Lesson 3: International Treaties, Coalitions, and Diplomatic Perspectives
Duration of Days: 5
Lesson Objective
Students will write a structured argumentative position paper analyzing the efficacy of a specific international treaty.
Do international treaties successfully maintain world order? Why do some sovereign nations refuse to cooperate with global coalitions?
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.11-12.1; CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.11-12.4; MBL Standard 2D.
Day 46: The role of the United Nations, NATO, and global alliances.
Day 47: International law and the limits of global governance.
Day 48: Analyzing climate, trade, or non-proliferation treaties.
Day 49: Writing an argumentative position paper from a foreign nation's perspective.
Day 50: Peer-reviewing positions and analyzing international consensus.
Students choose an international accord (e.g., the Paris Climate Agreement or the NATO charter) and write an essay justifying why a specific country chooses to support or opt-out of the pact.
Purpose & DOK Level: Advanced perspective-taking and formal argumentation; DOK Level 3.
Graphic organizers for argumentative writing essays; peer editing pairings.
Argumentative Foreign Policy Essay graded via CCSS writing standards.