Sungrapho

Praktikos
Thema

Teaching the Vietnam War: Approaches

and Resources
This%article%introduces%some%practical%ways%to%approach%teaching%the%Vietnam%War.%The%topic%can%
be%taught%in%various%contexts%%Australian%Curriculum:%History%Year%10,%VCE%Twentieth%Century%
Unit%2%and%VCE%Australian%History%Unit%4.
James.Fiford,.MA.History.candidate

points!in!Secondary!history!classes.!The!variety!of!

perspectives!!it!is!highly!important.!However,!given!
the!emphasis!of!the!aforementioned!curriculum!

to!most!contexts.!But!take!care!when!teaching!
the!Vietnam!War!to!understand!your!curriculum!

necessary!to!concentrate!on!the!Western!perspective.!
I!encourage!teachers!interested!in!correcting!this!

Vietnam!War!is!an!option!for!teachers,!the!focus!is!

end!of!this!article.
In!order!to!provide!some!sort!of!structure,!the!

perspective,!and!topics!such!as!the!anti-war!protests!
(e.g.!moratorium!marches)!will!feature!prominently.!

incorporated!to!suit!the!particular!curriculum!context.!
Any!historical!study!that!does!not!consider!multiple!
perspectives!is!weakened.!But!it!is!necessary!from!the!
outset!to!declare!that!the!perspective!of!this!article!
is!heavily!Western!(i.e.!Australian!and!American).!It!

30!Agora

using!the!e5!framework.1
Engage!-!stimulate!interest!and!curiosity,!promote!
questioning!and!connect!learning!to!real!world!
experiences.
Explore!-!challenging!tasks!to!support!students!to!
generate!and!investigate!questions,!gather!relevant!
information!and!develop!ideas.
Explain!-!assist!students!to!represent!their!ideas,!
using!language!and!images!to!engage!them!in!reading,!
writing,!speaking,!listening!and!viewing.
Elaborate!-!support!students!to!create!and!test!
hypotheses!and!to!make!and!justify!decisions.

Praktikos

Evaluate
students&to&evaluate&their&progress&and&
achievements.

movements&today&(e.g.&wars&in&Iraq&and&
Afghanistan).

Explore
Engage
students&to&investigate&their&own&
to&this&stage&&including&interactive&
they&can&gather&more&information.&The&
rich,&these&might&present&too#much&
information&too&early.&In&essence,&what&
we&are&looking&to&do&here&is&to&foster&
interest&and&encourage&questions.&We&
are&trying&to&connect&what&we&learn&
to&the&world&in&which&students&live.&
this&stage.&Teachers&could&conduct&
the&Vietnam&War&to&gauge&students&
prior&knowledge&and&as&a&sort&of&warm&
up.&Depending&on&the&year&level,&

questions.&A&logical&question,&and&an&
excellent&place&to&start,&is&investigating&
major&war&in&Vietnam&during&the&1960s&
and&1970s.&To&do&this&requires&teachers&
to&discuss&issues&such&as&colonisation&

decolonisation&after&WWII&(e.g.&Dien&
Bien&Phu,&1954&and&so&on).

vary&dramatically.&Presuming&there&is&a&

it&is&often&good&to&promote&engagement&
as&a&song&(or&a&clip&with&music&set&to&it).&
In&this&way,&rather&than&starting&with&the&
instead&challenged&to&ask&questions&and&
make&their&own&connections.

comprehensive&
com,&where&students&can&use&a&timeline&

Task:
Students&will&listen&to&or&watch&a&song&
and&sequential&approach,&consider&the&
meaning.&Consider&some&of&the&lyrics&in&
this&Dylan&song:
&
&
&
When&the&death&count&gets&higher&
&
&
&

interactive&timelines&and&information&on&
the&events&that&led&to&major&American&
engagement&in&Vietnam.&
To&explore&well,&students&will&need&to&
devices.&There&is&simply&too&much&
information.&Working&individually&it&
is&likely&that&each&student&will&explore&
little&progress&towards&your&unit&goals.&
students&into&small&research&parties&
of&the&history&prior&to&the&major&war&of&

