News and International Issues Review

Lesson Plan Lecture on International Issues and Essay Writing Example of a 5 paragraph essay Group activity – thesis statement writing and conversation questions

Why study international issues? Korean students need practice forming THEIR OWN opinions, not only listening to the teacher – Critical thinking and creativity skills Westerners often debate global news events – you are expected to have an opinion The world is connected – world news impacts us!

Arab Spring Started in Egypt Young people protest the Egyptian government This idea spreads to other countries …including

Syria Syrians also protest their government … But the government responds by killing 115,000 people

Over 2 million refugees

Syrian Refugee Crisis Refugee = someone who leaves their home country in a time of war or disaster 2 million Syrian refugees

Neighboring Countries – Refugee Crisis Neighboring Countries like Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey have problems because of too many Syrian refugees Refugees need jobs, housing, food – There is not enough money to help so many people Violence – Over 50 Turkish died in bombing – Because of Syrian refugees??

War Teams – Bigger War?? Syrian Rebels – European Union (EU), USA, Israel, and more News – EU legal to give weapons to Syrian rebels Vs. Syrian Government – President Assad’s regime – Russia, Hezbollah, Iran News – Russia sending high technology weapons to Syrian government Russia

Should the international community help these countries? - China and Russia don’t want the world to do anything – “it’s their problem” - US, Britain, and most countries of the United Nations want to do something – “we must help the dying people” - but Obama doesn’t want any wars because of recent, disastrous war in Iraq, and American economic problems … war is expensive!

Topic – The International Community Should Intervene in Syria Main Point #1 – We need to help the Syrian people – stop the killing and help the refugees Main Point #2 – The international law should be enforced – no government can use chemical weapons to kill it’s own people Main Point #3 – The international community must look strong, so that other governments will not do the same thing (North Korea, Iran, etc.)

China – air pollution = 1.2 million deaths

China – pollution Chinese government is killing it’s own people with air pollution - China is the #1 polluter in the world - Chinese pollution spreads to other countries, including yellow dust and acid rain - China is contributing to global warming, a problem that is getting worse and worse, and can kill many people in the future China uses dirty energy – coal energy – building 4 new coal power plants per day

Polar Ice Caps - melting getting worse and worse …35% of world’s population live near the sea

Wind picks up desert sand. The sand blows through pollution areas, picks up pollution, and blows into Korea

Photos taken in Korea

Topic – We must force the Chinese government and companies to reduce pollution Main Point #1 – Global warming could be an increasingly dangerous problem in the future Main Point #2 – We should improve the air quality, and therefore health, for Chinese and Koreans Main Point #3 – We must protect the plants and animals of Asia and the world from pollution

Let’s use the 5 paragraph essay to make arguments about controversial topics

Why study the 5 paragraph essay? Standard format for academic writing – undergraduate/graduate school writing Can be used for many different kinds of essays – research papers, opinion, argumentative, scientific writing, and more Use this TOOL again in the future!

How is the 5 paragraph essay a strong argument? Organization – writing is well organized in each paragraph Strong arguments – 3 main points with supporting details to make the argument Repetition – repeats important points so the reader can remember

Essay Process – Step by Step Don’t start at the beginning! Step 1 – Choose a topic, write 3 main points Step 2 – Write the thesis statement Step 3 – Write supporting details for main points Step 4 – Write introduction and conclusion paragraphs

Citations To include other’s work, you need a Works Cited page Without citations, it’s plagiarism, a serious offense which can get students expelled from school We will continue studying this later Example citation – follow EXACTLY "The five stages of grief are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.”1 1. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, On Death and Dying (New York: Macmillan, 1969) 45–60.

Essay Schedule Last week – Topics chosen, main points written November 4 th – Write thesis statements in class November 7 th – Complete essay outline November 11 th – Rough draft due, Nicholas will edit for grammar mistakes and give tips November 18 th – Final draft due

Example Let’s look at an example of a 5 paragraph essay Pay attention to the thesis, restated thesis, and introductory/concluding sentences We’ll also learn some transition words

Group Activity 1 st – Choose the group’s best thesis statement, write it on the white board 2 nd – Group conversation time about controversial topics