Summary

Mark MacKinnon reports on the jailing of Vladimir Putin critic Alexei Navalny, who was arrested for his public criticism of the Russian president. Thousands of people have protested throughout Russia; they were met with a massive police crackdown.

Getting Started

This lesson is designed for secondary level students who can complete it a bit at a time, if preferred, in groups or as a solo assignment.

Subject Area(s) covered

Social studies, geography, current events

New Terms to explain

Putin, KGB, and many others embedded in the exercise, below.

Materials Needed

Access to the article and the Internet

Study and Discussion Activity

Key things students can learn from this lesson

  • Basic facts about Russian history since the revolution;
  • Some background on the current president, Vladimir Putin;
  • Geographical comparisons between Russia and other large countries.

Action (here’s how we’ll do it)

February is a short month that often passes slowly in the middle of a Canadian winter. To break the tedium, here is a virtual ‘treasure hunt’ exercise. Students will use the Internet and the article, above, to match the correct answers in column B with the prompts in column A. To make it more interesting, some answers are used more than once, and others are not used at all. The key, at the bottom, is for teachers, or for students who will self-assess.

KEY: 1, h; 2, e; 3, p; 4, p; 5, aa; 6, k; 7, s; 8, x; 9, h; 10, b; 11, f; 12, u; 13, I; 14, z; 15, q; 16, h; 17, w; 18, l; 19, IV; 20, n; 21, c; 22, aa; 23, o; 24, m; 25, a; 26, h; 27, j; 28, 1991; 29, d; 30, t; 31, g; 32, r.

Consolidation of Learning

  • When they’ve finished their assignment, students will work with others or correct their work themselves. They may be prompted to discuss the facts they found most interesting.
Success and Additional Learning

Success Criteria

Students can:

  • List some basic facts about Russian history since the revolution;
  • Provide some background on the current president, Vladimir Putin;
  • Describe geographical comparisons between Russia and other large countries.

Confirming Activities

  • Students express their views about Putin when he appears in news items.

Helpful Internet Searches

  • Any Wikipedia source. NOTE: Always check at the top of an article to see if any of what is presented is in dispute—if it is, try to find another Wikipedia page that is not in dispute.

Activities to do together

  • Use Google Earth to take a tour of Russia, noting its vast features, lakes and wilderness.
  • Call up videos about Leningrad, the KGB and the arts, relative to Russian daily life and its history.
  • Consider creating a meal of traditional Russian dishes, such as Varenyki, borscht, and cabbage rolls.