This assignment relies on the Xpedition Hall interactive feature, Advisory Board, to inform students about historical conflicts that have made travel to that region dangerous. Students will be asked to study areas of conflict in current events and keep a journal over the course of a month to see if situations improve. Students will use online resources to analyze the nature of conflicts. This lesson can be used throughout the year.

Geography

Standard 13: "How the forces of cooperation and conflict among people influence the division and control of Earth's surface"

Two to three hours

• Computer with Internet access
• Access to information about current events, such as television news, newspapers, or news magazines that report on foreign affairs
• A journal (or folder to hold journal entries)

Students will

• review the information about the events in Xpedition Hall's interactive exhibit, Advisory Board;
• analyze information about risks associated with travel to areas of conflict;
• predict whether or not conflicts will be resolved over time, based on current events; and
• track information about different regions and analyze what issues might justify a travel advisory for that region.

Introduce student to Xpedition Hall's Advisory Board by explaining that there are times when even places that we think of as peaceful and safe can be dangerous. Students may recall being afraid to travel to cities that were impacted by the terrorist attacks on the United States when, previously, there had been little or no fear. Many issues, including natural disasters, civil disruptions, and disease can make an area less safe for travel. Ask students to keep these scenarios in mind as they click through the exhibit.

Have students take notes as they click through the exhibit. After students have considered what each country has experienced in its history, have them visit the U.S. Department of State-Bureau of Consular Affairs and select a country from the site that is currently experiencing a travel warning.

Read the details posted on the site about that country. Answer the following questions in a journal:

• What is the name of the country, and, if applicable, the city/town?
• Briefly, what is the reason or the warning?
• What precautions should travelers take?
• What do you think would need to happen to make traveling there safe again? Why?
• When do you think the situation will change, and why?

Over the course of the next month, have students monitor the news for stories about the selected country. Have them take notes in their journals about the country. Has there been a change in leadership? Has the climate or other environmental factor changed? Has there been a cure for a disease? What has happened to the population? When was the most recent violent incident?

Have students keep these notes for a month or longer, up to an entire school year.

Have students analyze the information in their journals and return to the U.S. Department of State-Bureau of Consular Affairs site on the date that the student predicted for the travel advisory to end. How accurate was the prediction? Have students list the factors that either prevented the initial prediction from coming true or confirmed their hypothesis. Evaluate success based on how they explained why they were right or wrong. Were the reasons valid? Is there evidence that they used notes from their current events journal to make informed decisions?

Employ the information from the Advisory Board to create a timeline, using the interactive timeline maker. Does it seem like conflicts are taking more or less time to reach a resolution? What factors do you think are causing this? What steps are usually taken to resolve a conflict?

National Geographic: Xpedition Hall—Advisory Board
Read Write Think: Interactive Time Line
U.S. Department of State-Bureau of Consular Affairs