QUESTION: Texts - International Affairs, Global Studies, "The World is Flat"-stuff, etc.?

[Corto Waltese]

I'm new to MCP, so if there's already a thread for this query, I'd appreciate it if someone could point me in the right direction- and you have my apologies for being redundant.

I've been tasked with designing curriculum for an international affairs class geared for 5th-8th graders.

The purpose of the class is to teach students about the international system from the micro (culture: food, flags and clothes) to the macro (why does country X hate country Y, what are the roots behind Country Z's saber rattling, etc.) in order to acclimate them to the global marketplace of the future.

Are there any textbooks out there that cover this ground?
I know this is a very young group to be teaching some of this stuff to, but I have my orders, so march I must.

Has anyone taught a class like this to these grade levels?

Any help is appreciated.

[Kimberly Hawks]

Wow that's quite the order...I agree with you this is quite the young group to teach this to.  While I can't think of a textbook off the top of my head, I can think of a couple things that might help point you in the right direction. Hopefully they will make sense :) It might be helpful to look at how much time you really have--if you have the whole school year that would be ideal, you could split it into a two "semester" course with the first part the micro and then the second part the macro.  Another thought is to do the micro and throw the macro in as you go.  I love to use news clips to help students apply what we are learning about to what is going on in the world today.  A great source for news clips for students is CNN Student News--they do a nice job giving the background of a story, following up on it, and it really appeals to the younger crowd. Good luck!

[Corto Waltese]

I've actually been teaching this class the whole year by the seat of my pants (i.e., with no previous curriculum or materials). There've been a lot of trials, tribulations and pitfalls- which is why I'm looking for nice, simple book to anchor the class...I've been applying all the different facets (mentioned above) in large, "project-based learning" chunks. But, it's just my inability to adapt  a lot of the material to the age group(s) which creates a lot of friction.

I will say that the kids are most responsive when I use current events as teachable moments. That's been the most successful aspect so far. I just need a book written by someone who has trod this path before...

Thanks for your two cents. I actually haven't used CNN before...Might be very useful with my 5th and 6th graders.

[Ryan Goble]

Corto, woza this is a great question because there are SOOOO many cool resources on this topic for the middle school set. A textbook is probably NOT out there but - geezzzhhh, who wants a boring textbook when you can create your own?

Off the top of my dome...

You can always use compelling radio e.g. check out Act 1 of the This American Life episode "Adventure."

Rethinking Schools is loaded with resources on these topics try one of their super cool anthologies like 

Rethinking Globalization:
Teaching for Justice in an Unjust World 
“A treasury of ideas and information,” according to historian Howard Zinn. Includes role plays, interviews, poetry, stories, background readings, hands-on teaching tools, and much more.

Also see the AMAZING project based learning modules on Water, Women's Rights and Displaced People. http://gcc.concernusa.org/educator-resources

If you want to do easier reading on Global Warming this is a simplified version of a pretty important climate change book We Are the Weather Makers: The History of Climate Change

Scholastic and the NY Times publish a great Middle School Magazine - UpFront loaded with topical reads.

The Media that Matters film fest has teacher resource guides and you can search by issue - http://www.mediathatmattersfest.org

The New York Times Learning Network is exploding with short texts and ideas - just go there and search for a topic you want to cover - http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com

This is actually a wonderful book for middle school readers on the ocean - Going Blue A Teen Guide to Saving Our Oceans, Lakes, Rivers, & .... They also carry related titles A Kids’ Guide to Climate Change & Global Warming and A Kids’ Guide to Hunger & Homelessness.

The photographer Peter Menzel did this incredible series of "Material World" books including What the World Eats and it looks like NOVA did an adaptation of his photos as part of their totally cool"World in the Balance" series and the Social Studies School Service has really cool posters of Menzel's work with all kinds of writing / lesson plan ideas HERE.

Teaching the The Story of Stuff animated short films are always a big hit.

I can go on - but if you let me know what topics are of the most interest I can also direct you to fiction films and literature. That said, hopefully this list gives you some ideas to build on!

[Corto Waltese]

Those are a lot of great suggestions. I use the NYT Learning Network all the time, but was unaware of a lot those other resources. Thanks Ryan!

[Nicole Wilson]

I teach human and world geography to freshmen. The topics that you have mentioned we cover for each region we study. I agree with Ryan's suggestions.  Globalization is the perfect way to get these topics covered in a manner that is manageable for younger students. NPR has a lot of great resources as well.

[Corto Waltese]

I started out the year by having the students pick a UN member nation, and planned on having them cycle through these issues individually. That didn't work out so well- not every country has the same confluence of issues, so it was difficult to have everyone produce meaningful work per unit plan. Next year, maybe we'll go region by region. Thanks for the NPR tip, too.

[Ryan Goble]

I would fight that gut impulse to "cover" every country and really plan each unit around "uncovering" the complexities of global themes (water, population, migration, war, etc.) where you explore that theme in a broad range of countries. Take a close look at how Concern USA does it thematically up above - it is really cool.

Also, You know another great book for young readers even to excerpt is:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Boy-Who-Harnessed-Wind/dp/0061730327

http://amzn.to/Jmm3co

and then - speaking to Nicole's point - you can usually find a great NPR piece to set up the reading excerpt or do as a stand alone text

http://www.thetakeaway.org/2009/oct/02/windmill-saves-village/

[Corto Waltese]

Good ideas. Thanks again for those resources...

[Ryan Goble]

Corto, I will probably also post this in the Econ group solo but check out this incredible simulation that my man Peter Landreth tossed at me from the the Population Reference Bureau. It is an awesome simulation!

http://www.prb.org/pdf07/foodforthought.pdf 

[Corto Waltese]

Awesome! Thanks!

[Lucy Gray]

Hi -

I run a ning and a virtual conference on global education, and you might find some useful resources here: http://globaleducationconference.com. There is also a group for people interested in global awareness curriculum in general, and I'm thinking of specifically creating another group on international studies.

You also might want to look at IB's MYP curriculum and this book by the CCSSO and the Asia Society. 

Hope this helps,

Lucy Gray

[Corto Waltese]

Thank you so much!