Introduction

A History of Diplomacy is an instructional package providing an overview of American diplomacy as it evolved from the colonial period through the present day. The video is presented in two parts: the first half ends with World War II, while the second half spans the period 1945 through the present day.

This package also includes the video script, a timeline, glossary, suggested lessons and extension activities, website links, and other support material. Lessons focus on history, civics, geography, economics, and culture, and support the thematic curriculum strands of Expectations of Excellence: Curriculum Standards for Social Studies of the National Council for the Social Studies. Lessons and support materials were also designed to promote the literacy emphasis of “No Child Left Behind” by including oral, written, and visual communication activities.

These instructional materials were designed to provide a high degree of flexibility for classroom teachers. The video can be viewed in its entirety or in segments, and can be used to stimulate classroom discussion, as an introduction to a series of lessons on the topic, or as an overview of the topic of diplomacy. The video and print materials may constitute a complete instructional unit, or individual elements may be incorporated into existing units. The lessons and materials support American history, government, or modern world history courses.

Teachers are encouraged to enhance the content of this package with other instructional materials and information sources such as textbooks, newspapers, television, and the Internet. Suggestions for using additional resources are included with a number of the lessons. Teachers are encouraged to modify suggested lessons and other materials in ways that are appropriate for their students, courses, and other local circumstances.

Print materials in the package are provided in black-on-white format. They may be easily reproduced by electronic copying, or scanned into computer files to enable teachers to customize materials for their own classrooms. Some websites in the list of resources may have copyright restrictions, and teachers are advised to review and abide by those restrictions. All materials in this print package produced by the Department of State may be reproduced and disseminated without specific permission.