GeoJournal

Dear Educator,

Now, let’s look at the most recent example of significant conflict in the Middle East: protests in Iran. Students should have a better understanding of why the protesting is occurring and what people hope to gain. Use the critical-thinking skills questions at the end to encourage classroom discussion. Ensure that students are sensitive to and inclusive of all students and ethnicities. After all, some students may be Islamic and wear head covering of some kind themselves.

The U.S. has had a difficult relationship with Iran in the past. In 1979, Islamic students stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran, Iran’s capital, taking hostages and holding them for over a year. The U.S. has accused Iran of sponsoring terrorism. And concerns about Iran producing radioactive plutonium are some of the reasons for this relationship. Find out more by having students read this GNN article. Then, have students research what the current relationship is like with the country and its leadership. What foreign policy do students recommend the U.S. should have currently with Iran?

Iran is not the only country with conflict in the Middle East. These maps use call-outs to identify causes of conflict throughout the region in the timeframes listed. These maps provide an excellent opportunity for students to practice comparing and contrasting. What events are similar? How are events different? Is there a commonality that links the issues in these countries? Encourage students to further investigate political conflict in the Middle East.

The U.S. has been involved in the region in more ways than simply its relationship with Iran. For example, the United States was at war in Afghanistan for 20 years, until President Joe Biden withdrew all U.S. forces from the country in 2021. This article explores how terrorism and the Taliban set off the U.S. involvement in Afghanistan. After reading the article, discuss with students why the U.S. was in Afghanistan and what the effects have been on the country since U.S. troops left. Encourage students to research to learn about the contemporary conditions and politics in the country.

Next, let’s check out a map that illustrates why the Middle East is an economically valuable region. Project this map of land use and natural resources. Point out the map key to students and explain how to use a key. Then, have them identify the resources in the area by color. Note that these resources relate to the ability to have agricultural production. Then, point out the symbol for petroleum. Ensure that students understand the importance of petroleum, or unrefined oil, which is a nonrenewable resource. Students should be able to interpret from this map that the Middle East is a globally important region because of the amount of oil that is located there. Because the oil is very valuable, whoever controls the oil can become wealthy and powerful. By looking at this map, students can infer that there is controversy over control of this lucrative resource. 

Now let’s look at a pair of maps of the Middle East that are about the population. First, focus on the major religions there. Then, study the map of ethnic distribution. Students are aware there is conflict in the Middle East. Based on these maps and their prior knowledge, have students infer another source of conflict. Students should be able to identify that religious differences and ethnic differences contribute to the conflicts that arise there.

Thank you for taking this tour of content about the Middle East that is available on Maps101. We hope our weekly tour of topics in this GeoJournal helps not just inform you of themes you can focus on throughout the year, but that it also draws your attention to content you may not have realized is available. Happy hunting for more content that benefits your class this school year. And don’t forget to favorite to save what you use often for easy use.