Hello, I have been teaching Social Studies for 19years. I value critical thinking and students seeing themsleves as social agents. Equipping students with these skills should be the cornerstone to all lessons taught in the classroom.
Hello, I have been teaching Social Studies for 19years. I value critical thinking and students seeing themsleves as social agents. Equipping students with these skills should be the cornerstone to all lessons taught in the classroom.
This lesson is based on my own personal experience as a participant on a USA-Mexico border tour project organized by Rethinking Schools &Global Exchange that provided first-hand experience and knowledge concerning the effects of U.S. foreign policy, such as NAFTA, on the lives of ordinary people who reside in the Tijuana area. This lesson will invite students to critically explore the growing militarization of the U.S. -Mexico border and its' impacts since NAFTA's inception, with a specific focus on the controversial program called 'Operation Gatekeeper'. A 35-slide power-point complete with primary sources, intertwined with problem posing questions, debate topics, and an engaging 'loop diagram' activity, will likely prompt student's perception of the U.S- Mexico border to be challenged, transformed, or altered.
**Note: Students should have some prior knowledge and understanding of NAFTA before they begin this lesson. If not, please refer to my product titled 'U.S.-Mexico Border: Effects of NAFTA'.
Materials:
• One 35-slide Power-Point
• Detailed Lesson Plan
• Printable Handouts:
1) Handout #1- Power-Point Questions
2) Handout #2- The U.S.-Mexico Border Puzzle Pieces
This lesson is based on my own personal experience as a participant on a USA-Mexico border tour project organized by Rethinking Schools & Global Exchange that provided first-hand experience and knowledge concerning the effects of U.S. foreign policy, such as NAFTA, on the lives of ordinary people who reside in the Tijuana area. Students will be prompted to delve far beyond the mainstream explanation that answers the critical question as to why people cross the U.S.-Mexico border. This lesson will have students examine the broader context, and underlying factors to this question, which intimately tie itself to Mexico's agricultural economy. Students will identify the causal puzzle pieces, and then create a ‘LOOP’ (web) diagram that will serve to demonstrate their understandings of how these underlying causes interconnect with one another.
Materials
• One 50 Slide PowerPoint
• Grading Rubrics
• Student Loop Diagram Examples
• Printable Handouts:
1) Handout #1- Power-Point Guided Notes
2) Handout #2- The U.S.-Mexico Border Puzzle Pieces
