning throughout the lesson will informally assess the students. The

questions will be from a variety of different cognitive levels, which will allow students to

actually think about an answer, rather than just looking it up and fining it.

Wrap Up:

The teacher will be wrapping the lesson up with random questioning. The teacher

will pick different students from all ability levels to answer one question: what did we

learn today? The students should give a variety of answers, depending on if they were

listening or not to today’s lesson. For those students who do not know, move on to the

next student, until the teacher has got a good feeling the students all understood the

material.


Population Pyramid Set (interactive)

Class Discussion –EU Conference

Extra Time –Chapter 14 Test

----------------------------------------8585----------------------------------------

Lesson 12/ Friday, December 4 th Goals/ Objectives:

Students will:

Read through two population dilemmas articles in pairs

Share out what they have learned from the articles

Discuss what we have learned as a class

List different population dilemma factors such as negative growth, an aging

population, and a declining workforce

Discuss the structure of the EU Conference (or how it should run)





context.












----------------------------------------8686----------------------------------------








7 – G1.3.2: Explain the locations and distributions of physical and human

characteristics of Earth by using knowledge of spatial patterns.























----------------------------------------8787----------------------------------------




E1.1 Individual, Business, and Government Choices:

Describe how individuals, businesses, and governments make economic decisions when

confronting scarcity in the market economy.

Individuals, businesses, industries, and governments confront scarcity and choice when

organizing, producing and using productive resources (land, labor, capital) to supply the

market place.

7 – E1.1.1: Explain the role of incentives in different economic systems (acquiring

money, profit, goods, wanting to avoid loss, position in society, job placement).

Anticipatory Set:

Population Dilemmas Reading Activity:

Today we will be beginning class with a set of reading activities, which will be

used on the two articles “No Babies” and “Report on the Evolution of the Family in

Europe 2008.” The babies article was taken from a New York Times article written by

Russell Shorto on June 29, 2008. The report article was taken from the Institute of Family

Policies website for Europe, whom it was also written by in May of 2008. The “No

Babies” article is a more challenging read; therefore, the students will be split into pairs

based on their reading comprehension levels. One student will have the baby article, and

the other students will be reading the report. The students will be performing two reading

strategies today during this activity: 1) Jigsaw, and 2) Give One/ Get One.

1) Jigsaw: The Jigsaw is a way to divide lengthy text, giving students the

opportunity to focus initially on one small chunk while gaining the information from the

other segments from a peer. Divide the reading selection into smaller meaningful chunks.

Assign students a section to read and summarize for their peers. Depending upon the

complexity of the text it is helpful for reader of the same section to meet to discuss the key

attribute of their section. A reader from each section should gather in a small group to

report to the other the key ideas from their section.

----------------------------------------8888----------------------------------------

2) Give One/ Get One: This is a method for students to not only access their own

prior background knowledge, but also that of their peers. Students should divide their

paper into two columns. One should be labeled “Give One” and the other “Give One.”

Given a specified amount of time and a specific topic, students should list as many details

as they can under their “Give One” column. Then students should rotate around the

class collecting additional fact in their “Get One” column as they give facts from their

“Give One” column to their peers.

The uses for the two reading strategies are given above, but we will be modifying

them a bit to fit the class structure. The anticipatory set will progress as follows:

Again, students will be paired together according to their reading comprehension

levels (lower with higher)

One student will be handed the “No Babies” article, and the other student will be

handed the family report

The students will then read through their respective texts, with key information

they find in both. After all the students have finished reading we will move on to

the next step

Students with the same text will then be sharing ideas and information they have

found (jigsaw), they will be given about 5-10 minutes to do so

We will then go back to the pairs we started with, now experts on our individual

texts, then begin to share. For this step, students will Give One idea, and Get One

idea from each other, this again will take 5-10 minutes to complete (Give One/

Get One)

After the students have shared their texts with one another, they will then be experts

of both articles. The students first became experts of their own article with the help of

their peers, but then became experts of both articles with the just the help of their partner.

By working together and sharing information from both texts, the students have been able

to attain more information. We will then go over both texts as a class to see what key

points they pulled out from each article. Questions from the teacher may include:

For both articles we have read about today, what are some of the key points we

pulled out? (Remind students, that anyone can answer this question for either of

the articles because they both should be experts on them).

----------------------------------------8989----------------------------------------

What was something we found interesting, in either article?

Which article gives more numerical information and data? Which gives a more

personal view?

How are the two articles similar? Different?

Materials:


“No Babies” (article)

“Report on the Evolution of the Family in Europe 2008” (article)

Pencil/Pen & Paper

EU Conference Guide

Time Line:


40-45 min. –Population Dilemmas Reading Activity

20-25 min. –EU Conference Discussion

(Possibly an overview of Sections 15.6-15.9)


Reading Activity:

Today we will be beginning class with a set of reading activities, which will be

used on the two articles “No Babies” and “Report on the Evolution of the Family in

Europe 2008.” The babies article was taken from a New York Times article written by

Russell Shorto on June 29, 2008. The report article was taken from the Institute of Family

Policies website for Europe, whom it was also written by in May of 2008. The “No

Babies” article is a more challenging read; therefore, the students will be split into pairs

based on their reading comprehension levels. One student will have the baby article, and

the other students will be reading the report. The students will be performing two reading

strategies today during this activity: 1) Jigsaw, and 2) Give One/ Get One.

