In this lesson, students will survey the extent of and experiences of African Americans in military service during US war efforts from the Revolution to the Vietnam Conflict using a Hyperdoc (see attached) that can be assigned using your LMS system.

This video summarizes the role of American Service Women in the Vietnam War. The video reviews the various roles the women fulfilled, facts about their role in the war and has three HOT questions to further encourage discussion and thought about women and their role in the military.

With the United States and the Soviet Union in a Cold War, fears of Southeast Asia falling to communism led to America’s increasing involvement with political and military matters in Vietnam, which was split between the communist North and anti-communist South in 1954. This lesson will address the U.S. government’s economic and tactical support of the conflict in Vietnam, and atrocities committed by American troops against Vietnamese civilians, which later became public. Domestically, an anti-war movement in the U.S. began to grow, with people questioning America’s involvement overseas—the money spent and the lives lost—which later impacted the war itself, including the withdrawal of troops and policies passed to prevent future U.S. military action without congressional approval.

2021 Social Science Standards Integrated with Ethnic Studies:
Civics and Government: 8.10, HS.10
Historical Thinking: 7.25
Social Science Analysis: 7.29, 8.33, 8.36, HS.72, HS.74, HS.77, HS.78

Asian Americans who served in the U.S. military during war in Vietnam were confronted not only by the harsh realities of war, but also with their racial and national identities. Asian American military service officers faced racism from their superiors and fellow U.S. soldiers, and were challenged by Vietnamese citizens and soldiers who saw a connection to them. This lesson explores some of the ways in which Asian Americans in the military experienced the war in Vietnam and the ways they negotiated their identities with being seen by both sides as “foreign invaders.”

2021 Social Science Standards Integrated with Ethnic Studies:
Historical Knowledge: HS.60, HS.64
Historical Thinking: HS.70
Social Science Analysis: HS.72, HS.74, HS.76, HS.77

Prior to the antiwar demonstrations on and around college campuses, the Civil Rights movement in particular had increased student activism. As American involvement in Vietnam deepened, many in that age group faced the disconcerting reality of conscription. Even before they shipped out, those who were drafted had begun to see the horrors of the war, most notably on television. The growing presence of television in nearly every American household thus exacerbated divisions over the conflict and helped fuel the antiwar movement. What Americans watched on television each night shaped their perceptions of the Vietnam War, which came to be known as the "living room war." For some young Americans, called on to fight but unable to vote until the age of 21, the situation was unacceptable.

The documents for this activity are drawn from those that might be typically found on an advanced placement history test, supplemented by materials featured in Teachrock lessons. As such, this activity may be used as a means to prepare students for an advanced placement test, or as an assessment tool at the end of a Vietnam War unit. A variety of approaches are provided that allow teachers to use the documents to engage their students in the classroom.

Students research the effects of the Vietnam war on a specific group of people who were involved. They then create Internet scavenger hunts to share with the class.

This course incorporates original OER materials with readings from the novel The Things They Carried, by Tim O'Brien, a gripping and compassionate account of a platoon of U.S. soldiers in the Vietnam War and readings from the textbook Composition II from Lumen Learning. The course will challenge students in their reading and writing skills while providing them with a historical and cultural context to better understand war, peace, and the human condition.

Academy award winning Director Oliver Stone talks with UC Berkeley's Harry Kreisler about Vietnam, his movies, and the art of cinema. (26 min)

U.C. Berkeley's Harry Kreisler welcomes Colonel Harry G. Summers for a discussion of the lessons of the Vietnam War for U.S. military strategy.

Host Harry Kreisler is joined by activist and strategic analyst Daniel Ellsberg, a key figure in the public protest to halt the Vietnam War. His leaking of the Pentagon Papers to The New York Times set in motion a series of events, including illegal actions by then-President Richard Nixon that led the president to resign his office rather than be impeached. (58 min)

Host Harry Kreisler welcomes Pulitzer Prize winning author Neil Sheehan, who reflects on the Vietnam War through the prism of American soldier John Paul Vann. (60 min)

Oral History Interviews that bring students together with veterans help to foster empathy and make history come alive. This lessons offers a step-by-step guide to doing an oral history project with Vietnam War Veterans.

The 11th grade learning experience consists of 7 mostly month-long units aligned to the Common Core State Standards, with available course material for teachers and students easily accessible online. Over the course of the year there is a steady progression in text complexity levels, sophistication of writing tasks, speaking and listening activities, and increased opportunities for independent and collaborative work. Rubrics and student models accompany many writing assignments.Throughout the 11th grade year, in addition to the Common Read texts that the whole class reads together, students each select an Independent Reading book and engage with peers in group Book Talks. Students move from learning the class rituals and routines and genre features of argument writing in Unit 11.1 to learning about narrative and informational genres in Unit 11.2: The American Short Story. Teacher resources provide additional materials to support each unit.

In this unit, students will explore great works of American literature and consider how writers reflect the time period in which they write. They will write two literary analysis papers and also work in groups to research and develop anthologies of excellent American stories.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Students read and analyze stories from several 19th-, 20th-, and 21st-century American authors. After researching a time period, they select stories from that period to create an anthology. The readings enhance their understanding of the short story, increase their exposure to well-known American authors, and allow them to examine the influence of social, cultural, and political context.
Students examine elements of short stories and have an opportunity for close reading of several American short stories. During these close readings, they examine the ways that short story writers attempt to explore the greater truths of the American experience through their literature.

GUIDING QUESTIONS

These questions are a guide to stimulate thinking, discussion, and writing on the themes and ideas in the unit. For complete and thoughtful answers and for meaningful discussions, students must use evidence based on careful reading of the texts.

If you were to write a short story about this decade, what issues might you focus on?
What defines a short story? Just length?
To what extent do these stories reflect the era or decade in which they were written?
To what extent are the themes they address universal?

CLASSROOM FILMS

History.com has short videos on the Vietnam War (“Vietnam” and “A Soldier's Story”).

In this lesson, students will examine Cheever's use of symbol and motif in his story. They will also expand their ideas through writing and share their understanding of the story.

In this lesson, students will begin the short story “The Swimmer.” As an introduction to the story, they will also read the myth “Echo and Narcissus,” considering Narcissus as a way to view the protagonist of “The Swimmer.”

In this lesson, students will continue to read, annotate, write about, and discuss “The Things They Carried.”

In this lesson, students will begin reading, writing about, and discussing the short story “The Things They Carried.”

In this lesson, students will continue to read, annotate, write about, and discuss “The Things They Carried.”