Middle East Peace Summit Simulations

As you may recall from my earlier blog communication, students had been preparing for and were participating in a Middle East Peace Summit simulation during their social studies classes. This simulation was based on a United Nations-led effort to bring together many elements of both Israeli and Palestinian societies to hold discussions about the needs and interests of both sides before entering into formal negotiations. The simulation provided an opportunity to view this longstanding conflict from the perspectives of those immediately impacted by it: in particular, the communities of ordinary Israelis and Palestinians who have yet to see much benefit in their own lives from the peace process. Students had the opportunity to role-play ordinary Israelis and Palestinians engaged in discussions about the conflict, the peace process, and the potential impact of real peace in their daily lives as they presented their formal proposals for lasting peace in the region.

This process proved to be an engaging and enriching experience for students as they gained a deeper understanding of the underlying reasons for the conflict and listened to the needs and interests of parties on the other side of the divide. Though an agreement for peace was not achieved at any of the three summits, students gained firsthand experience of the challenges confronting those who tackle the issue of peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians and how these parties might better forge a path to peace going forward.

Special thanks to Mrs. Kosakowski, our digital literacy specialist, for preparing the maker space for our peace summits and for creating a digital recording of each of the three summits as a witness to history. Please click on the links below if you are interested in viewing these peace summits.

Note: Many of the resources, materials and language used for this simulation and blog communication were obtained from the United States Institute of Peace and its Simulation on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict documents. 

Mrs. Valzania's homeroom class (above)

Mrs. Sierpina's homeroom class (above)

Ms. Magee's homeroom class (above)

Worldly Weather Broadcasters

Students are currently studying the climate of South Asia and learning how seasonal weather patterns affect this particular region.  With half of the climate zones that exist on Earth located in South Asia, people living in that region must adapt to widely varying conditions. There are so many different human interest stories related to the monsoon seasons in this part of the world - stories that demonstrate the significant impact these seasonal winds have on the environment and lives of the people living there. It seemed fitting to have students demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the climate in this region by creating a learning product that would showcase not only their understanding of the climate, but how the climate affects how and where people live in South Asia - the essence of geography!  

Pairs of students were assigned to a season (summer monsoon or winter monsoon season) and conducted an in-depth investigation relating to the temperatures, precipitation, monsoon wind direction and the resulting impact on the people and environment - flooding, droughts, the spread of disease, landslides, water scarcity, etc. Students used their research findings to create a weather broadcast using Flipgrid, complete with some very creative and relevant human interest stories.  

Tune in to your "local weather station" by clicking on the image below and check out our South Asia weather broadcasts. I definitely see the potential for some future careers in broadcasting. 😀