After the students have shared their texts with one another, they will then be

experts of both articles. The students first became experts of their own article with the

help of their peers, but then became experts of both articles with the just the help of their

----------------------------------------9090----------------------------------------

partner. By working together and sharing information from both texts, the students have

been able to attain more information. We will then go over both texts as a class to see

what key points they pulled out from each article.

EU Conference Discussion:

After we have finished up our anticipatory set with the two reading strategies for

the articles we read, we will be moving on into the secondary discussion on the Model

EU Conference, which will be taking place on Tuesday, December 8th. Like yesterday the

teacher will be going over the basics of the EU conference, which include: what is

expected (or rules), the structure (or how it is expected to run), and roles (such as a

secretary and president). Today we will be outlining what the structure of the EU

Conference will be like, or how it is expected to run. The exact outline of the conference

will have the topics discussed above; it will also be posted on moodle and given in hard

copy form. We will be picking back up on this discussion on Monday, December 7th,

which is the day before the Conference, and will be going over the different roles.

Assessment:

Today the teacher will be assessing the students about the information learned

from the articles by class discussion and questioning. If the students do not raise their

hands to answer the questions, pick them out randomly to get them started.

Wrap Up:

The wrap up for today, will be asking the students what they have learned today?

Answers should vary depending on the student. The teacher should make sure to get a

sampling of the classes responses, not just those who are raising their hands.


Reading Strategies (Jigsaw & Give One/ Get One)

Reading Comprehension Level Pairing

Class Discussion

----------------------------------------9191----------------------------------------


This week we will be finishing up our discussions on population dilemmas in

Europe, and also finishing up the entire unit with the final culminating activity the Model

EU Conference. The students will not be needing their Geography Alive books for the

last two days, but the following assignments are due: Population Dilemmas Question

Packet, Diplomatic Statements, and the Mini-Project. The teacher will also be leading the

students in the final EU Conference class discussion, which will be talking about the

different roles they will be playing, such as secretary or the president. The activities the

students will be participating in the last two days of the unit include: Population

Dilemmas Role-Play, and the Model EU Conference: Population Dilemmas. These last

two days again, will be concluding the unit on the European Union and Population

Dilemmas in Europe.

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday FridayChapter 15: Population

Dilemmas Role-Play Activity

Class discussion on Model EU

Due: 3 assignments

Final Day of Unit: Culminating

Activity: Model EU Conference


Conference Discussion

EU Summary Sheet

Phase Out Phase Out Final Day of Student Teaching

Goals/Objectives:

Students will:



----------------------------------------9292----------------------------------------

Role-Play peoples who’s lives have been affected by population change

Discuss ways other people can be affected by population change

Represent their countries in a Model EU Conference

Propose a common position on population dilemmas to deliberate

Deliberate the common position, and propose changes

Negotiate with fellow classmates to discuss the issue

Vote on the common proposal presented

Discuss and explain what they have learned overall in this unit

----------------------------------------9393----------------------------------------


Students will:



Role-Play people who’s lives have been affected by population change

List ways other people can be affected by population change

Discuss the relationship this activity has with the EU and population changes in

Europe





context.












----------------------------------------9494----------------------------------------

























E1.1 Individual, Business, and Government Choices:

Describe how individuals, businesses, and governments make economic decisions when

confronting scarcity in the market economy.

Individuals, businesses, industries, and governments confront scarcity and choice when

organizing, producing and using productive resources (land, labor, capital) to supply the

market place.

7 – E1.1.1: Explain the role of incentives in different economic systems (acquiring

----------------------------------------9595----------------------------------------

money, profit, goods, wanting to avoid loss, position in society, job placement).

Anticipatory Set:

Today students will be performing a role-play activity, where they will be citizens

of a country, namely Italy, faced with an aging population and low/negative birthrate.

This activity will show students the different ways in which people are affected by

population change, by being put in their positions. Students will need to understand this

problem affects everyone in a country all the way down to shop owners and teachers. The

role-play activity will also be preparing the students for the Model EU Conference on the

following day, Tuesday, December 8th. The teacher will be delegating roles, as we have

done today, to a few chosen students for the EU Conference, which will tie into today’s

lesson. The anticipatory set for this lesson will run as follows:

Population Role-Play Activity:

1. Separate the class into five groups –groups may vary in size depending on the

number of students in the classroom. Hand out one index card per group with the

roles (teacher, mayor, etc.) face up. Each group should have one sheet of paper;

the teacher should then have the students put their names at the top. Inform the

students not to flip the card over until instructed to do so. Once all of the students

have had the chance to see the role they have been assigned go over the activity

with them.

2. Explain to the students they will be taking on the roles given to them: teacher,

mayor, shop owner, President/Leader, and Parents. Allow students a few minutes

to get acquainted with their roles, and answer any questions the students may

have.

