University of South Florida



Teaching Democracy & Diversity:

A Summer Seminar for Caribbean Teachers

University of South Florida

By Luis F. Diaz P.

Title

“Democracy vs. Dictatorships in Latin America“

Concept/Main Idea of Lesson

In this lesson, the students will learn the differences between democracy and dictatorial regimes. Students will gain awareness about the countries of Latin America that have been ruled by dictators. They will also draw comparisons to democratic societies where human beings have equal rights and opportunities. Finally, students will be able to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of both systems.

Intended Grade Level

9th-12th

Infusion/Subject Area(s)

World History, American History, Latin American History, Government

Instructional Objective

At the end of this lesson, the students will be able to do the following:

1- list the differences between dictatorial and democratic regimes;

2- discuss and analyze the disadvantages that dictatorial regimes have represented for Latin America and the opportunities that democratic regimes provide;

3- develop critical thinking through synthesis and evaluation of issues raised in class discussion and activities.

Learning Activities Sequence

a. Set Induction/Lesson Initiating Behavior: The students will be asked the following question: What do you think about living in a place where another person makes the decisions for you and tells you what you must do most of the time against your will?

b. Learning Activities: At the beginning of the class the teacher will introduce the main topic asking the following questions in order to activate students’ prior knowledge: What is democracy?, What is a dictatorship?, What is a coup d’état?, What is a military government?. As a class, the teacher will call on students for their responses to these questions and will list the answers on the board.

After this, the teacher will utilize the “think-pair-share” technique focusing on what the students have heard about the dictatorial systems in Latin America and the specific leaders including Rafael Leonidas Trujillo, Fidel Castro, Augusto Pinochet, and François Duvalier. The students will list their responses on a separate piece of paper. The teacher will display a brief PowerPoint detailing what some consider to be the “Top Ten List of the worst dictators in Latin American history”.

The teacher will hand out a list of the countries that have been ruled by dictators along with the specific dates of the dictatorships. The students will read the list and discuss it with their partners.

The teacher will hand out a list labeling the differences between democracy and dictatorial regimes, and the students will discuss among themselves the differences between the two. As a class, both the students and the teacher will discuss the responses along with each student’s rationale for each of their specific points.

c. Closure: The teacher will make a general summary about the topic, based on student responses and in the most relevant aspect of dictatorship and democracy.

Evaluation

At the end of the lesson, students will write a two paragraph response detailing their thoughts on dictatorial regimes vs. democratic governments and how understanding the differences might be useful towards strengthening democratic movements in Latin America. One student from each group will share with the class their opinions. The students completing the activity will earn a check mark (√) on this performance evaluation in the areas of demonstrated multiple intelligences and basic competencies, e.g. inference, synthesis, observation, analyze, etc.

Materials and Resources

PPT: List of the ten worst dictators in Latin America

Handout 1: List of dictators in Latin America and dates when they ruled

Handout 2: Differences between Democracy and Dictatorship

Blackboard, chalk, markers, data show, textbooks, computer

References

Claiber, J. (1998). The church, dictatorships, and democracy in Latin America. Maryknoll, NY:

Orbis books.

Cruz, B. and Thornton, S. (2009). Teaching social studies to English language learners. New

York: Routledge.

Krehm, W. (1984). Democracies and tyrannies of the Caribbean. United States of America:

Lawrence Hill & Company Publishers, Inc.

Mendelson, G. (1990). The military and democracy. Canada: Lexington Books.

Porter, C. and Alexander, R. (1961). The struggle for democracy in Latin America. New York:

The MacMillan Company.

Stain, J. (1990). Democracy in Latin America. New York: Bergin & Garvey Publishers.

Wiarda, H. (2005). Dilemmas of democracy in Latin America. United States of America:

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.

Wiarda, H. (1995). Democracy and its discontents. United States of America: Rowman &

Littlefield Publishers, Inc.

Wiarda, H. (1980). The continuing struggle for democracy in Latin America. United States of

America: Westview press, Inc.

Web sites

Characters of Latin America Dictatorship. (06/24/09) retrieved from:

Dictatorship in Latin America. (n.d). retrieved from Science Encyclopedia:

Features and characteristics of democracy. (n.d.) retrieved from wikiAnswers:

Geddes, B. and Frantz, E. E., (2007-08-30) "The Legacy of Dictatorship for Democratic Parties in Latin America" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Hyatt Regency Chicago and the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers, Chicago, IL Online . 2009-05-27 from .

Google Images:

Jonas, S. and Stein, N. (1990). Democracy in Latin America: Visions and Realities. Accessed July 16, 2009.

Latin American Dictators. (10/10/01). Retrieved from Web Master:

List of Dictators. (01/09/09) retrieved form conservapedia:

Military dictatorship. (n.d.) Retrieved from Wikipedia:

Worst Dictators in Latin America. (n.d) Retrieved From Wikipedia:

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