Monday, March 17, 2014

Unrest in Ukraine

Today's current event is great for having your kids peruse a map and find the different countries we are talking about.

Article: Today, the Crimean government declared independence from Ukraine, following a public referendum in which 96% of voters approved becoming part of Russia instead of Ukraine. Crimea is a peninsula in Southern Ukraine, which formerly was part of the Soviet Union. Accordingly, Crimea will now go by Moscow time (moving its clocks 2 hours forward), and has changed its currency to the Russian ruble. As a result, local banks closed and ATM machines ran out of money. Ukraine's president said he didn't support the referendum, which he thinks was orchestrated by Russia, and called for partial military intervention. In response, the Crimea government urged Ukrainians to join the Crimean army. 

Discussion
  • What is happening in Ukraine right now is called civil unrest. Why? What do you think is going to happen next? 
  • When you become a new country or join another country, why do you change you currency, etc.? What else will likely get changed in schools and education? 
  • Why would Crimeans want to be part of Russia instead of Ukraine? 
 

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