ARKANSASC3TEACHERSHUB

7thGradeGeographyInquiry

Cannationsownthesea?

Reuters

SupportingQuestions

1. Whatlawsandtreatiesexistgoverningtheseaanditsuse?2. HowdoesChinajustifyitssovereigntyovertheSouthChinaSea?3. HowdotheclaimsofothernationsinterferewithChina’sclaims?

ARKANSASC3TEACHERSHUB

T H I S W O R K I S L I C E N S E D U N D E R A C R E A T I V E C OMMON S A T T R I B U T I O N - N O N C OMM E R C I A L - S H A R E A L I K E 4 . 0 I N T E R N A T I O N A L L I C E N S E . 2

7thGradeGeographyInquiry

Cannationsownthesea?ArkansasStandardsforSocialStudies

HS.8.7.1–ExaminephysicalandhumancharacteristicsthatinfluencethedivisionandcontrolofEarth’ssurfaceHS.8.7.3–Analyzeconflictingterritorialclaimsfrommultipleperspectives

StagingtheQuestion Examineteacher-selectedbefore-and-afterphotosofChina’sreclamationofsandreefsintheSouthChinaSeaandinferwhatishappening.WatchtheCNNVideo“SouthChinaSeaterritorialdispute.”

SupportingQuestion1 SupportingQuestion2 SupportingQuestion3Whatlawsandtreatiesgoverntheseaanditsuse?

HowdoesChinajustifyitssovereigntyovertheSouthChinaSea?

HowdotheclaimsofothernationsinterferewithChina’sclaims?

FormativePerformanceTask

FormativePerformanceTask

FormativePerformanceTask

WriteaparagraphsummaryoftheUnitedNationstreatyontheseadescribinghowithaschangedovertime.

CreateagraphicorganizertolistthemajorsovereigntyclaimsChinaholdsoftheSouthChinaSeaandrankthemfrommostimportantclaimtoleastimportant.

CreateamapillustratingtheclaimsbeingmadebyallsidesintheSouthChinaSea.

FeaturedSources FeaturedSources FeaturedSourcesSourceA:UNConventionontheLawoftheSea:PartII:TerritorialSeaandContiguousZoneSourceB:UNConventionontheLawoftheSea:PartV:ExclusiveEconomicZoneSourceC:LinkedIn:TheLawoftheSeaand“creepingjurisdiction”ofcoastalstatesSourceD:WikimediaCommons:Seaareasininternationalrights

SourceA:Spratleys.org:SpratleyIslandsHistoryTimelineSourceB:YouTubevideo:StirringwavesintheSouthChinaSeaSourceC:Time.com:JustWhereExactlyDidChinaGettheSouthChinaSeaNine-DashLineFrom?

SourceA:GlobalSecurity:TerritorialclaimsintheSpratlyandParacelIslandsSourceB:PermanentCourtofArbitration:SouthChinaSeaArbitration(pages1-2)SourceC:WikimediaCommons:SouthChinaSeaclaimsmap(publicdomain)SourceD:AsiaMaritimeTransparencyInitiative:GasandOilReservesMap

SummativePerformanceTask

ARGUMENTCannationsownthesea?Constructanargument(e.g.,detailedoutline,poster,essay)thatdiscussesthecompellingquestionusingspecificclaimsandrelevantevidencefromcurrentsourceswhileacknowledgingcompetingviews.

EXTENSIONDebatewhethertheU.S.shouldcontinuepatrollingintheSouthChinaSeawaters.

TakingInformedAction

UNDERSTANDInindividualgroupsrepresentingkeynationsintheSouthChinaSeadispute,determinethepositionofeachnationregardingtheSouthChinaSeadispute.ASSESSAnnouncethepositionsontheSouthChinaSeadisputeandhowthesituationshouldbehandled.ACTEngageinapublicmockUnitedNationssessiontodecidehowtopeacefullyresolvetheSouthChinaSeadispute.Createalliances,proposeresolutions,andallowallmemberstovoteonthebestresolution.

