1. Diagnostic activity: What do you already know about New Zealand and the Vietnam War? 5. What happened and why New Zealand and the Vietnam War

Transcription

1 Vietnam War Activities 1. Diagnstic activity: What d yu already knw abut New Zealand and the Vietnam War? 2. Explring values: Thinking hats 3. Histry Rad 4. Key vcab 5. What happened and why New Zealand and the Vietnam War 6. Cmmunicating ideas Picture captins Read all abut it! Newspaper frnt pages Making a histry bk fr yunger children Making a web page TV and radi bradcasts Pwerpint presentatins Develping a museum r nline exhibitin Static images

2 Diagnstic activity: What d yu already knw abut New Zealand and the Vietnam War? This is a brainstrm activity knwn as a frame-up. Divide yur class int grups f fur. Give each grup a large sheet f paper, and tell each member f the grup that they are allwed ne edge f the paper each, with the middle f the paper t be kept blank. Ask them t imagine it lking like a picture frame. They each have a side f the frame t write n. Nw give the class tw minutes t recrd everything they can think f r knw in relatin t New Zealand and the Vietnam War. It culd be wrds, dates r images there is n right r wrng respnse, and there is n talking. After tw minutes tell them t put dwn their pens and bserve what the ther members f their grup recrded. If there are wrds r terms that are cmmn t at least tw members f the grup, then recrd these in the middle f the paper, where the picture wuld be in the frame. Ask ne member f the grup t present the ntes frm the middle f the page t the rest f the class. Smene can cmpile a list n the bard and, as each grup adds infrmatin, highlight the recurring themes and ideas. Nw see if yu can tease ut, as a class, the three mst imprtant questins they wuld like t find answers t in relatin t New Zealand and the Vietnam War.

3 Explring values: Thinking hats New Zealand s participatin in the Vietnam War has been a tpic f intense debate. Sme peple believed the war was nne f ur business and that we were bullied int fighting by the United States. Others maintained that we had an bligatin t supprt ur allies and that ne day we might need their help. Edward de Bn's six thinking hats is a gd technique t use when cnsidering different pints f view. Wearing yur white hat lk at the statement and see what yu can learn frm it. Lk fr gaps in yur knwledge. Are there things yu need t knw r find ut t help yu make sense f this statement? If s, try t fill them r take accunt f them. Wearing yur red hat cnsider yur feelings. What is wrng with this statement? Hw des it make yu feel? Wearing yur black hat lk at all the bad pints f this statement. What are the weak pints in this statement? Wearing yur yellw hat cnsider the gd pints f this statement and all f the pssible benefits and values. Wearing yur green hat think creatively and develp creative respnses t this statement. There is n real right r wrng, and there is little criticism f yur ideas. Wearing yur blue hat what ther thinking is needed here abut this statement? Newspaper editrial Use the material n New Zealand and the Vietnam War and the six thinking hats t help yu cmplete this activity. Imagine yu are currently the editr f a New Zealand newspaper. It is Anzac Day and yur newspaper is using this day t present a feature that lks back at New Zealand s experiences at war. The fcus fr this feature will be n New Zealand s participatin in the Vietnam War. Yu are t write an editrial in respnse t this feature. Yur editrial, f n mre than 200 wrds, shuld express yur views as t whether r nt New Zealand shuld have gt invlved in this war Have a lk at sme examples f editrials t get a sense f the style f writing.

4 Histry rad A histry rad is a type f timeline; yu put events in the rder they happened, but yu dn't have t shw the even passing f time. A histry rad: takes the frm f a widening rad cming twards yu has the ldest event at the beginning f the rad may have symbls r sketches t g with the events. Ask yur students either individually r in pairs t select six key events cncerning New Zealand s participatin in the Vietnam War. Nw get them t turn these six events int a histry rad. They can use the material available frm NZHistry.net.nz and Vietnamwar.gvt.nz t help prepare the histry rad. Make sure things are in chrnlgical rder, and use sketches and/r symbls t g with each event r date.

5 1. Key vcab Learning and reinfrcing understanding f key wrds assciated with a particular piece f cntent can be very imprtant, especially t yunger students. There are several ways f ding this: As yu read thrugh the cntent with yur class yu can write up unfamiliar r new wrds n the bard and find ut the meanings tgether Alternatively, yu can get students t underline r highlight wrds they dn t understand frm the text they read. They can turn this int a list f wrds they need t find the meaning fr. Or yu can decide what are the imprtant wrds yu want them t be familiar with, e.g. cmmunist Vcab bing Hwever yu develp yur list, aim fr at least 12 wrds r terms. Get each pupil t write dwn six f them n a piece f paper. This is their bing card. Yu can nw read ut meanings and yur students can either cver the wrd n their sheet with anther piece f paper r crss it ut when they think their wrd matches yur definitin. The first pupil t get all six f their wrds called ut and marked ff calls ut bing and is declared the winner. If there is a tie yu can read ut ther wrds until a winner is fund. Yu can challenge lder children by making the definitin yu read mre cryptic.

