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How to End a War Poster

12/12/2024

Finish and REVISE the poster/writing from Tuesday.

IF you finish a draft...

Put your name on the board
Trade with someone else who has their name on the board
Give each other critical feedback on the following:
1. Do they have 4 clear lessons about how to end a war?
2. Do they use at least 3 specific examples from the Vietnam war?
3. What could they do to make this more visually interesting (for a poster)?
4. How could they make this more detailed and insightful (for the writing)?

Radio Listening + Questions
We are going to explore each of these questions through radio clips and notes. At the end of this exploration, you will create a guide in the form of an infographic, poster, or flow-chart that shows how a country should exit the war. This will need to use specific examples from Vietnam to support your message.

List 5-8 lessons we can learn from how the Vietnam War ended
These could be little things or big things. Think about…

what leaders need to plan for
how we could have eliminated the challenges discussed in the radio segment
what we could have done differently to make the exit better for the Vietnamese
What we could have done differently to make the exit better for US soldiers.

Poster Assignment
I want you to create a poster or infographic that shows the 4 most important lessons we should learn about how to end a war from the end of the Vietnam War. This could take the form of…

Lessons we learned from ending the war in Vietnam
Mistakes we made and how to avoid them
A flow chart showing decisions leaders will have to make at the end of a war
A planning poster guide for a leader ending the war
Other?

I would like these include specific examples from Vietnam (from the CNN video or the radio show), and to be visually interesting/appealing. Feel free to make them humorous!

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How to End a War

12/10/2024

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Opening Brainstorm:
What’s the best way to exit a war? What needs to be considered and figured out during this time?

The Fall of Saigon

Watch this video clip
Write down on the handout- 2 facts, 2 comments, 2 questions
Share your best comment and question

Central Questions:

How did the U.S. exit the Vietnam War?
How challenging was it to leave South Vietnam during and after the Fall of Saigon?
How did South Vietnamese immigrants arrive in America?

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Pentagon Papers and Journal 9

12/6/2024

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Group Discussion

What do you think is the more important issue, that government documents were leaked or that the US government hadn’t been totally honest in its assessment of the Vietnam War?
Were Ellsberg or Nixon justified in their behavior, or did they both cross the line of responsible behavior by government officials? Explain why you think the way you do.

Pentagon Papers- Ellsberg’s Perspective
Read and annotate this document.

How does Ellsberg explain the leadership’s unwillingness to end the war, despite the fact they knew it wasn’t going well.
What new things did you learn about Ellsberg’s motivations?
How did Ellsberg justify his decision to do something illegal?

Journal 9
For this journal, write a hefty (like, ½ page at least) answer the following question: Daniel Ellsberg felt it was morally important for the public to know the information included in the Pentagon Papers, even though the information in the study was classified.

Is it ethically and morally acceptable for someone to leak this type of information, even though it might be embarrassing or damaging to the government or national security?

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Pentagon Papers

12/5/2024

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TTTC Discussion- Stockings, Church, The Man I Killed (10 min)
Stockings

How is Henry Dobbins described?
What is the significance of the stockings?

Church

What do you think the washing motion meant (page 113)?
How did the monks treat the US soldiers?
What is this chapter saying about religion? About church? About faith?
What is the point of this chapter?

The Man I Killed

This story starts with a page of physical description and then almost a full page of who the dead man is. Why did the author choose to start the chapter like this?
This vivid description comes back on pages 121 and 122. What is the point of this depth of detail?
What does this chapter have to say about the relationship between the killer and the killed?

Pentagon Papers- Opening Lecture (10 min)

Begin the lesson by writing the text of the First Amendment dealing with freedom of speech and the press on the chalkboard or LCD projector:

"Congress shall make no law. . .abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press. . ."

Is the freedom of speech or press absolute?
Are there instances where the government can restrict freedom of the press?

