Hailey+Fusco

=The Letter Home: A Unit on Vietnam= = **Prepared by**: Hailey Fusco = **Grade level**: 10-11th grade students
 * Overview**: Students will be focusing on the Vietnam War as they read various literary works including a short story by Tim O’Brien and Bernard Edelman's collection of letters, //Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam//. After studying and reading different genres (poetry, short stories, personal narratives, memoirs, etc.) of Vietnam literacy and the students will connect literature to a personal story by creating a letter home to a loved one. They will take on the fictional persona of a member of the military serving in Vietnam. The letter must include historical facts, correct grammar/language usage, and establish an audience/tone for the letter.


 * From Theory to Practice**: As stated in chapter 13 of //Adolescent Literacy//, “we have to do a lot of writing to accomplish the best writing” (p.191). In order for students to create the best piece of writing they will be writing each day of class. Some writing will include reactions/responses to literature and music lyrics, comparing/contrasting poetry, creating graphic organizers and editing/revising their letters. An article published by the //National Council of Teachers of English// entitled, “When History Talks Back: Teaching Nonfiction Literature of the Vietnam War” by Larry R. Johannessen, discuses the importance of incorporating nonfiction literature among various other genres. By using Edelman’s nonfiction book of letters, students will gain a better understanding of a soldier’s life in war. Students respond well to nonfiction as Johannessen writes, “… the voice of these works contains the persuasive power of truth-telling that only an eyewitness can claim” (p.3).

· Students will gain a better overall understanding of the Vietnam War. · Students will read different genres and become more familiar with different writing styles. · Students will create a personal letter home to a loved one (establish an audience), taking on the fictional persona of a member of the military. · Students will go through the editing process of refining the copies of the letters.
 * Objectives:**

**CE 1.1.5** Revise drafts to more fully and/or precisely convey meaning—drawing on response from others, self-reflection, and reading one’s own work with the eye of a reader; then refine the text— deleting and/or reorganizing ideas, and addressing potential readers’ questions. **CE 1.1.7** Edit for style, tone, and word choice (specificity, variety, accuracy, appropriateness, conciseness) and for conventions of grammar, usage and mechanics that are appropriate for audience. **CE 1.1.8** Proofread to check spelling, layout, and font; and prepare selected pieces for a public audience.
 * Michigan ELA Content Expectations:**
 * CE 4.1.5** Demonstrate use of conventions of grammar, usage, and mechanics in written texts, including parts of speech, sentence structure and variety, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.

Tentative Outline: __Day One__ : Students will be presented with a basic introduction to the War in Vietnam. Students will read a passage by Tim O’ Brien from the book //The Things They Carried// (ISBN 978-0767902892). After reading the passage “The Things They Carried”, students will respond to a series of questions, making sure to answer all questions in complete sentences. Also, the teacher will present the information regarding the “Letter Home” assignment. **Assignment Sheet & Assessment Rubric** __Day Two__ : Students will be introduced to several poems that deal with the Vietnam War. Some poems include Kevin Bowman’s “First Causality” and Thein Ly’s “Poem of Hope”. Both poems express both the American and Vietnam perspective of the War. After reading the poems, the students will understand how to capture the imagery in poetry. They will compare and contrast the imagery of each poem (America vs. Vietnam) and try to gain a better understanding of how each side felt during the War. The poems come from the //book From Both Sides Now: The Poetry of the Vietnam War and Its Aftermath// edited by Phillip Mahony (ISBN 068484947X). __Day Three__ : Students will read a collection of letters from the book //Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam// by Bernard Edelman's (ISBN 0393323048). Teachers should specifically focus on the letters from the chapters entitled, ”Beyond the Body Count” and “We Gotta Get Out of This Place”). After reading the letters, students should break into small groups and discuss several elements of the letters. Some ideas to focus on include the audience of the letters, what the letters were about, common themes in letters, mood, and students’ reactions. During the discussion, students will create a graphic organizer to help brainstorm ideas for their own letters. Students should be assigned a homework assignment of creating a rough draft of their letter. **Discussion Activity & Pre-writing Activity** __Day Four__ : Students will have the opportunity to dissect popular music and lyrics of the Vietnam War era. Some of the music will include “One Tin Soldier” by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter, “Eve of Destruction by P.F. Sloan” and “Give Peace a Chance” by John Lennon. After examining the music and lyrics, students will write a reflection/reaction to the music of the era, emphasizing the themes in the music (I.E. Anti-war, Peace,etc.). **Self re-flection** __Day Five__: Students will break into groups of two and peer edit /revise the letters they have composed. Present a quick lesson about grammar and how to create dynamic sentences by incorporating participles, absolutes, appositives, and action verbs. It is important for students to recognize proper grammar, creative imagery, and overall appeal. Remind students that the final draft of their letter is the next class and that revision must be shown from their original draft to their final copy. **Grammar Lesson, Discussion Activity & Peer Review**