Vietnam War Lesson Plan: Global Conflict

Grade Levels: 6-8, 9-12

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This lesson accompanies the BrainPOP topic Vietnam War, and supports the standard of analyzing how conflicts in Vietnam influenced domestic and international politics. Students demonstrate understanding through a variety of projects.

Step 1: ACTIVATE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

Ask students: 

  • What do you already know about the Vietnam War? 
  • What do you want to know more about? 

Step 2: BUILD BACKGROUND

  • Read aloud the description on the Vietnam War topic page. 
  • Play the Movie, pausing to check for understanding. 
  • Have students read one of the following Related Reading articles: “In Depth” or “Real Life”. Partner them with someone who read a different article to share what they learned with each other.

Step 3: ENGAGE

Students express what they learned about the Vietnam War while practicing essential literacy skills with one or more of the following activities. Differentiate by assigning ones that meet individual student needs.

  • Make-a-Movie: Create a mini-documentary that answers this question: How did divided beliefs about the Vietnam War impact U.S. society? (Essential Literacy Skill: Determine central ideas)
  • Make-a-Map: Make a concept map identifying causes of the Vietnam War, and its effects on modern Vietnam and the United States. (Essential Literacy Skill: Make logical inferences from explicit details)
  • Creative Coding: Code a newscast that reports on the Gulf of Tonkin incident. (Essential Literacy Skill: Summarize key details)

Step 4: APPLY & ASSESS 

Apply: Students complete the Vietnam War Worksheet, applying essential literacy skills while demonstrating what they learned about this topic.

Assess: Wrap up the lesson with the Vietnam War Quiz. 

Step 5: EXTEND LEARNING

Time Zone X: Vietnam War: Challenge students to put historical events in chronological order in this interactive timeline game.

Related BrainPOP Topics: Deepen understanding of global conflict throughout history with these topics: Cold War, Communism, Armed Forces, and Veterans Day.

Additional Support Resources:

 

Lesson Plan Common Core State Standards Alignments

Related:

    Filed as:  6-8, 9-12, BrainPOP, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.2, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.3, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.4, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.2, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.7, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.2, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.7