Should nations at war follow generally established “conduct of war” rules?

 This 45-minute lesson is designed to help students explore historical events (the 1864 Geneva Convention, the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907, and the Russo-Japanese War) in context of a persistent issue throughout history: national sovereignty v. international law. Students will develop skills and habits of mind associated with thinking critically about visual information. The lesson features a three-part teaching strategy. First, you’ll lead an informal class-wide conversation that culminates in an open-ended question; Second, you’ll support students as they interpret a historical photograph; Third, you’ll encourage students to begin to answer the question.

PART 1: THE CONVERSATION (10 minutes): Try initiating a seemingly impromptu conversation by asking the class: “is it important that a sporting event is played fairly?” While students share their thoughts aloud, you can negotiate responses by categorizing them into broader themes such as what exactly constitutes “sportsmanship” (fair behavior) versus “gamesmanship” (suspect, but not unfair behavior) versus “cheating” (unfair behavior). You may also want to discuss the potential importance of a sporting event being fair, such as respect for competition and self-fulfillment, and in the case for many professional sports, legitimacy for legalized gambling. Students may also talk about potential causes and consequences of sporting events being fair and may want to explore whether a “win at all costs” attitude is just. Remember: this is not intended to be a lengthy, formal discussion. Rather, it’s a brief grabber to gather students’ interest. Be mindful of your time and stay focused.

As responses wane, you can share that today students are going to extend the conversation to ask, not about sports, but about global conflicts. “Should nations at war follow generally established ‘conduct of war’ rules?” could be the question for today; however, you could also choose to focus on the larger question: “What’s the proper balance between national sovereignty and international law?” These are the open ended questions around which this problem-based historical inquiry (PBHI) activity is centered. The questions work well with the previous conversation and the subsequent learning segments because one of the domains of international law is “conduct of war,” and citizens of many nations throughout the world have had to think through their respective answers. This is truly a persistent issue in world history.

You might also share that today, instead of bookwork, worksheets, or a lecture, students will gather information and take notes from  critically analyzing a historical photograph. Thinking deeply about this photograph should help them begin to explore the balance between a what a nation wants to do in its own interest (national sovereignty) and what other nations want it to do (international law or concern). You may want to click HERE to read a helpful one-page “Fact Sheet” from the United Nations that discusses International Law.

As a transition from the conversation and whichever open-ended question you decide to emphasize, you should share with students that the skills they will sharpen today are essential for 21st century citizenship. You can remind students that there are, and will likely always be, people and groups who intentionally use images to influence their decision-making (i.e., how to spend money, who to vote for). You can share that today students will think about a historical photograph, using it as evidence to build a claim about an open-ended question, but they hopefully will be able to take that authentic skill and use it to improve their lives away from school (i.e., as they encounter visual information such as advertisements and social media).

PART 2: THE HISTORICAL PHOTOGRAPH (25 minutes): Next, make available to each student a copy of the Student Handout. This is a type of data retrieval chart designed for this lesson and students are strongly encouraged to actively collect their thoughts on it. Explain that thinking critically about images is very different from casually glancing at them. You might want to draw students’ attention to the handout that, by careful design, concentrates their analysis toward thinking deeply and “historically.”

Once each student has a copy of the data retrieval chart, you should make available the photograph, A dead war monster—Russian battleship ‘Peresvet’ wrecked by Japanese shells, Port Arthur harbor. You could project the photograph as a multimedia presentation slide and have students work together as a whole class. Or you could ask each student to access a digital copy of the photograph and have them work individually. This lesson plan encourages you to have students work in small groups of about four or five; however, it’s your decision how to implement the lesson.

Regardless of how you make the photograph available to students, you’ll need the Teacher Handout designed specifically for this lesson. It would be best to study the handout well before leading students through this lesson because it’s a primer for the photograph that provides information and a script of talking points for skillfully guiding students in an exploration of how nations tend to deliberate national  sovereignty and international law as it relates to the conduct of war.

Next, place students into small groups of four or five, it would be best to make these groups prior to the day of the lesson and attend to students’ strengths and potential limitations, personalities, and multiple intelligences. Then, proceed with the analysis of the photograph. Give the groups approximately 10 minutes to think together about the photograph “historically” following the components listed on the Student Handout. It’s very important during this time that you to move about the room, visit with each group, initiate conversations regarding their historical thinking, and offer specific, individualized feedback: this is called scaffolding. Scaffolding is often very helpful for guiding students toward deeper understanding.

After the groups have analyzed the photograph and completed the Student Handout, gather the attention of the whole class and have students from each group share their respective group’s observations, conclusions, and thoughts. Be sure to ask their thoughts about nations’ rights and duties as they concern the opening of hostilities, the use of sea mines, and neutral nations. Follow these questions by asking for the rationale underpinning their answers. Go out of your way to ask two or three groups to respond to other group’s findings, thus developing a conversation among the students to help everyone discover and create a meaningful understanding of international law. Carefully negotiate students’ responses and keep this segment of the lesson focused.

For an additional activity you could ask students to connect the lesson’s persistent issue throughout world history—the balance of national sovereignty and international law—to the 2022 Russo-Ukrainian War. The Follow-on Handout presents students with a photograph of a new laser weapon and asks about the legitimacy of its use.

PART 3: THE ANSWER (10 minutes): After students have analyzed and discussed the historical photograph, ask them to formally to use the skills built and information gathered from today to address the open-ended question you posited earlier. You could ask students to create and submit a 1-minute video or send you an email with their answer. Or they could write their answer on the back of the data retrieval chart; regardless of what tools students use to answer the question, it’s important that you provide each student with individualized, formative feedback. To produce a truly comprehensive answer to such a complex issue, students will need more than just today’s lesson. Still, they should be able to craft a preliminary answer to the question in regard to one of the domains of international law: conduct of war.

You can end this lesson by reiterating how the skills and habits of mind practiced today have tremendous value in everyday life, especially considering the amount of visual information produced and consumed on social media platforms.