Global Team Building

Global Team Building

History Challenge

Due: April 7, 2023

Designed for Middle and High School Students

Table of Contents

· The Challenge

· Assumptions and Logistics

· The Process

· Meridian Support Resources

· Presentation of Learning

· Evaluation Rubric

· Essential Questions

· Student Proficiencies

· Curricular Correlations – C3 Framework and Common Core (RI1, W3, W8, SL1, SL5, L3, RH2, RH3, RH9)

Range of Activities

· Global Historical Research – UN Focus

· Analysis of Current Events

· Research into Two of the World’s Most Significant Countries

· Scriptwriting and Persuasion

· Digital Literacy Skills – Video – Pre-production, Production and Post-production

· Human Skills: Creativity, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, Presentational Skills

The Challenge

Since its inception, the United Nations Security Council has had five permanent member countries: China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. With their veto authority, each of these permanent members carries enormous power over UN deliberations.

The world has changed significantly since the end of World War II when the UN was formed, and the victors granted themselves permanent seats and veto authority. Now more than seventy-five years later, the map of global economic and political power looks very different. The permanent members of the Security Council no longer represent the modern geopolitical reality, and many argue that it is therefore hampering real progress in the UN’s deliberations.

Let’s assume that the current Security Council has agreed (under global pressure!) that they should be expanded and are ready to accept two new countries. Your challenge is to pitch those two new countries, to the five permanent Security Council members who are poised to vote. Your video cannot exceed 150 seconds.

Deliverables include:

Global Team Building Digital Story (this is the only Meridian Stories deliverable)
Historical Outline of Security Council (at teacher’s discretion)
Core Argumentative Points (at teacher’s discretion)
Shooting Script (at teacher’s discretion)

Assumptions and Logistics

Time Frame – We recommend that this digital storytelling project takes place inside of a three to four-week time frame.

Length – All Meridian Stories submissions should be under 4 minutes in length, unless otherwise specified.

Slate – All digital storytelling projects must begin with a slate that provides:

the title of the piece;
the name of the school submitting;
the wording ‘Permission Granted’ which gives Meridian Stories the right to a) publicly display the submission in question on, as linked from, related to or in support of Meridian Stories digital media; and b) use or reference it for educational purposes only, in any and all media; and
We strongly recommend that students do not put their last names on the piece either at the start or finish, during the credits.

Submissions – Keep in mind that each school can only submit three submissions per Competition (so while the entire class can participate in any given Challenge, only three can be submitted to Meridian Stories for Mentor review and scoring).
Teacher Reviews – All reviews by the teacher are at the discretion of the teacher and all suggested paper deliverables are due only to the teacher. The only deliverable to Meridian Stories is the digital storytelling project.

Teacher’s Role and Technology Integrator – While it is helpful to have a Technology Integrator involved, they are not usually necessary: the students already know how to produce the digital storytelling project. And if they don’t, part of their challenge is to figure it out. They will! The teacher’s primary function in these Challenges is to guide the students as they engage with the content. You don’t need to know editing, sound design, shooting or storyboarding: you just need to know your content area, while assisting them with time management issues. See the Teachers Role section of the site for further ideas about classroom guidance.

Digital Rules/Literacy – We strongly recommend that all students follow the rules of Digital Citizenry in their proper usage and/or citation of images, music and text taken from other sources. This recommendation includes producing a citations page at the end of your entry, if applicable. See the Digital Rules area in the Meridian Stories Digital Resource Center section of the site for guidance.

Location – Try not to shoot in a classroom at your school. The classroom, no matter how you dress it up, looks like a classroom and can negatively impact the digital story you are trying to tell.
Collaboration – We strongly recommend that students work in teams of 3-4: part of the educational value is around building collaborative skill sets. But students may work individually.

Process

Below is a suggested breakdown for the students’ work.

During Phase I, student teams will:

Research documents that outline the history of the founding of the UN. Focus specifically on the composition and purpose of the Security Council: what was the Security Council’s original mandate? In your research, look at where, historically, it has been effective and ineffective.
Jump to the present day. Read contemporary analyses of the role of the Security Council today and its powers. In particular, find one or two recent examples of the Security Council wielding its power in productive and unproductive ways. The more specific your understanding of this body, the better able you’ll be to suggest country recommendations. The goal is to develop an understanding of the general parameters that are guiding the function of the UN Security Council twenty-two years into the 21^st Century, and then select two new countries that can catapult it into a new leadership role for the remainder of this century.
Teacher’s Option: Historical Outline of Security Council – Teachers may require that their teams hand in a detailed outline of a) the historical context for the foundation of the UN; and b) the structure of the Security Council today and its current role in global politics, citing two specific examples.
Brainstorm with your team about possible new countries that you would add as permanent members of the Security Council. Who should gain membership in this exclusive and powerful body? Who should be excluded?

