Lesson Preparation:

• Print out project overview handouts for each student.
• Determine how groups will be determined for a project (teacher-assigned, student choice, etc.)
• Print out a class set of the UN Genocide Convention text (Articles I-XII.) https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/documents/atrocity-crimes/Doc.1_Convention%20on%20the%20Prevention%20and%20Punishment%20of%20the%20Crime%20of%20Genocide.pdf 
• Students should have background content on the events of the Cambodian Genocide through lessons, readings, etc.

1. Opener & Intro (10 minutes)
   1. Have students pair up and write down as many facts as they can about the United Nations.  After a few minutes the teacher can ask for students to share their facts.
   2. Teacher should project or write opener question on board: The United Nations defines genocide as acts intended to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group. What historical examples of genocide, besides the Cambodian Genocide, have you heard of? What makes those a genocide according to the UN’s definition? Students should respond to opener questions in notebooks or on paper.
   3. Teachers should facilitate students to report back from opener's turn and talk. Focus on the Holocaust or other well-known examples and prompt students to identify the targeted ethnic and religious groups, as well as how to prove ‘intent to destroy.’ Students should turn and talk to nearby students/table partners to share responses to the opener.
   4. Teachers should invite students to share their answers. Suggested responses: the Holocaust targeted Jewish people, disabled, gay, Roma, etc.
   5. If no students provide the example, use ‘Final Solution’ as an example of proof of Nazi intent to destroy an entire group by eliminating Jewish people from Europe. 
      1. In the Holocaust, it’s fairly straightforward to see in the language that the Nazis used and in the existence of extermination camps and death squads that there was clearly an intent to eliminate members of a certain ethnic and religious group, among others. But not every mass atrocity of the twentieth century is so clear-cut in terms of this intent, and this is where the UN’s definition sometimes comes into contention. The Great Leap Forward in China, for example, resulted in the deaths of an estimated 15 to 55 million people, making it the deadliest mass death event of the twentieth century, but it is impossible to prove an intent to destroy members of a specific group, and it is generally not considered to be a genocide by historians. 
      2. The UN used the Holocaust as a blueprint for their definition of genocide, and in genocides since then, that definition has not always been the most clear-cut. Today we will analyze the text of the United Nations Genocide Convention and apply its language to the Cambodian Genocide as a way to look at what the UN’s framing adds to our understanding of the genocide, as well as what is excluded or limited.
2. Activity: Scaffolded Group Reading of Articles I-XII of UN Genocide Convention Text (30 minutes)
   1. Table Talk Round 1: Teacher should distribute copies of the UN genocide convention text to each table group.
      1. You may also want to share a simplified or teacher-annotated version of UN Genocide Convention text to students who might benefit from the reading support.
   2. Teacher should project text on board. Starting with Article II, facilitate student read-around to turn-and-talk in tables. (In tables, discuss turn-and-talk prompts. Sample discussion examples: murder, labor camps, rape, mental harm, conditions of life, poverty, redlining, sterilization) Turn-and-talk prompts:
      1. What kinds of actions are included in this definition?
      2. What kinds of actions are NOT included in this definition?
      3. What questions does this definition prompt for you?
   3. Teacher should debrief, highlight exclusions, and address questions in the whole class before returning to group mode. (Sample answers for exclusions: cultural destruction/cultural genocide (ex: Indian boarding schools), political targets)
   4. Table Talk Round 2: Cambodia (Student discussions can lean towards discussion of targeted groups and how they fit into the definition: religious groups, intellectuals, jobs/class statuses, ethnic minorities, political targets)
      1. What elements of the Cambodian Genocide fall under this definition?
      2. What elements of the Cambodian Genocide do NOT fall under this definition?
   5. For Articles III-XII, the Teacher should direct students to read aloud in table groups. Ask students to annotate the text. Prompts:
      1. What does this article mean in your own words?
      2. Why do you think it was included?
      3. What comments, reactions, or wonderings does this article provoke?
   6. The teacher should guide a whole-class debrief of highlights of each article. Emphasize Article XII: What does this one mean? Why is it included? Use student response or prompt with: This Genocide Convention applies to the countries in the UN who sign onto it. Notice, however, the language about territories here. What is a territory?
      1. A colony is a territory. If a place is considered a colony of another state, that colonial state is considered the one in control. The UN Genocide Convention does NOT automatically apply to colonies and territories UNLESS the ruling colonial state says that it does. Can anyone tell us the potential problems with this?
      2. Why do you think this article was included?
3. Activity: Project Introduction and Work Time (40 minutes)
   1. Teachers should distribute copies of the project overview and project on screen. https://app.box.com/file/1547233384274?s=tck6646lcfbszq3rg9ndn1uc0gjdc92g
   2. Teachers should talk through project components  
   3. Teachers should clarify two main NON-SEQUENTIAL project components: 1) Annotated Bibliography (individual grade) and 2) Recommendations for Action (group grade). 
   4. Teachers should guide students to form groups and allot remaining time to project work time, broken up into chunks of work time for Part 1 (15–20 minutes) and Part 2 (15–20 minutes). 
   5. Teachers should check in each group on project parameters and progress.
4. Closing & Exit Ticket
   1. Teachers should set a checkpoint for project progress on each component. 
      1. Part 1 Annotated Bibliography: have at least two sources identified.
      2. Part 2 Recommendations: Brainstorm ideas for at least one set of recommendations.
   2. Teachers should establish a timeline for project work moving forward.