Block 1

Opinion Group 1:
Bri, Suhani, Jedzia, Natalia, Madison, Lindsay, Ally
Opinion Group 2:
Sherine, Katie, Katlyn, Amanda, Abby, Ayiana, Aparna
Opinion Group 3:
Lucie, Suj, Anusha, Anna, Grace, Nika, Adele
Undecided Members of Senate: Naomi, Kaylyn, Pickles,
Allison, Elena, Gia, Genesis
Block 3
Opinion Group 1:
Lili, Elena, Ruby, Izzy, Emma C
Opinion Group 2:
Kate, Aayushi, Eliza, Molly, Dora
Opinion Group 3:
Nimi, Emma N, Meghaa, Rosie, Angelina
Undecided Members of Senate: Ema B, Caroline,
Sawaka, Wudi, Amanda, Mahek, Victoria
Block 5
Opinion Group 1:
Alia, Kassia, Luce, Emily, Chloe, Alana, Izzy
Opinion Group 2:
Della, Krehnke, Aiden, Joyce, Brooklyn, Karolyn, Gauri
Opinion Group 3:
Tri-An, Apurva, Siya, Ashley, Juliana, Haley, Isabel
Undecided Members of Senate: Termeh, Snikitha, Shiori,
Natali, Madi, Shreya, Alexis, Ally
 Work Time
For Undecided members of the Senate: Read the summarized
opinions and work on crafting questions for each of the groups
towards the values, concerns, and interests of the US. Keep in mind
that each group member will have a different responsibility within the
opinion group. You will need to address the experts on domestic
policy, international policy, and military stratagem.

For those people who are working on the opinion they are assigned:
Create your opening statement, closing statement (remember you
can add to this statement), and potential questions that will be asked
of you by the undecided Senators.
“We Have Never Been Here Before,” Thomas Friedman, February 25, 2022
1. What did you learn from this piece that you didn’t know before? What is your reaction to it?
2. How have you been feeling in the days since Russia invaded Ukraine? How much attention
have you been paying to the news? Do you understand why Mr. Friedman, describing the
biggest and most significant land war in Europe since World War II, says “our world is not
going to be the same”? Do you agree?
3. What kind of conversations have you had with friends and family members on this subject?
Have you and the others in your life had similar reactions to the invasion or different ones?
Why do you think that is?
4. Have you seen pictures, videos or social media posts documenting what life is like in
Ukraine right now? If so, what scenes or images have had an impression on you, and why?
5. How much did you know about Russia, Ukraine and the history between the two countries
leading up to this war? Were you surprised by the news that Russia had invaded, or did you
expect it to happen? Why?
6. What do you think might happen next? Are you worried about the potential effects, including
a rise in energy costs, Russian cyberattacks or a new refugee crisis in Europe? How do you
think this war might affect your life, if it has not already?
7. What do you know about how countries around the world are responding? What else, if
anything, do you think the United States and other countries should do?
8. What questions do you still have?
Here is a brief recap of Russian- Ukrainian relations in the 20th
century:
1922 — Russia and Ukraine became two of the founding members of the Soviet Union.

1932 and 1933 — A famine caused by Stalin’s policy of collectivization kills millions of
people, mainly ethnic Ukrainians in a country that is known as the bread basket of the Soviet
Union. The disaster is known as the Holodomor.

1941-1944 — Nazi Germany and the Axis powers occupy the country during World War II.

1991 — The Soviet Union is terminated via a treaty. Ukraine becomes independent and
begins a transition to a market economy. It also comes into possession of a significant
stockpile of nuclear weapons that had belonged to the Soviet Union.

1994 — Under the Budapest Memorandum, Ukraine gives up its nuclear arsenal in
exchange for a commitment from Moscow “to respect the independence and sovereignty and
the existing borders of Ukraine.”
 Belarus
February 2014 — Protesters
in Ukraine overthrow President
Ukraine
Viktor Yanukovych, who was
Poland
friendly to Russia’s interests.
Approximate
During the revolution, more Crimea Area of Interest
line Lunhask
than 100 people are killed in separating
protests that centered on the Ukrainian
and
main square in the capital Russian-bac
Kyiv, often called the Maidan. ked forces
Donetsk
The interim government that
followed this pro-Western Ukraine
revolution eventually signs a
trade agreement with the Russia
European Union that is seen
as a first step toward
membership of the bloc.
April 2014 — Russia invades and then annexes the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea. Two
secessionist regions, the Donetsk People’s Republic and the neighboring Luhansk
People’s Republic, break off from Ukraine. The war continues in the eastern Ukrainian
region known as Donbas. It then spreads west. Roughly 13,000 Ukrainian soldiers and
civilians eventually die in the conflict. The front lines have barely shifted for years.

