3D+Lesson+Plan

LESSON: Tonkin Gulf Resolution 11th Grade History

OBJECTIVES
 * Students will identify and analyze three types of primary documents dealing with the Tonkin Gulf Resolution. They will use these documents to analyze the decision to give President Johnson so much control over the Vietnam Conflict
 * Students will use various tools to analyze political cartoons, written documents, and data
 * Students will explain their findings through group activities and a written assignment

MATERIALS: Political Cartoon: Our Position Hasn't Changed at All [] Written Document: The Tonkin Gulf Resolution 1964 [] Data: Tonkin Gulf Resolution, Senate roll call tally sheet, 08/07/1964 [] Worksheets: NARA Written Document Analysis Worksheet, NARA Cartoon Analysis Worksheet, KWL Chart

BACKGROUND INFORMATION: The students will have already learned about the Vietnam Conflict up to this point, 1964. We have discussed how the turmoil began in French occupied Indochina, as well as how the United States got involved in the name of 'containment' and the domino theory. The students would have learned each presidents involvement from President Truman through Kennedy's death.

INTRODUCTION:
 * Review background information of Johnson's involvement in the Vietnam War
 * Introduce any of the primary documents methods that have not been used in class, go over how to use them.

BODY:

Individual Work: Group Work:
 * Pass out a copy of the attached political cartoon: Our Position Hasn't Changed at All (see link above) and the NARA Cartoon Analysis Worksheet
 * Student will have about 10 minutes to individually analyze the cartoon and fill out the worksheet
 * I will then pass out a copy of the Tonkin Gulf Resolution passed by the Senate in 1964 (see link above) and the NARA Written Document Analysis Worksheet.
 * Students will have 15-20 minutes to individually complete the worksheet.
 * Once each student is finished with analyzing the Resolution, I will give them a KWL chart in order to use the SEA method to analyze the tally sheet.
 * After the initial scanning is over, I will pass out the background information from the site. []
 * Once everyone is finished will all three parts, students will get into groups to discuss their findings for each document.
 * Each group will answer the following questions:
 * 1) What do you think is the main message of this cartoon?
 * 2) How does the Resolution affect President Johnson's role in the Vietnam Conflict?
 * 3) Why do you think only two Senators voted against the Resolution?
 * Each group will then present their answers to the rest of the class.

CONCLUSION:
 * We will briefly discuss what we learned for the day
 * We will discuss in more detail, the Resolution in context. We will discuss what happened at the Gulf of Tonkin in Vietnam, why Congress responded, what Johnson had planned all along.

ASSIGNMENT: Newspaper Report Each student will write up a newspaper article about the Tonkin Gulf Resolution. They will pretend that they are reporters for a newspaper. They must write a three paragraph article and include information they learned from the primary documents. Along with the article, each student will draw a political cartoon of their own, dealing the the Tonkin Gulf Resolution.