UNMASKING THE MIDDLE EAST
Examining the Political, Religious and Ethnic Relationships Among Middle Eastern Countries

Grades:  6-8, 9-12

Subjects:  Current Events, Geography, Global History, Social Studies

Related New York Times Article
"Syria Fears the Unknown: What's Behind U.S. Threats, By NEIL MacFARQUHAR", April 16, 2003

OVERVIEW OF LESSON PLAN:: In this lesson, students explore many of the countries in the Middle East, developing research-based posters and a "spider web" illustrating the relationships among the countries. They then write letters to fictional peers in Middle Eastern countries.

SUGGESTED TIME ALLOWANCE:
1 hour

OBJECTIVES:
Students will:

1. Identify countries in the Middle East on a map; discuss the reasons for their different levels of knowledge, as well as current events occurring in this region.
2. Develop an understanding of why Syria might become the target of United States' military attention by reading and discussing, "Syria Fears the Unknown: What's Behind U.S. Threats."
3. Research the political, religious and ethnic histories of various Middle Eastern countries; develop posters reflecting their research; discern connections among the countries.
4. Compose letters to fictional peers in the Middle Eastern countries researched in class, synthesizing their learning.

RESOURCES / MATERIALS:

• copies of blank maps of the Middle East, found online at http://www.yourchildlearns.com/middle_east_map.htm (one per student)
• larger copy of the blank map for display for the entire class (such as on a transparency or drawn onto the board)
• student journals
• pens/pencils
• paper
• classroom blackboard
• copies of "Syria Fears the Unknown: What's Behind U.S. Threats " (one per student)
• computers with Internet access
• poster board or large sheets of construction paper (one per group)
• markers or colored pencils (enough for students to share)
• balls of different colors of yarn (one color for each student group)
• tape

ACTIVITIES / PROCEDURES:

1. WARM-UP/DO-NOW: Prior to class, place a copy of a blank political map of the Middle East on each desk. Upon entering class, ask students to label the countries on the map to the best of their abilities. After a few minutes, allow students to share their answers, and put their correct responses on a larger image of their photocopied maps (an overhead, for example). What do students know about the countries that they were able to identify? Which countries were most students able to identify? Which did very few or no students identify? Why do students think that is? What current events are taking place in and among these countries? What similarities exist among the peoples of these countries? How much do students feel they know about this region of the world, and why?
2. As a class, read and discuss the article "Syria Fears the Unknown: What's Behind U.S. Threats," focusing on the following questions:
   1. According to the article, what did Syria's main scientific research institute do during the week prior to the article's publication?
   2. What are the people of Damascus wondering, according to the article?
   3. Of what does Damascus pride itself on being the capital?
   4. Who is the president of Syria?
   5. What did the president of Syria do to gain widespread Arab support?
   6. What warnings did President Bush and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld give to Syria, and why?
   7. How many Iraqi political officials are on the United States' most wanted list?
   8. What suggests that members of Saddam Hussein's family or government might be in Syria?
   9. Why wouldn't Iraqi officials be welcome in Syria?
3. Divide students into groups of four. Explain to students that they will be researching countries in the Middle East to discover their religious and political histories and their ethnic diversity. They will then create posters illustrating their findings. Have each group select a different country for research.
   Using all available resources, groups should research their countries, using the following questions to guide their research (written on the board for easier student reference):
   • Where is this country located?
   • What natural resources does this country have?
   • What is the population of this country?
   • What is the system of government?
   • Who is the current head of this political structure? To what, if any, political party does he or she belong?
   • What kind of power does this person have?
   • If applicable, list other members of this leader's family who have held power in this or another Middle Eastern country.
   • What are the popular political parties? What are their platforms?
   • What religious groups exist in this country? (Be sure to include different religious sects, such as Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims.)
   • What connection, if any, does religion have to the government?
   • What key events helped to shape the political and religious make-up of this country?
   • What are the major ethnic groups in this country?
   • If applicable, how did these ethnic groups end up in this country?
   • Describe the relationships that this country has had with other Middle Eastern countries in the past and the present, especially Iraq, as well as the United States. Include information such as motivations for this particular relationship and the strains that have been put on this relationship in recent times.
   After research is completed, students should compile their work into a poster entitled "Who's Who in the Middle East: (Country Name)." Posters should be presented in a future class for a discussion about Middle Eastern political relationships. After presentations, provide each group with a different colored ball of yarn. Each poster should be displayed on a different part of a wall in the classroom. Each group will work to physically "attach" their country to all the other countries that they have political, religious or ethnic relationships with by stringing their assigned colored yarn from their poster to the related country's poster, taping the yarn in the related places between posters. At the end of this process, the classroom should be "spider-webbed" with yarn. Each group should then discuss their researched country's "attachments" to the other countries in the room.
4. WRAP-UP/HOMEWORK: Individually, each student writes a letter to someone his or her age who lives in the Middle Eastern country researched in class. Students should explore issues and questions that came up during their research and draw political, religious and ethnic connections between their assigned country and their home nation. Finally, students should highlight the need for knowing about this particular Middle Eastern country in light of current events. Letters can be shared in a future class.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

• What type of scientific research does Syria conduct?
• What is the Baath political party?
• What connection does the Baath party have with Syria? With Iraq?
• How far is Damascus from Baghdad?

EVALUATION / ASSESSMENT:
Students will be evaluated based on initial class map activity, participation in class discussions and group research, thoughtful and accurate completion of posters and "spider-webbing" activity, and thoughtful completion of a letter to a fictional Middle Eastern peer.

VOCABULARY:
bemoaning, bewilderment, barrage, burnishing, flex, contemplating, preemptive, broadsides

EXTENSION ACTIVITIES:

1. Create a guidebook or travel brochure to be used by your community's local tourism board. Gather information using similar questions that were used to guide the research conducted in class, focusing on the political, religious and ethnic make-up of your community. Highlight local landmarks and noteworthy events.
2. Create a topographical map of the Middle East. Include mountains, rivers, deserts, other landforms, natural resources and bodies of water.
3. Write a report exploring an ancient Middle Eastern civilization, such as the Sumerians, Babylonians, Hebrews or Egyptians. How are their influences still seen today in the Middle East and around the world?
4. Create a Middle Eastern cookbook highlighting national dishes from countries such as Egypt, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan and Lebanon. Explain how each dish is representative of the people and/or culture in this particular country.

INTERDISCIPLINARY CONNECTIONS:
Fine Arts- Collect examples of Middle Eastern music and share them with the class, along with a poster illustrating the types of instruments used to make the music you are sampling.

Mathematics- Create a bar graph or pie chart illustrating the religious and ethnic populations of each Middle Eastern country researched in class. Write a brief statement analyzing your findings.

Teaching with The Times- Create a news diary following the political developments between Syria and the United States regarding Saddam Hussein and global terrorism. Alternately, create a news diary that explores news about the country researched in class.

Copyright 2003
The New York Times Company