Middle School (6-8)
Lesson Plans

Facts About Terrorism and War (rm08)

Objectives

Students will:

• Brainstorm, compare and discuss their perceptions of war or armed conflict.
• Write and perform choral readings to share and analyze their perceptions of war.
• Design rules of humanitarian behavior toward vulnerable people and compare these rules with the Geneva Conventions.
• Search the media to discover and map areas in which families might be separated because of disaster or armed conflict.
• Write messages and responses, acting as family members separated during disaster or armed conflict in the world today.

Purpose

• To recognize that during times of disaster or war there are vulnerable people who need help and protection and that there are rules and principles to address these needs.

Key Terms and Concepts

• laws
• protections
• vulnerable
• people
• combatants
• civilians
• protected
• symbols
• tracing
• refugees
• war
• surrender
• prisoner of war (POW)
• Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols

Activities

• "Perceptions of War"
• Rules for Humanitarian Protection"
• "Finding Your Family"

Home Connection

• How Do We Help?

Linking Across the Curriculum

• Social Studies/Media Literacy
• History

Teaching Note

During war, or when acts of terrorism occur, students have some hard questions. To help you find a way to answer these questions, please see Background for the Teacher.

Most nations agree that in times of war there should be rules to protect groups of people, including children and other civilians, from the fighting. These rules are found in international humanitarian laws like the Geneva Conventions. Symbols such as the red cross, red crescent and red shield of David legally identify humanitarian organizations, such as the Red Cross, that remind everyone that innocent people should be protected from harm. Acts of terrorism violate or go against all humanitarian rules and behavior.

The activities in this lesson plan are meant to help students understand that even during the most tragic events, there are people to help those affected by the tragedy and humanitarian rules by which people live.

Files

(These files are in Adobe Acrobat format. If you need assistance with this format,
click on this link: Adobe Acrobat Help.)

Lesson Plan

Activity Sheet 14

Activity Sheet 15

Activity Sheet 16

Activity Sheet 17

Activity Sheet 18

Activity Sheet 19

Activity Sheet 20

Activity Sheet 21

This Lesson Plan was contributed by the American Red Cross.