edTPA Lesson Plan 1 of 3

The Content
1. Previous Learning- Unit 5 covers post-WWII America in the 1950s, and then transitions into
segregation and the Civil Rights movements of the 1950s-1970s. This covers the entire range of
the movement, from Martin Luther King, Jr and nonviolence to Stokeley Carmichael and the
Black Power movement. It also covers the JFK administration and assassination. We began our
Vietnam unit with notes on Vietnam’s colonial past, America’s early involvement, Cold War
containment policy towards communism, the “domino theory” that all of Asia would become
communist if Vietnam did, and an overview of the counterculture.
2. Future Learning- We will continue to learn about the Vietnam War, focusing on the impacts that
the Tet Offensive had on both the war and the American public. We’ll spend a day covering other
important events in 1968, and then transition into Nixon’s election as President, his Vietnam
policies, and then the end of the war.

The Environment
3. The desks are set up in rows, with 4x2 seat desk rows facing the Smartboard in front of the class.
There are also 2x5 seat rows that face inward toward the middle rows. This set-up is unorthodox
but allows all of the students to see the Smartboard. There is also good space between rows that
allows me to circulate with ease. Providing students with copies of all the sources that I have
allows my students to annotate as they please and makes it easier to read (they have their own
copies in front of them to read off of, instead of trying to read the sources on the board.

The Lesson
1. Unit 6/10th Grade/U.S. History/January 4th, 2019
2. Performance Objective
Students will be able to articulate an argument about President Lyndon Johnson’s role in escalating the
Vietnam War. Students will also be able to support that argument with evidence from primary sources.

3. Rationale for Performance Objective

My lesson relates to Illinois State Standard SS.H.1.9-12. Evaluate how historical developments were
shaped by time and place as well as broader historical contexts. As my content standard for this lesson,
the “historical development” of this lesson is Lyndon Johnson’s response to the Gulf of Tonkin incident. I
have already had my students learn about the origin of American involvement in Vietnam, which allows
them to situate the events in the Gulf within an existing schema. During this lesson, my students will look
at primary sources that show how Johnson’s response was shaped by the people around him, previous
historical occurrences, actions of previous administrations, and Cold War ideologies.
My lesson also connects to Illinois State Standard SS.IS.6.9-12. Construct and evaluate explanations and
arguments using multiple sources and relevant, verified information. This is my skills-oriented
performance standard for the lesson. Once my students have actually read the sources in their groups and
then listened to my read-aloud of the actual Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, they will pick information from a
combination of the three sources and use source information to create an argument about Johnson’s role
in escalating the war that is backed up my facts. All of this information comes from Johnson or cabinet
members themselves, so it is all verified and truthful. The use of multiple sources will show that the
students can do more than simply copy and reuse information from a source, instead creating something
new, with source information as the building blocks.

4. Assessment Strategy
My assessment plan is to collect a document (single sheet of paper) where students record their thoughts
on Johnson’s role in escalating the Vietnam War. They will answer the following question: “Did Lyndon
Johnson alone force America into the Vietnam War? Why or why not?” The second time I ask the
question, I will add the following caveat: “Cite at least primary source from class in your answer.”
Initially, students will record a couple sentences based on a textbook-driven lecture. After we look at
primary sources and at the end of class, I will ask students to answer the same question, but this time they
will write a paragraph length answer citing some of the sources that we covered in class. This is how I
will obtain evidence of student growth with regards to the content standards in my Rationale (Section 3).
When assessing the student responses, I am looking for the students to take a position on a historical
issue, which is the degree to which President Johnson is responsible for forcing America into the Vietnam
War. I am also looking for those students to develop that position into a persuasive argument by citing
information from the sources we read in class. This assessment is a formative, written assessment of the
students’ ability to construct a valid argument based on information from historical sources.