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Overview

InquiryDescription

ThisinquiryleadsstudentsthroughaninvestigationoftheSouthChinaSeadispute,inwhichseveralnationsinEastandSoutheastAsiaareclaimingownershipofpartsoftheseaforvariouspurposes.Byinvestigatingthecompellingquestion“Cannationsownthesea?”studentsevaluatewhethernationshavethesovereignrighttoclaimpartsoftheseaforthemselvesandifso,whethertherightsofcertainnationsoutweightheinterestsofothers.TheformativeperformancetasksbuildonknowledgeandskillsthroughthecourseoftheinquiryandhelpstudentsconstructanunderstandingofthecurrentinternationallawsgoverningtheseaaswellastheclaimsbothChinaandSoutheastAsiannationshavemadetotheSouthChinaSeainparticular.Studentscreateanevidence-basedargumentaboutwhethernationscanclaimpartsoftheseaforthemselves.

InadditiontotheKeyIdealistedpreviously,thisinquiryhighlightsthefollowingConceptualUnderstanding:HS.8.7.1–ExaminephysicalandhumancharacteristicsthatinfluencethedivisionandcontrolofEarth’ssurfaceHS.8.7.3–Analyzeconflictingterritorialclaimsfrommultipleperspectives

Itisimportanttonotethatthisinquiryrequiresprerequisiteknowledgeofhistoricaleventsandideas.Thus,studentsshouldhavealreadystudiedthephysicalregionofEastandSoutheastAsia,itshistory,andtheconceptofsovereignty.

Note:Thisinquiryisexpectedtotake4-540-minuteclassperiods.Theinquirytimeframecouldexpandifteachersthinktheirstudentsneedadditionalinstructionalexperiences(i.e.,supportingquestions,formativeperformancetasks,andfeaturedsources).Teachersareencouragedtoadapttheinquiriesinordertomeettheneedsandinterestsoftheirparticularstudents.Resourcescanalsobemodifiedasnecessarytomeetindividualizededucationprograms(IEPs)orSection504Plansforstudentswithdisabilities.

StructureoftheInquiry

Inaddressingthecompellingquestion“Cannationsownthesea?”studentsworkthroughaseriesofsupportingquestions,formativeperformancetasks,andfeaturedsourcesinordertoconstructanargumentsupportedbyevidencewhileacknowledgingcompetingperspectives.

StagingtheCompellingQuestion

Instagingthecompellingquestion,“Cannationsownthesea?”teachersmaypromptstudentswithphotographsofChina’sisland/reefreclamation.Thisisbestdonewithbefore-and-afterphotos.Studentsshouldmakewrittenorverbalinferencesabouttheeventtakingplaceintheislandsusingdetailsfromthephotographs.Followingthisactivity,theteachermayplaytheCNNvideo,whichgivesabriefoverviewofthedisputeoccurringintheSouthChinaSea.

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SupportingQuestion1

Thefirstsupportingquestion—“Whatlawsandtreatiesgoverntheseaanditsuse?”—focusesontheUnitedNationstreatiesregardingthesea,itsuse,andnations’claimstothem..Theformativeperformancetaskasksstudentstowriteasummaryofthelawsafterhavingreadthelaws,treaties,andarticleprovidedThesummarycanbeinwrittenorvisualform.Studentsmayusepaper,pencils,andcolorstodrawapieceoflandnexttotheseaandillustratetherightsandprivilegesofanationtousethesea,inaccordancetotheUNlawsonthesea.Labeleachsection,similartoSourceD.

