Free Lesson Plans For Teachers: Bi-Weekly Meetings

Pass-Ed.'s Living Textbook
Free Lesson Plans for Teachers
Alpha Stage

Bi-Weekly Meetings
March 27, 2007

The New York Times is running an article entitled, "Mideast Leaders
Agree to Meet Biweekly."

After the U.S. Secretary of State's three day trip to the Middle East,
the article reports, "Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert agreed to begin
limited, biweekly peace talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud
Abbas, but balked at the request from U.S. Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice that the negotiations encompass the entrenched
three “final status” issues which have bedeviled peace negotiators
since 1979."

The three final status issues include, the status of Jerusalem, the
borders of a Palestinian state, and the right of Palestinian refugees who
left their homes in 1948 to return to their homes.
Read a Similar Article!!

Discussion-Starters for Younger Children

Have your students ever tried to stop a fight between two
people? Why did they try and stop the fight? What did they do
to try and stop it?

Consider developing a list with students as to what they
could do to stop a fight.

If adults see two kids fighting, should they try and stop the
fight? Why/why not?

Students could write simple sentences in response to
these questions.

Ask your students if they've ever fought with somebody as to
who gets what space in the back seat of a car. Why did they
have this fight? Why couldn't each person just be happy with
the space they had? How did they resolve the fight?

If your students could design the perfect back seat of a
car what would it look like? Why? They could draw a
picture of this back-seat.

Is there a difference between arguing and fighting? What is the
difference? Is it OK to argue with somebody? Why/why not?
Is it OK to fight with somebody? Why/why not?

Consider using a Venn Diagram to compare fighting and
arguing.

Discussion-Starters for Older Students

Vocabulary terms to discuss: Biweekly; Encompass; Haggling;
and, Ostensibly.

Secretary of State Rice spent three days in the Middle East.
Near the end of her trip, she announced that the Israeli and
Palestinian leaders had agreed to meet with each other bi-
weekly to discuss day to day concerns. Do your students think
that this outcome makes the trip successful? Why/why not?

Consider using these questions as prompts for a class
discussion. Do your students think it's easy to facilitate
a productive conversation that can glean important
reults? Why/why not?

In 1948, thousands of Palestinians living in what was becoming
Israel fled/left their homes. Israelis occupied their homes.
Should the Israeli government force their citizens who live in
those homes, or on the sites where those homes once stood, to
return the houses/land to the Palestinians who left, or their
children? Why/why not? Should the American government
force it's citizens to return land to Native Americans? Why/why
not? Are these two questions analogous? Why/why not?

These questions would serve as useful prompts for
analytic essays.

Ask your students to respond to the following statement, "Let's
be real. The Palestinians and the Jews in Israel have been
fighting for thousands of years. They'll never stop fighting. It's
a waste of time and money to even try and bring about peace."

Consider holding a class debate focused on these
questions. Alternatively, students could develop video
commentaries in response.

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