5. Accommodations for Exceptional Learners

I’m lucky enough to have a special education teacher, Mr. Lyons, attached to my class. So, he can pull out
students with IEPs and give them the individualized support that they need. On my end, I have my
students split into small groups, where they can work with their peers to answer the questions that go
along with each source. I also read the Gulf of Tonkin source out loud to the class, which is also an
accommodation because I am showing the students what it is like to read a primary source in a way that
makes sense to someone at their reading level. The read-aloud doubles as an accommodation for my
students in class who have a reading disability. I also am cutting down the amount of primary source
material for the students to read, using the “modified” versions from SHEG. The “modified” version of
the source has all the important parts of each document that students will need to see to successfully
process each source, but with minimal extraneous information that could possibly confuse them. For the
students in my class who struggle with note-taking, I printed out the PowerPoint notes for them, which
allowed them to highlight, underline, and otherwise annotate the notes in a way that makes sense for
them. It also does not penalize my students who struggle with literacy skills; they still get the content, but
are not required to write it down by hand. I also have a student whose IEP allows him to take notes
digitally on a Chromebook, so that student is allowed to type notes into a shared Google Document that I
and my co-teacher have access to.

6. Supporting Content Development through Language

a. Language Function: Construct. Students will be able to construct a coherent, fact-based argument about
President Johnson’s role in escalating American involvement in Vietnam.
b. Learning Task: The learning task that my students use to practice construction is the Gulf of Tonkin
Answer Sheet handout from Lesson 1. This task consists of two parts. First, students will write down their
preliminary thoughts about Johnson’s role in escalating the war after taking notes on my textbook-
centered PowerPoint. This is designed to see what students’ preliminary thoughts and prior knowledge is,
so I only need them to write a couple sentences. Second, after reading one source in their small groups,
hearing another source from a different small group, and hearing me read the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
out loud, students will then complete the primary learning task. They will take a stance about Johnson’s
role in escalating American involvement in Vietnam and then support that stance with evidence from the
sources that we read in class. Students will write paragraph length responses here because they will have
more knowledge that they learned in class, as well as three different sources. With more information, I
expect the students to write more (a paragraph, at least 4 sentences).
c. Additional Language Demand: Discourse. Students are constructing an argument based on evidence
from primary and secondary sources, which is exactly what historians do. Historians create historical
knowledge by looking at primary sources and determining what people were actually thinking and doing
in the past. They also look at secondary sources and use other historians’ perspectives to craft a logical
argument that is rooted in evidence. In terms of vocabulary, the only content-specific vocabulary terms
that they need to know are the Gulf of Tonkin Incident and Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. They also need to
know what primary and secondary sources are, which provides an example of discipline-specific
vocabulary.
d. Language Supports: I used SHEG’s comprehension questions to give my students a baseline for
understanding what each source is saying on a basic level. This allows me to check students’
comprehension as I float from group to group and clear up any issues that may arise. In terms of
vocabulary, I define key terms from the textbook that are not essential to completing the learning task, but
that aid in giving background knowledge. A great example is the distinction between “hawks” and
“doves”, which can be seen in my supplemental materials for this lesson. When it comes to vocabulary
specific to the lesson, I define those terms (Gulf of Tonkin Incident and Gulf of Tonkin Resolution) for
the students in my PowerPoint. I will also verbally remind the students of what a primary and secondary
source is when we encounter them during the lesson.

7. Grouping Strategy
My grouping strategy uses small groups of 4-5, which allows the students to have several different minds
at work processing a source at the same time. Thus, the students will get 3-4 other perspectives on the
source in front of them, which helps them process and reflect on their own ideas. It also allows for
students to bounce questions off one another and create a collaborative, collective understanding of the
source material. I chose the “mock draft” format for multiple reasons. First, a “draft” fits in well with the
Vietnam unit that I am teaching. Second, it allows for me shake up the usual social groupings in my
classes, which forces the students to work with peers who do not necessarily hold the same worldview as
them. Thus, the grouping strategy will challenge my students’ beliefs and help them grow as thinkers and
people.

