Daily Lesson Plan Outline for Social Studies Education - UW

Resident Teacher: Mr. Bryngelson

Date of Instruction: TBD
Lesson Title: The Ho Chi Minh Trail___________________________________
Course Subject: Modern American Studies
Grade Levels: 9-10
Amount of Time (e.g. 45 minutes): 1 class approx. 45 minutes
1. SOCIAL STUDIES STANDARDS
A. 1-3 Wyoming State Social Studies SS12.2.1 Analyze and evaluate the ways various groups (e.g.,
Standards
social, political, and cultural) meet human needs and concerns
(e.g., individual needs and common good) and contribute to identity
(e.g., group, national, and global), situations, and events

SS12.4.4 Describe the historical interactions between and among

individuals, groups, and/or institutions (e.g., family, neighborhood,
political, economic, religious, social, cultural, and workplace) and
their impact on significant historical events.
B. 1-3 National Council for the Social
Studies Thematic Standards

NCSS Standard 3: People, Places and Environments

NCSS Standard 9: Global Connections

C. 1-3 District/Department/School
Standards if applicable
2. LEARNING TARGETS/OBJECTIVES (Must be measurable. Bold the learning verbs.)
A. Students will be able to
Locate Cambodia and Laos on a map.
B. Students will be able to

Analyze the role that proximity played in the bombing campaigns.

C. Students will be able to

Defend whether or not bombing Cambodia and Laos was justified.

3. CONTENT CONSIDERATIONS
A. Central Focus of the Lesson (1)

War is not contained by borders.

B. Essential Question (1)

Why did the US choose to bomb Cambodia and Laos?

C. Supporting Question (2-4)

Is it justifiable to bomb countries that border warring nations?

What was the impact of the bombing raids?
Should we hold Nixon and Kissinger responsible for the deaths that
occurred in Cambodia and Laos?

D. Academic Language: [List

vocabulary words and any
prefixes/suffixes, academic terms]

Ho Chi Minh Trail

Proximity
Communist Containment
Agent Orange
Napalm

Daily Lesson Plan Outline for Social Studies Education - UW

E. Disciplinary Connections

This is an aspect of the Vietnam War which is typically brushed over

or skipped entirely. It is important for students to know the full extent
of the US bombing raids.

F. Real World Connections

Cambodia and Laos are still full of unexploded explosive devises

that the US dropped. It is a full scale humanitarian crisis, and it is
important that students understand how and why those explosives
are there.

4. OPENER (How will you catch or hook students to engage them in the beginning of your lesson?)
Hook:
The warmup questions on the board will ask Is it OK to bomb
countries when you are at war with them? and What about
countries you are not at war with?
5. INSTRUCTION (Not all parts of the lessons body may be utilized)
A. Beginning of lesson
After the warmup I will ask students about Cambodia and Laos.
Can you locate them on the map? What do you know about either
country? How were they involved in the war? etc.
I will explain to students that both countries were heavily bombed
during the Vietnam War because the US felt that they were
harboring Vietcong soldiers.
I will give a brief (around 10 minutes) lecture about the Ho Chi Minh
trail and the US bombing campaigns and their impacts.
We will look at declassified correspondence between Nixon,
Kissinger, and the Department of Defense. Here we will utilize our
primary document analysis skills.
We will also look at primary accounts of survivors of the Khmer
Rouge genocide.
After we discuss the implications of the bombing and the
implications for the people of Cambodia and Laos, I will hand out a
worksheet.
B. Middle of lesson

The worksheet will ask some short-answer questions and have a

blank map of Southeast Asia.
Students can work with a partner on the worksheet, and if they do
not finish it will become homework.

C. End of lesson

The exit ticket for the day will be: Was the US justified in bombing
Cambodia and Laos given that they were at war with Vietnam?
Provide 2-3 reasons for your response.

6. STUDENT ENGAGEMENT WITH CONTENT (Multiple pieces of evidence of student learning)

A. Low Level Questions
The warmup question and discussion will have students identify
(Knowledge/Remembering and/or
Cambodia and Laos on the map and think about why they were the
Comprehension/Understanding)
targets of US bombs.
B. Middle Level Questions
(Application/Applying and/or
Analysis/Analyzing)
C. High Level Questions

The primary document analysis portion will have students examine

what the highest architects of foreign policy have to say about the
bombings. We will also look at firsthand accounts from survivors of
the Khmer Rouge in order to gain multiple perspectives.
The exit ticket will have students create arguments for or against

Daily Lesson Plan Outline for Social Studies Education - UW

(Synthesis/Evaluating and/or
Evaluation/Creating)

the bombing campaigns in Cambodia and Laos and support them

with evidence from the lesson.

D. Explain how the data informs

future instruction:

By examining primary documents, and thinking spatially, students

can create a more nuanced understanding of the bombings and
their lasting legacies.

7. ENRICHMENT/ELABORATION (Include one enrichment activity for students who might finish early)
What enrichment activities are
The exit ticket (see above).
offered for students in this lesson?
8. LEARNING SUPPORTS (Think about accommodations inside/outside of your classroom)
What supports are used to support The presentation will be very visual and we will work through the
struggling learners?
primary documents together as a class. Students will also be able to
work with a partner on the worksheet and I will be available to
answer questions.
9. BEHAVIORAL SUPPORTS (Think about accommodations inside/outside of your classroom)
What supports are used to support I will monitor behavior throughout the lecture and discussion. I will
behavioral issues?
use proximity and redirects to manage behavior if necessary.
10. MATERIALS & RESOURCES NEEDED (Describe any handouts, readings, materials, and resources)
What materials are needed to have Cambodia/Laos Presentation
ready to use for this lesson?
Nixon and Kissinger Primary Documents
Survivors of the Khmer Rouge Accounts
Worksheet with map
Exit tickets

Daily Lesson Plan Outline for Social Studies Education - UW