Unit Planning Guide for Dimension 1: Attitudes and Perceptions
Classroom Climate Classroom Tasks
What I will do to help students: What I will do to help students:
Feel accepted by the teacher and their peers: Students are
greeted at the door. The only rule that I have in the classroom
is “respect”. Students are to be respectful in conversation and
demeanor, with the ground rules established on day one.
Perceive the classroom as a comfortable and orderly place: All
students are referred to by “Mr.” or “Miss”, as I think it creates
more civilized discourse.
Perceive classroom tasks as valuable: Students will be told
that the United States spends nearly 22% of its budget on
defense. Therefore, knowledge about how that money is
spent, and the decision-making process behind that
knowledge, is vital. Further, male students are reminded that
at the age of 18, they can be drafted into the armed services.
Thus, it is in their best interest to learn about how the decision
to go to war is made, so that they may participate in the
process.
Believe they can perform the tasks: By working together in
groups, which are of mixed abilities (based on reading level),
the weaker students may not feel so overwhelmed by the
amount of work that must be done. And by making the
students create a finished presentation, students have a sense
of control and efficacy over what is produced, making it a
stronger finished product.
Understand and be clear about tasks: Instruction will be
chunked so that students have a very small amount of work to
do at a time; they will put all of their work at the end to form
the finished policy recommendation.
 Unit Planning Guide for Dimension 2: Acquiring and Integrating Declarative Knowledge
Topics What are the How will information How will students be How will students be How will students
specifics? be experienced aided in constructing aided in organizing be aided in storing
directly or indirectly? meaning? information? information?
The student Students read the Students will read Students will be A graphic organizer Students will be
will analyze appropriate sections directly from the working together in will be provided creating a
economic, of their textbook to textbook. An groups (organized which will have the presentation for the
political, determine what the appropriate heterogeneously students list both the President in which
social issues job of each of introduction to the according to reading expressed and implied they give their
and their government material will be made, ability) so that weak powers of each of the department’s
effect on departments is giving a brief history of readers and strong four departments. recommendation on
foreign when it comes to Iran and what is going readers are teamed what should be done
policies of the topic of foreign on currently in the up. The group will with Iran. Because
the United policy (ex. The country. Students will be able to work students learn the
States (2.1.1) President is the be informed that they together and talk most by doing, this
Commander-in- will be simulating the through any presentation, the
Chief, Congress decision-making that disagreements and to accompanying
pays for the war, goes on in the Oval clarify complicated poster, and the
etc.) Office. material. graphic organizer
should create
enough
opportunities for
students to soak in
the information.
 Unit Planning Guide for Dimension 2: Acquiring and Integrating Procedural Knowledge
Skills/processes to be taught
Evaluate the goals of United
States foreign policy, such as
national security, economic
stability, promoting the spread
of democracy
Analyze contemporary
concerns that affect
international relationships and
government policies, such as
world health, human rights,
nation-building, national
security and weapons of mass
destruction, outsourcing and
technology transfer.
How will students be aided in
constructing models?
Students will review their
graphic organizers about the
functions of the various foreign
policy makers in government.
The teacher will pose the
following question to the
students: “What is your
particular group’s role in the
foreign policy process? Name
two powers that you have.
Name two powers that you do
not have.”
Students will read a series of
articles concerning the recent
electoral fiasco in Iran. As a
group, and acting as one of the
foreign policy units of the
government (Congress, the
President, Defense Department, or
State Department), students will
develop their plan for how to deal
with the situation that best meets
their agency’s/branch’s goals.
Students will be aided by the
newspaper articles (to give them
raw data with which to work),
their peers (with whom they can
swap and debate ideas), and their
textbook (which will influence the
type of decision they make).
How will students be aided in
shaping skills/processes?
The teacher will remind
students of the three goals of
foreign policy (national
security, economic stability,
promoting spread of
democracy).
Students will be asked to
identify which goal their group
is most likely to focus on, and
why.
The teacher will provide a graphic
organizer to help the students
understand the key ideas of what
is going on in Iran. This way,
students will know that human
rights is the key contemporary
issue that is at stake.
The teacher will be sure to link
this knowledge with their
understanding from the first
skill/process, so that the students respect abroad) vs. the benefits
know that the underlying goal they (a potential democratic ally in
want to achieve is human rights;
this will heavily influence the
decision they choose to make.
How will students be aided in
internalizing skills/processes?
Students will determine what
their section of government
would most likely recommend
in terms of action against Iran.
Students will determine what
their section of government
would most likely recommend
in terms of action against Iran.
Students will internalize the
concern about human rights by
weighing the costs of a war
against Iran (lives lost, money
spent during a recession, loss of
the region, helping the War on
Terror) through a presentation
advising the President what
s/he should do about the Iranian
election.
 Unit Planning Guide for Dimension 3: Extending and Refining Knowledge
Activities students will engage in to help them:
Information Analyze Analyze
Compare Classify Induce Deduce Support Abstract
Errors Perspectives
Goals of Students will use Students
United States their knowledge will place
foreign of the various the various
policy (skill foreign policy foreign
1) powers of policy
government powers with
institutions and the
determine which institution
institution is best with whom
for meeting a it rests (i.e.
particular foreign President
policy goal. appoints
diplomats).
Analyze Students will Students Students must Students will
contemporary listen to the will support their develop an oral
issues (skill various other generate presentation with and visual
2) presentations by critiques evidence from the presentation in
other government of each articles provided, which they
institutions, and group’s using such things decide on the
decide which decision. as quotes by appropriate
presentation made foreign leaders or course of action
the best argument. statistics. in the Iran
election crisis
based on their
governmental
agency.
 Unit Planning Guide for Dimension 4: Using Knowledge Meaningfully

Type of Task: Description of the task as presented to students:

__√__ Decision Making Decision Making: Students will make a decision about how the
United States should interact with Iran in the current election
__√__ Investigation crisis (invade, give aid, do nothing, sanctions, etc.)

