War-torn Palmyra needs your help! Young negotiators play the part of citizens of opposing countries through an eye-opening simulation. The fictional countries of Siwa and Nizwa stand at the brink of war, and your class' job is to create meaningful dialog between their representatives to avoid an open war at all costs.

Concepts

role playing, conflict, violence, negotiation, governments, government systems, human rights, the united nations, mediation

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Additional Tags

social studies

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Instructional Ideas

• Break down the roles based on class size—each is a group of representatives
• Have groups create flags or other symbols representing their regions or affiliations
  

Classroom Considerations

• The resource contains common conflict topics, such as violence, human rights, and poverty; talk in advance with your school's leadership team to ensure they are aware of the content
  

Pros

• The use of fictional countries helps learners stay impartial and also eliminates any preconceived notions they might have if placed in a non-fiction scenario
• Roles are realistic and allow for fairly open interpretation by each group

Cons

• None