The History of Wars in

Vietnam
How is Has life affected by where and when she is living?
During this time of war in Vietnam, Has life has changed drastically.
Has best friend, along with her family, fled their home by taking a cruise
ship to Vung Tau. This is how the rich evacuated Vietnam during the
war. Those that couldnt afford to leave, like Has family, continued to
live in poverty in their war-torn country. Has mother works several jobs
and a few years ago she made enough money to consider buying a
car (p.14 ). Unfortunately, the war has caused so much financial
hardship that hardly anyone buys anymore, people can barely afford
food (p.15 ). Ha and her family have to take turns eating the egg laid
by brother Khois hen because food has become so expensive in
Vietnam. Mother says, if the price of eggs were not the price of rice,
and the price of rice were not the price of gasoline, and the price of
gasoline were not the price of gold, then of course Brother Khoi could
continue hatching eggs (p.17). In addition to rising prices, the war has
impacted Has schooling. Has teacher talks about the war every Friday
now, telling the students about how close the Communists have gotten
to Saigon (p.18). Ha must attend afternoon and weekend classes as
well. They attend school in shifts so everyone can fit into school
(p.19). Living in Vietnam during a time of war, has made drastic impacts
upon Has life.
Key details you noticed from the readings that helped you
understand how Has life is affected by the time and place with
which her story is set (use your Quick Writes to help you).
One member of each group will share out with class.all will
listen and add to their notes.

Learning Target: I can determine the central ideas in one
section of an informational text about the Vietnam War.

Why there are bombs near Has home.

Why Americans are in Vietnam.

Why Communists are invading Saigon.

Discuss: Informational Text vs. Literature


Distribute the article The Vietnam Wars.

1. How does the title help you understand the coming article?

2. Why do you think the title has the word Wars, plural, rather
than just War?

Read subtitle aloud: Discuss the word honingwhat does the
subtitle tell us about Vietnam? (Cold Call)

Read aloud section 1 The Chinese Dragon 208 B.C.
1428 A.D. (after each paragraph, re-read and jot notes
about the gist)

Talk with your partner about the gist of each paragraph.
(hand out Questions/Notes: Section 1)

The Chinese Dragon 208 B.C.-1428 A.D

In Vietnam, a nation forged in the crucible of war, it is possible to measure time by
invasions. Long before the Americans, before the Japanese, before the French even,
there were the Chinese. They arrived in the 3rd century B.C. and stayed for more than
1,000 years, building roads and dams, forcing educated Vietnamese to speak their
language, and leaving their imprint on art, architecture, and cuisine. [The Chinese
referred to their Vietnamese neighbors as Annam, the Pacified south," but the
Vietnamese were anything but peaceful subjects. Chafing under Chinese taxes, military
drafts, and forced-labor practices, they rose up and pushed their occupiers out again
and again, creating a warrior tradition that would plague invaders for centuries to come.
[The struggle with China produced a string of heroes who live on today in street names,
films, and literature. In 40 A.D., the Trung sisters led the first uprising, then drowned
themselves rather than surrender when the Chinese returned to surround their troops.
Two centuries later, another woman entered the pantheon of war heroes. Wearing gold-
plated armor and riding astride an elephant, Trieu Au led 1,000 men into battle. As she
faced surrender, she too committed suicide. In the 13th century, Tran Hung Dao used
hit-and-run tactics to rout the Mongol emperor Kublai Khan. His strategy would be
copied 700 years later against the French, with momentous results. [Finally, in the 15th
century, a hero arose to oust the Chinese for good. Le Loi believed--as did generations
of warriors to follow--that political persuasion was more important than military victories.
According to his poet/adviser, NguyenTrai, it was "better to conquer hearts than
citadels." In 1428, Le Loi deployed platoons of elephants against the Chinese horsemen,
and forced China to recognize Vietnamese independence. Gracious in victory, Le Loi
gave 500 boats and thousands of horses to the Chinese and ushered them home.
Except for a brief, unsuccessful foray in 1788, they did not return.
Re-read section 1: The Chinese Dragon and take notes
(graphic organizer)on vocabulary and any other questions you
may have. (you may also annotate on the text itself)

Share-out your notes/questions with partner

Re-read Section 1 and complete your note-taking on the
graphic organizer.

Read the next section that your group has been assigned.
(assign each group to sec.2-4)

Read aloud part of sections 2-4 to whole class
I can determine the central
ideas in one section of an
informational text about the
Vietnam War.

I can use a variety of strategies to
determine the meaning of
unknown words or phrases.