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Killing Zone Activity

Instructors Name:
Vernon Turner
Lesson Activity Title:
Killing Zone Activity
Grade:

Content Area:

11th

US History
Purpose of Activity

This activity would be for students to study several pictures of taken in

Vietnam and make inferences about them. The pictures are of different
soldiers and the experiences they had in Vietnam. Students will use prior
knowledge and critical thinking skills to make inferences about the pictures
and what they are depicting.
Content Standards Addressed (be sure to include both the number
and the description of each standard):
USHC-8: The students will demonstrate an understanding of social,
economic, and political issues in contemporary America.
USHC-8.3 Explain the development of the war in Vietnam and its impact on
American government and politics, including the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
and the policies of the Johnson administration, protests and opposition to the
war, the role of the media, the policies of the Nixon administration, and the
growing credibility gap that culminated in the Watergate scandal.
Common Core State Standards Addressed: (be sure to include both
the number and description of each standard):
Common Core Literacy Standards Grades 11-12
1. Key Ideas and Details
a. (2) Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or
secondary source; provide an accurate summary that makes
clear the relationships among the key details and ideas.
2. (3) Evaluate various explanations for actions or events and determine
which explanation best accords with textual evidence, acknowledging

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where the text leaves matters uncertain.

Learning Outcomes (the student will be able to):
-Students will be able to :
- Understand the different viewpoints of soldiers during Vietnam
-Understand that there was not only one experience for soldiers during
the Vietnam War
Step-by-Step Procedures for this activity (60 min)
-First the teacher will go over previous notes on Vietnam to ensure students
have a firm grasp on the war.
-Students will then be divided into four groups of four (adjustments made for
class size), giving each group 2 photographs to look at.
-Students will be given a list of questions they need to answer and discuss in
their groups as they look at the pictures. The questions are:
1) What is happening in the photograph?
2) What can you infer from the photograph? Why do you think that?
3) Create a caption for this photograph and explain why your group
chose the caption you did.
-Students will be encouraged to understand the multiple viewpoints within
each picture, so they better understand the complexity of the Vietnam War
as a whole.
-After each group has spent 10 minutes with each pair of photographs, the
class will come together and talk about what they found interesting.
-After a brief discussion, each group will present their captions and explain
why they gave the photo that particular caption.

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Vietnam A

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Vietnam B

Vietnam C

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Vietnam D

Vietnam E

Vietnam F

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Vietnam G

Vietnam H