The Choices Program just released a brand new curriculum unit! The Vietnam War: Origins, History, and Legacies tells the “long history” of the destructive, deadly, and divisive U.S. war in Vietnam based on recent scholarship in U.S. history, Vietnamese studies, and the history of the global Cold War. The curriculum unit has been designed for use in both U.S. History and World History classrooms.

In The Vietnam War, students engage with the following topics:

  • The Vietnamese struggle for independence from French colonial rule
  • The actions of U.S., South Vietnamese, and NLF leaders
  • Ways the war in Vietnam was linked to the broader global Cold War
  • How U.S. methods of warfare led to violence against Vietnamese civilians
  • Diverse views, opinions, and experiences of U.S. military personnel and Americans on the home front.
  • Personal stories and “bottom-up” experiences from all sides of the conflict
  • The war’s human costs, including the post-war refugee crisis
  • How the war has been remembered and memorialized

The unit’s accompanying lesson plans emphasize the development of skills that are essential for social studies and history classrooms, including geography, data analysis, historical empathy, primary source analysis, critical thinking, collaborative work, and more! The unit includes study guides, graphic organizers, and videos. These materials contain questions that can be utilized in formative or summative assessments.

The unit includes the following lesson plans:

  • Vietnam’s History and Geography: Exploring Google Earth
  • Going Deeper with Primary Sources: War in Vietnam, 1945-1965
  • Women, Gender, and the Vietnam War
  • Creating Historical Narratives: 1960s Social Change at Home and in the Military
  • Songs of the Global Revolutions of 1968
  • Oral Histories: Mapping the Vietnamese Refugee Crisis
  • Build a Timeline of the “Long History” of the U.S. War in Vietnam

The Vietnam War is available in our web-based Digital Editions and in print. Check out our option for additional Student Texts if you like to use print, but prefer not to spend lots of time making copies!
Explore the Vietnam War
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Dive into our new Vietnam War unit with one of the following professional development offerings:

– FREE webinar: What’s in the New Unit on the Vietnam War? Wednesday, October 18, at 7 pm ET. We will explore the readings, lesson plans, and videos in the unit and discuss ways to implement them in a variety of courses.

– FREE webinar: Teaching a Long History of the American War in Vietnam: Bringing Women, Minority, and Refugee Voices into the Classroom. Thursday, November 16, 10:30 am ET/16:30 Central European Time. This webinar is open to all but geared more towards those teaching in a European context.

– In-person workshop: Teaching About the Vietnam War, Japanese American Incarceration in WWII, and Other AAPI Topics in the History Classroom. Thursday, February 1, 8:30 am-3 pm, Leonia, New Jersey.

Register today to secure your spot for one of these or any of our other professional development offerings!
Explore Professional Development