Ireland 100 Years after Easter Rising

Common Core Standard:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.3: Analyze how the author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events, including the order in which the points are made, how they are introduced and developed, and the connections that are drawn between them.

Objective:

You will be able to analyze reporting on Ireland 100 years after the Easter Rising rebellion in order to compare challenges facing Ireland with challenges facing your own community.

Warm-up:

1. Make a chart with three columns titled Know, Want to Know, and Learned.

2. In the "Know" column, make a list of things you think of when you think of Ireland. What images come to your mind? What figures in history or pop culture? Then, write in anything you know about Ireland's history. Consider the following questions to support your brainstorm:

• How long has Ireland been independent?
• What challenges have you heard about the country facing?
• What success stories related to Ireland have you heard reported?

3, In the "Want to Know" column, make a list of questions you have about Ireland and its history.

4. Leave the "Learned" column blank, but be prepared to revisit it at the end of the lesson.

Introducing the Lesson:

Today's lesson investigates the project "Ireland Still Rising after 100 years?" by Laura Flanders, which looks at current issues facing Ireland through the lens of the centennial celebration of the 1916 Easter Rising rebellion. On Easter Monday in 1916, when Ireland was still under British control, people living in Ireland took up arms against the British army and demanded independence. Leaders of the rebellion were ultimately caught, and many of them were executed. However, the southern part of Ireland was ultimately declared independent in 1922 and became the Republic of Ireland. Northern Ireland remained under British, partly due to the large number of Protestants in the region that preferred to remain as part of the United Kingdom, but its citizens were able to begin electing their own local government starting in the late 1990s.

Flanders' reporting analyzes financial challenges facing both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. She also examines the political causes and impacts of growing financial struggles.

Read the project description "Ireland Still Rising after 100 years?" and answer the following questions:

1. What challenges facing Ireland does Flanders present?
2. What potential solutions does she investigate?
3. Where do you see commonalities between what people are facing in northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland?
4. What comparisons does Flanders make between Ireland in 1916 and Ireland in 2016?

As you review the following resources, continue to reference the questions above.

Introducing Resource 1: 100 Years After Rising

1. Read the first two paragraphs of this article to gain a deeper understanding of the history of the Easter Rising rebellion. Add any new details you learn about Irish history to the chart you created in your warm up.

2. Continue reading the article and take note of challenges currently facing Irish people. Add those challenges and their causes to the "What I learned" column in your chart.

3. Add any additional questions that come up as your read this article to the column "What I want to know" on your chart."

4. Before moving to the next resource, quickly jot down your responses to the following questions:

• What challenges facing Ireland does Flanders present?
• What potential solutions does she investigate?
• Where do you see commonalities between what people are facing in northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland?
• What comparisons does Flanders make between Ireland in 1916 and Ireland in 2016?

Introducing Resource 2: "Ireland's New Rising"

1. View the film and write your responses to the attached questions.

2. If you find responses to any of the questions you wrote down in your chart, add those responses to the column "What I learned."

3. Add any additional questions you have after viewing the film to the "What I Want to Know" column.

4. Before moving to the next resource, quickly jot down your responses to the following questions:

• What challenges facing Ireland does Flanders present?
• What potential solutions does she investigate?
• Where do you see commonalities between what people are facing in northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland?
• What comparisons does Flanders make between Ireland in 1916 and Ireland in 2016?

Reflection/Discussion:

1. Look at the column "What I learned" to review the new information you've gained about Ireland, its history and the current challenges its people are facing. Identify and list any similarities between challenges facing the Irish subjects of Flanders' reporting and people in your own community. Use the following questions to guide your reflection:

• How does Ireland's history of gaining independence compare to the history of your country?
• How does the political climate in Ireland compare to the political climate in your community?
• Who is struggling financially in your community? What is causing those struggles?

2. Participate in a discussion with your classmates in response to the following questions:

• What challenges facing Ireland does Flanders present?
• What potential solutions does she investigate?
• Where do you see commonalities between what people are facing in northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland?
• What comparisons does Flanders make between Ireland in 1916 and Ireland in 2016?
• What is the impact of discussing the Easter Rising rebellion as part of this reporting project?
• What comparisons can you make between the challenges facing your community and the challenges facing people in Ireland?

Extension Activities:

1. Look to the chart you created and identify questions you still have about Ireland after reviewing today's resources. Research the responses to your questions, and then write a short paragraph summarizing your findings. Email your final paragraph to [email protected], so that your research can support the learning of other students!

2. Investigate financial challenges facing your community. Consider, how are those challenges impacted by the history of your country and its relationships to other countries? Write out a plan for a short documentary investigating a financial challenge facing your community. As part of your plan, determine who would need to interview to objectively illustrate the issue you are investigating.

3. Flanders' reporting highlights communities in Ireland in need of financial support. Identify an organization that works with communities in Ireland in need of financial support and develop a campaign to raise money for the organization. Use details from Flanders' reporting (interviews/images/data) as part of your campaign to justify why you think people should donate to support the Irish communities described in the reporting.