6 What happened and why New Zealand and the Vietnam War Use the material in NZHistry.net.nz and Vietnamwar.gvt.nz fr the fllwing activity ideas. It is imprtant fr yur students t get sme sense f what happened and why it happened. While Level Fur f the scial studies curriculum requires students t gain knwledge, skills and experience t understand that events have causes and effects, it is imprtant fr students at all levels t get sme sense f what happened and why. It is als imprtant fr students t get sme sense f the sequence f events assciated with the Vietnam War as part f the explanatin. A. This activity culd be develped as a transactinal writing activity as part f a language unit with a scial sciences cntext. Cnsider the fllwing apprach: Levels 1-3 Read thrugh the material frm the websites as a class and nte tgether n the bard answers t the fllwing brad questins: What happened? Why did it happen? In what rder did things happen? Students culd then cmmunicate this infrmatin in the frmat yu have selected by: identifying ne r tw happenings assciated with New Zealand and the Vietnam War giving sme ideas abut why it happened listing sme f the events assciated with this event in time rder. Level 4 At this level it is prbably still apprpriate t read thrugh the material as a class and nte tgether n the bard answers t the fllwing brad questins: What happened? Why did it happen? In what rder did things happen? Intrduce the wrd/cncept f sequence. The expectatin here is that students shuld be able t recunt cause and effect in mre detail. Students culd then cmmunicate this infrmatin in the frmat yu have selected by:

7 identifying mst f the happenings assciated with New Zealand and the Vietnam War giving sme ideas abut why it happened with factual justificatin Prviding a sequence f events with mst f the events in time rder. Level 5 At this level there is a higher expectatin f independent reading in rder t cmmunicate cause and effect. This will n dubt vary frm class t class but if this is a prblem revert t ne f the suggested appraches frm an earlier level. Students will be able t prduce a reprt in which they: Clearly identify what happened identifying the main happenings and subsidiary events r flw-n frm the main event itself. Explain why it happened giving ideas with factual justificatin and suppsitin. Prvide a sequence f events with all events in time rder. B. The sequencing f events Being able t put events in their crrect sequence is an imprtant histrical skill that will help students with the narrative f any histrical event. It is imprtant t understanding cause and effect. Anther way f helping yunger students especially t understand sequence is t get them t apprach this skill frm a visual perspective. G t the nline media galleries assciated with New Zealand and the Vietnam War Print ut sme f the images r infrmatin frm the gallery. Make sure yu remve any captins r clues frm the image. Jumble them up and present them t yur class r t grups. Yur students have t put them in what they think is the crrect sequence and be able t justify their rder. The discussin in grups here is where sme f the real learning can take place and will help students t develp arguments that they can justify. Alternatively cnsider a timeline apprach. This might wrk with lder students with a greater awareness f time. Use the nline media galleries assciated with New Zealand and the Vietnam War t prduce an illustrated timeline f New Zealand s experience f the Vietnam War: The timeline must start frm the time New Zealand first became invlved in Vietnam until it was all ver. Yu might need t define what is meant by all ver.

8 Include the main events that affected New Zealand and make sure yu get it in the right time sequence (rder). Sme levels might find this easier t brainstrm as a class, checking the rder as they g.

9 Cmmunicating ideas There are many frmats that culd be used t cmmunicate and present infrmatin abut New Zealand and the Vietnam War that demnstrate understanding. These appraches are an ideal way f incrprating themes and skills assciated with the scial sciences in a language unit. A number f ptins fllw that can be selected and mdified t suit yur class and level. The requirements will vary frm level t level, as will the degree f teacher supprt. Yunger students may require ne-t-ne mdeling and step-by-step instructin, while lder students may be able t perate n a mre independent level. This is an ideal pprtunity t intrduce a research element t this study. Using the material in NZHistry.net.nz and Vietnamwar.gvt.nz as a starting place, students can use the library and ther lcatins/surces t lcate a range f infrmatin that is useful. This is a gd pprtunity t intrduce r further develp skills such as the use f key wrds, cntents and an index in infrmatin gathering. Older students can be challenged thrugh the expectatin t lcate infrmatin frm a greater range f surces while yunger students might lcate useful infrmatin with teacher help. Picture captins As a piece f writing the style required fr this activity is brief with an emphasis n cncise facts. Explain t the class that they are ging t write captins fr a selectin f images r bjects assciated with New Zealand and the Vietnam War. It culd be an ideal way t incrprate sme f the images assciated with Tribute08. Sme students r levels will need t have the wrd captin explained t them. T assist with this task it might be useful t have sme examples n hand r t even wrkshp an example with yur class. Discuss what is imprtant in a gd captin and stress the need t be brief. Fr the purpse f this exercise set a wrd limit f n mre than 30 wrds. G t the nline media galleries assciated with New Zealand and the Vietnam War: Print ut sme f the images r infrmatin. Yu can determine the number r range suitable fr yur class. Make sure yu remve any captins r clues frm the image. Present them t yur class r t grups and get them t write a suitable captin fr the media item. Yunger classes can d this as a class exercise and write captins fr 2-3 images that the teacher has selected fr the class. Alternatively a mre artistic apprach t this might be t cmplete a picture/captin telling the stry f what happened. Break the stry up int its main pints and draw a picture reflecting each pint. Underneath each picture write a brief summary f that main pint.

