1. Warm Up 9/7/16 Who fought against whom in the Vietnam War?
Answer these questions to the best of your ability.
Who fought against whom in the Vietnam War?
Why did the United States become involved in Vietnam, and why did it increase its involvement into the 1970s?
What specific events marked the beginning of the United States' active military campaign against North Vietnam?
What was the initial public sentiment in the United States regarding U.S. involvement in Vietnam?
What was President Johnson's attitude toward U.S. involvement in Vietnam? What was President Nixon's attitude toward the war?
How did the war change under President Nixon's administration?
Was the Vietnam War overwhelmingly popular among American civilians? Why or why not?

2. Learning Targets
I can identify Nixon’s stance on the war in Vietnam as illustrated through his speech.
I can analyze how Nixon’s argument is built in his speech.
I can compare/contrast Kerry’s response to Nixon’s speech with the speech itself.
I can use the information I learned as a basis for my learning in our Vietnam/The Things They Carried unit.

3. Agenda 9/7 Warm up/review
Video – background for Vietnam (start at 5:50) (
Group work – Nixon’s speech

4. Nixon’s Speech BEFORE you read,
Work with a partner.
BEFORE you read,
identify unknown words; define using context clues.
DURING your reading, answer these questions:
What did Nixon believe would be the consequences of immediate U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam?
What specific events did Nixon cite to support his arguments against "precipitate troop withdrawal"?
What is meant by "Silent Majority"?
THEN, indicate what Nixon’s stance is on the war in Vietnam. In your own words, summarize why you think he holds this stance.
AFTER reading, analyze how this argument is built.
Label the speech, chunk by chunk, with your partner (i.e., background about the war, attempt to appeal to the masses, validation for his position, etc.).
Look over how you and your partner labeled each “chunk” of text from the speech. Based on this, answer these two questions: What is Nixon’s purpose in delivering this speech? How does the speech’s organization support that purpose?