Students gather information about selected organizations that promote 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 (gather information).
Setting the Context for Learning
- Share with students that there are a variety of organizations (including the United Nations, the European Union, and l'Organisation internationale de la Francophonie) that promote internationalism in an attempt to meet the specific needs of their members. Organizations can be identified as promoting the political, economic and/or cultural needs of their members; however, not every organization will promote all of these needs.
- 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: Promoting Internationalism
.
- 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 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
.
Gather Information
- Use a non-governmental organization (NGO) such as the International Red Cross to model how to gather information about an international organization that promotes the needs of its members. Assist students in recognizing the:
- global issues that the NGO is addressing
- motive(s) behind the NGO's actions.
- Conduct a discussion on the role of NGOs in the world. Remind students that not all NGOs are internationalist, but, in this situation, an NGO is a useful vehicle to model gathering information about an international organization.
- Use the example of an NGO to brainstorm, with students, questions that would assist them in gathering information about the organization.
- As students work toward completing the first part of the summative assessment task, gather information, brainstorm with them what to look for when accessing sources of information. Ask students to consider what types of sources will be reliable; for example, a website created by a Grade 11 student may not be as reliable as a website created by the organization itself. As students assess the reliability and credibility of websites, encourage them to consider:
- authorship
- perspective
- consistency with other sources
- acknowledgement of sources
- currency.
- Discuss with students the importance of recording information accurately. Provide students with an example of how inaccurate information can impact the interpretation of information.
- Model for students the process of determining key information within a vast array of facts. For example, the specific names of all the countries that belong to the United Nations is less important in this context than the role that the UN plays in bringing diverse countries together.
- Remind students that when they are using a source to gather information, it is important that they make notes that summarize the information rather than copying the information verbatim. Discuss with students the consequences of plagiarism, both in school and in the wider world.
- Encourage students to indicate the source(s) of their information with sufficient detail so that others could efficiently access the same source(s). The program of studies does not indicate a preferred method of referencing sources; it simply indicates that students need to be able to acknowledge sources of information (S.7.21).
- Brainstorm as a class appropriate strategies for organizing information gathered through research. Remind students that the strategy they select for organizing their information will need to help them compare the three organizations identified under Setting the Context for Learning and in the summative assessment task. Encourage students to consider the advantages and disadvantages of each strategy they discuss. For example, although a Venn diagram is a valuable organizational tool, it is not suited to organizing gathered information but rather for sorting already organized information.
- If students are struggling with recording their information, model for them two strategies using a specific example. Conduct a small group discussion on the effectiveness of each strategy for recording and organizing information.
- For students who may be overwhelmed by the amount of information available on the Internet, consider creating a list of appropriate websites for students to access on this topic.
- Depending on abilities and needs of students, consider creating a jigsaw format where students share the research work and pool the information gathered so that not all students research all three organizations.
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
Gather Information
Engage students in a self-reflective peer coaching opportunity about the pertinence of the information they gathered about the organizations. Use the feedback prompts below to provide structure in guiding students through this formative assessment opportunity.
Feedback Prompts for Self-reflection:
- Is my information on topic?
- Did I provide accurate information?
- Did I provide enough information?
- Did I provide concise information?
Feedback Prompts for Peer Coaching:
- I think that you might not need the information about …
- I think that you might need more information about …
- Here are some questions I have:
These feedback prompts have been incorporated into the Gather Information: Self-reflective Peer Coaching Tool , which can be copied or adapted for student use.
Linking to the Summative Assessment Task
- As students gather information through the suggested activity Research to Make a Decision, they will have completed the first portion of 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 during 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:
- 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 M: Exit Slips
Web Resources
Web Links for Online Sources:
Organizations:
Videos:
Critical Challenges:
