Global Issues

Aim: To enhance students’ awareness of the world in which they live and promote the notion of

global citizenship

Three projects: spread over 3 terms:

a presentation

Pair-work with individual assessment according to contribution (no group grades)

Two teachers: one history-geography (fr), one science (eng)

a report a debate

Each student must possess a USB key and an exercise book in which they must note the work done

during each session and any difficulties they encounter during their research

First term: Part I

Students learn basic vocabulary andprinciples of population dynamics (I.N.E.D. site)

They then work actively in pairs to establish apresentation that compares the factors affecting thepopulation growth of a developed country withthose affecting a developing one.

A detailed analysis of ‘age pyramids’ including therelevant history of the two countries in question isexpected and…

Country A Country B

A prediction 20 years into the future and the implications of any changes for the states in question

Assessment

Teachers are particularly looking for:

Students who know their subject

Students who do not read text aloud

Presentations with images and graphs but limited text or special effects

Graphs and charts that are explained in detail

Part II

A rapid study of the natural resources of an emerging economy (other than China) and their

effect on the current and future development of the country concerned.

How can the country escape poverty?

What are the economic, social and environmental consequences of exploiting one of the countries

natural resources?

Assessment

Students come up with some other method of presentingthe methods chosen by the state to overcome poverty:

• Live Interview• Newspaper• Cartoon• Video …

Again students should:

Know their subject

Not read text aloud (notes are permitted)

Explain graphs and charts in detail

Part III

Should fish quotas be implemented ?

   Biofuels : should agriculture be used to produce fuels on an industrial scale ?

    Are GMO’s a credible solution to the world’s food neeeds ?

    Is water a commodity or a natural resource ?

    Are renewable energy resources a solution in the post-oil world ?

    Is deforestation a precondition for economic development in equatorial countries?

A contradictory debate on a theme of global significance

Assessment

Clarity or arguments

precision and explanation of the terms used

Choice of examples

Organisation of talking time during the debate

Ease of oral expression

Dynamism and enthusiasm during the debate

Ability to answer questions from the floor

Tools available:

• INED population simulations• Other Institutional web sites (World Resources Institute…)• global-issues-network.org, • Teacher resource sheets (vocabulary)• School library history and magazine section• Students’ own resources• Image banks (Flikr, Picasa, Google images…)• Teachers! (recommend sources and how to avoid

plagiarism)

A.Thompson 2011