In Their Own Words – SC’s Vietnam Veterans and Their Stories
This lesson focuses on rememberances of the Vietnam War from individuals who fought in it. It should be used in conjunction with a study of the facts and events that occurred during the Vietnam War. It will enhance and add a personal dimension to the study of the statistics and facts behind the war. It is assumed that students will have an understanding of the basic facts of the war and the reasons it was fought before they begin this lesson.
Essential Question
War is much more than statistics. How do personal remembrances change perceptions about war?
Grade(s):
- 5
- 7
- 10
- 11
Subject(s):
Recommended Technology:
Computers/tablets with internet access.
Other Instructional Materials or Notes:
Lesson Progression
Voices From Vietnam is a video that gives facts and opinions about the war from individuals who lived and fought during this period of history. It should be used in conjunction with a study of the facts and events that occurred during the Vietnam War. It will enhance and add a personal dimension to the study of the statistics and facts behind the war. It is assumed that students will have an understanding of the basic facts of the war and the reasons it was fought before they begin this lesson.
The video is divided into 7 distinct segments. They are:
• Honoring the Wall
• When the World Changed
• The Uglies of War
• When I Got Back to the World
• All Gave Some, Some Gave All
• The Healing War
• A Poem for My Daughter
- Place students into seven groups and assign one video segment to each group.
- Prior to watching the video, students will take a pre-viewing poll which gages their personal beliefs about the Vietnam War. They will take the same poll after completing their project.
Polls can be constructed at the following site: https://www.polleverywhere.com/plans/k-12
This site also will allow “text walls” so that students can stream ideas about their video segments and share them with the class for all to view.
Poll Questions:
- The Vietnam War was a necessary war.
- Most Americans on the home front supported the Vietnam War effort.
- Soldiers who fought in Vietnam were proud of their service.
- Soldiers who fought in Vietnam had little regard for the country of Vietnam and the people who lived there.
- Because of the news coverage that was prevalent and constant during the Vietnam War, Americans who did not fight in the war had an accurate perception of what the war was like.
4. Each group will watch their individual segment that has been assigned to them.
5. Students will use their tablets or the “note application” on their personal smart phones to take notes on their video segment, writing down areas of interest and remembrances that stand out to them. They should also include in their notes why the segment was memorable or intriguing to them.
6. Students in each group will discuss individual notes. Looking at what each person has written, students should write a group response that reflects the areas of interest that stood out to the group from their video segments, and parts that intrigued and were memorable to them. This will be a group response that will be posted for the class to view on the “text wall”, giving all students some idea about their group’s segment.
7. Student groups will now write and produce a podcast that answers the Essential Question and is specific to their group’s video segment. Podcast can be recorded using a smart phone. Students should be given a copy of the rubric before writing their scripts so they have a clear understanding what will be expected and seen as exemplary in their podcast.
8. The teacher will post Podcasts using district guidelines.
9. If possible the teacher will find Veteran groups that can respond to student podcasts.
10. The students will take a post-project poll using the same five questions to see if their views about the war have changed.
Voices from Vietnam
Veterans talk about their experiences in Vietnam on the occasion of the “Traveling Wall” exhibit coming to Blythewood, S.C. in May 2016.
Teaching About the Vietnam War in Vietnam
A lesson that teaches about the Vietnam War (Legacy), Communism, propaganda, and reconstruction after the war.
View ResourceThe War in Vietnam: A Story in Photographs
As these photographers worked to document the war, they covered a variety of people and circumstances including combat missions, GIs, support personnel, medical units, and visits by dignitaries, politicians, and entertainers. While they may have been there to provide visual record of operations, equipment, and personnel; their photographs also tell a story. It is a story about the young men and women who fulfilled served their duty to their country by serving in the war in Vietnam.
View ResourceHeroes from the Korean & Vietnam Wars | Project Discovery
In this segment, heroes of the Korean War and the Vietnam War are discussed.
View ResourceGeneral Westmoreland | S.C. Hall of Fame
This is the story of General William C. Westmoreland, an Eagle Scout from Spartanburg County who earned medals for bravery in World War II and became a Four-Star General and the Military Commander of Allied Forces in Vietnam from 1964 to 1968. Historians, family and friends remember the uncompromising values of the man behind the four stars.
View ResourceTony McLean | Generations of Heroes
Meet Tony McLean. He served in Vietnam. Interview by Shani Alston from Richland Northeast High School, Columbia, SC.
View ResourceStandards
- 5-5 The student will demonstrate an understanding of the social, economic and political events that influenced the United States during the Cold War era.
- 7-5 The student will demonstrate an understanding of international developments during the Cold War era.
- MWH-8 The student will demonstrate an understanding of the causes and consequences of decolonization in the second half of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first century.
- USHC-8 The student will demonstrate an understanding of social, economic and political issues in contemporary America.