3. The teacher should then read aloud the scenario for the students each of their roles

are faced with. Scenario: You are all citizens of the country Italy, ranging from a

shop owner in a small town, to the actual President of the entire country. You are

faced with a growing problem of an aging population, and a low/negative

birthrate. These two factors have coupled together to create a major crisis for the

country, and all of its citizens.

----------------------------------------9696----------------------------------------

4. In their groups have students take their given roles and come up with ways in

which they might be affected by this crisis on a separate sheet of paper. One

student per group should be writing their group members ideas (this will be turned

in at the end of the class period).

5. Have the students come back together as a whole group to share their ideas on the

scenario. Questions the teacher could possibly ask:

In what ways would this scenario affect your roles?

What would you do in such a situation?

Would this scenario only affect your role? Why?

6. Have the students then flip over the roles to reveal the different role descriptions

for each, have one student from each group read them aloud to the class. After the

students have finished reading their role descriptions, the teacher could ask the

following questions:

What could you do to help change the situation your roles are in?

What are ways in which you could all work together to change this

problem?

Could this problem grow if left alone? Or could it alleviate (or ease) as

time went on?

Materials:

5 plain index cards

Cut outs of both the Roles and Role Descriptions

Glue stick

Pen/Pencil & Paper

EU Conference Guide

Time Line:


10-15 min. –Collection of 3 assignments

35-40 min. –Role-Play Activity

15-20 min. –EU Conference Final Discussion

----------------------------------------9797----------------------------------------


3 Assignments:

The students will be turning in their three assignments to the teacher today

Monday, December 7th. These assignments included:

Population Dilemmas Question Packet –This packet was created to guide the

students through the research process for population changes in their EU country.

They were handed out to the students on Tuesday, November 17th, and the teacher

then checked for progress on Wednesday, November 25th. The students were to

answer the questions to the best of their abilities, and were given ample time to

ask for any clarification if there was any confusion. The packet was to help

students become knowledgeable of their countries population changes, and why

they were happening. This packet was to help them deliberate and negotiate

positions on population changes in Europe.

Diplomatic Statements –The statements were created to push students create

something new with the information the attained while progressing on their

question packets. The teacher will be choosing about 5 statements per class to be

read in front of the EU Conference. In the statements the students were to include:

o Introduction: Introduce yourself, for example “Hello my name is…”

o Country & Location: State the name and relative location of your EU

country

o Main Issue: Give your main population issue you want to be addressed

o Address the Issue: Give two ways in which your country would solve this

issue

o Call for Action: State two ways the European Union could help solve

your issue

The teacher handed the diplomatic statements out on Friday, November 20th to be

completed and turned in on this date. The teacher will then be handing back the 5

statements that will be read aloud on the conference date. The statements were also a

ways for the students to narrow down their research, to a much more manageable chunk.

Mini-Project –The project was to bring the information we were to learn about

population dilemmas in chapter 15 to the process. The students so far have done

----------------------------------------9898----------------------------------------

their research, created diplomatic statements regarding that research, now they

will be creating population pyramids with a description of them, to tie them all

together. The activity was paired with the anticipatory set on population pyramids

on Thursday, December 3rd. The students were either to create their population

pyramids on a computer, where they had access to the websites shown, or the

teacher would print them out for the students.

Role-Play Activity:

Today students will be performing a role-play activity, where they will be citizens

of a country, namely Italy, faced with an aging population and low/negative birthrate.

This activity will show students the different ways in which people are affected by

population change, by being put in their positions. Students will need to understand this

problem affects everyone in a country all the way down to shop owners and teachers. The

role-play activity will also be preparing the students for the Model EU Conference on the

following day, Tuesday, December 8th. The teacher will be delegating roles, as we have

done today, to a few chosen students for the EU Conference, which will tie into today’s

lesson. The entire outline of this activity is explained in full detail above.

Final EU Conference Discussion:

After we have finished up our role-play activity on population change and how

others are affected by it, we will be moving on into the final discussion on the Model EU

Conference, which will be taking place on Tuesday, December 8th. Like yesterday the

teacher will be going over the basics of the EU conference, which include: what is

expected (or rules), the structure (or how it is expected to run), and roles (such as a

secretary and president). Today we will be outlining what students will be taking on 3 of

the major roles of the conference, and what their duties are. The exact outline of the

conference will have the topics discussed above; it will also be posted on moodle and

given in hard copy form. Today is the final discussion before the actual EU Conference,

so allow students to ask any final questions that may prepare them for the simulation. The

three discussion segments should have fully prepared the students for this activity;

therefore, the teacher should be expecting the students to re-create a session quite

smoothly.

----------------------------------------9999----------------------------------------

Assessment:

Today the teacher will be assessing the students again by questioning. The first

part of the hour the students will be handing in their three assignments, which were due,

and will be answering any questions involving those assignments only. We will be then

moving on into our role-play activity, which will be preparing us for our Model EU

simulation on Tuesday, December 8th. The students will be asked a series of questions

involving the activity, which will tie into chapter fifteens theme of population dilemmas

in Europe. To end the class we will be holding our final EU discussion group, which will

be delegating roles for the conference, and again answering any final questions they may

have about the conference.