8. Materials
 Computer
 Smartboard
 Lesson PowerPoint, based on the class textbook.
 LBJ modified primary sources (from SHEG; https://sheg.stanford.edu/history-lessons/gulf-
tonkin-resolution)
 SHEG Guided Questions for Sources B and D (see above URL)
 LBJ argument handouts (to be collected as evidence at the end of the lesson)
 History Alive! Textbook (serves as basis for the PowerPoint)

9. Enactment
Hook (20 min total)
Bell Work (10 min)- See PowerPoint slides.
Current Event (5-10 min)- Done after the bell-work is finished.

Student Aim (said during the end of the hook after current event)
Today, we will be learning about how the United States officially entered the war. We will also attempt to
determine the role that President Johnson played in getting the US to enter Vietnam by testing the
textbook against primary sources.

Development (50 min)

10 min: Mock Draft. This is where I will give students their small group assignments for today and the
rest of Unit 6. These “squads” will work together to tackle primary sources throughout the Vietnam unit.
10 min: Textbook lecture in the form of a PowerPoint. I will convert the information that the textbook
presents about Johnson and the Gulf of Tonkin into a PowerPoint and then present that information to the
class. This serves as the baseline for my “teaching against the textbook” approach. (This basically means
that we will be testing what the textbook says against why Johnson and his advisors actually said in
reality). Students will then briefly (1-2 sentences) write about how responsible they feel that President
Johnson was for getting the United States into Vietnam.
15 min: Group work with sources. Each group will read the source that I provide them (either Document
B or D) and then answer the corresponding questions from SHEG. After doing so, one group will give a
brief recap of what their source was and tell the other groups what their source was about. Then, another
group that had the other document will debrief the class on what their document was talking about.
15 min: I will read the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution out loud to the class, after which we will answer some
of the discussion questions from SHEG as part of a whole class discussion. I plan to project the
Resolution onto the Smart Board at this time.

 What examples of the domino theory do you see in these sources? (Also: what examples of
containment do you see in these sources?)
 According to this document, what did the North Vietnamese do?
 Why did the United States feel compelled to respond at this point?
 According to this document, was the U.S. planning to go to war in Vietnam before August 1964?
Explain your answer. (Use this as an example to model what an source supported argument looks
like)

Culmination (5 min)
Students will write a paragraph, citing information from at least one primary source, about the degree of
President Johnson’s responsibility for the United States entering into Vietnam. This will take the place of
me telling them what Johnson’s role was. Students will be responsible for summarizing and synthesizing
that information themselves.

Leap (5 min)
During the last five minutes of class, I will frame US entry into Vietnam in light of the information that
we learned about the counterculture yesterday. This also serves as a leap into upcoming lessons next week
where I talk about the roles and impacts of the antiwar movement on American society.
 edTPA Lesson Plan 2 of 3

The Content
4. Previous Learning- Unit 5 covers post-WWII America in the 1950s, and then transitions into
segregation and the Civil Rights movements of the 1950s-1970s. This covers the entire range of
the movement, from Martin Luther King, Jr and nonviolence to Stokeley Carmichael and the
Black Power movement. I also did a lesson on other minority groups that sought to gain their own
civil rights during the 1960s and 1970s. It also covers the JFK administration and assassination.
After testing on Unit 5, we did some background on the counterculture and the origins of
American involvement in Vietnam. We also examined primary sources and created arguments,
supported by evidence, about the degree to which President Johnson forced the United States into
the Vietnam War.
5. Future Learning- We will continue to learn about the Vietnam War, focusing on the impacts that
the Tet Offensive had on both the war and the American public. We’ll spend a day covering other
important events in 1968, and then transition into Nixon’s election as President, his Vietnam
policies, and then the end of the war.

The Environment
6. The desks are set up in rows, with 4x2 seat desk rows facing the Smartboard in front of the class.
There are also 2x5 seat rows that face inward toward the middle rows. This set-up is unorthodox
but allows all of the students to see the Smartboard. There is also good space between rows that
allows me to circulate with ease. Providing students with copies of all the sources that I have
allows my students to annotate as they please and makes it easier to read (they have their own
copies in front of them to read off of, instead of trying to read the sources on the board.

The Lesson
1. Unit 6/10th Grade/U.S. History/January 7th, 2019
2. Performance Objective
Students will be able to differentiate between the pro-war “hawks” and pro-peace “doves” and explain the
positions of the two sides. Students will analyze songs from the 1965 and connect the lyrics to a pro-war
or anti-war political stance.

