Introduction
The Fall of Saigon marked an important part of American history, and an even more important part of the Vietnam War. The Fall of Saigon led to the withdrawal of American troops, and a victory for communist forces. When communists captured Saigon it marked the spread of communist ideals, along with the failure of the containment policy. Saigon was captured and renamed Ho Chi Minh City after their communist leader. With this defeat Americans faced the embarrassing reality that we were not in fact invincible. The Fall of Saigon not only symbolized the loss of the United States in the Vietnam War, but also marked the terror and pain of the South Vietnamese, as well as representing all of the lives lost in the war. As you complete this webquest, we hope that you gain a better understanding of the war and the impact it had on the Vietnamese city, Saigon.
Task
Your task is to complete the following assignments located in the process tab using the information and links provided.
1. Fill in the blanks
2. Crossword
3. Essay
Lesson Aims:
*To understand why the Fall of Saigon occurred
*Who was involved
*The impact it had on the war
Process
For the first two tasks we will be providing your group with all the nessesary papers needed to complete these assignments, that way you won't have to print anything off at home.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
First task:
1. Click on the link below
http://academic.mu.edu/meissnerd/saigon.htm
2. Once you click on the link, you will find yourself on a website named "The Fall of Saigon."
3. Read through all of the articles on this page.
4. Once you have read all the information, it is time to complete the task.
5. You should have recieved a paper titled "Fill in the Blanks." This is the paper that you will use to complete this task. You will be filling in the fifteen blanks with the words that you learned from reading the articles on the website we have provided.
6. Make sure that when you finish this task, you have read over the fifteen facts in order to gain knowledge about the Fall of Saigon.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Second Task:
For this task you will be completing a word search. A word search is a puzzle consisting of letters arranged in a grid, containing several hidden words written in any direction. The words can be either horizontal, vertical, left to right, right to left, or diagonal. The word search will be filled with terms relating to the Vietnam War and the Fall of Saigon. To complete this task, find your paper that we provided you with titled "Fall of Saigon". On that paper there will be a word search and underneath the word search there will be eleven words. To complete this task you must find all of the eleven terms in the word search that we provided you with. Once you find a word, highlight it with a highlighter or circle the word with a pen. You will know that you have completed this task after you have eleven words highlighted or circled.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Third Task:
For the third task you will be directed to a website. On this website, you will be reading and learning all about The Fall of Saigon. Below is the link to the website, which talks about the President's Address on the Vietnam War and his political plans.
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/specials/saigon/johnson.html
You will be reading specific articles on this page, and then answering questions regarding what you read in the article.
1) After reading the article "Further task of Saigon," do you agree that President Thieu should have sacrificed so many South Viatminese lives for the small chance of saving his nation?
2) If you were in President Johnson's position would your reaction to the Fall of Saigon be the same? Explain. If not, what would you do differently? (Overview of the whole web page)
3) After reading the President's Address on the Vietnam War and His Political Plans, do you think the war would have continued for much longer, if it had not ended in Saigon? If so, what effects could be seen from this continuation?
For each question you will need to write a paragraph answer with a minimum of seven sentences. You may either write your answers or type them, but remember if you type them then you cannot forgot to print them off that night and bring your answers in the next day.
Evaluation
|
Exceptional All Points Earned |
Admirable -3 Points |
Developing -6 Points |
Needs Improvement -10 Points |
|
|
Use of Internet (Links Provided) |
Successfully uses suggested Internet links to find information and navigates within these sites easily without assistance. |
Usually able to use suggested Internet links to find information and navigates within these sites easily without assistance. |
Occasionally able to use suggested Internet links to find information and navigates within these sites easily without assistance. |
Needs assistance or supervision to use suggested Internet links and/or to navigate within these sites. |
|
Web Quests Tasks Completed |
All areas of the project were addressed and handled with a high degree of sophistication. Project is interesting and completed. |
The project is only partially completed. The project submitted demonstrates a great deal of thought. (Between 75% and 100% complete). |
The project is only partially completed. The project submitted demonstrates a moderate level of thought. (Between 50% and 75% complete). |
The project is incomplete, and/or it is apparent that little effort went into the development of the project, and/or project is less than 50% complete. |
|
Power Point/Publisher Project- Attractiveness |
Makes excellent use of font, color, graphics, effects, etc. to enhance the presentation. |
Makes good use of font, color, graphics, effects, etc. to enhance the presentation. |
Makes use of font, color, graphics, effects, etc. but occasionally these detract from the presentation content. |
Use of font, color, graphics, effects etc. often distract from the presentation content. |
|
Time Use |
Classroom time was used to work on the project. Conversations were not disruptive and focused on work. |
Classroom time was used to work on the project the majority of the time. Conversations were not disruptive and focused on work. |
Classroom time was used to work on the project the majority of the time, but conversations often were disruptive or did not focus on the work. |
The student did not use classroom time to work on the project the majority of the time and/or was highly disruptive |
|
Grammar, Format, and Spelling |
The final body of work was free of grammar, spelling, and formatting errors. |
The final body of work had 1-2 errors related to grammar, spelling, and formatting errors. |
The final body of work had 3-5 grammar, spelling, and formatting errors. |
The final body of work had major grammar, spelling, and formatting errors. |
Conclusion
We hope through this journey and through the completion of these tasks, you have gained an understanding of Saigon and its importance. Saigon represented a moment in American history where communist forces took over and Americans realized that we were not indestructable. Saigon also represented the loss of many Vietnamese soldiers and citizens, as well as the destruction of their homeland. With the completion of these tasks, we hope that you now have a clearer understanding of this important event in history.
