Students determine the advantages and disadvantages for Canada of pursuing internationalism.
Instructional Support
A number of possible tasks are provided in this suggested activity. It is not intended that you work through all of the tasks, but rather select those tasks and resources that will best meet the learning needs of your students. The focus should be on ensuring that students have the background and support to be successful with the skill that is the focus for assessment (determine impact of internationalism).
Setting the Context for Learning
- Show students the trailer from Shake Hands with the Devil, a brief clip about the experiences of Roméo Dallaire and the UN peacekeeping force in Rwanda. A second option would be to show students a different trailer from the same movie.
- Remind students that they explored different genocides in Related Issue 2, and encourage them to make connections between that learning and this context. As well, if students have viewed the film Hotel Rwanda, encourage them to make connections between the two media sources.
- After viewing the clip(s), provide students with some general background information about the Rwandan genocide to help them understand the magnitude of what occurred in Rwanda.
- Discuss with students the implications of the global community being silent about atrocities occurring around the world and the role Canadians can play in being advocates for the defenceless.
- Let students know that as they work through their inquiry over the next several classes, they will be working on the skills that they need in order to be successful with the Summative Assessment Task – Pursuing Internationalism: At What Cost?
- Share the assessment task and the assessment task rubric with students. Point out the different parts of the task, and let students know that they will be working on the various parts of the task as the classes proceed.
- The language of the summative assessment task rubric is clarified through the formative assessment opportunities provided for each suggested activity. The boldfaced descriptive words in the rubric are also clarified in the Summative Assessment Task Rubric Glossary
.
Determine Impact of Internationalism
- Revisit the motives for pursuing internationalism from the Summative Assessment Task: Committing to Internationalism . Prompt students to consider how the motives for Canadian participation in international affairs varies according to the organization with which Canada is interacting (e.g., UN, NATO or G8).
- Brainstorm ways that Canada participates in international affairs. For example, we provide money to developing countries and for disaster relief, participate in peacekeeping missions and other military action, provide search and rescue teams, and provide equipment for a variety of situations. Students can use this list to focus on the advantages and disadvantages of pursuing internationalism.
- Model for students how to determine the impact of Canada's pursuit of internationalism by looking carefully at a specific example of Canadian participation in international affairs. Examples might include the commitment of Canadian funds following the Haitian and Chilean earthquakes. Prompt students to consider the advantages for Canadians and for those we are helping and to consider the disadvantages to Canadians and others because of our participation in international affairs.
- Examine the monetary value of Canadian participation in international affairs, as well as Canada's ongoing commitment to extend that participation. For example, in 2003, Canada's foreign aid commitment as a portion of our Gross National Product (GNP) was 0.26%, and though our country has committed to increasing that amount to the UN's target of 0.7%, Canadian contributions continue to fall short in relation to those of other countries. Some countries contribute more to foreign aid, such as Norway, which earmarks 1.0% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to foreign aid. Encourage students to consider the implications of Canada's international role in supporting humanitarian efforts through foreign aid.
- As students begin working on the first part of the summative assessment task, determine impact of internationalism, brainstorm with them appropriate ways of organizing information about advantages and disadvantages.
- Encourage students not only to list the advantages and disadvantages of pursuing internationalism, but also to explain why they have classified the ideas in this way. This will be particularly useful when students use this information to state and support their position.
- Model for students what it looks like to identify an advantage or a disadvantage and to explain why an idea belongs in that category. For example, a possible disadvantage might be that supporting internationalism takes funds away from Canadian citizens who are living in situations of poverty, including some First Nations peoples living in difficult conditions on some reserves.
- Encourage students who struggle with focusing on the essence of the task by prompting them to consider the following: How do Canada's contributions to international affairs impact poverty, health and human rights abroad? How might Canada's contributions to international affairs affect Canadians who are struggling at home?
Formative Assessment
Throughout this suggested activity, you will support students in achieving the following skill that is the focus for assessment:
The following formative assessment opportunity is provided to help students unpack and develop the focus skill for assessment. Feedback prompts are also provided to help students enhance their demonstration of the focus skill for this activity. Formative assessment support is not intended to generate a grade or score.
