Walls protect. Walls divide. Both these statements are true. Yet perhaps no issue represents the deep political chasm separating this country as a wall — a “big, beautiful wall” in the words of President Trump.

In this lesson plan, students move past the political rhetoric to analyze the function and symbolism of a border wall. They learn about what’s in place already along the United States-Mexico border, they find out what life in the borderlands is like, they learn more about border security and they consider walls as symbols. Then, if you would like to go further, we invite your students to compare President Trump’s proposed wall to other historic walls, from China to Berlin, and we offer a related Student Opinion question about the shutdown and the wall that students can answer.

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Warm Up

Ask students to respond to the following prompt:

Both of the following statements are true.

Walls protect.

Walls divide.

Which statement do you think is more true? Explain why.

Then have students share their answers as a class.

If you are feeling a little more adventurous, you can have students stand up and respond to this same prompt using a barometer activity. Tape two signs, “Walls Protect” and “Walls Divide,” on opposite ends of the classroom. Ask students to stand along a continuum between the two signs based on how strongly they feel about their answer to the prompt. Give them a minute to find their spot along the continuum, then have students share what they think and why.