Introduction

Terrorism: A War Without Borders was produced by the United States Department of State in collaboration with a special committee of social studies educators. The video, print materials, and other resources in this package are intended for use with middle school and high school courses.

The purpose of this instructional package is to help students to understand the connection between world events and their own lives and those of others in their community. It builds upon the resources of the U.S. Department of State, and can be augmented by a vast range of other instructional materials and information sources available through newspapers, television, and the Internet, and teachers are encouraged to pursue these additional sources.

The video and instructional materials in this package were designed to provide classroom teachers with a high degree of flexibility in using some or all of the elements. The package can be used as a unit of instruction or individual elements may be incorporated into existing units or lessons. The video lends itself to use as a stimulus for classroom discussion, as well as an introduction to a series of lessons on the topic.

In producing instructional materials of this nature, the developers recognize that the audience represents a vast range of interests and abilities, not to mention local and state curriculum standards and requirements. The suggested lessons reflect Expectations of Excellence: Curriculum Standards for Social Studies developed by the National Council for the Social Studies. Teachers are encouraged to modify the suggested lessons and other materials in ways that are appropriate for their students, courses, and other local circumstances.

All of the materials produced by the Department of State included in this package may be reproduced and disseminated without specific permission. However, some of the websites in the list of resources may have copyright restrictions, and teachers are advised to review and abide by those restrictions.

Print materials are provided in black on white format so that they may be easily reproduced by means of electronic copying. They may also be scanned into computer files so that teachers may customize materials for their own classrooms.

This is the first program in a continuing series that will be produced by the Department of State. We hope that you find it useful for your classroom and will look forward to other programs. A response form is included with this package and your comments and suggestions will be helpful in the development of future instructional packages.