Thefeaturedsourcesforthisquestionprovideageneraloverviewregardingtherightsofnationsinrelationtotheiruseofthesea.FeaturedSourceAisPartIIoftheUNConventionontheLawoftheSeas,signedby168parties,whichgovernstheterritorialseaandcontiguouszone.ItishighlyrelevantinthecurrentSouthChinaSeadispute.SimilartoFeaturedSourceA,FeaturedSourceBcontainsPartVoftheUNConventionontheLawoftheSeas,deemedtobehighlyrelevanttotheSouthChinaSeadispute.ItdiscussestheExclusiveEconomicZoneofnationsnextopenseas.FeaturedSourceCcontainsinformationonchanginginterpretationandimplementationoftheUNTreatyasevidencedbynations’useoftheseaaroundtheworld.Itbringshelpfulcontemporarythoughttoatreatythatwassignedalmost40yearsago.FeaturedSourceD,whilenotrequired,isahelpfulvisualtoolteachersand/orstudentsmayusetounderstandthetheUNConventionontheLawoftheSeas.

SupportingQuestion2

Forthesecondsupportingquestion—“HowdoesChinajustifyitssovereigntyovertheSouthChinaSea?”—studentsseektounderstandthereasonsChinagivesforitsownershipanduseoftheSouthChinaSea,especiallyintheSpratleyIslandsareas.TheformativeperformancetaskisforstudentstoCreateagraphicorganizertolistthemajorsovereigntyclaimsChinaholdsoftheSouthChinaSeaandrankthemfrommostimportantclaimtoleastimportant..TeachersareencouragedtodividestudentsintogroupsrepresentingnationswithaninterestintheSouthChinaSea,includingChina,Vietnam,Philippines,Taiwan,Malaysia,andBrunei,andtoalesserextent,Japan,SouthKorea,andSingapore.Iftheteacherchoosestodividestudentsinthisway,itisimportantthattheChinagroupperformthetaskinSupportingQuestion2whiletheothergroupsperformthetasksinSupportingQuestion3.

Inadditiontotheresourcesfromtheprevioussupportingquestion,thefeaturedsourcesprovidestudentswithadditionalmaterialsthatallowthemtounderstandthebasisforChina’sclaimsintheSouthChinaSea.FeaturedSourceAisatimelineofChina’shistoricexploration,use,andsettlementoftheSpratleyIslandsand,ultimately,theSouthChinaSeaingeneral.FeaturedSourceBisapropagandafilmfromChinesenetworks,promotingChina’splaceasaprotectorandresponsibleuseroftheSouthChinaSea.Theteacherisencouragedtodiscusswithstudentsthemeaningofpropagandapriortousingthisvideo.FeaturedSourceCisanarticledescribingChina’suseoftheNine-DashLine,itshistoricmid-1900spoliticalmapusedtojustifyownershipoftheSouthChinaSea.

SupportingQuestion3

Thethirdsupportingquestion—“HowdotheclaimsofothernationsinterferewithChina’sclaims?”—expandstofocustocountriesotherthanChina.TheformativeperformancetaskasksstudentstoillustrateonamaptheclaimsofothernationsintheSouthChinaSeaarea,andthenexaminehowtheseclaimscontrastwithChin/’sclaims.To

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extendthistask,studnetsmayalsoexplainhowuseoftheseamightbenefitindividualnations’economiesandindustries.AsinSupportingQuestion2,theteacherisencouragedtohaveonestudentgrouprepresentChinaandotherstudentgroupsrepresentotherSoutheastAsiannations.

Inadditiontothepreviousfeaturedsources,thesourcesforthistaskgiveanoverviewoftheSouthChinaSeaclaimsandusesfrommultipleperspectives,whileshowcasingtherecentarbitrationcaseregardingtheseainthePermanentCourtofArbitration.FeaturedSourceAsummarizestheseaclaimsofindividualnationssurroundingandnearthesea.FeaturedSourceBdeclaresthe2016SouthChinaSeaarbitrationcasebroughtforthbythePhilippinesagainstChinainthePermanentCourtofArbitration.Sincethedeclarationisquitelong,theteacherisencouragedtouseonlypages1-2ofthedocument,whichsummarizestheruling.FeaturedSourceCshowscurrentclaimsbyindividualnationsintheSouthChinaSeaandcanactasahelpfulvisualforcertainstudents.FeaturedSourceDprovidesabrieflookattheprovenoilandnaturalgasreservesintheSouthChinaSea.StudentsshouldrelyheavilyonSourcesAandDwhenconsideringthebenefitoftheSouthChinaSeatotheirnation’sofstudyeconomy.Iftimeallows,studentsshouldconductadditionalresearchontheeconomicconditionoftheirnationandthepolitical,economic,andenvironmentalbenefitstheSouthChinaSeacouldprovidetotheirnation.