_____ Experimental inquiry Investigation: Students will be investigating the background

of the Iranian election crisis, the various foreign policy
__√__ Problem solving institutions in the government, and the ways that America
chooses its foreign policy.
_____ Invention
Problem Solving: Students will be required to choose the best
solution to the Iran election problem. They will have to
wrestle with the financial costs, and the threat of retaliation of
Iran, and public opinion when making their decision.
 Unit Planning Guide for Dimension 5: Productive Habits of Mind
What I will do to help students engage in:
Self Regulated Thinking
_____ Help students become aware of their
own thinking
__√__ Encourage students to plan
_____ Encourage students to use resources
_____ Encourage students to be sensitive to
feedback
__√__ Encourage students to evaluate their
actions
Activities:
Students can log onto the class website and
check calendars, assignments, and
news/notes in order to prepare for the future.
On all tests, students are asked to take an
inventory about their study habits. By seeing
the relationship between hard work and
results, the hope is that students will
internalize the action.
Critical Thinking
__√__ Encourage students to be accurate
and seek accuracy
_____ Encourage students to be clear and
seek clarity
_____ Encourage students to be open
minded
_____ Encourage students to restrain
impulsivity
__√__ Encourage students to take a position
and defend it when the situation
warrants it
Activities:
Teacher always asks follow-ups anytime a
student makes a claim (often several follow-
ups). This ensures that students make their
statements clearly, and are forced to support
their claims with data.
Teacher regularly assigns position papers on
current events, in which students “take a
side” and defend their beliefs.
Creative Thinking
_____ Encourage students to engage
intensely in tasks even when
answers/solutions are not
immediately apparent
__√__ Encourage students to push the limits
of their knowledge and abilities
_____ Encourage students to generate and
maintain their own standards
__√__ Encourage students to generate new
ways of viewing things
Activities:
Teacher scaffolds all activities so that
students can achieve higher order thinking
skills. This will improve their confidence and
make them believe that they can achieve.
Students read and peer edit each other’s
work. In this way, they are exposed to
different perspectives.
 Articles for Students
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090612/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iran_election

http://jta.org/news/article/2009/07/05/1006321/biden-israel-has-right-to-attack-iran

http://blogs.abcnews.com/george/2009/06/clinton-iranian-attack-on-israel-is-attack-on-us.html

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/06/17/mccain-rips-obama-cautious-response-protests-irans-election/

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,528010,00.html

http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,401380,00.html

WASHINGTON (CNN) – A new national poll suggests that that nearly three out of four Americans don't want the U.S. directly
intervene in the election crisis in Iran even though most Americans are upset by how the Iranian government has dealt with
protests over controversial election results.

More than eight in ten questioned in the CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll, released Monday, think the election results
released by the Iranian government were a fraud, with just one in ten believing the results were accurate. But only three in ten
respondents say they are personally outraged by the results, with another 55 percent upset by not outraged.

Most Americans approve of how President Obama's handled the situation. And 74 percent think the U.S. government should not
directly intervene in the post-election crisis, with one out of four feeling that Washington should openly support the
demonstrators who are protesting the election results.

"Some 56 percent say that Obama's criticism of the Iranian regime has been about right. Only a third say that he has not gone
far enough in his comments about the situation in Iran," said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "If the number who are
outraged by what's going on Iran were higher, we would probably see a higher number of Americans who say that Obama has
not been tough enough on the leaders of that country."
"Interestingly, older Americans are more likely to be outraged. They may have bitter memories of the American hostages held
by Iran for more than a year in 1979 and 1980," said CNN Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider.

Iran's electoral oversight group, the Guardian Council, announced Monday it has confirmed the findings of the June 12 elections
that gave incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad an overwhelming victory, state-run Press TV reported.

After lead opposition candidate Mir Hossein Moussavi and his supporters rejected the official results as rigged and hundreds of
thousands of Iranians took to the streets nationwide, the Guardian Council set up a committee to do a recount of about 10
percent of the votes cast. At least 17 protesters have been killed in the often violent protests, according to official statistics, and
the actual number may be higher.

Sixty-one percent of people questioned in the poll say they approve the way President Barack Obama's responded to the events
in Iran, with 36 percent disapproving of the actions the president's taken. The 61 percent approval on Iran is equal to Obama's
overall approval rating as president.

"Democrats and Independents support Obama on this issue," Holland said. "Republicans do not, and they are most likely to say
that he should be tougher on Iran."
"
The President has calibrated his comments to the Iranian government's increasing repression of the election protesters," said
Schneider.

"It's not productive, given the history of U.S.-Iranian relations, to be seen as meddling in Iranian elections," said Obama on
June 16.

"He was cautious at first, but eventually outraged," added Schneider.

"The violence perpetrated against them is outrageous, and despite the government's efforts to keep the world from bearing
witness to that violence, we see it and we condemn it," the persident also said on June 26.

More than four in ten think Iran represents a very serious threat to the United States, with another 36 percent feeling that Iran
is a moderately serious threat. Thirteen percent say Iran is just a slight threat and 7 percent say it poses no danger to the U.S.

Even though nearly eight in ten consider Iran a serious or moderate threat, the poll suggests that a vast majority of Americans,
82 percent, don't think the government should take military action against Iran.

The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll was conducted Friday through Sunday, with 1,026 adult Americans questioned by
telephone. The survey's sampling error is plus or minus three percentage points.