CoBaLTT Unit Plan

Travel to Cuba
Lesson 02: The Embargo

Submitted by Amy Buttner

Objectives:

Content:
Students will:
· determine why there are travel restrictions to Cuba for U.S. citizens
· define what an embargo is
· identify the key players at the time the embargo was enstated
· list supporting evidence for the embargo
· list evidence against the embargo
· describe Cuba's current economic state
· explain the current United States policy regarding the embargo (what products are allowed to be exported under what restrictions)
· explain what the United States would require of Cuba in order to lift the embargo
· decide if the embargo is humane
· decide if the policy is outdated

Cultural:
Students will:
· develop an understanding of how the Cuban's sense of pride in his/her nation affects his/her decisions
Language: Content Obligatory
Students will:
· use the following nouns:

el embargo
los años
la revolución
la causa
el dictador
la alianza los recursos
la escacez
el cubano
el gobierno
los derechos
la democracia el dólar
el acuerdo
la cubana
el intercambio
el comunismo
el control el efecto
los negocios
la comida
la medicina
el viaje
los productos (de exportación)

· use the following adjectives: humanitario, débil, comunista, democrático, descontento, contento, estadounidense
· use cognates to enrich their vocabulary within the context of the reading

Language: Content Compatible
Students will:
· use the following verbs:

hay
ser
cambiar
querer necesitar
costar
tener
salir estar
visitar
traer
poder

· use the following in sentences: porque, contra, que

Learning Strategies / Social and Skills Development:
Students will:
· improve reading strategies by using context clues and reinforcing the idea that material may need to be read 3 times for solid comprehension
· use a "K-W-L" chart to activate prior knowledge, determine what students would like to know and then...
· record what they did learn
· use Internet navigation skills to effectively search for information
· work in individually and in small groups to discuss their ideas and reach conclusions

Time Frame:

2-3 50 minute class periods

Materials Needed:

· Internet access
· video "The Little Yellow School Bus" (See "References and Resources" section.)
· reading on the Cuban embargo

Description of Assessment (Performance Project):

