1. The Sweetheart of Song Tra Bong

2. Warm Up: Poems  For your assigned poem, read “About the Selection” (a page or two before) and the poem.  In your head answer all questions in boxes and the recall questions.  On paper, respond to the interpret, analyze, and synthesize questions.  Poems  “Do Not Weep..” p. 380  “A Man Said…” p.382  “Grass” p. 497  “The Death…” p. 772  I will check your annotations and responses to The Things They Carried

3. Poems: Share out  Choose a reader.  The rest of the group will interpret the poem for the class.

4. At your table write down answers to the following  At your table write down responses to the following.  Do you believe the story of the “Sweetheart of Song Tra Bong”? Why or why not? What effect would it have on you if you discovered it were true?  Why is the “truth” of “Sweetheart of Song Tra Bong” so important to Mitchell Sanders and Rat Kiley? Why does Sanders complain? Does O’Brien follow his own rules for a true story?  Are the characters symbols? If so, what does Mary Anne Bell stand for? What does Stephen Fossie stand for? Is there a message to this story? What other symbols do you see in the other stories we’ve read?

5. Save the last word for me 1. Review the short stories you have read so far (focus on today’s) 2. Choose at least 3 passages you like and copy each passage on a card. 3. On the reverse side of the card, write why you liked this passage and how it helps you understand the personal side of the Vietnam war. 4. One at a time, in small groups, read one of the passages you selected. 5. Other students comment on what they liked or didn’t like about the passage. 6. The student who wrote the passage gets to have the last word as he reads his/her reason for choosing this passage. 7. Debrief the experience. Was this a useful way to explore the ideas in the text and to explore your own thinking? If so, why? If not, why not?