10 Read all abut it! Newspaper frnt pages This can be a very effective and ppular way f cmmunicating infrmatin and ideas n any number f histry-based tpics. Dn t make assumptins abut what yur students might knw abut the features f a gd frnt page stry. Spend sme time lking at examples and discussing the features with them. Depending n what technlgy and time yu have available yu can als use this as an pprtunity fr the students t wrk n sme f their publishing skills. Use the frmat why, what, when, where, wh, hw t help students apprach the stry. The style is factual. Begin with the mst imprtant facts first. Yunger classes might wrk n apprpriate banner headlines instead f prducing a full-blwn page. Think here abut what are sme f the key things t cnvey in a headline. What is its purpse? A. Fr sme levels the fllwing apprach may be sufficient r culd be used t break the task up int smaller parts: Imagine yu are a reprter fr a newspaper at the time f the gvernment s decisin t send cmbat frces t Vietnam. Yu can make up the name f yur wn newspaper r use ne that was in existence at the time. The editr f yur newspaper wants three pssible headings fr a frntpage stry n this annuncement fr the mrning after it ccurred. write an intrductry paragraph fr this frnt-page stry abut what has happened. B. Frm here yu culd g further by cming up with tpics fr the fllwing paragraphs that prvide readers with mre detail abut the gvernment s decisin and what caused it t make this decisin. Cnsider presentatin. Write yur stry up in clumns with a headline and picture(s). Remember newspaper stries deal with wh, why, what, when, where and hw. C. Nw write an editrial that might have appeared in the same paper in 1971 when the gvernment annunced its decisin t withdraw ur frces frm Vietnam. Under the heading f Was it all wrth it? : Prvide a cuple f paragraphs that summarise New Zealand s invlvement in Vietnam Outline the different pinins/attitudes f New Zealanders t ur participatin in this war Making a histry bk fr yunger children A gd way f demnstrating understanding f a tpic is t get

11 students t effectively teach thers abut that tpic. One methd is t prepare a textbk that will make sense t yunger students abut that tpic. Yu can brainstrm with yur class what this means and what the features f such a textbk might be, but cnsider the fllwing: Use f language suitable t age grup Explaining certain key wrds Use f headings and sub-headings Use f images and illustratins If yu have examples f suitable texts shw them t yur class and discuss the features f the selected textbk. Ask yur class what makes this bk effective (r nt). There is ptential fr this activity t be used as a mre extensive research tpic. Students culd wrk cllabratively n this and yu might want t explre yur publishing ptins. Alternatively students culd prduce pages t cntribute t a class bk and again they culd wrk n these individually r in pairs. Making a web page Based n the IT and skills available t yu this might be a wrthwhile alternative t the textbk activity. Or it might be a really useful extensin activity. Lk at sme websites and pages and discuss what wrks and what desn t frm the perspective f finding ut abut the event. What d yur students believe are the essential ingredients fr a gd webpage? If the technical skills/capabilities aren t there t actually build a page then students culd prduce a paper versin. If the skills are there, then imagine hw gd this wuld lk n yur schl s wn website r if yu built yur wn class pages as a class prject. The pssibilities are enrmus Radi r TV bradcast These srt f presentatins can be as cmplicated r as simple as yu want t make them. They can be effective as they wrk in a medium mst students have sme experience f. The pprtunity exists t make this a lead stry in a news bulletin that can bring in reprters in the field r as part f a mre extensive dcumentary type feature. Obviusly with the TV presentatin there is the ability t bring in visual prps. Again there is the need t discuss r bserve the features f gd TV and/r radi t reinfrce the fact that there is the need t cmmunicate infrmatin effectively and efficiently. With tape recrders and cameras invlved there can be a lt t rganise but there is als the ptential fr a lt f fun and creativity. Cnsider setting up a newsrm and dishing ut separate tasks frm news gathering t presentatin.

12 Pwerpint presentatins This is a skill many students seem t master at an early age and ne that can make gd use f the many images available. Develping a museum r nline exhibitin A gd way fr students t apprach the tpic is t cnsider what bjects r artefacts wuld be essential fr a display n this tpic as well as the apprpriate interpretatins. This culd be real r virtual. Alternatively a museum guide r pamphlet n the exhibitin culd be develped. Static images There are many pprtunities in a study like this fr static images frm psters fr a museum exhibitin, bk cvers, film advertising etc.