Context:
It is best to use the lesson after the students have gained some familiarity with the language. Since some students may have strong feelings about Cuba, and more specifically Castro, it may be beneficial to briefly discuss being open-minded to the topic. Also, before the K-W-L activitiy that follows in the pre-task, it would be worthwhile to remind students to list things that can be substantiated in fact as compared to opinions.
Task set-up:
The tasks below are set up in a chronological order that will best suit the lesson, although most tasks can be done individually.
Task One:
In this anticipatory activity the teacher will engage the students in a discussion about travel to Cuba. The intent of this discussion is to identify why U.S. citizens cannot travel to Cuba legally without special visas, what are the main stipulations of the embargo currently and how does the embargo affect both U.S. citizens and Cubans. The discussion may be led as the teacher likes with those questions in mind. The following are the questions asked in Attachment #10 that the students will later be researching. The teacher may want to use a few of these in the introductory discussion to determine wha students already know about the topic.
1. Who can travel to Cuba?
2. Why can/cannot U.S. citizens travel freely to Cuba?
3. Why is there an embargo?
4. What are the effects of the embargo on Cubans, as well as citizens of the United States? List at least 6 effects on each group, 3 for each.
5. What are the current stipulations of the embargo?
6. How do most Cuban Americans (as reflected by the viewpoint of the Cuban American National Foundation (CANF)) feel about the embargo?
7. What are the arguments that support and do not support the embargo?
8. Considering that China is also a communist country, why is it that we have not imposed an embargo on it?
Task Two:
Students will complete a reading on Cuba (See "Attachment #8"). This can be done in class or as a homework assignment. Students should be instructed in effective reading strategies and asked to read the reading once through, underlining words they do not understand and cannot figure out from the context of the paragraph. Before reading a second time, they should skim through the questions they will be asked to answer to direct their reading focus. The third time the students should look to see if they have figured out the words they underlined from the context. If they have, they can cross out the underlined mark. After completing the reading, student will be asked to respond to a series of true and false questions, as well as some fill in the blank statements.
Task Three:
Previously, students will have read the reading on Cuba and answered the true and false questions. Students will reread the material with their partner. They should discuss the vocabulary they underlined with their partner to help each other understand. They will then go over their true and false answers and discuss any discrepancies. As a class, the students will discuss the reading with the teacher. S/he will ask relevant questions (see questions provided with reading below) and answer any questions regarding the vocabulary. At some point the teacher will also want to provide the students with the vocabulary list relevant to this lesson (See "Attachment #14").
Task Four:
In this activity the teacher will be providing an historical background for students by using a timeline taken from the Earlham University website: (http://www.earlham.edu/~pols/ps17971/weissdo/) This is meant to give the students an idea of the relationship the United States had with Cuba prior to the 1959 revolution and what has happened since then. There is more information than is necessary so it may be wise to highlight some of the main events and have students jot down some ideas about them on their time line. The teacher may also wish to create his/her own modified version of the time line including only the most significant events. If the teacher so desires he/she can create an extension of the lesson using the timeline to practice large numbers and other historical terms like war, conflict, law, bill etc. It could also be extended to a level 2 class studying past tense where the students could recreate the time line in Spanish to tell what happened.
Task Five:
Students will be researching the questions posed in pre-task one. A worksheet (See "Attachment #10") is included for this purpose. Following the research, the information should be discussed as a class. This will provide background information for the socratic seminar that will take place in Task 6.
Task Six:
Students will engage in a Socratic Seminar. Although it is not necessary, the teacher may improve the discussion by using the extension activity idea of finding at least two readings from opposing sides of the embargo to have the students read before the seminar. The seminar itself is designed to facilitate a large group discussion among the students, removing the teacher-directed nature of many interactions. Students are seated in a circle together and presented with 3 - 5 questions relevant to the reasearch/reading they have done the the topic, in this case the embargo. The intent of the discussion is for the students to speak and discuss their ideas, without the direct input of the teacher. I have included 3 attachments that can be made into transparencies to help guide the seminar. Attachment #11 gives the rules for the seminar so that it will go smoothly. Attachment #12 gives the rationale behind the seminar and Attachment #13 includes the seminar questions. The teacher may alter any or all of the questions. They have been provided as a model.
Task Seven:
Students will watch a video about the journey of a group of people who organized and transported humanitarian aid to Cuba. This video has many emotive qualities as it details some of the struggles the humanitarians went through as they attempted to take their aid to Cuba. This video could serve to introduce the lesson as well, but I chose to save if for the end because I did not want to influence the opinions of the students previous to their participation in the Socratic Seminar. The video can be purchased from the Resource Center for the Americas, whose website is listed in the resource section.

Assessment:

Students are continually assessed throughout the lesson in each activity through participation in class discussion, comprehension questions in the reading, research questions and participation in the Socratic Seminar. The culminating assessment will involve the students using the vocabulary introduced in this lesson as well as other previously learned vocabulary to create a paragraph in Spanish that details the pros and the cons of the embargo. The following is a suggested checklist that may be used for the assessment.
Student:
____ uses at least 10 of the vocabulary words from the lesson
____ includes at least 6 examples in total of pros and cons of the embargo
____ writes in a concise and coherent manner
____ illustrates understanding of the material
____ includes the appropriate documentation of source material

References and Resources:

Cuba sites
Site for kids to search pros and cons of embargo

Global Exchange - http://www.globalexchange.org/
Earlham University - http://www.earlham.edu/~pols/ps17971/weissdo/
Resource Center for the Americas - http://www.americas.org/
U.S. Policy with Cuba(1998):
http://www.state.gov/www.regions/wha/cuba/policy.html
(Provides current information on many aspects of the embargo and links to other resources)
Video
The Little Yellow School Bus. The Resource Center of the Americas. http://www.americas.org/

Attachments:

NOTE: some attachments are in PDF form (get Acrobat Reader)

Attachment #8 - Reading on Cuba
Attachment #9 - Factsheet
Attachment #10 - Research
Attachment #11 - Socratic Seminar Rules
Attachment #12 - Socratic Seminar Rationale
Attachment #13 - Socratic Seminar Sample Questions
Attachment #14 - Vocabulary, Lesson 2