Lesson Plan Template: Debate on American Military Involvement

Name: Kevin Buss Class/Subject: American History Date: January 24th 2012 Student Objectives/Student Outcomes: - Students will be able to logically and effectively argue a position they may or may not agree with. - Students will be familiar with standard debate structure and etiquette. - Students will have an appreciation for multiple/alternative perspectives that they may not have considered before. - Students will begin to understand how American involvement overseas in the past has shaped our foreign policy and involvement today. Content Standards: History Habits of the Mind - Significance of the past: Students will understand how past actions have shaped current policy. - Historical empathy: Students will gain an appreciation of differing points of view on American involvement, and the interventionist vs. non-interventionist schools of thought. - Unfinished business: Students will connect foreign policy history with foreign policy today, and understand that there is rarely a right or wrong answer. - Tentative nature: Students will be able to evaluate the quality of judgments for either side of the debate, and be critical of accepting any judgments as dogma.

Materials/Resources/Technology:
Two banks of facing table Paper/writing materials Projector and computer Short Power Point slide Slips of paper with team assignments

Teachers Goals: I want to introduce to debates; how to debate properly and why good debating skills will be useful in future classes and vocations. I also want to introduce them to a topic that may not mean much to them now (middle school), but might become increasingly important as they grow older. They will begin shaping their political views at this age, and the history of US foreign policy plays a big role in politics today.

Time

Start of Class: Have students draw slips out of a hat to determine debate teams. Each team (interventionist and non-interventionist) sits in a bank facing the opposing team. Explain how students need to develop logical argumentation skills for future schooling/careers. Introduction of Lesson: Outline history behind two schools of thought regarding American military involvement: interventionist and non-interventionist. Teacher then asks essential question: Should America be involved in foreign affairs? Remind students that they need to answer and debate according to their side, not whatever their personal views might be. Show graph of US military expenditure to demonstrate how important foreign policy is for everyone in the US. Lesson Instruction: Teacher will ask leading question, and one team will get to answer first. After ~2 answers, opposing team can respond. If one team does not answer right away, teacher will ask follow-up question to try and spur discussion. Order switches for each question. Questions Should America have entered WWI/WWII? Should America have gotten involved in Korea/Vietnam? Should America have invaded Afghanistan/Iraq? Follow-up questions Was it really necessary for the US to be involved in an essentially European war? Is it right for the US to just sit by while our allies are being attacked? Was it worth all the destruction the US caused (atomic bomb)? Would the concentration camps have been successfully liberated without American power? Does America have the right to fight a war because of an ideology we disagree with (communism?) Can Americans ignore the spread of an ideology that may legitimately be harmful to a countrys people? Why is it our job to remove another countrys regime to eliminate a threat that is not inevitable? If we have the power to do so, is it not our duty to stand up for people who cannot stand up for themselves? Assessments/Checks for Understanding: Teacher will ask both sides to define and outline the major argument(s) of both sides, then read their own as a closing statement. Compare definitions with closing statements to check for accuracy and understanding. Self-Assessment: If both sides are able to argue their positions logically and effectively, and definitions roughly match opposing teams closing statement, lesson will have been effective.

3-5 minutes

10+ minutes

5 minutes