2014 and 2015 — Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany sign a series of cease-fire
agreements known as the Minsk Accords. Many view these accords as ambiguous.

April 2019 — A former comedian, Volodymyr Zelensky, is elected by a large majority as

president of Ukraine on a promise to restore Donbas to the country.

2021-2022 — President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia seeks to prevent Ukraine’s drift toward
the United States and its allies. Mr. Putin demands “security guarantees,” including an
assurance by NATO that Ukraine will never join the group and that the alliance pulls back
troops stationed in countries that joined after 1997. Many Russians view the Ukrainian
capital, Kyiv, as the birthplace of their nation and cite the numerous cultural ties between
the two countries.
Article “The Invasion of Ukraine: How Russia Attacked and What Happens Next” Feb. 24, 2022

1. The article begins, “After months of troop and tank buildups, of grim warnings of violence and vague assurances
of peace, and of efforts at diplomacy in Washington, the halls of the United Nations and the capitals of Europe,
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began early Thursday morning.” Have you been aware of some of this? How much
have you been following this story so far?

2. What does the article mean by calling the declaration by President Vladimir Putin of Russia “cynical” when it
quotes his description of the invasion as a “special military operation” to “demilitarize” Ukraine but not occupy the
country?

3. What is the state of the fighting? How are ordinary Ukrainians being affected? (Deeper answers to these
questions, beyond what is in this overview, can be found in the Live Briefing.)

4. Why has Mr. Putin long sought control over Ukraine? What happened in 2008 and 2014 to complicate the
situation?

5. Why does the prospect of Ukraine joining NATO infuriate Mr. Putin? (For more information, see this article.)

6. What events, starting last fall, led to the invasion on Feb. 24?

7. Ukraine, the United States and others have condemned Russia’s aggression and dismissed Mr. Putin’s
justifications. What have they done in response so far?
Venn Diagram Activity
What is similar with what is
happening in the Ukraine in
2022 with the US in the
1940’s?
What is different with what is
happening in the Ukraine in
2022 with the US in the
1940’s?
What has stayed the same?
How can we help the Ukraine?
Debate!
1. We will start with each opinion group’s opening statements. Each group has about 3-5
minutes to present.
2. 2 minutes for argument groups to confer on the arguments presented by other peer
groups. Undecided members, review your prepared questions and have every member be
ready to ask a question
3. 10 minutes for undecided members to ask questions.
a. If your question is targeted at one particular group, the next question cannot target
that same group. Each group should be asked a somewhat equal amount of
questions.
b. Each question needs to be responded to by a new member of the opinion group.
4. 2 minutes for argument groups to confer on final remarks, i.e. “Our group’s option is
the best because…” Undecided members of congress may already have made a
decision at this point, but are still open minded to changing vote.
5. 5 minutes for undecided members will discuss outloud how they think they should vote
through completing their portion of the activity. Opinion groups will listen to the
decision making process.
 Vote!
Undecided members you have 10 minutes to discuss
and debate out your decision among the undecided
members.
 Epilogue- What ended up happening historically?

Read the document above and be prepared to have

a conversation on these questions:

● What is your perception of Roosevelt after this case

study? Do you think he was a quality president?
● What differences were there between US foriegn
policy with Great Britain and France vs. US foriegn
policy with Japan during the 1930-1940’s?
● Were you surprised with the decision the class made
vs. the real decision by Congress in 1941?
 Only one year after Roosevelt signs
off on the Lend Lease Act, he signed
Executive Order 9066 that authorized
the forced removal of Japanese
Americans living along the West
Coast of the United States to ten
concentration camps.

Based on what you already know,

what information from this video is
accurate? And what information
from this video is false?
Post Debate- Compare and contrast:

US involvement in WWII and US involvement in

Russia/ Ukraine crisis?

https://www.choices.edu/teaching-news-lesson/the-u
kraine-crisis/