Wartime
Reputational harm

Espionage Act of 1917- prohibited individuals from obtaining or delivering information relating to national defense to other individuals not authorized to have it.
Schenk vs. US Supreme Court Case- Note to students that in 1919, the Supreme Court upheld the Espionage Act in the case Schenck v. US.
Near vs. Minnesota 1931- Supreme Court ruled that neither the state nor national government could exercise prior restraint, or censorship before publication. The court did hold, however, that the government could censor publications in cases where national security may be in jeopardy.
Limitations:
1. Obscenity: The Miller test defines obscenity as speech that is not legally protected.
2. Defamation: Defamation that causes harm to reputation is not protected as free speech.
3. Classified information: The publication of classified information is prohibited.
4. Trade secrets: The publication of trade secrets is prohibited.
5. Fighting words: Inflammatory words that are injurious or might cause the hearer to retaliate or breach the peace are not protected.
6. Time, place, and manner restrictions: These are content-neutral limitations imposed by the government on expressive activity.
7. The First Amendment does not protect speakers from private individuals or organizations

Pentagon Papers- Videos + Discussion (20-30 min)

Distribute “The Pentagon Papers Graphic Organizer” and watch the video segments as a class.
1. Video Clip #1 (7:14)
2. Video Clip #2 (3:05)
Discussion Groups:
Once students have completed the graphic organizer, lead a class discussion focused on the following questions.

Questions for Video Clip #1
- Who had commissioned the study of American entry into the Vietnam War? Why was the study commissioned?
- Why did Daniel Ellsberg copy the report? Why did journalist Neil Sheehan feel it was necessary to publish the study?
- What do you think is the more important issue, that government documents were leaked or that the US government hadn’t been totally honest in its assessment of the Vietnam War?
- What was President Nixon’s original thought about the publication of the study? Why did he eventually change his mind?
Questions for Video Clip #2
- Why do you think Nixon was so vigorous about trying to stop publication of the Pentagon Papers? In your view, is this a violation of the newspapers’ First Amendment freedom? Why or why not?
- Why do you think the Nixon administration planned to go to such extremes to discredit Ellsberg (breaking into his psychiatrist’s office, leaking personal information about him)? Could there have been a justifiable reason for Nixon’s conduct in this matter? What would it be?
- Were Ellsberg or Nixon justified in their behavior, or did they both cross the line of responsible behavior by government officials? Explain why you think the way you do.

Reading Time- TTTC (Ambush, Style, Speaking of Courage, Notes) 125-154
Read! This chunk is due on Monday.

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Vietnam- Catch Up and Reading Day

12/3/2024

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Hi all! I'm out for dental work today (wheeee), so I'm giving you a day to read and catch up. I highly suggest doing the reading first (since it's due on Thursday), and then moving on to extra credit and/or catch up work.

The Things They Carried Reading (due Thursday)

Read Stockings, Church, The Man I Killed (pages 111-124)- extra books are in the back of my classroom, audiobook chapters are linked on Google Classroom.
For each of these chapters:
1. Write a 1-2 sentence summary of the main ideas and themes
2. Write down one quote or passage that stood out to you, and write a few sentences about why- think about why it is striking, what connections you can make.

Extra Credit

Do one of the extra credit assignments linked in Google Classroom (you won’t be able to finish it, but you could start it). Both of these assignments are essentially watching a movie and writing a paragraph or two response. Read directions carefully!

Catch Up!

Work on missing assignments and get them turned in!

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Vietnam- Approaching the End

12/2/2024

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Opening Predictions
Talk to your partner or a small group:

What do you predict will happen to actually put an end to this war?
What do you think are major obstacles to ending the war?

What do we still need to cover?

This week- Overview of Turning Points + Pentagon Papers
Next Week- Fall of Saigon, end of war
Final Week- Legacies and Memorials

Read the Textbook Chunk above. Answer the following questions on a separate document.
Some of this will be review, some will be new information.

Section 1- pages 25-27

What was the outcome of the Tet offensive militarily?
What was the outcome of the Tet offensive in the US?
How did the Tet offensive influence politicians?

Section 2- pages 28-30

Why did LBJ (Johnson) choose not to run for president again?
What are three examples of violence and turmoil in 1968?

Section 3- 30-31

Why did Nixon win the presidency? List at least 2 reasons.
Create a timeline of 1968 that includes at least 6 major events with a title and date

Section 4- 32-25

Why were peace negotiations stalled in 1969?
What is Vietnamization, in your own words?
What were Nixon’s priorities in the negotiations to end the Vietnam War? List at least 2
Why, when the war was ending, did Nixon invade Cambodia and Laos?
What was the response in the US to this invasion/bombing campaign?

Done? Read TTTC: Stockings, Church, The Man I Killed (pages 111-124)
Be ready to discuss on Tuesday!

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How to End a War Poster

Lessons on How to End a War

How to End a War

Pentagon Papers and Journal 9

Pentagon Papers

Vietnam- Catch Up and Reading Day

Vietnam- Approaching the End

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