Wrap Up:

The students will be leading the wrap up for the day. The teacher could ask the

following questions:

What did we learn today?

Why is cooperation not only important to Europe, but everywhere?

Did today’s lesson help us relate to what population change can do?


Role-Play Activity

EU Discussion

----------------------------------------100100----------------------------------------

Lesson 14/ Tuesday, November 8 th

Goals/ Objectives:

Students will:

Analyze their main population issues

Read diplomatic statements to the class

Create a common proposal to negotiate

Deliberate over the common proposal

Vote on the common proposal

Discuss reasons why we performed the Model EU

List ways we could have possibly made the conference better





context.









----------------------------------------101101----------------------------------------



























national economy.





----------------------------------------102102----------------------------------------

P3.1 Identifying and Analyzing Issues, Decision Making, Persuasive

Communication About a Public Issue, and Citizen Involvement:

7 – P3.1.1: Clearly state an issue as a question or public policy, trace the origins of

an issue, analyze and synthesize various perspectives, and generate and evaluate

alternative resolutions. Deeply examine policy issues in-group discussions and debates to

make reasoned and informed decisions. Write persuasive/argumentative essays

expressing and justifying decisions on public policy issues. Plan and conduct activities

intended to advance views on matters of public policy, report the results, and evaluate

effectiveness.

Identify public policy issues related to global topics and issues studied.

Clearly state the issue as a question of public policy orally or in written form.

Use inquiry methods to acquire content knowledge and appropriate data about the

issue.

Identify the causes and consequences and analyze the impact, both positive and

negative.

Share and discuss findings of research and issue analysis in group discussions and

debates.

Compose a persuasive essay justifying the position with a reasoned argument.

Develop an action plan to address or inform others about the issue at the local to

global scales.

Culminating Activity:

General Rules of the Conference:1) Disruptive behavior. Delegates should remember at all times the importance

of the three Cs: cooperation, compromise, and consensus. All delegates must at all times

behave in accordance with the norms prevailing in a meeting among representatives of

democratic governments, and should avoid any kind of disruptive behavior, defined as

behavior that is hostile, aggressive, rude, or in any way interferes with the flow of the

work of the meeting.

In the event of disruptive behavior by a delegate, the Chair may issue a formal

warning to that delegate. If the delegate fails to co-operate after two formal warnings, the

----------------------------------------103103----------------------------------------

Chair may require the delegate to be silent for a specified time, or (as a last resort) may

order the delegate to be expelled from the meeting chamber for a specified time. A

silenced delegate may vote, but any delegate expelled from a meeting will lose all voting

rights for the duration of his/her absence.

It is left to the Chair to define "disruptive behavior", but it may include open

hostility, verbal abuse, constant interruption, raising of voices, delaying tactics, sleeping,

a refusal to follow the rules of procedure, a refusal to co-operate in decision-making, or

consulting with another delegate in a manner that interferes with the smooth flow of the

meeting.

2) Speaking. Any delegate wishing to address any meeting must raise his/her

hand and be recognized by the Chair. Verbal requests are not acceptable, nor is speaking

out of turn. Delegates must remain seated while speaking. Speakers may not be

interrupted by anyone but the Chair.

3) Closure of Negotiations. The Chair will normally decide on the closure of

negotiations, but a delegate may move for closure, and (if necessary) be given a

maximum of one minute to explain his/her rationale. If at least two other delegates

second the motion, it will immediately be put to a vote, and requires the support of a

majority of delegates to be successful. The Chair will declare the debate closed if the vote

is successful.

4) Voting. Where votes are taken, they should normally be open, and made by

roll call in order of seating, and recorded by the Deputy Chair. The Chair will be the last

called to vote. Voting will be verbal, and expressed either as "Yes", "No", or "Abstain".

Once a vote has been declared open, no one will be allowed to speak other than to cast

his or her vote. Once all votes have been cast, the Deputy Chair will tally the vote and

immediately announce the result. The decision of the Deputy Chair on a tally will be

final.

5) Closure of meeting. The Chair will normally decide on the closure of a

meeting, but a delegate may move for closure, and (if necessary) be given a maximum of

one minute to explain his/her rationale. If at least two other delegates second the motion,

it will immediately be put to a vote, and requires unanimity to be successful. The Chair

----------------------------------------104104----------------------------------------

will then close the meeting if the vote is successful. No one delegate may call for a

closure of a meeting more than once in any one meeting.

________________________________________________________________________

The EU Conference Process:The EU Conference can proceed in the following manner:

1. 5 delegates will read their countries diplomatic statements on the issue to the body

to begin the conference

2. A delegate (from any country) will then propose a common EU position for

deliberation in the body after hearing all five of the propositions. If all of the

delegates remain quite, the teacher or the chair will propose this position.

3. The deliberation should then address the common position. Delegates will then

stand and explain either their support or opposition to the common proposal in

accordance with their own position on the issue, and then make amendments to

the proposal as they see fit.

4. The Chair should then open the body to informal negotiations once all comments

have been addressed. Delegates should leave their seats and informally discuss the

issue with their allies and opponents.

5. Delegates should re-convene to vote on the common proposal once all informal

negotiations are final, or if the Chair has motioned the body to come to a vote.