3. Rationale for Performance Objective

My lesson relates to Illinois State Standard SS.H.5.9-12. Analyze the factors and historical context that
influenced the perspectives of people during different historical eras. The two songs that my students
analyze in this lesson provide windows into the thoughts of people who fell into either the pro-war or
anti-war camps during the Vietnam War era. My PowerPoint provides some initial context for these
differing perspectives, and the song worksheets provide a vehicle that the students use to analyze what it
actually meant to be a “hawk” or a “dove” during this time period. As students answer the questions on
my worksheet, they are not only comprehending lyrics, but also interpreting a specific point of view on
the Vietnam War. They can then apply that analysis to the question in my exit slip (see Section #4 of this
lesson plan).
My lesson also connects to Illinois State Standard SS.IS.8.9-12. Use interdisciplinary lenses to analyze
the causes and effects of and identify solutions to local, regional, or global concerns. In a manner similar
to my first lesson in the sequence (overview of Vietnam’s history, early American involvement, and the
counterculture), my lesson is interdisciplinary because of the songs that I incorporate into the lesson. I
blend social studies and music to help my students take an interdisciplinary look at how the Vietnam War
divided America into pro- and anti-war camps. Furthermore, Vietnam is a regional concern for the United
States because of our Cold War policies that focused on containing communism because it could spread
elsewhere into Asia.

4. Assessment Strategy
My assessment plan is to collect an exit slip where each of the students answer the following question:
“Out of the two songs that we listened to in class today, which do you think was more popular? Explain
your reasoning in 2-3 sentences.” This question allows me to, first and foremost, see if my students were
able to make any connections between the songs that I had them listen to and the actual social studies
content. The question also serves as an opportunity for the students to apply their historical thinking skills
to a real-life scenario. Both of those two songs were chosen as finalists for the most popular song of 1965,
and the “Ballad of the Green Berets” ended up winning. So, when the students answer the question, they
need to use the content that I delivered to them to make an educated guess about which song was more
popular. As long as they base their hypothesis on historical evidence, the students do not need to guess
the correct song. The purpose of this assessment is to get students to support a position with evidence.
This assessment is formative, but less rigorous than the previous assessment I did in Lesson #1. I am still
assessing students’ ability to create a stance and argue it with evidence, but for this assessment I only
need some reference to material learned in class and in the song. It can be a direct citation or a passing
mention; so long as the connection is present, I know that the students learned and retained the concepts
that I taught in this lesson. I projected the question onto the Smart Board at the end of my PowerPoint
presentation and then had the students answer that question on a half-sheet of paper.

