Students decide which organization they believe has the greatest impact on promoting internationalism for its members and defend their choice by using specific examples of actions taken by this organization.
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 (defend choice).
Setting the Context for Learning
- Select an example from pop culture of a situation where judges make a choice and defend that choice. The following links are two examples:
Depending on student interest and the classroom context, you may wish to select other examples.
- Facilitate a class discussion about what constitutes an effective defence of a choice.
Defend Choice
- Brainstorm, with students, a list of characteristics that describe an organization that is effective in promoting internationalism for its members. Students may suggest characteristics such as the following: The organization:
- brings together people from diverse backgrounds to work on common problems
- reaches a large number of people
- includes many different countries and nations
- is recognized internationally for the work it does.
- Use the NGO example from Research to Make a Decision (the International Red Cross or whatever was selected there) to lead a discussion about the effectiveness of the selected organization based on the characteristics generated above.
- As students work toward completing the second part of the summative assessment task, defend choice, remind them that they need to identify which organization they believe is the most effective in promoting internationalism and that in order to defend their choice, they need to provide specific examples of actions taken by that organization.
- Advise students that in addition to providing evidence to show why one organization is most effective, they should also describe why they believe that the other organizations are not as effective. Preparing a counter-argument is one of the most effective ways that an individual can ensure that he or she has crafted the strongest argument possible.
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
Defend Choice
Involve students in peer coaching to provide and receive feedback about the persuasiveness of their justifications regarding which organization most effectively promotes internationalism for its members. Use the feedback prompts below to provide structure in guiding students through this formative assessment opportunity.
Feedback Prompts:
- Did I select a single organization as most effective in promoting internationalism for its members?
- Did I explain why my selected organization was most effective by providing specific examples of actions taken by the organization?
- Did I explain why the other choices are not as effective?
- Did I choose a format for my explanation that best illustrates the reasons for my choice?
These feedback prompts can be posted on an interactive white board or bulletin board, or incorporated into a feedback tool that can be copied for student use. Samples of tools created for a similar skill within a different formative assessment context may be found in the Social Studies 20-4 Formative Assessment Summary 
.
Linking to the Summative Assessment Task
- As students defend a choice through the suggested activity Justifying a Decision, they will have completed the Summative Assessment Task: Promoting Internationalism
.
- 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.
- If student performance does not yet fall within the three levels described in the summative assessment task rubric, work with the student to formulate a plan to address the student's learning needs.
Suggested Supporting Resources
Textbook References
Student Basic Resource—McGraw-Hill Ryerson, Understanding Nationalism:
- Pages 271–279 Internationalism and Poverty
Teaching Resource—McGraw-Hill Ryerson, Understanding Nationalism:
- Reproducible 3.9.6 Possible Responses to International Affairs
- Reproducible 3.10.2 Comparing Foreign Policy Strategies
- Reproducible 3.11.6 Cultural and Language-based International OrganizationsShow more
- 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 B: Ten Steps to Making Effective Presentations
- Reproducible M: Exit Slips
- Reproducible R: Presentation Dos and Don'ts
Web Resources
Web Links for Online Sources:
Organizations:
Animation/Video Creation:
Videos:
Critical Challenges:
