Jan. 9-15, 2014, Current Events Lesson Plan
Current Event:
The security situation in Iraq continues to break down rapidly as multiple car bombs explode in central Iraq. Shi’ite neighborhoods have been especially hard hit. More than 8,000 Iraqis were killed in 2013 as security deteriorated in and around Baghdad, the capital; hundreds more have died so far in January 2014. The city of Fallujah, west of Baghdad, is currently under the control of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, a militant group (commonly known as ISIS) with connections to the al-Qa’ida terrorist network. Recent fighting between ISIS and Iraqi government forces spread out to the very outskirts of Baghdad. ISIS is also actively involved in the civil war in Syria. ISIS forces have increasingly come into conflict with the Free Syrian Army and other factions who have been fighting to bring down the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since 2011.
Objective:
Iraq is an Arab country at the head of the Persian Gulf in southwestern Asia. The world’s first known civilization and other early cultures developed along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is now Iraq. About 95 percent of Iraq’s people are Muslims. Baghdad is Iraq’s capital and largest city. Between 1980 and 2003, Iraq became involved in three wars that had devastating effects on the country–the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988), the Persian Gulf War of 1991, and the Iraq War (2003-2011). President Saddam Hussein was overthrown during the Iraq War. However, the country was left unstable and on the brink of civil war. The Behind the Headlines news stories and related World Book articles explore Iraq and terrorism.
Words to know:
- Al-Qa’ida
- Baghdad
- Bashar al-Assad
- Iraq
- Iraq War
- Islam
- Muslims
- Nouri Kamel al-Maliki
- Saddam Hussein
- Shi’ite
- Syria
- Terrorism
Discussion Topics:
1. Iraq is a Middle Eastern country. Ask your students to name other Middle Eastern countries. (Students might say Egypt, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Syria.)
2. Ask your students to debate, “A country is better off under a dictatorship than being embroiled in a civil war.”
3. Ask your students to use World Book’s Timelines feature to create a timeline of the history of the Iraq. (Students may wish to use the “History” section of World Book’s Iraq article for help.)