LET THERE BE PEACE
Exploring the Accomplishments of Nobel Peace Prize Recipients

Grades:  6-8, 9-12

Subjects:  Global History, Language Arts, Social Studies

Related New York Times Article
"Carter Accepts Nobel Peace Prize With a Warning Against War, By FRANK BRUNI", December 11, 2002

Overview of Lesson Plan:: In this lesson, students learn about the accomplishments of recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize and create outlines or storyboards for documentaries about the Nobel laureates’ lives, achievements and impact.

SUGGESTED TIME ALLOWANCE:   45 minutes - 1 hour

OBJECTIVES:
Students will:

1. Explore the characteristics of great leaders.
2. Learn about the recent acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize by former president Jimmy Carter by reading and discussing the article “Carter Accepts Nobel Peace Prize with a Warning Against War.”
3. Research the lives, achievements and impact of Nobel laureates who received the Nobel Peace Prize.
4. Create storyboards or outlines for documentaries about the laureates researched in class.

RESOURCES / MATERIALS:

• student journals
• pens/pencils
• paper
• classroom blackboard
• copies of “Carter Accepts Nobel Peace Prize With a Warning Against War" (one per student)
• list of Nobel Peace Prize laureates (found on The Nobel Prize Internet Archive at http://almaz.com/nobel/peace/peace.html; either printed and photocopied for students or written on the board for easier student)
• resources about Nobel Peace Prize recipients (global history textbooks, library references, computers with Internet access)
• poster board (one large piece per student)

ACTIVITIES / PROCEDURES:

1. WARM-UP/DO-NOW: Students respond to the following prompt in their journals (written on the board prior to class): “What are the characteristics of a great leader? Whom from history or your own personal life would you characterize as a great leader, and why?” After a few minutes, ask students to share the people they described as great leaders and to explain why they selected them.
2. As a class, read and discuss the article “Carter Accepts Nobel Peace Prize With a Warning Against War,” focusing on the following questions:
   1. What prize was awarded to former president Jimmy Carter on December 10, 2002?
   2. What is Mr. Carter’s opinion about war?
   3. How would Mr. Carter like the United States to proceed with regards to Iraq?
   4. What message does prize committee chairman Gunnar Berge believe is sent to President Bush by the awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to Mr. Carter?
   5. For what action does Mr. Berge believe Mr. Carter should have received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1978?
   6. How does the article characterize Mr. Carter’s presidency?
   7. How did Mr. Carter respond to the accusation that American policy toward Iraq is driven by the need for oil?
3. Provide students with a list of Nobel Peace Prize laureates (either printed and photocopied from The Nobel Prize Internet Archive at http://almaz.com/nobel/peace/peace.html, or listed on the board for students to see). Ask each student to select a laureate (or multiple laureates for years when more than one person shared the prize). Using all available materials, each student should investigate the answers to the following questions for each laureate (written on the board for easier student access):
   • Of which country was the laureate a citizen?
   • For what achievement or achievements did this person receive the Nobel Peace Prize?
   • In what specific ways did this person’s achievements help to make the world a more peaceful place?
   • What other major accomplishments did this person achieve in his or her lifetime, both before and after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize? (Create a timeline listing these major achievements.)
   • What were the significant events and issues of the era that formed the context in which the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to this person?
4. WRAP-UP/HOMEWORK: Students should complete their research, if necessary. Then, each student should draft an outline or create a storyboard for a documentary about the Nobel Peace Prize laureate or laureates that he or she researched. Each documentary should include a section about the personal life of each laureate, a section about the achievements for which the prize was awarded and a section about the laureate’s other achievements. These storyboards can be displayed in the classroom and shared in a subsequent class. If time allows, students can work in groups to produce portions of the documentaries.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

• Do you agree with former President Carter that war might “sometimes be a necessary evil?” Why or why not?
• In what way is the decision to award the Nobel Peace Prize to former president Carter a “rebuke of President Bush’s threats of an American military strike?”
• What reasons do Europeans have to believe that “American policy toward Iraq is driven by oil?” Do you believe this is true? Why or why not?
• In what other areas is the Nobel Prize awarded? Why do you think that these are the categories determined for this most prestigious award?
• What other awards are given to people for excellence in their fields?

EVALUATION / ASSESSMENT:
Students will be evaluated based on initial journal entries, participation in class and group discussions, thoughtful in individual research on Nobel Peace Prize recipients, and individual storyboards documenting the achievements of these laureates.

VOCABULARY:
solemn, resolution, tensions, mutual, overt, prudent, compatible, proposed, appraisal, pessimistic, complied, ultimately, backdrop, rebuke, omission, accords, brokered

EXTENSION ACTIVITIES:

1. Reenact the Camp David talks, taking on the roles of President Anwar el-Sadat of Egypt, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and United States President Jimmy Carter. Use print and digital resource materials to find out what the positions of these three leaders were and the issues that they met to discuss, and then use your own creativity to imagine what they might have said in their talks.
2. Write an acceptance speech that you would give if you were awarded a Nobel Prize for a specific achievement. Include details in your speech that explain the achievement for which you have been awarded the prize.
3. Investigate how the Nobel Prizes in different fields are determined. Then, write an analysis of this process.
4. Research the lives and accomplishments of Nobel laureates in other fields, and create a book of short biographies, either focusing on all of the Nobel laureates from one year or on several Nobel laureates in one field. Alternately, students can dress up as different Nobel laureates and present their life stories and accomplishments to the class.

INTERDISCIPLINARY CONNECTIONS:
American History – It has often been said that former president Jimmy Carter was a better ex-president than a president. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Research his accomplishments both in and out of the White House, and write an essay to support your position.

Current Events – Write a press release summarizing the Bush administration’s current stance on the United Nations inspections in Iraq.

Economics – The Nobel Prize includes a cash award of $1,000,000. Because a citizen of any country can receive the prize, the value of the money awarded is different in each nation. Calculate what the monetary award would be in at least ten different countries with different currencies.

Mathematics – There is currently no Nobel Prize in the field of mathematics. Select a famous mathematician from history, and write a letter to the nomination committee explaining why this person should receive the Nobel Prize. Outline his or her major achievements, and make a strong argument for why this person should be the first mathematician to receive the prize. Remember that the Nobel Prize cannot be awarded posthumously, but for the purposes of this activity, you may nominate mathematicians who are no longer living.

Copyright 2002
The New York Times Company