Central Question: When is the United States justified in using force to intervene in foreign political affairs?
Archive: Cartoons drawn by political cartoonists, children, and veterans.
Sources: Jury,
Mark. The Vietnam Photo Book. Vintage Books: New York.
1986. p. 56
Starr,
Jerald M. The Lessons of the Vietnam War. Center for
Social Studies Education: Pittsburgh. Unit 2 p. 30. Unit
3 p. 28. Unit 4 p. 14, 15. Unit 7 p. 23. Unit 8 p. 8,
22, 26. Unit 10 p. 4.
Purpose/Goal: Students should produce stories that demonstrate the impact of the Vietnam War on the person(s) pictured. By evaluating the experience of the person(s) pictured, they will learn how the Vietnam War effected various people. This will give students several new outlooks on the impact of the Vietnam War.
Method/Activity: Place students in cooperative learning groups of three to four. Give each group a copy of a political cartoon. Have the students begin by describing what they see in the cartoon. Then, have them answer the following questions: Is this cartoon public or private*? Does the artist have a reason to distort? Is there other evidence supporting this cartoon? What bias' are apparent in this cartoon? Can you recognize any logical inconsistencies or fallacies in the artists' depiction? What are some assumptions not stated in this cartoon? How could this cartoon have effected public sentiment in America towards Vietnam? How could it have effected public sentiment in Vietnam? How could this form of presentation influence the impact of this information on the viewer? Ask students to create a news broadcast of the event depicted in the cartoon. Member roles should include: a news anchor, a field reporter, and one to two eyewitnesses. Students should address each of the questions above in their presentation. How? Students should convey the emotional impact of the event, illustrate effective use of language, and represent a range of experiences and perceptions involved in the event. Each group should be allowed 5-6 minutes to present their news broadcast to the class.
Product: Students should produce a news broadcast that addresses the issue or event depicted by the artist in their cartoon. By stepping into the lives of those involved, students will gain an empathy for those involved and pass those feelings along to their classmates.
* Political Cartoons are, by nature, public.
A very
nice, holistic lesson. It would go further toward addressing the
complexity of your CQ if you could include some 'toons supporting the war.