ANTICIPATE by asking students if they think countries ever work together.  If so, what kinds of things do they think countries work together to do?  Call on volunteers to answer.

DISTRIBUTE the reading page.

READ the reading page with the class.

GROUP students into groups of 6.  Each student in the group will be reading about and reporting on a different international organization.  If the groups aren’t even, students can double up, or a person from a different group can also report to the group that is missing an organization.

DISTRIBUTE a different Presentation Activity page to each group member.

EXPLAIN that they will each be reading about a different organization and reporting about their organization to the other group members.  (The information on the activity pages is current as of 2011.)  Make sure they understand the instructions on their Presentation Activity page.  (You’ll find answers for the presentation activities on your teacher key for the chart.)

ALLOW students a reasonable time to read and complete the Presentation Activity pages.

DISTRIBUTE one chart to each student.

TRANSITION the class into the presentation phase of the activity.  Have students take turns presenting their organizations to their group.  The other group members will take notes on their charts while each student is presenting.

MONITOR to make sure students are presenting and taking notes correctly.

CLOSE by asking students, “What is one activity almost all the organizations you learned about are involved in doing?”  Guide them toward answering that the organizations help poor people and countries in the world.  Discuss why countries might think this is an important thing to do.