The Vietnam War cost over 57,000 American lives and touched millions. A Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, DC, was constructed to honor those who lost their lives. One mother wrote a letter to her dead son, " I came to this black wall again to see and touch your name, and as I do I wonder if anyone ever stops to realize that next to your name, on this black wall, is your mother’s heart. A heart that broken 15 years ago today, when you lost your life in Vietnam." Many say that Vietnam was a war that nobody won and only had tragic outcomes for those involved.
You will be studying about the history, controversy, and heartache surrounding the Vietnam War, a key conflict in the Cold War. You will begin by interviewing two people who were involved or affected by the Vietnam War and write oral histories documenting the interviewees’ experiences. You will then research key stages of the Vietnam War, such as U.S. intervention and escalation to war, hardship and disillusionment on the war fronts, Vietnamese nationalism and determination, the waning of American public support, and the end of the war.
You will be assigned a summary of people who were involved or affected by the Vietnam War, such as, anti-war protesters, politicians in favor of the war, and the South Vietnamese. You will do research on how the Vietnam War affected this group and public figures that would have agreed/disagreed with your assigned group. From this research, you will attend a "sit-in" and present your ideas and opinions to others about the war.
Criteria:
1. Complete 2 oral histories from people involved/affected by the war.
2. Take notes about the key stages of the war.
3. Research and take notes on the Vietnam War and 5 public figures from the era who had strong opinions about the U.S. involvement in the war.
4. Create a "bumper sticker" with a slogan that supports opinion.
5. Create a song that tells the views of your group.
5. Create a memory book that is decorated to reflect your group’s feelings about the war. Your book must have a stanza from your song on the cover and your bumper sticker slogan on the back. In your book, you will have quotes from public figures you learned about during the sit-in.
Tune in, turn on, and don’t drop out!
Project due date ( sit-in): Monday, June 5