Watching the Video

Before You Watch
Respond to the following questions:

• How do you activate students' interest? How do you help students understand complex issues?
• What issues would you cover when teaching high school students about the Vietnam War?
• What sources would you use to present multiple points of view about the Vietnam War?
• How do you ensure objectivity in your presentation, and when is it appropriate (if ever) to share your personal opinions with students?

Watch the Video
As you watch "Public Opinion and the Vietnam War," take notes on Ms. Morrison's instructional strategies, particularly how she prepares for and uses a variety of sources. Write down what you find interesting, surprising, or especially important about the teaching and learning in this lesson.

Reflecting on the Video
Review your notes, then respond to the following questions:

• What struck you about the classroom climate, background, preparation, strategies, and materials used in this lesson?
• What do you think were the goals of this lesson?
• Which strategies were most effective in reaching those goals?
• How is this class different from yours? How would you introduce your own students to a controversial event in history? How would you present dissenting opinions?

Looking Closer
Let's take a second look at Ms. Morrison's class to focus on specific teaching strategies. Use the video images below to locate where to begin viewing.

Using data cards, students examine key events in the Vietnam War and then predict the public's response to each event. After each group presents its predictions, the class watches a television news clip from the war to consider its effect on public opinion.

• What are students learning by predicting public opinion and placing the events on a continuum? How does this learning link to the standards?
• What evidence do you see of student engagement in what they're watching?
• What evidence do you see that students are learning from watching?

Ms. Morrison asks students to interview family members or others about the key events that occurred and the personal memories they have of the Vietnam War.

• What do students learn by interviewing people who remember the Vietnam War?
• How is this learning different from what occurs when students get their information from other types of sources?
• What are the benefits of having students conduct these interviews? What do their findings add to the lesson?
• How do the interviews affect the students' initial predictions about public opinion?
• What are some of the cautions that students should be made aware of before they conduct interviews and analyze their data?