Backgrounding Research Project for the Things They Carried

Backgrounding Research Project for The Things They Carried

MRS. MIGUT AP LANG. & Comp.

Objectives:

1. Students will be able to make background connections between a setting in a novel to an historical event or issue in America.

2. Students will use their research skills to create a powerful PowerPoint or Prezi presentation for their peers.

3. Students will be able to properly format in-text citations and an MLA Works Cited page.

GOAL: You will be able to organize, synthesize, analyze, and evaluate the validity of information from multiple of sources to draw conclusions using a variety of techniques, and correctly use standardized MLA citation (LA.11.6.2.2)

Scenario:

Our novel is primarily set in the year 1969. Most of us have limited knowledge of the setting in which this set of vignettes occur. Prior to reading The Things They Carried, students will complete a partnered research project in order to gain a better understanding of the events taking place within the novel. These presentations should provide information about the topic as well as explain its significance. Center your PowerPoint or Prezi around an essential question such as "What is/was the [insert topic here], and what is/was its significance in American and World history?"

Choose one of the following topics on which to complete your research with a partner. Then, “claim” it with Mrs. Migut so projects are not duplicated :

1.  My Lai and Lieutenant William Calley

2.  Vietnam War Protesters in America (including those at Kent State University)

3.  Ho Chi Minh

4.  The Ho Chi Minh Trail

5.  The National Liberation Front

6.  Ngo Dinh Diem

7.  The Tet Offensive

8.  The Draft

9.  The Gulf of Tonkin Incident and Resolution

10.  Rolling Thunder

11.  Operation Phoenix

12.  Agent Orange and Operation Ranchhand

13.  Lyndon B. Johnson and the Vietnam War

14.  The Pentagon Papers

15.  Vietnam Veterans and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Internet sites:

v  ALL SOURCES MUST BE CITED using both in-text citations and on a related Works Cited sheet.

v  Wikipedia and personal blogs are not considered credible research sources. However, feel free to use the primary sources at the bottom of Wikipedia’s page. Limit your exposure to unreliable pieces by using the media center’s online research information sources.

v  Who? Who is the author of the article? Are they a reliable source?

v  What? What is the point of the article? Persuade? Inform? Explain? Share an experience? Sell?

v  Why? Is the information biased or does it push a specific perspective?

v  When? When was the website last updated?

v  How? Is the site easy to use and find information?