and&music&dont&answer&all&of&these&
Due&to&the&fact&that&music&is&often&a&

protest&songs)&and&any&contemporary&
equivalent.&Once&again,&while&this&
www.
education.vic.gov.au/
school/teachers/support/
Pages/e5.aspx

occupation&of&Indochina&and&resistance&

(e.g.&domino&theory,&containment)&and&
so&on.
Task:&Students&are&placed&in&small&

contemporary&music&and&the&similar&
role&it&may&play&in&social&and&protest&

topic.&Their&task&is&to&utilise&the&assigned&

Agora&31&

Praktikos

questions!for!their!topic.!They!will!
set!out!to!provide!answers!for!their!

and!other!techniques.!A!great!site!for!

evaluate!student!progress!here!is!with!
a!presentation.!Students!can!compile!
their!research!(focus!questions)!into!a!

ergo.slv.vic.gov.
au/teachers/student-templates-sourceanalysis.
a!process!to!selected!sources!with!these!
their!knowledge!of!war!events!while!also!
developing!their!skills.

At!this!stage!students!are!developing!

Some!excellent!starting!points!for!
sources!to!analyse!include!the!series!
of!short!clips!from!Australian!Screen!
(see!resource!list).!Other!very!useful!
collections!include!the!Picture!Australia!
collection!(search!Vietnam!War!at!
trove.nla.gov.au)!for!photos!and!video,!

ways,!in!accordance!with!Gardners!

primary!documents.!An!interesting!site!

the!development!of!key!historical!skills.

Explain

www.stg.brown.edu/projects/1968/issues/
vietnam.html.
other,!richer!ways!to!extend!this!stage.!
primary!and!secondary!sources)!as!the!
inquiry!should!help!strengthen!this!
sources!(written,!visual)!will!encourage!
students!to!respond!and!show!their!
understanding.
Task:&

dimensional!activity!that!fails!to!develop!
the!student!as!historian.!One!way!of!
doing!this!is!to!model!the!process!of!
analysis!through!tools!such!as!visual!

Once!students!have!applied!the!analysis!
process!to!some!of!these!sources,!
they!can!then!either!explain!their!
understanding!in!an!informal!way!(e.g.!
group!discussion,!class!discussion)!or!
in!a!formal!assessment!(e.g.!a!SAC!type!

own!versions!of!the!sources!under!
analysis.!They!could!create!protest!
placards!(indicating!their!knowledge!
of!the!contexts!and!techniques!of!such!
sources)!or!design!and!conduct!their!
own!interviews!of!Vietnam!veterans!or!
people!who!lived!through!the!era.!(Note:!
delicate!process!and!is!one!that!should!

32!Agora

D.C.!in!August!1963.!Image!
courtesy:!National!Archives!
and!Records!Administration!

Praktikos

What&we&are&looking&to&do&here&is&to&foster&interest&and&encourage&questions.&We&
are&trying&to&connect&what&we&learn&to&the&world&in&which&students&live.

Australian&involvement&in&
Vietnam&was&necessary&and&right&
(issues&include&containment&and&
content&and&outcome&of&such&activity&
are&properly&and&meaningfully&handled.)

Elaborate

really&a&civil&war&&outside&nations&
(issues&include&Communism,&

The&fourth&step&of&the&e5&model&is&
concerned,&among&other&things,&
hypotheses&and&justify&their&decisions&

preoccupied&with&the&facts&&events,&
chronology,&participants,&vivid&sources&
and&outcomes.&This&is&all&very&valid&
material&&and&of&course&goes&a&way&
to&satisfying&the&various&curriculum&
stipulations.&There&are,&however,&
additional&paths&of&inquiry&to&follow&and&
this&stage&is&perfect&for&such&diversions.
The&Vietnam&War&can&provide&rich&
avenues&for&argumentative&essays&and&
historical&events&such&as&the&dropping&

a&topic&fraught&with&ethical&and&moral&
considerations.&Vietnam&is&often&seen&as&

and&Nixon,&antipersonnel&mines,&
rules&of&war&and&Vietnamisation&
strategy).
Such&tasks&have&strong&ethical&
components&&and&require,&once&again,&
careful&planning&to&ensure&that&the&
activity&runs&productively,&that&students&
are&allowed&to&share&opinions&without&
fear&of&ridicule&or&condemnation,&
achievement&of&the&unit&outcomes.&
in&the&history&classroom,&see&www.
ethicsineducation.com
overview,&with&examples,&see&Peter&
Sexias&work&at&historicalthinking.ca/
concept/ethical-dimensions.

