Why are you using Voices in Wartime and The Vietnam War as part of your curriculum, study, or discussion group? Answering this question will help you begin to determine how you will be using the material. The first step you will want to take as an instructor or facilitator is to view the film in its entirety. You may want to see the film along with the Voices in Wartime Discussion and Action Guide. You will find the script for the film. As you watch the film, use the script as a guide to help determine on which areas of the film to focus your discussion. Mark these areas as you go along. After seeing the film and reflecting on it, return to the script, review the questions that correspond to portions of the film you want to explore in your discussion session.
Some instructors will be using the film to support the study of history, others as an introduction to war poetry, and still others as part of a film studies curriculum. Facilitators may use the film to advance their discussion on efforts of peace, as an action component to their work, or to help determine next steps in their strategic planning. For those of you who will be combining the viewing of the film with the module, The Vietnam War, you will want to incorporate the poetry of David Connolly prior to or following the film.
Social studies instructors will want to take special note of activities prior to and following the timeline for the war. It is in the questions, activities and suggested research that the National Standards for the Teaching of History are met. The standards are defined in the following pages. Several of the questions can lead easily into intense and comprehensive investigation for individual or group work. Extensive original documentation related to the Vietnam War is also included.
Instructors of writing and literature will want to include working with poetry and other writings. Poetry is presented from several different perspectives—from both sides of the battle fields, and from various positions and voices.
Vietnam War includes “Thoughts, Short Excerpts and Quotes” related to the conflict. There are suggested activities on how to approach using this material. Having students expand a timeline, incorporate quotes into the final product, or create an historical or thematic “Readers’ Theater” are all possible ways to use material in this section.
There exists a bibliography for The Vietnam War. Each section has an extensive annotated bibliography on printed works originating from the wars, and on media associated with the wars. The bibliography is divided into fiction, contemporary poetry and short stories, non-fiction, and books on the culture of Vietnam.
The media section is divided into Internet sources, feature films and films produced for television, documentaries and independent films, and films produced by Vietnamese about the war in their country. The Internet is a huge source of information about the Vietnam War. The sources cited in this section are reliable, informative and are managed for accuracy. In the film descriptions running time for most selections is provided in order to assist instructors, as are trailers for most films. All of the films listed are available through various distribution sources.