SummativePerformanceTask

Atthispointintheinquiry,studentshaveexaminedthelawsgoverningaccess,use,andownershipoftheseaandconsideredthewaysinwhichnationsintheareahavejustifiedtheiruseandsovereigntyoftheSouthChinaSea,despiteconflictingandoverlappingclaims.

Studentsshouldbeexpectedtodemonstratethebreadthoftheirunderstandingsandtheirabilitiestouseevidencefrommultiplesourcestosupporttheirclaims.Inthistask,studentsconstructanevidence-basedargumentusingmultiplesourcestoanswerthecompellingquestion“Cannationsownthesea?”Itisimportanttonotethatstudents’argumentscouldtakeavarietyofforms,includingadetailedoutline,poster,oressay.

Students’argumentswilllikelyvary,butcouldincludeanyofthefollowing:

• Yes,nationscanlegallyownaseabecauseoftheirhistoryintheseaand/orproximitytoit.• No,nationscannotclaimrightstotheseabecauseseasarerightsofpassageforallnations.• Nationscanownaseabutmustallowmostothernationstherighttopassthrough.

Toextendtheirarguments,teachersmayhavestudentsconsidertheofficialpositionoftheU.S.governmentanddebatewhethertheUnitedStatesshouldcontinuetopatroltheSouthChinaSea,despitewarningsfromChinaandothernations.

StudentshavetheopportunitytoTakeInformedActionbydrawingontheirunderstandingsofterritorialsovereigntyandresourceaccess.Tounderstand,studentscandeterminetheofficialpositionsontheSouthChinaSeabyindividualnationswhohavevestedinterestsinthearea.Itisbesttodothisbyassigningindividualstudentgroupstostudyonenationeach.(Example:Formfivestudentgroups,withonegroupexaminingChina,onegroupexaminingVietnam,onegroupexaminingPhilippines,etc.)Toassesstheissue,studentsannouncetheirassignednation’spositiontotheclassanddiscusswiththeclasshowtheythinktheSouthChinaSeaoughttobehandled.Toact,studentsmayparticipateinapublicmockUnitedNationssession,inwhicheachgroupseekstomakenegotiations,buildcoalitions,andproposeresolutionstotheentireassembly.Attheendofthesession,groupsmaygoaroundonebyoneproposingtheirresolutionstobevotedonbyamajorityofmembers.

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StagingtheCompellingQuestionFeaturedSource SourceA:Teacher-selectedphotosofislandreclamationinSouthChinaSea(Googlesearch)

SourceB:CNNVideo:SouthChinaSeaterritorialdispute

SupportingQuestion1FeaturedSource SourceA:UNConventionontheLawoftheSea:PartII:TerritorialSeaandContiguousZone

SourceB:UNConventionontheLawoftheSea:PartV:ExclusiveEconomicZoneSourceC:LinkedIn:TheLawoftheSeaand“creepingjurisdiction”ofcoastalstatesSourceD:WikimediaCommons:Seaareasininternationalrights

SupportingQuestion2FeaturedSource SourceA:Spratleys.org:SpratleyIslandsHistoryTimeline

SourceB:YouTubevideo:StirringwavesintheSouthChinaSeaSourceC:Time.com:JustWhereExactlyDidChinaGettheSouthChinaSeaNine-DashLineFrom?

SupportingQuestion3FeaturedSource SourceA:GlobalSecurity:TerritorialclaimsintheSpratlyandParacelIslands

SourceB:PermanentCourtofArbitration:SouthChinaSeaArbitration(pages1-2)SourceC:WikimediaCommons:SouthChinaSeaclaimsmap(publicdomain)SourceD:AsiaMaritimeTransparencyInitiative:GasandOilReservesMap