Evaluation
as&morally&wrong&and&a&huge&waste&of&
life.&To&prepare&for&this&way&of&historical&

check&out&the&work&of&
Dylan&Wiliam:&www.
journeytoexcellence.org.
uk/resourcesandcpd/
biographies/
biogdylanwiliam.asp

The&last&stage&of&the&e5&model&deals&
with&how&teachers&and&students&can&

take&part&in&a&values&continuum,&where&
they&vote&with&their&feet&and&place&
themselves&across&the&room&according&
to&their&response&to&a&series&of&prompts.&
One&side&of&the&room&is&strongly&agree,&
the&other&is&strongly&disagree.&All&

their&progress&and&achievements&over&
the&unit.&It&goes&without&saying&that&just&

up&for&in-depth&tasks&such&as&essays&and&

The&evaluation&and&assessment&tasks&

Task:&

utilised&at&any&stage&and&in&any&order.&

mixture&of&summative&and&formative&
considered&&the&teacher&must&ensure&
that&assessment&is&for,&as&well&as&of,&
learning.2

peer&or&teacher&led.&Indeed,&to&continue&
the&process&of&making&our&students&

Agora&33&

Praktikos

use!of!self!and!peer!assessment!can!
and!should
throughout!the!unit.!
In!the!case!of!the!group!presentation!

project!that!runs!almost!entirely!
throughout!the!unit.!While!it!will!of!
instruction!and!other!activities!(such!as!

might!include:!was!the!topic!explained!
clearly,!was!there!a!useful!mixture!of!
visuals!and!text,!did!the!presenters!
read!their!notes!or!seek!to!engage!their!
audience!and!did!the!group!adequately!

nominated!for!group!work!include:!

essay,!research!project!or!similar.!The!
important!thing!to!take!care!with!here!is!
that!this!is!not!the!sole!piece!of!work!for!
of!other!pieces!throughout),!nor!that!the!
!
the!student!has!received!for!the!entire!
unit!!In!terms!of!senior!classes,!such!
as!in!the!teaching!of!Vietnam!in!VCE!

exam!in!mind.!The!historiographical!

two!points!in!time!during!the!war!
(Australian!attitudes!towards!the!war!
in!1965!and!1970),!calls!for!students!to!
written!form!and!within!a!limited!time.
Task:.An!extension!of!the!group!task!
discussed!earlier!in!this!piece!is!to!
designate!a!larger!topic!to!set!a!research!

34!Agora

Outcomes!and!legacies!of!the!war.!
and!sharing!it!with!the!class,!students!

important!history!skills!development!
and!encourages!investment!in!!and!
ownership!of!!the!process.!It!has!
worked!very!well,!on!occasion,!to!ask!the!

judged.!This!encourages!metacognition!
(in!that!students!need!to!ask!themselves!
in!a!research!project)!and!is!another!
way!that!the!teacher!can!assess!
understanding!and!progress.

Platoon!(1986)!and!We.Were.
Soldiers.(2002).

Films&to&watch
A"warning"here."Be"aware"that"many"
preclude"you"showing"it"to"certain"
student"groups."In"addition,"it"is"unlikely"
that"you"will"want"or"need"to"show"

Four'Hours'in'My'Lai:'A"1989"television"

to"use"judiciously"chosen"excerpts"to"

Vietnam"War."This"documentary,"like"

for"engagement"at"the"start"of"a"topic"
themes"such"as"torture"and"rape.

