Learning intentions
students are learning to...
- For students to understand the practical difficulties of the war for which they were often ill-prepared.
- For students to gain some appreciation and level of empathy for the conditions faced in Vietnam.
Success criteria (How do students know they have achieved success?)
- Students will write a diary entry using the personal accounts given by those speaking on the video. Their writing will have a certain degree of realism.
Relevant Film Archive On Disk footage (chapter title)
Revision quiz starter questions
- After how many months of war did New Zealand send troops to Vietnam? (7)
- For how many years would the New Zealand troops be in Vietnam? (7)
- What caused the deaths of the first two New Zealanders killed in Vietnam?
(a mine blew up their Jeep)
Activity
Brainstorm what students imagine conditions in Vietnam to have been like. Watch the footage and then add to the brainstorm and delete those ideas which now seem incorrect.
Possible ideas for the brainstorm might include: Jetfighters, civilian bodies wrapped in newspaper, heat. Lack of hygiene, weight of packs and ammunition, slow progress, need for quiet stealth, threat and reality of landmines, landscape
Activity
Discuss the concept of a personal account as a useful primary historical source. Are these accounts different to much of the history studied in text books? What is the usefulness and the limitations of such accounts in studying the war?
Students could use a quote from one of the veterans on the film as a starter from which to write their own account of a young New Zealander’s experience Vietnam eg. “Have your condolences and carry on…care for the living…”
