United Nations - Introduction

The United Nations was established on October 24, 1945. The United Nations was the second multipurpose international organization established in the 20th century that was worldwide in scope and membership. Its predecessor, the League of Nations, was created by the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 and disbanded in 1946. Headquartered in New York City, the UN also has offices in Geneva, Vienna, and other cities. Its official languages are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish (Encyclopaedia Britannica).
The United Nations has developed a site specifically for students. Don't be fooled by the title (it is not as grade 3 as it sounds): UN CYBERSCHOOLBUS has a good overview of the United Nations and its functions here
Below are some introductory videos that help to give an overview of the united nations. After watching them respond to the questions at the bottom of this post.

The Founding of the United Nations
A slide show on the Basic Facts of the United Nations

What were the motivations and events that helped to found the United Nations?
To what extent does the United Nations provide equality for all member nations?
What potential good could the United Nations accomplish in the world? Has it been able to meet that potential?
What potential problems might arise because of the establishment of the United Nations? In what ways have these problems been realized?

International Monetary Fund

Definitions:
-An international organization with 185 member countries. The IMF was established to promote international monetary cooperation, exchange stability, and orderly exchange arrangements; to foster economic growth and high levels of employment; and to provide temporary financial assistance to countries to help ease balance of payments adjustment. (Theglobalfund.org)
-The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is the intergovernmental organization that oversees the global financial system by following the macroeconomic policies of its member countries, in particular those with an impact on exchange rate and the balance of payments. (Wikipedia.org)
Explanation
Im In Your Trees definition: The IMF takes the job of looking over the economic issues within the countries that that are a part of it. They try to provide a stable way to use the money that the country has.

Metaphor: 
It can be described like they are your parents. They want to help you save your money by not spending it on things you don't really need. Even though it's your money and in the end you pretty much have control over it, they try to tell you what would be the best thing to do with it to try and help you out down the road when you really need the cash.