SDEM

Andrew Clark, a [|federal prosecutor], loves history. “It’s my favorite subject to study,” he says. Not only does he enjoy reading and studying history, he has lived through it. From the [|Vietnam War] to the present war in Iraq, he has seen a lot. Thus, the Vietnam War was his first real experience of war. The times were changing, the people were changing, and the country was changing. It was a pivotal moment in America’s societal and political history, and Andrew Clark lived through it. Mr. Clark grew up in Great Neck out in Long Island. With his parents, brother and sister, he led a relatively normal life. But, when high school rolled around, so did the Vietnam War. At home, the war was rarely discussed. “My father, a veteran, and I never really talked about the war. It just wasn’t something we talked about at home.” On the other hand, Clark’s high school did not hide the fact there was a war. “We had moratoriums (a temporary prohibition of activities) where the school would cancel classes for the day and we would spend the day talking about the war. They wanted us to be educated on the current events.” The Vietnam War was the first war where people could closely monitor the war through television and radio coverage “That’s how I learned the most about the war,” Clark stated. “I remember sitting around in between classes and listening to the radio and the up to date information.” All of this information was humbling. The numerous deaths and tragedies had reached an all time high. There was not a lot of good publicity for such a public war. With all of this information and change in the country, there was a part of the public that disagreed with the war. “I disagreed with the war,” Clark said solemnly. “[|Almost everyone I knew or talked to was against the war]. It is safe to say it wasn’t a very popular war.” Clark stated. “Many of my classmates took a stand against it. Students were quitting extra-curricular activities, missing classes, and engaging in political rallies against the war. It was evident people were changing. Kids were getting more [|involved with drugs]. It may have been part of the time period but it would be foolish to say the war didn’t have anything to do with it. Drugs were an escape.” The war never hit the home front for Clark though “I was fortunate in that nobody in my family and none of my friends went off to war,” he explained. But Mr. Clark could have been sent to fight had the war been extended. “I was drafted after graduating high school. Had there been a need for the draft, I would have been one of the first draftees to go.” Fortunately he never went to war. Though he did not have any close family and friends go off to war he did see the effects of the fighting. “My old counselor I knew went to Vietnam.” Mr. Clark spent almost all of his childhood summers at camp. Thus, he was adopted into a second family during the summer. “When I went back after my camper days to become a counselor, I saw him. He had come home early. I think because he was injured. [|He was not the same].” The affects of the war had become more present than ever. Andrew Clark is not a war hero. He did not dodge bullets or sleep on the outskirts of civilization. He stayed on the home front and led a very comfortable life during the Vietnam War. Though he did not fight in the war, he lived through a very trying time in American history. His empirical experience of a changing world, though not very heroic or exciting, is another side of a war story most tend to dismiss.
 * The Untold Story**

media type="youtube" key="8Kk-fdgrpqg" height="344" width="425" This video revisits two of America's biggest Vietnam War protests. These moratoriums took place in Washington D.C.

[|The audio file is about a former Vietnam War protestor who has been switching identities to escape going to jail for his actions at a protest]

media type="custom" key="2541535"

**Book 1: What’s the difference?** **__Standard__**: 3.B.3-  Draft a thesis statement and support/defend it through highly developed ideas and content, organization, and paragraph development. **__ Expectations:  __** **__ Materials:  __** - Laptop - Pen and paper **__ Opening: __** - I will discuss with the group the different instances of mass destruction of humans in history (ex. Those led by Stalin or Hitler). **__ Middle:  __** - The group will support their theories of whether the aforementioned instances were as worse as that in __1984__ or not as bad through writing a paragraph and then later speaking. **__ Closing:  __** - The group will share their paragraphs and beliefs with the groups and possibly debate. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -      -            Laptop or pen and paper -           I will start the class by playing the song “What is Love?” by Haddaway using the link    [|www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsCXZczTQXo]. -           I will continue to ask about love and general feelings. Which feeling is the strongest? Which feeling is the most powerful? -           I will then start a discussion about love and other feelings in   __   1984   __. -           After the discussion, students will write a paragraph about life today without a certain feeling. How would humans interact? How would one react in certain circumstances? -           Students will share their paragraphs with the group. -           Students will then discuss why suppressing feelings is so effective as done by the leaders in   __   1984   __. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
 * 1) My group should be able to support their positions with information from the book.
 * 2) My group should be able to incorporate outside information to help with their understanding of the book.
 * 3) My group should be able to support their ideas through both writing and speaking.
 * Book 2: What is love?  **
 * Standard:  **    3.A.2 - Support, modify, or refute a position in small or large-group discussions.
 * Expectations      **
 * 1)   Students should be able to use information and examples from   __   1984   __   during discussions in an attempt to prove their point.
 * 2)   Students should be able to prove their point through writing and speaking.
 * 3)   Students should be able to creatively write about imaginary circumstances.
 * Materials:      **
 * Opening:      **
 * Middle:      **
 * Closing:      **
 * Book 3: Tortured by the Truth **

** Standard: ** 3.A.2 – Support, modify, or refute a position in small or large-group discussions.

** Expectations ** ** Materials Needed ** -   Laptop
 * 1) Students should be able to support ideas with both the novel and news article during discussion.
 * 2) Students should be able to identify the reactions to torture.
 * 3) Students will determine if torture is moral or immoral.

** Opening Activity ** -   Students will begin by reading a [|New York Times article]on American and British soldiers that tortured detainees in Iraq.

** Middle Activity ** -   The article will spark conversation on torture. -   Students will debate the following questions: o  Is torture moral or immoral? o  Can torture be considered moral? o  When, if ever, is torture called for? o  What would have been your response to Winston’s torture? o  Was Winston’s torture not as severe as you would have thought? o  Did Winston’s torture take away from the end of the book?

** Closing Activity ** -   Students will conclude by recapping on their prior discussions -   The themes of torture from the article and novel will be compared one last time.