6. Once the votes have been taken and tallied by the Deputy Chair (or the Chair in

this case), the decision on the issue will be final.

7. The Chair will then call for a closure of the conference.

________________________________________________________________________

Roles of the Conference:1) Responsibilities of delegates. All delegates must attend all scheduled

meetings. Any delegate who cannot avoid missing all or a substantial part of a meeting

(i.e., more than ten minutes) must register their anticipated absence with the Chair in

advance. They may appoint an alternate (who will have the powers and responsibilities of

----------------------------------------105105----------------------------------------

the delegate), or they may give their vote to another delegate. Either way, they should

inform the Chair through a Point of Personal Privilege, otherwise they will lose all voting

rights for the duration of their absence.

Delegates are encouraged to remain seated throughout each meeting, but may

leave the chamber for short periods without the permission of the Chair. Anyone leaving

a meeting chamber loses all voting rights for the duration of their absence unless they

have appointed an alternate or given their replacement to the delegate of another state,

and so informed the Chair.

2) Responsibilities of the Presidency. The member state holding the Presidency

is responsible for arranging and chairing all meetings of the Council of Ministers and the

European Council, and for launching and building a consensus on initiatives. Holding the

Presidency gives a member state the opportunity to guide the direction of the EU, and can

reflect well or badly on that state, depending on how it does its job. The Presidency is

expected to strive to bring agreement on as many issues as possible, and to try and

engineer compromise where there is deadlock.

3) Responsibilities of the Chair. The Chair will have the sole and final power to

open and close sessions, recognize speakers, place limits on floor times, control

discussion and debate, caution or remove observers, and - if necessary - clear the room of

everyone except faculty advisors and members of the Secretariat. It will be left to the

Chair to determine the flow and temper of Council meetings, but he/she should be fair,

efficient, and courteous, avoid being partisan in any way, and ensure that every delegate

is given the opportunity to speak.

4) Responsibilities of the Secretary. In the event of problems, conflicts, or

questions over procedure, the Chair may call for arbitration by the Secretary, whose

decision will be final. A member of the Secretariat may - having given due notice to the

Chair - briefly interrupt any meeting on a Point of Order or a Point of Information.

Therefore, the Secretary needs to take thorough notes during the conference.

________________________________________________________________________

Questioning:Questions the teacher may ask include:

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Why did we perform this conference?

Why was this whole unit on cooperation?

How does this conference tie into what we talked about in both Chapters 14 and

15?

What were the major obstacles we encountered along the way?

Did the introduction of money make it easier or harder to negotiate?

Was the conference fair to all voters?

What could we do to better the conference?

How could the teacher improve the unit?

What did you

Materials:

Conference Sheets



Power Point: Conference Guide

Time Line:


70 min. –Model EU Conference

Assessment:

The assessment for the day will be the culminating activity. The activity was to tie

in the information from both chapters 14, which again was about economic, political, and

cultural cooperation in the European Union; and chapter 15, which was about population

changes in Europe. The unit was all based on one word, cooperation. The students were

not only striving to learn the content for the two chapters, but were also working towards

being more cooperative with each other. The teacher will be viewing the students during

the conference, to see that it runs smoothly and so everyone does take part. The

conference is the student’s responsibility with limited interruptions by the teacher. By

this time the students should be able to cooperate together, and come to a compromise on

the common proposal for population change.

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Wrap Up:

The teacher will be wrapping up the day with the questioning portion of the

Model EU Conference. The wrap up will also be part of the teacher’s assessment of the

students, to see if they understood why they were participating in this model. The teacher

will ask general conference questions, as well as overall unit questions tying the two

chapters, and cooperation into the questioning.

Adaptations for Diversity: EU Conference Questioning Conference Notes Power Point: Conference Guiding Slides

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Assessment AnalysisChapter 14 Test Procedure:

Today the students will be taking the Chapter 14 test, which will take up the entire

35-minute class period. The students for the past two weeks have been learning about the

different forces that either unite or divide the European Union (again economic, political,

and cultural). The students were also creating a sheet to help them answer the essential

question for the chapter. The essential question guides the students thinking throughout

the chapter, which by the end they should be able to answer fully. The students also

learned about how important cooperation is, whether that may be at the classroom, state,

nation, or global level. Cooperation is the theme for the chapter, and for our culminating

activity (Model EU), which will take place next Tuesday, December 8th. We will be

beginning the class by passing out the mini-project assignment details, along with any

questions the students may have. The teacher will then begin with the directions for the

test, and open up for any questions the students may have. The directions to the test are

as follows:

Do not begin the test until the teacher has gone through all of the directions

Only have a pencil, the test answer packet, gut check sheet, and notes at their

desk, nothing more

For those students who may need assistance at this time can go to the proper room

designated for them

Students should complete each section of the test to the best of their ability, and

should use their gut check sheets and notes to help them

Be quite during the entire exam: if there are any questions concerning the test or

need to leave their seat, students must first raise their hand; if a student is talking

the teacher will assume they are cheating and will collect their work, and mark it

as a 0 in the grade book

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Once students are done with the test they must raise their hand, and the teacher

will come and collect it; students may then work on the mapping activity packet,

or can read silently until all have completed the test

Once the teacher has gone through all of the directions for the test the students will

then be able to begin. Students will be given an answer packet to guide them through

their writing. The test will consist of one question: What forces work for and against

supranational cooperation among nations? This question is what the students should have

been trying to answer for the past two weeks, with the help of their gut check sheets. The

answer packet will be broken down into different sections to help the students answer the

question completely; the components of the test include:

A word bank: the word bank will consist of words, which may help students

complete the essay test

5 answer boxes: this is to help students present their answers in paragraph format

Box 1: Introduction –a paragraph containing the essential question; what

the European Union is, and supranational cooperation (section 14.1);

examples of centrifugal and centripetal forces (section 14.2); the three

different types of cooperation we went over economic, political, and

cultural (14.3-14.5); and a final statement of why cooperation is important

in the EU.

Box 2: Economic Cooperation –start with an introductory sentence stating what


economic forces that unite the European Union; Give two examples of economic

forces that divide the European Union; give a statement of why economic


Box 3: Political Cooperation –start with an introductory sentence stating

what type of cooperation this paragraph will be talking about; Give two

examples of political forces that unite the European Union; Give two

examples of political forces that divide the European Union; give a

statement of why political cooperation is important to the European

Union.

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Box 4: Cultural Cooperation –start with an introductory sentence stating what


cultural forces that unite the European Union; Give two examples of cultural

forces that divide the European Union; give a statement of why cultural


Box 5: Restatement of the essential question for chapter 14; the three

different types of cooperation within the chapter economic, political, and

cultural; state again why cooperation is important in the European Union;

give two reasons why supranational cooperation is important globally, and

why.

The boxes will give the students room to write down their answers, and again will

help guide them through the test. After the students have completed the test, have them

staple their gut check sheets and notes to the back, which will be part of their final grade.

The students will be given the entire 35 minutes to complete the test, but if there are

students that do not finish, they will be able to complete the test on the next class day in

the hall.

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Chapter 14 Unit Test Name _________________________

Hour ________ Date ____________

Essential Question: What forces work for and against supranational cooperation among nations?

Introduction: (Please restate the essential question in your introductory paragraph.)________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

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________________________________________________________________________

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Economic Cooperation: Give two examples of economic forces that unite the EU, and two examples of economic forces that divide the EU. ________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

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________________________________________________________________________

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________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

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________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

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__________________

Political Cooperation: Give two examples of political forces that unite the EU, and two

examples of political forces that divide the EU.

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

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________________________________________________________________________

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Cultural Cooperation: Give two examples of cultural forces that unite the EU, and two examples of cultural forces that divide the EU. ________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

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________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

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________________________________________________________________________

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Conclusion: Conclude your answer by telling why cooperation is important to the EU.

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________________________________________________________________________

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______________________________________________________

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Chapter 14 Test Rubric

Paragraph 1 (8pts.): Introduction -(Please restate the essential question in your introductory paragraph.) Answers could vary.

Restatement of the essential question What they will be talking about in the essay What forces work for (centripetal) and against (centrifugal) cooperation What are the areas the students will be discussing: economic, political, and

cultural Examples of these forces and areas

Paragraph 2 (8pts.): Economic Cooperation –Give two examples of economic forces that unite the EU, and two examples of economic forces that divide the EU. (Answers could vary).

Students could have the following uniting forces: the EU shares a common currency, which is the euro; they work towards shared economic goals; the EU countries have “open borders” with each other; the EU members have joined their economies to form a powerful trade bloc

Students could have the following dividing forces: before the EU there were stiff taxes put on goods, and currency exchange was a problem; countries many times don’t agree on how money should be spent; the general wealth and job differences between Eastern and Western Europe; the euro, not all countries can or have adopted this common currency

Paragraph 3 (8pts.): Political Cooperation –Give two examples of political forces that unite the EU, and two examples of political forces that divide the EU. (Answers could vary).

Students could have the following uniting forces: all of it’s members take part in a common EU government; the EU brings nations together on issues they all share; the EU encourages it members to think of themselves as citizens of Europe; all citizens have the rights to move, work, and vote; there are several different important bodies in the EU including the European Commission, and the European Parliament; citizens directly elect their some 700 representatives; the EU tries to unite Europe by speaking with one voice, instead of several

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Students could have the following dividing forces: when nations join the EU they are expected to give up some of their political powers to the larger body; many times member countries do not agree with the decisions of the EU possibly regarding defense and foreign affairs; the growing size of the EU has also posed problems to cooperation efforts; the thought of being a citizen of Europe has also been hard for some people to adjust to

Paragraph 4 (8pts.): Cultural Cooperation –Give two examples of cultural forces that unite the EU, and two examples of cultural forces that divide the EU. (Answers could vary).

