Students learn about the constitutional monarchy in Jordan and the presidential republic in Syria. Then they learn about the parliamentary republic in Lebanon, with its guaranteed proportional representation based on religion. Finally, they examine Israel’s parliamentary democracy and the nature of a coalition government.
Students read an overview explaining that Jordan is a constitutional monarchy while Syria, Lebanon, and Israel are republics with different systems of government. They then respond to a word cloud prompt by listing as many different types of government as they can.
Teacher MovesIntroduce the lesson focus and objectives, highlighting that students will compare several forms of government in Israel and its neighbors. If students have limited prior knowledge, prompt them with broad categories such as democracy, monarchy, and dictatorship to help them generate responses for the word cloud.
Students use internet research to complete two graphic organizers, one for Jordan and one for Syria, identifying each country’s type of government, chief of state, head of government, election or appointment processes, number of branches, number of political parties, and legal system. They then read explanatory text about Jordan’s constitutional monarchy and Syria’s presidential republic, including how power is distributed and how elections function. Finally, they answer multiple-choice questions comparing the two systems, focusing on guaranteed legislative majorities, eligibility of opposition groups to lead, and inherited leadership.
Teacher MovesRemind students that political information in this region can change and that ongoing conflict affects government structures. Invite students to share any prior knowledge about Jordan and Syria before they research. After students read about Syria’s guaranteed majority for the Ba’th Party, lead a discussion about potential problems when one party is always assured an absolute majority. Review and clarify student responses to the comparison questions, emphasizing differences in how leaders gain and hold power in Jordan and Syria.
Students read about Lebanon’s parliamentary republic, including the structure of the National Assembly, its single-house parliament, and the guaranteed equal distribution of seats between Christian and Muslim groups. They examine how the executive branch is allocated by religion—president as Maronite Christian, prime minister as Sunni Muslim, and speaker of the assembly as Shi’ite. Students answer a multiple-choice question about seat distribution, then post responses explaining the purpose of assigning leadership roles by religion and how the Lebanese head of government is similar to and different from the heads of government in Jordan and Syria.
Teacher MovesClarify the concept of a parliamentary republic and guide students in interpreting the religious seat distribution in the National Assembly. Use questioning to help students infer that the system is designed to guarantee representation and leadership for major religious groups. In the comparison activity, highlight that in all three countries the chief executive role is not fully open to democratic competition—being inherited in Jordan, tied to a specific party in Syria, and restricted to a Maronite Christian in Lebanon.
Students read about Israel’s parliamentary democracy, including the role of the Knesset, proportional representation, and how the prime minister and cabinet are formed and can be removed. They then learn how coalition governments are formed when no single party wins a majority and read a description of coalition negotiations in South Africa to see how smaller parties can influence outcomes. Students post responses explaining how, in a proportional parliamentary system, coalition governments might give disproportionate power to smaller coalition members, and then share and justify their own opinions on whether proportional representation is a good system.
Teacher MovesProvide a clear, concrete explanation of proportional representation and how it affects party representation in the Knesset. Connect the South African coalition example to Israel’s system to illustrate how smaller parties can make significant demands in exchange for joining a coalition. Highlight strong student explanations about minority leverage in coalitions and facilitate a discussion that surfaces both advantages (minority representation) and disadvantages (small parties potentially “holding the government ransom”) of proportional representation.
Students complete the exit quiz by answering all the questions.
Teacher MovesFacilitate the assessment and use student data to evaluate understanding, address misconceptions, and identify areas for growth.
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