Music
exploring"the"strengths,"weaknesses"or"
historical"events.
Forrest'Gump:"A"1994"American"epic"

students"and"cater"to"those"with"
might"choose"to"analyse"some"music"
from"the"era"(analysing"the"song"as"a"
primary"source)"or"you"may"choose"to"

excellent"in"helping"create"a"certain"
mood,"to"provide"vivid"imagery"or"
The"story"depicts"several"decades"in"the"
witted"yet"athletically"prodigious"native"

has"had"on"popular"culture."There"are"
many"songs"dealing"with"the"Vietnam"
that"could"work"well"as"an"engagement"
resource"and"as"part"of"a"resource"
analysis"(lyrics,"context).

and"1982.

I"Was"Only"Nineteen"-"Redgum"

Platoon
and"starring"Tom"Berenger,"Willem"
of"Stones"Vietnam"War"trilogy,"followed"
Born'on'the'Fourth'of'July"and"
1993s"Heaven'&'Earth."Stone"wrote"the"

Waynes"The'Green'Berets.
Apocalypse'Now:"A"1979"American"epic"

Short&clips
ALP''Federal'Election"(1966):"This"
is"a"three-minute"excerpt"from"a"

Captain"Benjamin"L."Willard"(Sheen)"
on"a"mission"to"kill"the"renegade"and"

television"commercial"for"the"1966"
federal"election."The"commercial"has"a"
captioned"title,"Vietnam."In"narration"

(Brando).

Arthur"Calwell"speaking"to"camera,"
the"advertisement"presents"the"ALPs"
policy"on"Australias"participation"in"the"
Vietnam"War.

We'Were'Soldiers
dramatises"the"Battle"of"Ia"Drang"on"14"

aso.gov.au/titles/ads/alp-federalelection-1966/clip3/

We'Were'
Soldiers'Once''And'Young

Vietnam"(1988):"This"mini-series"tells"
the"story"of"Australias"involvement"in"
the"Vietnam"War"through"the"history"

Agora"35"

Praktikos

of!a!middle-class!family!and!features!
an!award-winning!performance!from!a!
aso.gov.au/titles/tv/vietnam/
Super282Soldiers!(1991):!A!group!of!
Australian!conscripts!took!8mm!
cameras!with!them!to!Vietnam.!Super2
82Soldiers!intercuts!their!footage!with!
interviews!with!the!men!and!their!
families!in!the!early!1990s.

Australia!and!the!Vietnam!War!(DVA)
vietnam-war.commemoration.gov.au
USA
Vietnam!Online!(PBS)
www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/vietnam/index.
html

aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/super-8soldiers/

Other

Frontline
and!correspondent!Neil!Davis!worked!
at!the!extreme!front-line!of!the!Vietnam!

www.learningthroughhistory.com/
newsletter/archives/112004.php
Cost!of!the!Vietnam!War!(Vietnam!
Campaign)

aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/frontline/
Or2Forever2Hold2Your2Peace!(1970):!
known!directors!and!producers!of!the!
time.!Includes!footage!of!high!school!
students!protesting!the!war.
aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/or-foreverhold-your-peace/

Excellent(PDF(resources/
activities
Australia!and!the!Vietnam!War
www.dva.gov.au/commems_oawg/
commemorations/education/Documents/
Aus_and_the_Vietnam_war.pdf

www.vn-agentorange.org/edmaterials/
cost_of_vn_war.html
Vietnamese!Perspectives!on!the!War!in!
Vietnam
www.yale.edu/seas/bibliography/

Items(to(consider(purchasing
Australians2in2the2Vietnam2War:2Home2
Front2and2Combat2
www.ryebuck.com.au/avw/
Debating2Australias2Future219602000:2
Vietnam2
bit.ly/15dYhJZ
(2002),!Australias2Vietnam2War2in2
History2and2Memory

www.anzacday.org.au/education/activities/
viet_war/images/vietnam_war.pdf
Vietnam:!The!Soldiers!Experience
www.anzacday.org.au/education/activities/
viet_experience/images/experience.pdf
Australians!at!War
www.australiansatwar.gov.au/pdf/aaw_
secondary_p1.pdf2
VCE:!Attitudes!to!the!Vietnam!War
www.shrine.org.au/getattachment/
vietnam-war.aspx

Useful(websites
Australia
The!Vietnam!War!!What!Were!We!
notes,!activities,!worksheets)
www.hyperhistory.org/index.php?option=di
splaypage&Itemid=641&op=page

36!Agora