Learning intentions
students are learning to...
- For students to look at the viewpoints held concerning the decision to send troops to Vietnam and the reasons why these viewpoints are likely to change with time
Success criteria (How do students know they have achieved success?)
- Students are able to realistically express the viewpoint of a Vietnam veteran: upon being sent to Vietnam, arriving back in New Zealand and describing the experience many years later
Relevant Film Archive On Disk footage (chapter title)
Revision quiz starter questions
- Who was the New Zealand prime minister at the outbreak of the Vietnam War? (Holyoake)
- Name one person from the video who opposed New Zealand sending combat troops to the Vietnam war.
(Barry Mitcalfe, Tom Skinner)
Activity
Students should contrast the view presented by the contemporary footage with the interview given by the veteran.
Activity
Students could take part in a role play in which a veteran is interviewed at the time of being sent to Vietnam, upon returning and 30-40 years later.
Questions for Discussion
- In what ways does the contemporary footage show a heroic experience?
- In what ways does the veteran’s account differ to the official footage?
- In what ways would each view be useful to an historian studying the time?
- Which view would be the most useful and why?
