Lesson Plan: US Government: Foreign Policy

Date: Monday, March 30, 1998 - April 3, 1998

Objectives: The students will

I. outline the goals of American foreign policy.

II. identify some or all of the key events that have shaped foreign policy during the history of our nation.

III. list and describe the major foreign policy players within and outside of American government including the United Nations.
 
 
Warm Up Activity (Anticipatory Set): True or False Diagnostic Quiz

A) Have students form partner pairs for a diagnostic quiz. Be sure they understand that the quiz will not count as a grade.

B) Offer an incentive for the students to do well, ie., computer time, a candy treat, or any other thing that is permissible within reason by that they find important.

C) Have students answer the following true-false questions on their own papers. Each pair of students can have one paper for responses.

1) Only the president has the power to declare war.
2) The conflict in Northern Ireland is between Muslims and Jews.
3) The United States always sells more than it buys from other countries.
4) The United Nations owes the The United States billions of dollars since the US is the leader of most UN projects.
5) One of the most serious threats to the United States is Great Britain.
6) The person who carries out the President's wishes in the area of foreign policy is the Secretary of Defense.
7) There are no more communist nations in the world today.
8)  The current President of the Soviet Union is Mikhail Gorbachev.
9) One of the closest allies of the United States since the end of World War II has been the People's Republic of China.
10) The United States is willing to protect the nation of Israel against its Arab neighbors because of the large oil reserves that Israel owns.

Main Activity (Instructional Input): Gaining A Background In American Foreign Policy

Vocabulary as the Basis for Understanding Foreign Policy

A)  Distribute terms to students on a worksheet. Divide the class into five groups. Assign each group about three to five terms to define from the chapter reading.

B) When students have defined all the terms, have the students place their terms on overhead transparencies. (This will require the teacher to clean the transparencies between classes). Review them orally, and allow students to copy the definitions supplied by their peers. Then collect or review students' work for a grade.

C) Alternative: In the computer lab, have students word process their terms on computer. Students should copy terms down into their notes from computer as they rotate from station to station. Continue until all terms have been copied into students' notes.
 
 

From American Civics
Chapter 22 
1) Isolationism 
2) The War of 1812 
    A) Causes 
    B) Outcome/Results
3) The Rush-Bagot Agreement of 1817 
4) The Monroe Doctrine 
5) The Roosevelt Corollary 
6) Dollar Diplomacy 
7) The Good Neighbor Policy 
8) Neutrality 
9) The League of Nations 
10) Communism 
11) Proletariat 
12) Vlademir Ilich Lenin 
13) Satellite Nations 
14) The Cold War 
15) Containment 
16) The Truman Doctrine 
17) The Berlin Blockade 
    A) Causes 
    B) Results
18) Chiang Kai-shek 
19) Mao Zedong (Mao Tse-tung) 
20) Balance of Power 
21) Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) 
    A) Causes 
    B) Outcome
22) Limited war 
23) Korean War (1950-1953) 
    A) Causes 
    B) Outcome
24) The Vietnam War 
    A) Causes 
    B) Outcome
25) Glasnost 
26) Perestroika 
27) Less developed Countries (LDCs) 
28) Israel 
29) Apartheid 
30) Basic Goals of American Foreign policy 
 
 
From Government In America
Chapter 20, Sections 1 and 2
1) Superpowers 
2) Non-aligned 
3) Balance of Power 
4) Arms race 
5) Neutrality 
6) Isolationism 
7) The Monroe Doctrine 
8) Interventionism 
9) The Spanish American War:  
 
    A) Significance  
    B) Outcome
10) The Roosevelt Corollary 
11) Wilson's "Fourteen Points" 
12) Good Neighbor Policy 
13) The Axis Powers of World War II 
14) The United Nations: 
    A) Goal 
    B) Difference from the League of Nations
15) The Soviet Bloc 
16) Containment 
17) The Cold War 
18) The Korean War:  
    A) Cause 
    B) Result
19) The Cuban Missile Crisis 
    A) Causes 
    B) Outcome
20) Domino Theory 
21) The Vietnam War 
    A) Causes 
    B) Outcome
22) Detente 
23) CIA 
24) National Security Council 
25) The Iran-Contra Affair 
    A) Description 
    B) Result
Terms Not Covered In The Chapter: 

26) Glasnost 
27) Perestroika 
28) Israel 
29) Apartheid 
30) Third World Nations 
 

