Middle East and North Africa Writing Workshop

1. (5 min) - Begin class session with a brief introduction to the Middle East and North Africa region.
2. (2 min) - Sort students into five groups based on CFR Education's Middle East and North Africa learning resources: Contemporary History and U.S. Foreign Policy, National Politics, Regional Politics, Economics, and People and Society.
3. (10 min) - Have students use the in-slide QR codes to access and read their assigned learning resource.
4. (10 min) - Ask students to write one paragraph regarding what they perceive to be the "key takeaway" of their resource.
5. (5 min) - Have students pair up with partners who read the same resource, share their writing, and discuss similarities and differences between their work.
6. (10 min) - Ask students to combine their work into a cohesive two-paragraph essay.
7. (5 min) - Ask students partners to pair up with other partners who read the same resource. Have these four-person groups share their writing and discuss similarities and differences between their work
8. (10 min) - Working in these larger units, have students combine their two-paragraph essays into a single four-paragraph essay about their learning resource.
9. (5 min) - Provide students five minutes to edit their group's essay for factual and writing errors.
10. (2 min) - At the end of class, have students share their essays with you via email for participation and assessment purposes.

Notes:

1. To encourage student reflection on the writing process, use the periods in between writing to ask students about the process of writing collaboratively, or the process of summarizing complex stories into brief written pieces.
2. To encourage the process of peer learning and review, you might consider assigning your class these student-authored essays as homework to read for the next session.