Students could have the following uniting forces: the EU has promoted a cultural identity; the EU also recognizes the great diversity, which include religion, languages, beliefs, and traditions, of it’s member nations; there are also examples of cultural symbols such as the motto “United in Diversity”, a flag, an anthem, and even a day devoted to Europe on May 9th of every year; the EU also supports many cultural programs such as the European Union Youth Wind Orchestra; the common currency and passports have also helped uniting the region

Students could have the following dividing forces: with the great diversity comes many different languages, which many times makes it difficult to communicate, especially when they have to translate documents into 20 different languages; each member nation has a strong cultural identity, which can sometimes lead to competition and rivalry between countries; also cultural traditions may also get in the way of cooperation, for example Czech foods.

Paragraph 5 (8pts.): Conclusion –Conclude your answer by telling why cooperation is important to the EU. (Answers could vary).

Some positives of cooperation, for example it can lead to peace around the world Some negatives of not having cooperation, for example if we do not use

cooperation than war could break out Give your own personal reflection of what cooperation is, and why it is important

for not only your country, but the entire world

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Student Learning AnalysisThe test taken above was given to the students in two segments due to the

shortened day on Tuesday, December 1st. After a full day off, the students came back to

school to conclude the test, and were given another 35-40 minutes to do so. I decided to

use my 4th hours test results, because they had an overwhelmingly high-grade average

over the other three classes. The classroom demographics are much like stated, with the

majority being Caucasian, and then Asian and African Americans make up the rest of the

class. We also have three students who are under caseload, which include students 16, 21,

and 25.

We will first be discussing the graph above, which shows the overall grade

percentages for 4th hours chapter 14 test. The vertical axis shows the grade percentages,

and the horizontal axis shows the 26 students who completed the exam. Of the 26

students 11 earned a 90% or above, 7 receiving an 80% and above, 5 earning a 70% and

above, and the remaining 3 students earned less that 60% on the test. Two of the three

students who had the outlying percentages are on caseload, so students 16 and 25. After

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Studen

t 1

Studen

t 3

Studen

t 5

Studen

t 7

Studen

t 9

Studen

t 11

Studen

t 13

Studen

t 15

Studen

t 17

Studen

t 19

Studen

t 21

Studen

t 23

Studen

t 25

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

4th Hour Chapter 14 Test

Series1

Number of Students

Gra

de

Per

cen

tage

taking a look at the overall results of the class, I will make the hypothesis that the three

outliers (students 4, 16, and 25) will bring down the classes grade average down. First,

we will take a look at the grade average for the class, with the three outliers, and then

compare it to the average without those students. 4th hours average score was an 83%, but

when the three outliers were taken out of the classes average it jumped up to an average

score of an 87%. Therefore, the hypothesis that the three outliers were weighting down

the classes overall grade average was supported.

The next set of data for the test on chapter 14 we will be looking at is the average

score for both males and females in the 4th hour class. The class consists of 16 males, and

3 of those males are those who are on caseload. Another aspect of the male ratio found

was that the three outliers for the exam are also of the same gender. The remaining 10

students are female, which makes males the dominant gender in the class. We will now

be taking a look at the bar graph below, and analyzing the information found in it.

10%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100% 75%

94%

Male & Female Test Averages

MaleFemale

Males & Females

Gra

de

Per

cen

tage

The bar graph is much like the overall class averages, with the vertical axis

showing the grade percentages for the two genders, and the horizontal axis shows the two

groups males and females who we are comparing. By looking at the graph we can see

that the 16 males in the 4th hour class have an average test grade percentage of a 75%,

while the 10 female students average is a 94%. This means on average the female

students in our class out performed the males by almost 20%. Again, as was stated above,

the three outliers are factored into the male grade percentage. We will again take the three

outliers out of the average to see if it affects the male overall percentage, hypothesizing

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that the percentage will go up dramatically. After taking the outliers from the male

average the hypothesis was not supported. By taking these students out the average was

only raised by 4%, to a 79% test average for males. Therefore, the females in the 4th hour

class outperformed the males by 20%.

By looking at the information found the majority of the 4th hour class scored

above average, with most of the students lying in the 80% and above range. There were,

however, three outliers, which brought the class average down by 4%, from an 87% to a

83% average. By looking at the numbers we can conclude that the test was a successful

assessment of the students learning for chapter 14. The other set of information we talked

about was the female and male test averages, which showed a large difference. The males

in the class had an average test grade of a 74% or C, which is considered average, on the

other hand females outscored the males by almost 20%, having an average test grade of a

94% or A, which is well above average. Concluding that on average the females in the

class understood the material in chapter 14 better than the males. The three outliers as

said above were all below a 60% or D-, which did bring the class average down. Two of

the three students again are on caseload. What could have been done in this instance to

help better there test scores, would be to possibly give them extra time, allow them to use

their books, taking the test in the resource room, or allowing them just to list on uniting

and dividing force (so adjusting the test to fit those students needs).

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Unit ReflectionI remember starting off my student teaching career wondering what my unit

would be on. I was not quite sure of what my unit would even contain, or how to even

begin putting something as large as this has become together. As time progressed, and I

acquired the tools needed to construct and understand the components of a unit, I looked

to the challenge that awaited me. Mrs. Erby and I sat down one day to discuss what my

unit could possibly be over, so we narrowed our choices down to two. The unit before

mine had the students traveling back in time to take a look at the world’s ancient

civilizations. Although this unit seemed intriguing to teach, I was to stay within my major

content area, which is geography. The next idea clicked, I would be constructing my unit

on the basis of two chapters; Chapter 14 –Supranational Cooperation in the European

Union, and Chapter 15 –Population Dilemmas in Europe. I was very excited and nervous

about how much work would lie ahead of me. But, with the skills acquired and the tools

given to me by my cooperating teacher Mrs. Erby, I have finally come to the successful

conclusion of my unit.

