For Educators: Lesson Plans

The activities and lesson plans developed as a companion to the POV program Well-Founded Fear (PBS Original National Broadcast week of Monday, June 5, 2000) comprise a unit that uses television as a learning tool in the subject areas of history, social studies, law studies and language arts. Although the lessons are written for high school level students, they can be altered to fit individual classrooms and student level and sometimes require research and information "above and beyond" simply watching the program.

These classroom activities were created by an award-winning educator and include: recommended time needed to complete the lesson, a list of necessary materials, clear objectives, a teaching strategy, assessment recommendations, extension and adaptation ideas, and relevant national standards. Each lesson also contains recommended, relevant resources (print, Internet, and multimedia).

Note: In order to access and print the lesson plans, you will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not already have this tool, you may download Adobe Acrobat free of charge at the Adobe Web site.

Lesson 1: Asylum Talk Show
PDF/HTML

Students "role play" various persons in the case of the SS St. Louis to illustrate the historical evolution of asylum policy and the interaction between moral, ethical, and political issues and pressures in decisions concerning this policy.

Lesson 2: Debate: America, Refugees and Asylum
PDF/HTML

Students conduct a classroom debate on the topic of political asylum to deepen their understanding of human rights issues and policy.

POV Educational Taping Rights (K-12):

Educators (K-12) have the right to videotape and playback any POV programs for educational purposes only, for up to one year from the date of first broadcast.

PBS TeacherSource:

For more information on teacher resources to accompany other PBS programs and on PBS extended taping rights for educators, please visit the PBS TeacherSource web site. Suggestions for lesson content improvement and implementation are always welcome. Please e-mail your comments and/or suggestions to PBS TeacherSource.

Print Design: Level Design, NYC