Some things to consider:

What are your criteria for awarding membership on the Security Council? Just because a nation is economically powerful, should it be rewarded if it also demonstrates poor global citizenship? Or if it engages in, for example, oppression of its population, or unfair commerce practices, or serious environmental degradation?
Aside from economic might, what are other lenses through which to view this distribution of power? Geography? Ethnicity? Political Ideology?
Also consider context. You are pitching this to the Security Council and they all must agree. That’s right: the decision must be unanimous. How does this audience affect your choice of country?
Select your two countries and research. Since you only have 60 seconds per country and 30 seconds to wrap up your arguments for both countries, we recommend researching four primary arguments per country. You won’t have time for more.
Look for ways to connect the research about your select countries to the work of the Security Council. You are pitching these countries for a very specific role at the UN. Integrate your research about the UN and the role of the Security Council into your arguments, communicating a clear context as part of your persuasive narrative.
- Teacher’s Option: Core Argumentative Points – Teachers may require that their teams hand in an outline of their select countries and their four primary arguments for each of their choices, for review and feedback.

During Phase II, student teams will:

Begin to write your script. Teams are encouraged to be creative in interpreting how the two nominations will be presented. This is an opportunity to explore the language of diplomacy. What is the balance you will want to strike between being somewhat dry and serious, and being surprising and wildly creative? Remember that your audience are the five current members: China, Russia, the US, France, and the UK.
- As you enter this phase, you need to decide who is the voice of the argument you are presenting? Is there one person presenting or more than one?
This Challenge is only 150 seconds, which requires scripting discipline. Some ideas to consider:
- The medium of digital storytelling is essentially visual. This suggests that visually, you may want to be as explosive as possible. So be sure to also ask the question: how can you make the most visual impact? How can you visually reinforce and enhance your verbal positions with graphics and visual cutaways?
- How can you – your team – by physically present in this digital story? A video of just images representing your select countries with voice over is not going to cut it. A pitch needs personalities behind it. There needs to be people – you – as an active agent and presence in this pitch.
- What about sound? Develop a sound design plan that may hint at the sounds that define the countries that you are pitching. Which does raise an interesting question: what does a country sound like?
Finalize your script.
Teacher’s Option: Shooting Script – Teachers may require that their teams hand in their shooting script.
Research the graphics and visuals needed to make your script pop; to make your arguments as convincing as possible. Collect these images and match them to the appropriate moments in our script.
Find the moments where your team is being featured and scout the locations of where you are shooting your team and why.
By the end of Phase II, your team should have a) your four major arguments for each country; b) a visual – including the shooting of original footage – and aural plan to pitch those countries; and c) a final script.

During Phase III, student teams will:

Pre-produce the scene:

– Scout locations for shooting;

– Prepare the logistics for the actual shooting of the scene; and

– Rehearse the scenes.

– Create costumes, props and other set pieces, as needed.

Shoot the video.
Edit the video, adding stills and graphics as desired.
Post-produce the video, adding music and sound effects, as desired.

Meridian Support Resources

Meridian Stories provides two forms of support for the student teams:

1. Media Innovators and Artists – This is a series of three-to-four minute videos featuring artists and innovative professionals who offer important advice, specifically for Meridian Stories, in the areas of creativity and production.

2. Meridian Resources – These are short documents that offer student teams key tips in the areas of creativity and production.

Recommended review, as a team, for this Challenge include:

Media Innovators and Artists

Meridian Resources

Nonfiction – Margaret Heffernan

Multimedia in Theatre – Roger Bechtel

Sound Design – Chris Watkinson

Editing – Tom Pierce

Creating a Short Documentary

On the Doctrine of Fair Use

Creating a Commercial

Video Editing Basics

Evaluation Rubric – Global Team Building

CONTENT COMMAND
Criteria	1-10
Understanding of the UN and the Security Council	The historical context and role of the UN Security Council in global affairs is clearly integrated into the digital story
Nominations – Country One	The arguments presented for your first nomination to the UN Security Council are compelling and well-founded
Nominations – Country Two	The arguments presented for your second nomination to the UN Security Council are compelling and well-founded
STORYTELLING COMMAND
Criteria	1-10
Script – The Pitch	The script presents a clear, coherent, and creative series of arguments that effectively persuades
Format	The visual approach enhances and punctuates your position
Human Presence	The voice and presence of the producing team on camera adds vitality and punch to the persuasive story
MEDIA COMMAND
Criteria	1-10
Sound Design	Sound effects and music are used to create an engaging listening experience and enhance the humor
Visual and Graphic Impact	The visuals and graphics substantively enhance and extend the verbal argument
Editing and Pacing	The video is edited cleanly and paced effectively, resulting in an engaging and compelling digital storytelling experience
HUMAN SKILLS COMMAND (teachers only)
Criteria	1-10
Collaborative Thinking	The group demonstrated flexibility in making compromises and valued the contributions of each group member.
Creativity and Innovation	The group brainstormed many inventive ideas and was able to evaluate, refine and implement them effectively.
Initiative and Self-Direction	The group set attainable goals, worked independently, and managed their time effectively, demonstrating a disciplined commitment to the project.