Formative Assessment: Assessment for Learning Opportunity
Determine Impact of Internationalism
Engage students in peer coaching to provide and receive feedback about their descriptions of advantages and disadvantages to Canada of pursuing internationalism. Use the feedback prompts below to provide structure in guiding students through this formative assessment opportunity.
Feedback Prompts:
- To what extent have I clearly explained the …
- advantages of internationalism?
- disadvantages of internationalism?
- short-term consequences of internationalism?
- long-term consequences of internationalism?
These feedback prompts have been incorporated into the Determine Impact of Internationalism: Peer Coaching Tool , which can be copied or adapted for student use.
Linking to the Summative Assessment Task
- As students determine the impact of internationalism through the suggested activity Effects Felt Around the World, they will have completed the first portion of the Summative Assessment Task – Pursuing Internationalism: At What Cost?
- Students should consult the assessment task and the assessment task rubric to ensure that they have provided the information required.
- Encourage students to use the feedback received through the formative assessment opportunity to make enhancements to their work in progress.
- If necessary, continue to use the feedback prompts from the formative assessment opportunity to coach students toward completion of a quality product.
Suggested Supporting Resources
Textbook References
Student Basic Resource—McGraw-Hill Ryerson, Understanding Nationalism:
Afghanistan:
- Pages 191–193 What Are Some Unintended Results of Pursuing National Self-Determination?
- Pages 227–230 How Can Nation–States Promote Internationalism Through Foreign Policy?
- Pages 238–239 Canada and Peacekeeping: Myth and RealityShow more
- Pages 249–254 How Has the United Nations Affected Nationalism?
Poverty and Human Rights:
- Pages 231–234 International Law and Agreements
- Pages 235–237 Criticism of Foreign Aid Policy
- Page 237 How Does Canadian Foreign Policy Promote Both National Interest and Internationalism? Show more
- Pages 240–241 Landmines and Foreign Policy
- Pages 246–248 How Have Changing World Conditions Promoted Internationalism?
- Pages 255–260 How Have Various International Organizations Affected Nationalism?
- Pages 266–269 What Are Some Contemporary Global Issues?
- Pages 270–277 How Have People Used Internationalism to Address Contemporary Global Issues?
Organizations:
- Pages 224–226 How Do Countries Set Foreign Policy?
- Pages 227–230 How Can Nation–States Promote Internationalism Through Foreign Policy?
- Pages 238–239 Canada and Peacekeeping: Myth and Reality Show more
- Page 283 The View from Here
Teaching Resource—McGraw-Hill Ryerson, Understanding Nationalism:
- Reproducible 3.9.8 Picturing Internationalism
- Reproducible 3.9.9 How Canada's Involvement with Other Countries Affects Me and My Community
- Reproducible 3.10.1 How Canada's Foreign Policy Decisions Affect My Life Show more
- Reproducible 3.10.2 Comparing Foreign Policy Strategies
- Reproducible 3.10.3 Sanctions Yes or No?
- Reproducible 3.10.4 International Agreements in the Antarctic and Arctic
- Reproducible 3.11.2 Protecting the Common Human Heritage
- Reproducible 3.11.4 Pascal Lamy and Maude Barlow on the World Trade Organization
- Reproducible 3.11.6 Cultural and Language-based International Organizations
- Reproducible 3.12.2 Picturing Global Issues
- Reproducible 3.12.3 Criteria for Rating the Success of International Efforts to Address Global Challenges
- Reproducible 3.12.4 Internationalism and Contemporary Global Issues
- Reproducible 3.12.5 Point-proof-comment Organizer: The Future of Internationalism
- Reproducible A: Ten Steps to Preparing Research
Web Resources
Web Links for Online Sources:
Videos:
- LearnAlberta.ca:
- YouTube.com website:
Distributed Learning/Tools4Teachers Resources:
Critical Challenges:
