Lesson Plans

Arab Spring Mini Unit and Final Assessment

Image by Ellen Knickmeyer. Tunisia, 2011.

Image by Ellen Knickmeyer. Tunisia, 2011.

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Coptic Christians protest burning of one of their churches by Muslim extremists. Image by Reese Erlich. Egypt, 2011.

The Arab Spring Mini Unit Plan

The Arab Spring Powerpoint and Arab Spring packet attached below outline the structure of a unit that analyzes the Arab Spring in the context of the French and Haitian revolutions. The PowerPoint is complete with daily agendas, political cartoons, a background on the Arab Spring, a to-do list for the final, and many images and videos (some graphic) on the revolutionary movement. The packet, which is designed for students to follow along while exploring the resources and exercises outlined in the powerpoint, includes a graphic organizer for the political cartoon analysis. It also includes three different news articles that have been tailored for high school freshmen. 

Our class spoke with Pulitzer Center grantee Reese Erlich as part of the research for students' final projects. To schedule a Skype session with a Pulitzer Center journalist, email [email protected].

Resources

Arab Spring PowerPoint

Arab Spring Packet

Arab Spring Mini Unit Summative Assessment

For their summative assessment, students designed presentations on one country involved in the Arab Spring. See Final Assessment for more details. The guiding questions for the assessment are listed to the right. Click on the resouces below for a full description of the assessment and a list of resources that students can use as part of their research.

Arab Spring Final Assessment

Resources for Final Assessment

 

 

Educator Notes: 

The Arab Spring Mini Unit was the culminating piece of a six-week unit on Revolutions: four weeks on the French Revolution, one week on the Haitian Revolution, and one week on the Arab Spring. The unit could easily be modified to be longer or shorter depending on timing. This lesson was designed for high school freshmen but could apply to any age high school student with a fundamental knowledge on Enlightenment principles and values and the driving forces behind revolutionary movements. Due to timing, I was only able to introduce the background of the Arab Spring and the reasons why it started in Tunisia. The summative assessment was student presentations on one country involved in the Arab Spring. See Final Assessment for more details.

The Unit Packet includes a graphic organizer for the political cartoon analysis and three different news articles that have been tailored for high school freshmen. The PowerPoint is complete with daily agendas, political cartoons, a background on the Arab Spring, a to-do list for the final, and many images and videos (some graphic) on the revolutionary movement.

Resources

Arab Spring PowerPoint

Arab Spring Packet

Arab Spring Final Assessment

Resources for Final Assessment

The unit includes a powerpoint that outlines daily agendas, background readings on the Arab Spring, resources for class discussions and the project description for a summative assessment that asks students to analyze the Arab Spring from the perspective of one country. This lesson was designed for high school freshmen but could apply to any age high school student with a fundamental knowledge on Enlightenment principles and values and the driving forces behind revolutionary movements. 

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