Using NewsHour Extra Feature Stories

Overview: NewsHour Extra features stories can help students identify and interpret key issues in current events. This activity anticipates one class period, but the follow-up essay might be assigned as homework, or in another period.

Warm Up: Use initiating questions to introduce the topic and find out how much your students know.

Main Activity: Have students read NewsHour Extra's feature story and answer the questions on the reading comprehension handout.

Discussion: Use discussion questions to encourage students to think about how the issues outlined in the story affect their lives and express and debate different opinions.

Follow-up: Students can write an 500-word editorial on the topic expressing their views and send it to NewsHour Extra [extra@newshour.org] for possible publication.

Evaluation: Students are graded on their answers to reading comprehension questions and/or their editorial.

Story: United Nations Gets New Leadership, 1/04/07
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/jan-june07/ki_moon_1-04.html

Initiating Questions:

1. What is the United Nations?

2. Why might it be challenging to be the leader of the United Nations?

3. What are some of the big conflicts going on in the world right now?

Reading Comprehension Questions: (click here for printout)

1. What is the role of the United Nations secretary-general?

The secretary-general is the spokesman and leader of the United Nations. He (or she, although there has yet to be a female secretary-general) is a diplomat, advocate, civil servant and chief executive officer.

2. Who is the new secretary general?

Ban Ki-moon, the 62-year-old former minister of foreign affairs in South Korea. He defeated six other candidates for the job and will be first Asian to lead the United Nations in 35 years.

3. What are his goals?

Ban Ki-moon laid out an ambitious agenda, including efforts to bring peace and stability to the Middle East and Sudan's Darfur region.

4. Why does the secretary-general need cooperation from U.N. member countries?

According to Article 99 in the UN Charter, the secretary-general has the authority "to bring to the attention of the Security Council
any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security." But the secretary-general needs member states to give him the money, manpower and expertise to make change happen.

5. Why are some people concerned about Ban's abilities as a leader?

Even before he started, the new secretary-general's effectiveness has come into question in part because of South Korea's slide
into diplomatic disorder since he assumed the role of foreign minister in 2004.

6. Why is there a rift between rich and poor countries in the United Nations?

Ban has emphasized his resolve to repair relations between the United Nations' rich and poor member states, who have fought bitterly over parts of an organizational reform program proposed by Annan.

7. What event caused tension between the United Nations and the United States?

Another issue remains -- of repairing relations damaged by President Bush's unsuccessful attempt to get UN support for the invasion of Iraq.

8. How much money and how many peacekeepers does the United Nations have at its disposal?

The current United Nations has 92,000 peacekeepers and a $5 billion annual budget.

Discussion Activity (more research might be needed):

1. If you were the new secretary-general, which international issues would be your top priority and why?

2. How do you think Ban should try to repair tensions between individual countries and the United Nations?

3. The United Nations has been criticized in the past for not preventing or responding adequately to certain crisis situations. One of the most famous examples is the genocide in Rwanda in 1994. Create a set of guidelines for when the United Nations should get involved in a conflict.

Write a 300-500 word essay on any of these topics providing clear examples. Send your completed editorial to NewsHour Extra (extra@newshour.org). Exceptional essays might be published on our Web site.