Journal # 8
A Bird’s Eye View of the Middle East by Bill Edgington, Bobby r. Ezell, Daphne D. Johnson, and Marilyn P. Rice
Learning & Leading with Technology, November 2007

The Middle East is under a lot of scrutiny by the rest of the world for economic, political and religious reasons. The article discusses how junior high and high school students could be given a number of studies to discuss how the military, political or religious activities in one country affect or are viewed by their neighboring countries. Students can use Google Earth to view countries aerially to look at the proximity between Middle East countries. Students can then debate how events taking place in one country might affect the economic situation in another country. The Middle East countries that currently dominate the news are: Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Lebanon. Students could be divided into groups to discuss the country profiles and do comparisons.

How will learning about the Middle East benefit students?

It is important for students to understand the economic, military, political, geographic and religious make up of the Middle East and why the area is receiving so much media attention. It is important for the students to debate their understanding of why the United States is currently occupying areas of the Middle East and to research and state their findings.

Why is it important for students to learn about oil exports from these countries?

It is important for students to know exactly where the oil fields are located and how these countries have used them to maintain power and wealth. The students should be given assignments to determine what changes they see taking place in the Middle East and how these changes will affect stability in the region and the United States economy.