*Main Essential Question: Why is there conflict in the Middle East?

Unit Plan for Middle East Jackson Harris

Essential Questions: 1. Why do the physical geography and resources of the Middle East lead to conflict? 2. How do Judaism, Christianity, and Islam cause conflict in the Middle East? a. What is the significance of Jerusalem? 3. Why do the Israelis and Palestinians fight? 4. Could Palestine be divided fairly between the Israelis and the Palestinians? 5. What should be the priority(ies) of U.S. foreign policy toward the Middle East? West Des Moines Community School District standards met:

9.1.a. Use maps, charts, graphs and timelines to obtain information. 9.1.b. Identify major countries, cities, and geographic features of the world using a grid map. 9.3.e Analyze an individual culture and its relationship to a continuously changing global society. 9.4.f Analyze the impact of geo-economic and geopolitical factors on this nation and on a continually changing global society. 9.8.o Give evidence of historical factors that have impacted the development of other nations and the future role of those nations in our global society.

Iowa Core Curriculum standards met:

Understand the use of mental maps of physical and human features of the world to answer complex geographic questions. Understand perspective and point of view in interpreting data on maps. Understand places and regions are important to individual human identity and as symbols for unifying or fragmenting society. Understand external forces can conflict economically and politically with internal interests in a region. Understand competition for and conflict over natural resources. Understand the role culture plays in incidences of cooperation and conflict in the present day world. Understand cultures influence the characteristics of regions. Understand the origins, central ideas, and global influence of world religions Understand cultural factors that have promoted political conflict. Understand the historic reasons for conflicts within specific world regions.

Integration of media:

For this unit, I will be showing the film Promises over a three-day period. This documentary depicts the lives of seven children, ages 10-13, on both sides of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Some of the kids are Israeli and some are Palestinian. Some live in Jerusalem and others live in outlying areas. They hold differing opinions of the other side in the disagreement and they come from varying backgrounds. It is intriguing to see how the kids opinions of each other change after they meet each other and gives people hope that the conflict could be resolved. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2002.