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 StepDon’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 4th – Write thesis statements in class

• November 7th – Complete essay outline• November 11th – Rough draft due, Nicholas

will edit for grammar mistakes and give tips • November 18th – 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

• 1st – Choose the group’s best thesis statement, write it on the white board

• 2nd – Group conversation time about controversial topics