Foreign Policy Project 2006

Welcome to the 2006 Foreign Policy Project. You will be researching and writing about an important world issue, event, or controversy. When you finish your research, you will write two articles: one newspaper article and one editorial. They will be combined with the others in your class to create a class newspaper.

Your Topics and Resources

Your brilliant, hard-working NSL teachers have spent a great deal of time collecting articles on various world events. You will use these articles to read about the background of your subject. You will identify key elements and include them in your article. Your article will be about one of the topics listed below. Your sources include articles from The Washington Post, CNN, Associated Press, ABC-Clio, and others. Note: no more than two people in each class may study the same topic. This is NOT a group project!

· AIDS

· Bird (avian) flu

· Mad Cow disease

· US-Mexico border (immigration)

· Darfur, Sudan (genocide)

· Somalia (war-lords)

· Tsunami clean-up

· India-Pakistan

· US Ports (foreign operation)

· Iran (nuclear weapons/ energy)

· North Korea (nuclear weapons)

· Iraq (building democracy)

· Afghanistan (building democ.)

· Adoptions from China

· Human trafficking (sexual slavery)

· Venezuela (Hugo Chavez)

· Columbia (drug trafficking)

· Burma (child soldiers)

· Haiti

· Land mines

The News Article

The news article will be your project grade and will include several components. You will receive a note-taking sheet to help you make sure you are covering everything you are supposed to cover.

In your article, you must write about:

· The background of the problem.

· What instruments of foreign policy have been or are being used to solve the problem?

· What are the foreign policy goals for all parties involved?

· Are any international organizations involved, and if so, what are they doing?

· What is U.S. foreign policy regarding this issue? (What is the goal of the U.S.?)

· Who are the important people or leaders involved in this problem?

You may include graphics or maps or photos that you download or scan, but they are optional. You will not lose points for lack of a visual aid.

You must use footnotes or parenthetical citations for any statistics, quotations, or graphics you include. You do not need to include a Works Cited page, as you will only be using the materials provided for you by your teacher. If you want to include any other information, you must clear it with your teacher before the project is due.

You will type your article in a computer lab. It will be double-spaced, using 12-point font. It must be 500-750 words, not including images and graphics (roughly 2-3 pages), and will be handed in electronically. That means you will email the article to your teacher, hand it in on a disk, or save it to your teacher’s Hand In folder. This will enable your teacher to compile all the articles for the entire class.

The Editorial

After you finish your news article, in which you present all sides of the issue in a neutral style, you will write your own analysis and opinion in an editorial. Your editorial will be 100-200 words, less than one typed page. It will also be double-spaced, using 12-point font. This will be the BCR for your Foreign Policy Unit Test. You will answer the following questions from your own perspective. Your teacher will not grade you on what your opinion is. Rather, you will be graded on how well you express and support your opinion.

· What should be done by the U.S.?

· What should be done by international organizations?

· What should be done by the parties involved?

· What do you think will happen next?

Mon., April 3	Tues., April 4	Wed., April 5	Fri., April 7
Review for unit test	Foreign Policy Test	Articles and Editorials due	Deadline – no projects accepted after break

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