Glencoe World History: Modern Times © 2011 Virginia Edition

Chapter 25: Changing Global Patterns

Student Web Activity Lesson Plans

The United Nations

Introduction

The United Nations has become an important player in international relations since World War II. In this activity students will read about the structure and history of the UN. They will also learn about the role of the UN in attempting to prevent and resolve international conflicts.

Lesson Description
Students will go to the United Nations Web site to read about the history of the UN and the role of the UN as an organization for international conflict resolution. After answering a series of questions, students will compile a database of UN facts.

Instructional Objectives
The learner will be able to describe the organization and tasks of the United Nations.
The learner will compile information about the various UN agencies into a database.

Student Web Activity Answers

1. The main bodies of the United Nations are the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Secretariat, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council, and the International Court of Justice.



2. UN specialized agencies are a group of 15 independent organizations that are part of the UN system through cooperative agreements with the UN. Examples include the World Bank, the IMF, the World Health Organization, and the International Labor Organization.



3. The United Nations helped resolve the Cuban missile crisis in 1962 and the Middle East crisis in 1973. In 1988, a UN-sponsored peace settlement ended the Iran-Iraq war. UN-sponsored negotiations led to the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan in 1989. In the 1990s, the UN was instrumental in restoring sovereignty to Kuwait and played a major role in ending civil wars in Cambodia, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mozambique and in restoring the democratically elected government in Haiti.



4. Peacemaking is the process by which diplomacy is used to gain agreement among hostile parties. Peacekeeping is the process of maintaining peace agreements or ceasefires, oftentimes through the use of UN peacekeeping forces.



5. Students' databases will vary but should include at least five records in their data file about UN agencies.