Essential Questions

What is the historical role of the UN’s Security Council?
What are the current debates around the current function and composition of the UN’s Security Council?
What is the criteria that guides one’s ideas on expanding the permanent Security Council members from five to seven? What is at stake for the countries you nominate?
How does one create a story to persuade using primarily visual and aural tools, and inside of a highly disciplined narrative structure of only 150 seconds?
How has incorporating historical and geopolitical research into the production of a digital story that is intended to educate and persuade – exercising one’s creativity, critical thinking, and digital literacy skills – changed your understanding of the UN and global politics?
How has working on a team – practicing one’s collaborative skills – changed the learning experience?

Student Proficiencies

The student will be able to articulate the historical role and function of the UN’s Security Council.
The student will be able to articulate the current status of the Security Council and its powers.
The student will be able to discuss and defend the context, meaning and ramifications of their nominations, to the UN and the countries involved.
The student will gain practical experience designing a concise and impactful persuasive narrative inside of the digital sphere.
The student will utilize key Human Skills, with a focus on creativity, critical thinking, and digital literacy, in their process of translating historical content into a new narrative format.
The student will have an increased awareness of the challenges and rewards of team collaboration. Collaboration – the ability to work with others – is considered one of the most important Human Skills to develop in students as they prepare for life after secondary school.

Curricular Correlations

The Global Team Building Challenge addresses a range of curricular objectives that have been articulated by two nationally recognized sources:

The Common Core Curricular Standards – English Language Arts & History/Social Studies; and
The C3 Framework for Social Studies, as outlined by National Council of Social Studies (NCSS).

Below please find the standards that are being addressed, either wholly or in part.

Common Core Curricular Standards for English Language Arts Standards and Literacy in History/Social Studies

	5^th Grade	8^th Grade	9^th – 10th Grade	11^th – 12^th Grade
RI1	Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.	Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.	Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.	Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain
W3	Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.	Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.	Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.	Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.
W8	Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; summarize or paraphrase information in notes and finished work, and provide a list of sources.	Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.	Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.	Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each source in terms of the task, purpose, and audience; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and overreliance on any one source and following a standard format for citation.
SL1	Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 5 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.	Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.	Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9-10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.	Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11-12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
SL5	Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics, sound) and visual displays in presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.	Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest.	Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.	Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.
L3	Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.	Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.	Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.	Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.
RH2	N/A	Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.	Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text.	Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary that makes clear the relationships among the key details and ideas.
RH3	N/A	N/A	Analyze in detail a series of events described in a text; determine whether earlier events caused later ones or simply preceded them.	Evaluate various explanations for actions or events and determine which explanation best accords with textual evidence, acknowledging where the text leaves matters uncertain.
RH9	N/A	Analyze the relationship between a primary and secondary source on the same topic.	Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several primary and secondary sources.	Integrate information from diverse sources, both primary and secondary, into a coherent understanding of an idea or event, noting discrepancies among sources.

C3 Framework for Social Studies

6^th – 8^th Grade	9^th – 12^th Grade
D2.Civ.10.6-8. Explain the relevance of personal interests and perspectives, civic virtues, and democratic principles when people address issues and problems in government and civil society.	D2.Civ.10.9-12. Analyze the impact and the appropriate roles of personal interests and perspectives on the application of civic virtues, democratic principles, constitutional rights, and human rights.
D2.Civ.14.6-8. Compare historical and contemporary means of changing societies, and promoting the common good.	D2.Civ.14.9-12. Analyze historical, contemporary, and emerging means of changing societies, promoting the common good, and protecting rights.
D2.Geo.6.6-8. Explain how the physical and human characteristics of places and regions are connected to human identities and cultures.	D2.Geo.6.9-12. Evaluate the impact of human settlement activities on the environmental and cultural characteristics of specific places and regions.
D2.Geo.10.6-8. Analyze the ways in which cultural and environmental characteristics vary among various regions of the world.	D2.Geo.10.9-12. Evaluate how changes in the environmental and cultural characteristics of a place or region influence spatial patterns of trade and land use.
D2.His.5.6-8. Explain how and why perspectives of people have changed over time.	D2.His.5.9-12. Analyze how historical contexts shaped and continue to shape people’s perspectives.

CONTENT COMMAND

STORYTELLING COMMAND

MEDIA COMMAND

HUMAN SKILLS COMMAND (teachers only)

Meridian Stories