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Education

Identifying Genocide Lesson Plan

Length
One 60-minute class period
Grade Level
High School

Learning Objectives

  • Students will define and distinguish genocide from other atrocity crimes and evaluate the challenges of prosecuting it.

Instructional Plan

  1. (Introduction - 5 minutes) - Begin class by writing the following question on the board: “In what year was the word ‘genocide’ first used?” Give students a moment or two to think of their answers. Ask two or three students to volunteer their response,  then reveal the correct answer: 1944. Emphasize to students that the word “genocide” is a fairly recent invention, and that today’s class session will focus on why the word “genocide” was invented, what it means, and how it is used in contemporary foreign policy.
  2. (Guided Reading - 15 minutes) - Working independently, have students read the CFR Education article, “What is Genocide?” Students may use the guided reading worksheet to help them process information as they read (linked below). When students have completed the reading, have students talk it through with a neighbor. Then, work collaboratively with the class to write a working definition of “genocide” on the board. 
  3. (Activity - 20 minutes) - Explain to students that genocide is one type of atrocity and that it is notoriously difficult to prosecute under international law. The remainder of class will explore the complexities of a formal “genocide” identification and prosecution. To this end, label the four corners of the room: A) Genocide - meets the legal definition; B) Not genocide - but still a serious international crime; C) Unclear - not enough information or too contested to say; D) Not a crime under international law.
    • Using the slide deck (linked below), read the four scenarios one at a time. After each scenario is read, students should move to the corner that matches their assessment of the scenario. Call on one or two students from different corners to share their responses to each scenario, then reveal the correct answer. 
    • Before starting the activity, emphasize to students that the goal of the activity is not to determine moral guilt, but to practice applying a legal definition. Students should be reasoning from the Genocide Convention’s five acts and the intent requirement, not from personal or political feelings. It may help to remind students that the reading itself notes that reasonable people and countries disagree on these categorizations.
  4. (Activity Debrief - 5 minutes) - After all scenarios, ask students to return to their seats and pose the following question for a brief discussion: “Every scenario we just worked through came from patterns in the reading. What do all four scenarios have in common? What does that tell you about why genocide is so difficult to identify and prosecute?”
  5. (Concluding Discussion - 10 minutes) - Conclude the class session with a full-class discussion of any of the following prompts.
    • “Some legal experts claim the intent requirement is too strict and gives perpetrators an easier defense — an alleged perpetrator could claim their actions were motivated by strategic wartime necessity, not a desire to destroy a specific group. Do you agree that the bar is too high? What might happen if you lowered it?”
    • “The reading describes genocide, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing, and willful killing as related but legally distinct. Why does the label matter? Does it change what the world is obligated to do?”
    • “The Rwanda and former Yugoslavia tribunals remain the only instances of successful international legal action on genocide. Given that the Genocide Convention has been in force since 1948, what does that tell us about the gap between law and enforcement?”
    • “Enforcing international law on genocide has proven difficult, with the UNSC, ICC, ICJ, and individual countries all struggling to enforce the genocide convention. Does a law that can’t be enforced still serve a purpose?”
    • “The reading describes ongoing situations where genocide has been alleged but not legally determined. What makes it difficult for the international community to act on these cases specifically?”
  6. (Exit Ticket - 5 minutes) - Conclude the session by posing the following question: “If Raphael Lemkin were alive today and watching these debates unfold, what do you think he would say? What, if anything, do you think he would want changed?” Take two or three responses, or ask students to write down a brief response on the back of their guided reading worksheets as an exit ticket before leaving class.

Materials