INDIA ACCELERATING. Building a Superhighway is a free, narrated slide show and graphic developed by Eric Owles, Monica Evanchik, and Judith Levitt for the New York Times. This resources provides a flexible teaching tool for middle and high school audiences.

Show one or all four parts and ask students to make a list of questions that the program raises in their minds. It is highly likely that the ensuing discussion will include elements of economics, politics, development, equity, “modernity,” and what it means to be a global economic power.

High school students might research one or more questions in greater depth for a short paper. Assigned topics could include a compare/contrast between the Golden Quadrilateral highway network and the American highway system developed in the 1950s, or an exploration of the legal, humanitarian, or financial obstacles to—and benefits from—such a large-scale project.

Assign every student to prepare a one-minute pro or a one-minute con argument to this statement using selections from the on-line references at the end of this article. In class the following day, invite each student to draw a card from a hat. The cards will be labeled Jury, Questioner, or Presenter. Assign up to three pros and three cons; jury members should be odd in number, and questioners the remainder of the class. After alternating arguments, invite questions. Ask the jury to cast their confidential votes on slips of paper; only you will know the final count. Make sure to give each presenter the opportunity to express his or her real opinion, and ask the class to reflect on the exercise afterwards.