 
From Chapter  21

1) Foreign policy  
2) Foreign relations 
3) Military powers of the President 
4) Treaty-making powers of the President 
5) Peace Treaties 
6) Alliance Treaties 
7) Commercial (Trade) Treaties 
8) Executive Agreement 
9) Ambassadors 
10) Diplomatic recognition 
11) Secretary of State 
12) Ministers 
13) Consuls 
14) Diplomatic corps 
15) Couriers 
16) Department of Defense 
17) Joint Chiefs of Staff 
18) Central Intelligence Agency 
19) National Security Council 
20) United States Information Agency 
21) Arms Control and Disarmament Agency 
22) Agency for International Development 
23) Personal Diplomacy 
24) Summit 
25) Shuttle Diplomacy 
26) North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) 
27) ANZUS 
28) Organization of American States (OAS) 
29) Foreign Aid 
30) Marshall Plan 
31) Peace Corps 
32) Protective Tariffs 
33) General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 
34) Exports 
35) Imports 
36) Balance of Trade 
37) Organization of Oil Exporting Countries 
38) United Nations 
39) General Assembly 
40) Security Council 
41) International Court of Justice 
42) Economic And Social Council 
43) Trusteeship 
44) Secretariat 
45) Secretary General 
46) UNICEF 
47) World Health Organization 
48) Food and Agriculture Organization 
49) UNESCO 
50) The World Bank

 From Sections 2, 3, and 4, Chapter 20 

1) Counterintelligence 
2) The Department of State 
3) The foreign Service 
4) Protocol 
5) Charge d'affairs 
6) Consul 
7) Diplomatic immunity 
8) Department of Defense 
9) Joint Chiefs of Staff 
10) Conscription 
11) Registration 
12) Foreign aid 
13) The Marshall Plan 
14) Agency for International Development 
15) Peace Corps 
16) United States Information Agency 
17) Sanctions 
18) Embargo 
19) Boycott 
20) Collective security 
21) Bilateral treaties 
22) Multilateral treaties 
23) North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) 
24) ANZUS 
25) Organization of American States (OAS) 
26) Deterrence 
27) ICBMs 
28) MIRVs 
29) Proliferation 
30) Arms Control 
31) SALT I and SALT II 
32) Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) 
33) Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) 
34) Operation Just Cause 
35) United Nations 
36) General Assembly 
37) Security Council 
38) International Court of Justice 
39) Economic And Social Council 
40) Secretariat 
41) Secretary General 
42) UNICEF 
43) World Health Organization 
44) World Food Council 
45) UNESCO 
 
 
 

Examples (Modeling): Time Line of US Foreign Policy

A) Have students develop a time line of major US foreign policy events based on the definitions developed from the activity
above.

B) Create a transparency that contains the  major events of American foreign policy.

C) Have students use their notes and text to determine which events took place first and their cause and effect relationships.

D) Have students put them in order while in cooperative groups of three or four. Have the groups present their findings and review orally.

Check For Understanding:

Guided Practice: Filmstrip: American Foreign policy of the 20th century

A) Distribute filmstrip worksheets that contain fill in the blank questions on American Foreign Policy of the 20th Century

B) Show filmstrip. Filmstrips used in this activity are from the National Geographic Series entitled American Foreign Policy.

Worksheets are transcripts of selected frames from the filmstrip with frame numbers indicated. Answer sheets will be posted as soon as possible.

C) Stop audio to explain concepts and to allow students time to insert answers onto the worksheet.

D) Have students exchange papers and correct each other's papers while reading the correct responses aloud.

Homework (Independent Practice): Foreign Policy Today

A) Have the students locate a story dealing with foreign policy in the news through newspaper articles, news summaries, or the Internet. One class period can be devoted to using the newspaper or watching a TV news broadcast to begin this activity in class if needed.

B) Have the students write a description of the article using the following template:

1) Describe the historical background of the foreign policy in the article. What is the history of the policy?
2) Describe the issue at hand. List two or more sides of the issue by stating the different approaches the US could take in dealing with the issue.
3) What position does the US government take today on the issue? Do you agree with the policy?

C) Have students present their articles and issues orally in front of the class during the next class period.

D) Assign and oral presentation grade as well as a written product grade for the assignment.

Wrap-Up Activity (Closure): Map on Foreign Policy

A) Display a world map on the wall or overhead.

B) For each of the major foreign policy issues mentioned in any of the above activities, indicate the location of the nations involved in the issues facing American policy makers.

C) Locations can be indicated with a correctly placed number. Details about policies dealing with that locality can be placed on a separate sheet of paper, on a transparency, or a wall map.

D) Use the map to review concepts or quiz students on foreign policy issues taking place today or in the past.
 
Evaluation: The lesson will be evaluated by:

I. the accuracy of student's written responses;

II. student's scores on future tests and quizzes.
 
 

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