​rethink.

 

Summary

 

The purpose of this lesson is to bring all four lessons full circle, and present this unit on Vietnam in a reflective, meaningful manner. By reading The Wall, the students will be introduced to the artwork that is the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. After that, discussion will be prompted regarding the memorial, and memorials in general; what they are and what they stand for. After this discussion, the students will break up into small groups and will have the opportunity to design their own war memorials. This will be directly linked to the previous lesson, where the students will have the opportunity to do something significant with the soldier biographies they have previously found. After this, the groups will present their ideas, choose on one final design, and use mixed media in order to create a class memorial. This will encourage great cooperative skills, and will help students understand the reflective as well as healing process that often comes after war. By focusing on the Vietnam memorial, students will be exposed to a very famous piece of art, creating a great integration of art and social issues.

 

Learning Objectives

 

Students will…

• Exhibit an understanding of the Vietnam War by verbally responding to the words, illustrations, and symbolism in Eve Bunting's, The Wall.

• Analyze the meaning behind Maya Lin’s design of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial through class discussion

• Apply the meaning behind the Vietnam Veterans Memorial by designing an original war memorial in the classroom

• Exhibit an understanding of the components of a war memorial by explaining its symbolism

 

Assessment (Performance Assessment)

• Did the students show a grasp of the importance of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial?

• Did the students' show that they understood the purposes of war memorials in general?

• Did the students' ideas for a war memorial achieve the goals that they had set for themselves?

• Did the students work well together in their groups?

• Did the students make clear and coherent presentations of their ideas for a war memorial?

 

Preparation

 

Prior Student Knowledge

 

• Students will have studied the different perspectives on the Vietnam War and individually acknowledged fallen soldiers from the war.

• Students will have created a biography of a fallen solider from the Vietnam War.

 

Materials and Resources

 

• The Wall by Eve Bunting

• Mixed media that the students find throughout the classroom

  • Construction Paper

  • Markers

  • Scissors

  • Glue

  • Photos

 

Instruction

 

1. Reading The Wall

   1. Introduce and read aloud The Wall, Eve Bunting's thoughtful and moving book about a father and son who visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in search of the boy's grandfather's name. With little detail, the book's words and pictures paint for today's generation a picture of a war that affected the United States in many ways.

   2. Ask: As they visit the wall, are the father and the boy feeling the same things? How is visiting the wall a different experience for the boy and the father?

2. Introduce Maya Linn and the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial using VTS – art discussion

   1. What’s going on with this piece of architecture?

   2. What makes you say that?

   3. What more can we find?

3. Review the symbolism behind the artwork by telling the students that this memorial stands as a symbol of America's honor and recognition of the men and women who served and sacrificed their lives in the Vietnam War. A committee created a design competition, and after reviewing 1,400 submissions, the design of  Maya Lin, an artist and architect, was chosen due to the power, simplicity and honesty of her design. The V-shaped sunken black stone represents a long journey, as visitors walk down the length of the wall.

4. What makes a memorial important? Have the students express their thoughts while we browse through pictures of national memorials through the website below. The students will jot down their thoughts on at least three memorial shown, and will raise their hand to share with each photo.

   1. Photos of nation’s memorials: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/07/famous-war-memorials-arou_n_793235.html#s200880title=National_Memorial_Arch

5. Introduce idea of creating our own memorial (what kind of materials and space do we have available to us?) The teacher will model his/her own memorial by pulling out black paper (or a blackboard, if in the classroom) and will label it, “War Memorial” with his/her fallen soldier posted on the paper, saying, “In Memory Of…” The teacher will then prompt the students’ thinking by asking the following questions. The students do not need to specifically answer each question, but they need to be thinking about each question:

   1. What is the goal of your memorial?

   2. What is the target audience of your memorial?

   3. Whom would your memorial honor?

   4. What words, if any, would be on your memorial?

   5. What would your memorial look like?

   6. In what city or state would your memorial be?

   7. What would be the setting for your memorial?

6. Break the class into groups – Keeping their soldier biographies in mind, each group will design (by drawing) our own classroom memorial/monument. Depending on the class size, there will be four groups, creating four memorial designs. They will be assigned numbers one through four.

7. One at a time, each group will present their design before the rest of the class. Then, by raise of hand, the class will vote on the design that they feel will honor their soldiers best, will be the most possible in this classroom environment, and that they feel represents thoughtful symbolism. The groups will go in order, one through four and will share at the front of the classroom.

8. Create our own classroom memorial. The materials will come from anything that the students wish to use within the classroom. One example of a memorial would be to use long strangs of black paper and post it up on the wall. The class will decide together what needs to happen in order to create this memorial. One group can create a title for the memorial, one can build the body of the memorial, one group can find quotes and other information to include on the memorial, and one group can decide how to represent the soldiers.

9. To finalize the memorial, each student will post his/her individual fallen soldier onto the memorial. The students will be called up two at a time and will tell the class the name of their soldier, and tell why they are putting it in the place they have chosen to put it.

 

Standards

 

16.1.5.C: Identity adverse situations which all people encounter and healthy ways to address.

 

8.3.4.B: Locate historical documents, artifacts, and places critical to United States history.

 

8.4.4.B: Locate historical documents, artifacts, and sites, which are critical to World history.

 

9.1.3.D: Use knowledge of varied styles within each art form through a performance or exhibition of unique work.

 

9.1.5.E: Know and demonstrate how arts can communicate experiences, stories or emotions through the production of works in the arts.

9.2.3.A: Explain the historical, cultural and social context of an individual work in the arts.

 

9.2.3.D: Analyze a work of art from its historical and cultural perspective.