Understanding the Iraq War

www.pbs.org/wgbh/globalconnections/mideast

This wonderful Web site is designed to help you teach middle school and high school students more about the history and culture of this important part of the world. Created by WGBH Boston and PBS, the site features 12 “Explore a Theme” units (including nation states, the role of women, and religious militancy), each with links to glossary terms, pictures, videos, lesson plans, and external Web links. Need quick facts? Go to the “Timeline.”

www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/terror

You'll find powerful video perspectives on the Iraq War in this set of 40 broadcasts (1996–present) from PBS's Frontline news program. You can view entire 60-minute broadcasts, but short segments are also available. There are graphic and violent images on this site, so previewing is essential. Detour: More media-based teaching units on this and related topics can be found at Ithaca College's “Media Construction of the Middle East” at www.ithaca.edu/looksharp/teaching_middleeast.php.

www.nytimes.com/learning/
issues_in_depth/20070912.html

This amazing New York Times site is perfect for high school teachers and homeschoolers looking for lesson plans and other materials concerning Iraq and related issues. Included, too, are six multimedia features on the war, recent news photos (each with an accompanying article and student worksheet), and even an online student quiz. Detour: Another valuable source is PBS Teachers' “Iraq Lesson Plans” at www.pbs.org/teachers/search/
results.html?q=iraq&active=lessons.

www.teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/
indepth/iraq_new/index.asp

Scholastic News is tailor-made for keeping middle school kids informed about the world. Teachers will appreciate the five topical lesson plans (in the “Teacher Lesson Helper” section), along with the historical and cultural background on Iraq. Detour: Discover more about Iraq, from its rich, ancient history to prewar government and politics at the Library of Congress site “Iraq: Country Studies” at lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/iqtoc.html.

www.millercenter.virginia.edu/public/debates/iraq

This is one of the most interesting and challenging sites on Iraq, based on a June 2007 debate sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. The topic: “Keeping troops in Iraq is vital for America's national interests in the Middle East.” You can access the entire debate in various formats. A “Lesson Plans” section is ideal for high school students and the related videos (found within “Multimedia”) are guaranteed to spur classroom discussion.