Lessons for Grades 11-12Lesson One: War Crimes and Crimes against HumanityOverview Students use excerpts from various agreements, including the Geneva conventions, the Hague conventions, United Nations conventions, and the Charter of International Military Tribunal, to understand legal definitions and responsibilities related to war crimes and crimes against humanity. Teaching/Learning Strategies 1) Students participate in a Think/Pair/Share activity to develop answers to a set of critical questions about the rules of war. - Ask students to individually answer each of the following questions on a sheet of paper:
Then have each student share his or her answers with another student. When the pairs of students have decided on complete answers for the questions, have the pairs record their answers on chart paper. When completed, display their charts for use later in the lesson. 2. Students become familiar with wars around the world during the 20th century. Have students make a list of wars that took place during the 20th century. They might include: Anglo Boer War, Arab Israeli conflict, Algerian Civil War, Cambodian War, Chechnya conflict, Korean War, Vietnam War, India Pakistani War, Mexican War, Middle East Wars, as well as more current armed conflicts such as the wars in the Balkans, East Timor, the Philippines, Rwanda and Burundi and Ethiopia. You may want to extend the discussion by presenting articles about some of these conflicts from history textbooks, library references, the Internet, and current magazines and newspapers. 3. Students become familiar with international laws related to war crimes and crimes against humanity - Provide students with copies of Handout 1.1(War Crimes and International Law) and invite them to compare the official rules with their answers to the questions asked in the first activity. Have students revise their answers on the charts. |