5. Accommodations for Exceptional Learners

I’m lucky enough to have a special education teacher, Mr. Lyons, attached to my class. So, he can pull out
students with IEPs and give them the individualized support that they need. On my end, I have my
students split into small groups, where they can work with their peers to answer the questions that go
along with each source. This lesson also connects to Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligences theory,
which states that there are many different modalities that students learn through. This lesson appeals
directly to the students who learn through a musical modality. It also provides engaging learning
opportunities for students who learn best when speaking or when working in small groups. I also adhere
to UDL Guidelines and use the songs portray the content in a variety of different ways: in an auditory
manner from the song itself, visually by playing a lyric video on the screen, and then written on the sheet
of paper itself. Thus, my students have their choice of how they can process the material. This is
especially helpful for my students who have IEPs for reading and writing because they can choose to
focus on the sound of the music if they have difficulty reading the words I have written down for them.
Furthermore, I provide my students with a printed copy of the song lyrics, which I have split into
columns. One column holds the lyrics, while another holds the comprehension questions that I ask about
each song. The questions are positioned in the column to sit directly across from the song lyrics that help
students answer that question. On this song worksheet, I highlight key phrases of importance, and use
superscript numbers as well as arrows to connect key phrases to the questions on the second column of
my song worksheet. Thus, I have a large number of visual cues built into the worksheet to aid student
comprehension of the song lyrics. My PowerPoint slides get printed for students whose IEPs call for them
to annotate printed copies of my notes instead of writing them. One student’s IEP allows him to take
notes on his Chrome Book in a shared Google Document, so he is permitted to do that in class.
6. Supporting Content Development through Language
a. Language Function: Examine. Students will examine differing perspectives on the early Vietnam War
by listening to the two most popular songs in 1965.
b. Learning Task: The learning tasks that my students perform the language function on are the two song
analyses. During these tasks, I play each song twice. The first time around, my students listen to the song
without answering any questions, in order to hear the song one through and get an idea of what the song is
saying. Then, I play the song again, and the students proceed to answer the questions individually. After
about 5 minutes of individual work, I let them talk to a nearby partner and try to answer the questions
with that partner. After 5 minutes of partner work, I then bring the whole class back together and go over
the answers as a classroom-size group.
c. Additional Language Demand: Syntax. Coagulation, or specifically “coagulatin’” in the verb form, is
an unfamiliar word from the song lyrics in “Eve of Destruction”. This is a specific vocabulary term that
the song uses, and it rhymes with other phrases within the song. As such, understanding this vocabulary
word will help students organize language to help them derive meaning from the lyrics.
d. Language Supports: Coagulation is defined on whiteboard during this lesson, so my students can see
that definition while the song plays. I also explain its usage in the song after first listen-through, so that
the second time is easier for my students to understand. In order to scaffold student understanding, I
provide my students with a printed copy of the song lyrics, which I have split into columns. One column
holds the lyrics, while another holds the comprehension questions that I ask about each song. The
questions are positioned in the column to sit directly across from the song lyrics that help students answer
that question. On this song worksheet, I highlight key phrases of importance, and use superscript numbers
as well as arrows to connect key phrases to the questions on the second column of my song worksheet .

7. Grouping Strategy
My grouping strategy is a modified think-pair-share. I keep the individual split of the “think”, but have
the students answer my comprehension and analysis questions instead. The students then “pair” up and
try to answer the questions cooperatively. Finally, the whole class “shares” when I pose the questions
from my worksheet to the group and pick volunteers to answer the questions so that everyone hears what
the correct answer.

8. Materials
 Computer
 Smartboard
 Lesson PowerPoint, based on the class textbook.
 Song analysis handouts
 Half sheets of paper for exit slips
 YouTube lyric videos for both “Ballad of the Green Berets” (https://youtu.be/UEDYLcSLHoI)
and “Eve of Destruction” (https://youtu.be/I98KeKV_F9g)
 Gallup poll data (https://news.gallup.com/vault/191828/gallup-vault-hawks-doves-vietnam.aspx)
 Whiteboard
 Markers

9. Enactment
Hook (20 min total)
Bell Work (10 min)
Current Event (5-10 min)

Student Aim
Today, we be examining pro- and anti-war sentiments in the United States during the early stages
of the war, via an analysis of two popular songs from 1965.
Development (50 min)
15 min: Lecture notes, interspersed with think-pair-shares.
5 min: Look at Vietnam War support graph over time, jot down class observations on the board.
15 min: Listen to Song #1 “The Ballad of the Green Berets” and complete worksheet. Modified think-
pair-share (complete WS individually, share with partner, discuss as class).

 What type of person would listen to this song?

 Why would this song be popular in 1965?
15 min: Listen to Song #2 “Eve of Destruction” and complete worksheet. Modified think-pair-share
(complete WS individually, share with partner, discuss as class).

 What type of person would listen to this song?

 Why would this song be popular in 1965?

Culmination (5 min)
Discuss the following questions:

 Do these songs have anything in common?

 What can we infer (guess) about America in 1965 based on the fact that these were the two most
popular songs of 1965?
 How will these inferences guide our thinking about Vietnam going forward?
Then, students will answer the following question, on a half sheet of paper: Which song was the most
popular song of 1965? Explain your reasoning in 2-3 sentences.

