World History teaching resources for the high school classroom: lesson plans, worksheets, quizzes and simulation games for KS3, IGCSE, IB and A-Level teachers.
The US withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 generated a great deal of questions and interest in my classroom and so I designed a couple of lessons as a stand-alone study which are freely downloadable here.
A History of Afghanistan: Timeline and Tasks
Afghanistan, and its capital city Kabul, have been strategically important throughout history. Lying midway along the famous "Silk Road", Afghanistan also serves as a gateway to India. Sitting on trade and migration routes including the oil-rich Persian Gulf, Afghanistan has been called the "Central Asian roundabout". In this worksheet, studtents are asked to read carefully through the following timeline as a class, making sure they are clear on all the key terms. Working individually, they then add an appropriate image in the right-hand column of each row using a Google search. As an extension task, they reduce the text in this timeline down to a maximum of 500 words by removing the parts of the story which they think are least important.
What should be the future policy of the West towards Afghanistan? - Classroom debate
Teacher introduction: "The US and NATO insist that their military withdrawal from Afghanistan does not represent a defeat, but an opportunity to rethink their strategy regarding how to deal with the Taliban. So what do you think should be their policy in the months and years ahead? There are four main possibilities, and at the end of this lesson you will decide which one you personally agree with":
- Position 1: Send fresh US and NATO troops to Afghanistan to help build prosperity and democracy
- Position 2: Send US and NATO troops to Pakistan instead of Afghanistan
- Position 3: Keep US and NATO troops out, but continue military attacks on Afghanistan from offshore
- Position 4: Keep US and NATO troops out, and focus instead on a diplomatic solution
If you have any suggestions for amendments or improvements to these resources, please contact me.
Russel Tarr
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