At first, I was not quite sure where to begin with all of the materials and

information given to me to construct my unit. I started off slowly by taking notes in the

margins, then began to venture further by crossing full sections off, re-arranging the

steps, adding and subtracting information, all while beginning to take control of the class.

At the very beginning of construction, Mrs. Erby could tell I was definitely a bit stressed,

and at that point I felt out of my element. As time passed and I whittled away at my unit,

I became more comfortable with what I was doing with my unit. I really began to think of

the unit as my own, and not something foreign that was put here unwillingly. As my unit

neared I could tell already it was going to be a monster with all of my added materials,

tests, rubrics, assignments, activities, and not to mention my never wavering attention for

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detail. Today as I type my reflection I can tell now it was well worth the time and effort I

put forth, especially when it was to benefit my students.

My unit began the week before Thanksgiving, and I knew this would be an

interesting time to have my unit, but I really had no clue until now. The unit started off

fairly well with my imovie, and country assignments, the student were well engaged with

the entire idea. From that day forth, I began to see exactly what teachers go through each

day when they come into school. My unit started to become almost obsolete after the first

day, with changes in the schedule, students missing school, students not understanding

the material, parents questioning, students questioning, days off, and student-led

conferences. These factors forced me to rethink my unit on multiple occasions, tweaking

the days little by little as we progressed, and thus, creating a whole new unit all together.

Looking back from Monday, November 16th-Tuesday, December 8th, my unit looks

nothing like what I started with. The challenges of teaching hit me hard, but I never

forgot what this whole experience was about, the students.

I reflect today on the ups and downs that came with constructing my unit, and

delivering it to my students as the final product. There are many things I could have

changed, but not having these changes helped prepare me for what really lies ahead. At

the end of my unit, I said to myself, “I’m not a statistic now”, meaning I didn’t give up,

on my students or me. This unit will always be with me, as something that pushed me to

better myself as learner and a teacher. I can now say my students are more

knowledgeable of the content I taught, and that is most rewarding aspect of this whole

experience.

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Self-ReflectionWhen you are on the road to an education degree there are sure to be many

hardships and trials, whether it be in the process of writing your first unit, or having your

first experience leading a classroom of middle school students. But, with those hardships

and trials, comes an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment and an extreme love for

the craft of teaching. These phases of the education process are all too familiar to me, but

I have been able to take them and put my experiences into two main categories: me (the

teacher) as a learner, and me (the student) as a teacher. Both of which I have come to find

out should be a constant goal to strive for on your long journey to becoming a teacher, in

any grade, at any age, and in any content area.

Me as a teacher and a learner:

I read an article, a few years back at the beginning of my teaching process, which

talked about teachers as learners. I then asked myself, what could this possibly mean?

After having plenty of time to reflect on this question, I have finally came up with an

answer. Each and every day during our undergraduate teaching experience we are

constantly given the tools to become a better teacher. We have gone through many years

of content training, hundreds of hours of observation time, and three short months of

student teaching. At all of these steps I, the teacher, have been learning.

Learning is defined as gaining or acquiring knowledge of or skill in (something)

by study, experience, or being taught. I have sat in many lectures to learn content,

observed many classes to learn how to teach, but what do you learn when you are student

teaching? As a teacher you should be constantly learning from your students, maybe not

for content, but you are learning how to better yourself as an educator. To come to this

realization you have to be a constant state of reflection. What could you do better? How

could I relate this lesson to the students more? Do the students understand what I am

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teaching? To find the answers to these questions, look to the students for answers. The

role of teacher is not just designated to you, but should be a give-and-take role, where

both the educator and the student are learning from each other. I finally understand what

the article was talking about as I come to the end of my student teaching experience, with

not only the knowledge of a teacher, but of a student.

It is hard to believe from my very beginnings as a community college student, that

I would be here someday typing up a reflection about the experiences I have encountered

during my entire pre-student and student teaching career. The content was mastered, but

how would this translate into becoming an amazing teacher? I definitely knew what type

of teacher I wanted to be, and I knew there were endless ways to execute this task, but

these will count for nothing if the students are not learning. To be a true teacher, you

must adapt to every student on every level, every day. To do so, you must learn about the

needs of your students, and what they know, how they learn, their backgrounds, and even

their everyday lives. As a beginning teacher I now know you cannot just have something

concretely planned, life and your students are unpredictable. These plans are to be

molded to your student’s knowledge levels; from student to student, from section to

section, and from year to year, you may need to make changes.

The process of student teaching now seems so short to me. I can still remember

coming to Saline in August, not knowing what to expect. Now that the three months have

passed, my love for teaching is unmatched. I have grown not only as a learner, but also as

an educator, and I would not change one moment of this wonderful journey.

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