Leap (5 min)
Students will complete the exit slip, as I tell them which song was voted most popular in 1965. I will use
the “Green Beret” oriented lyrics as a bridge into the type of warfighting that I will be talking about
tomorrow, and looking at how that impacts Americans’ views of the Vietnam War.
 edTPA Lesson Plan 3 of 3

The Content
7. Previous Learning- Unit 5 covers post-WWII America in the 1950s, and then transitions
into segregation and the Civil Rights movements of the 1950s-1970s. This covers the
entire range of the movement, from Martin Luther King, Jr and nonviolence to Stokeley
Carmichael and the Black Power movement. I also did a lesson on other minority groups
that sought to gain their own civil rights during the 1960s and 1970s. It also covers the
JFK administration and assassination. After testing on Unit 5, we did some background
on the counterculture and the origins of American involvement in Vietnam. We spent one
class period (Lesson Plan #1) practicing inquiry skills with primary sources related to the
Gulf of Tonkin Incident. Lesson Plan #2 focused on the divisions of America during the
early war period (1965-1968 pre-Tet Offensive).
8. Future Learning- We will continue to learn about the Vietnam War, focusing on
important developments after the Tet Offensive. We’ll spend a day covering other
important events in 1968, such as the 1968 Democratic National Convention. After that, I
will transition into Nixon’s election as President, his Vietnam policies, and then the end
of the war.
The Environment
9. The desks are set up in rows, with 4x2 seat desk rows facing the Smartboard in front of
the class. There are also 2x5 seat rows that face inward toward the middle rows. This set-
up is unorthodox but allows all of the students to see the Smartboard. There is also good
space between rows that allows me to circulate with ease. Providing students with copies
of all the sources that I have allows my students to annotate as they please and makes it
easier to read (they have their own copies in front of them to read off of, instead of trying
to read the sources on the board.
The Lesson
1. Unit 6/10th Grade/U.S. History/January 8th, 2019
2. Performance Objective
Students will be able to explain what the Tet Offensive was and identify two important impacts
that the Tet Offensive had on America and its war in Vietnam.
3. Rationale
My lesson relates to Illinois State Standard SS.H.2.9-12. Analyze change and continuity within
and across historical eras. The Tet Offensive, despite being a military defeat for communist
forces in Vietnam, played a huge impact on how America viewed both the Vietnam War and the
American government waging it. As such, it warrants study as an important milestone in the
Vietnam era of American history. On the one hand, the military saw Tet as a success because of
the battlefield victories that they won against communists. Containment appeared to be working,
and the military sought to continue existing policy. However, everyday Americans did not see
things that way. They saw the carnage of the war broadcast into their living rooms, and many
people began to question the way the war was waged, or even the war itself. Thus, the Tet
Offensive served as a catalyst for change among Americans domestically in 1968. In order to
understand American disillusionment with Vietnam, the Tet Offensive is a vital event that must
be studied in detail.
4. Assessment Strategy
My assessment plan is to collect an exit slip where each of the students answer the following
question: “Why are Americans becoming less supportive of the Vietnam War? Answer on a half
sheet of paper in 2-3 sentences.” This assessment question directly determines the degree to
which my students achieved or failed to achieve my performance objective for this lesson. In my
PowerPoint, I gave them two specific reasons for why Americans started to trust the government
less after the Tet Offensive: the credibility gap and media coverage. This assessment is designed
to show me if the students are able to identify those two concepts at the end of my lesson, as well
as their ability to explain those two concepts in a brief manner. That is why I ask the students to
respond in 2-3 sentences: they can write one sentence for media coverage and one sentence for
the credibility gap. If explained well, this exit slips allows the students to demonstrate what they
learned during my lesson. This question is a formative assessment, but also an important
comprehension check. I projected the question onto the Smart Board at the end of my
PowerPoint presentation and then had the students answer that question on a half-sheet of paper.
5. Accommodations for Exceptional Learners
I’m lucky enough to have a special education teacher, Mr. Lyons, attached to my class. So, he
can pull out students with IEPs and give them the individualized support that they need. On my
