The Choices Program
Teaching resources on current and
historical international issues
Watson Institute for International
Studies and Continuing Education
Explore the Past… Shape the Future
Explore the Past… Shape the Future
Our Mission
To empower young people
with the skills, knowledge,
and habits necessary to be
engaged citizens who are
capable of addressing
international issues with
thoughtful public discourse
and informed decision
making.
www.choices.edu
Curriculum
•
40 published curriculum units
•
Paper, PDF, E-Text versions for all units, iBooks coming soon
Free Digital Materials
•
Almost 1,000 Scholars Online videos
•
Online “Teaching with the News” current issues lessons
Professional Development
•
Teacher Leadership Summer Institute
•
Webinars
•
State, regional and national conferences
Unit Structure
Student Text
Teacher Resource Book
•
Well-crafted readings that make
complex ideas and rich histories
accessible to students.
•
Five to ten days worth of lesson
plans provided.
•
40-50 pages of background reading
provided.
•
•
Each narrative leads students to
consider a central controversial
issue.
Lessons are student-centered,
focused on higher-order thinking,
and address multiple learning
styles.
•
Lessons draw on photos, literature,
graphs, primary sources, etc.
•
Basic and advanced study guides
included to correspond with each
reading section.
•
Graphic organizers incorporated to
help students organize and process
the background readings.
•
•
The central controversy is presented
in a framework of competing
options to be explored through a
role play.
Supplemental documents included
to enhance the unit of study.
Types of Curriculum Units
U.S. Perspective
Foreign Perspective
Current Issues
1. Responding to Terrorism
2. Genocide: Never Again
3. The Middle East in
Transition: Questions for
U.S. Policy
1. Caught Between Two
Worlds: Mexico at the
Crossroads
2. Contesting Cuba’s Past and
Present
Historical Turning
Points
1. Westward Expansion: A
New History
2. A Global Controversy: The
U.S. Invasion of Iraq
3. WW I and the League of
Nations Debate
4. The Origins of the Cold War
1. Colonialism in the Congo:
Conquest, Conflict and
Commerce
2. Indian Independence and
the Question of Pakistan
3. Freedom in our Lifetime:
South Africa’s Struggle
4. Iran Through the Looking
Glass
Lesson Types in Choices Units
• Map & Data Analysis
• Speech/Rhetoric
Analysis
• Document Analysis
• Historical
Reenactment
• Creative Drama
• Poetry/Song Analysis
• Role Play Simulations
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Persuasive Writing
Fiction Writing
Literature Analysis
Concept Formation
Image Analysis
Ethics
Chronology Analysis
The cornerstone of any Choices curriculum unit is an options role play.
Highlight a lesson from the specific
unit here
More on the specific unit here
The Options Role Play
• The role play asks students to consider multiple
perspectives on a current or historical policy issue
• Students take on the role of
•
Advocates for a policy option
•
•
TASK: Develop and present a persuasive presentation about
their option
A group of citizens or a senate or congressional committee
•
TASK: Compare and evaluate the presentations made by the
policy option groups and pose challenging questions to each of
the policy option groups.
Hints for Implementing the Options Role Play
• Identify the core concept and issues that your
students will need to know for the role-play activity
and teach to these points.
• Make the performance expectation clear to your
students before they begin their preparations.
• Provide concrete tasks for students to complete
during their preparation.
• Make sure that there is a balance in workload
between the option presenters and the
committee/citizens groups.
• Take time to set the stage and establish the mood for
the role play scenario.
More Hints
• Clearly explain the mechanisms of the role play
and explicitly outline behavior etiquette.
• During the role play, give as much control over to
the students as they can handle.
• Take time afterwards to debrief with your
students.
• Keep in mind that the students are learning both
the role play process and the historical content.
1,000 Scholars Online
•Free digital resource
•Featuring renowned
scholars and policymakers
•Tailored for the high
school learner
•Complements our printed
materials
•Organized by student
readings, lessons and by
scholar
Today’s Objectives
Participants will:
•
explore a student-centered approach to teaching social
studies.
•
experience a sample Choices lesson from the student’s
perspective.
•
examine controversial issues from multiple perspectives.
Experiencing the Options Role Play
You will be assigned to one of the following groups:
•
•
•
•
Option 1:
Option 2:
Option 3:
Option 4
Role Play Preparation
• Option Groups: You will need to prepare a persuasive
presentation to convince the committee
group/citizens that your option is the best one to
pursue. Be sure to address the following:
•
What values underlie your option?
•
Add in tasks specific to this role play here.
• Committee Group: Develop question aimed at each
option group that are challenging and designed to
clarify differences among the options.
The Choices Approach
• Student-Centered
• Incorporates
Scholarship
• Multiple Perspectives
• Balanced
• Deliberative
• Emphasize 21st
Century Skills
For more information
Visit Choices online at
www.choices.edu