end, I have my students split into small groups, where they can work with their peers to answer
the questions that go along with each source. This lesson also connects to Howard Gardner’s
multiple intelligences theory, which states that there are many different modalities that students
learn through. Since many of my PowerPoint slides for this lesson are punctuated with video
clips, students who are visual-spatial learners get to see the actual events of the Tet Offensive
transpiring. The shocking nature of seeing things like Agent Orange sprayed on jungle also
provides a stark image that remains in the minds of many students. The video’s use of interviews
and voiceovers from soldiers who fought in Vietnam also provides an opportunity for
interpersonal learners to connect with the content material. They see that actual people actually
lived through these events. The think-pair-share opportunity is also an accommodation for my
students with behavioral issues because it provides an opportunity to reflect and regulate
emotions. It also gives me a chance to check in with these students and make sure that they are
still engaged in the class material and in an otherwise positive state of mind. Students who need
to annotate PowerPoint notes get printed copies of my PowerPoint, and students whose
accommodations call for them to take notes on their Chrome Book are also allowed to do so. My
final exit slip questions adheres to UDL guidelines by manifesting itself in multiple formats:
visually presented on the Smart Board and verbally presented through my instructions.
6. Supporting Content Development through Language
a. Language Function: Describe. Students will be able to describe what the Tet Offensive was,
and how it impacted both the Vietnam War and American public opinion of the war.
b. Learning Task: My students perform the language function when they fill out the exit slip at
the end of class. I ask the students to provide 2-3 sentences of supporting information that
answer the question: “Why are Americans becoming less supportive of the Vietnam War?” They
answer this question on a half sheet of paper that I provide. The question is also projected onto
the Smart Board for the whole class to see.
c. Additional Language Demand: Discourse. Students will need to know what the terms “media
coverage” and “credibility gap” mean in order to answer my question and properly explain why
public support for the war in America began to fall after the Tet Offensive.
d. Language Supports: I define the terms “media coverage” and “credibility gap” for the students
in my PowerPoint, so every student has the opportunity to know what those terms mean and
record them so that they can apply those definitions in my exit slip.
7. Grouping Strategy
My grouping strategy is a think-pair-share. The students individually think about the video clip
that they just watched, collecting their thoughts and making preliminary connections to the
PowerPoint content material. The students then “pair” up and continue to reflect and connect the
video clip to the content as a pair. Finally, the whole class “shares” when I pose the questions
breaking down the video clip to the group. This discussion allows me to give the students some
closure on what they saw and give an explicit explanation of how the video clip connects to the
content that I am teaching.
8. Materials
 Computer
 Smartboard
 Lesson PowerPoint (time stamps of the video clip to be shown in conjunction with my
PowerPoint slides are contained in the notes section of the pertinent slides). Based on the
class textbook.
 Half sheets of paper for exit slips
 Whiteboard
 Markers
 Vietnam in HD Tet Episode: https://youtu.be/d9PnqsbsWJk
9. Enactment
Hook (15 min total)
Bell Work (10 min)
Current Event (5 min)
Student Aim
Today, we will learn about the Tet Offensive, specifically what this battle was and the ways in
which it impacted America, both in its war efforts in Vietnam as well as domestically.
Development (60 min)
5 min: PowerPoint notes slide 3.
10 min: Vietnam in HD video with reaction time (think-pair-share).
5 min: PowerPoint notes with napalm clip from Vietnam in HD.
15 min: PowerPoint Slide 8, then Vietnam in HD video.
5 min: PowerPoint Slide 9, then short Vietnam in HD clip.
5 min: Think-pair-share about the short Tet clip.
5 min: PowerPoint remaining slides (10-12).
10 min: Last Vietnam in HD clip and de-brief discussion of the clip.
Culmination (5 min)
Students answer the exit slip question: “Why are Americans becoming less supportive of the
Vietnam War? Answer on a half sheet of paper in 2-3 sentences.”
Leap (5 min; concurrent with culmination)
As the students fill out their exit slips, I will tell them that the anti-war movement will start to
gather steam and cause a lot of domestic turbulence as the war continues, which is what the
following day’s lesson will cover (the 1968 Democratic National Convention).