Fallen Angels WebQuest

Background:     

It has been said about the novel, Fallen Angels:

Graphic and realistic, Richie's first-person narrative provides the kind of immediacy lacking in most war stories. Dedicated to the older brother he lost during the Vietnam War, Myers's FALLEN ANGELS is both a tribute and testament to the thousands of young people who fought and died in the jungles of Vietnam.

T. Currier

Over the past month, we have been reading the novel and watching the films, Platoon and The Green Berets. To show your understanding of the novel and the films, you are being asked to do a variety of tasks. You will be evaluated for each completed task, and for your overall project.

Tasks:

1.   Summarize and react to an event happening during the Vietnam Era. Choose one of the following links, read the article, summarize, and react to it. Remember, your reaction is what you think about what you read. This includes connections to what we've been reading and viewing.

• The Tet Offensive

• Another Tet Offensive site

• Battle of Hue

• Hamburger Hill - Day 1

• The Gulf of Tonkin Incident

• The Bombing of Hanoi

• The Domino Theory

• The Antiwar Movement

• A Historical Perspective

2.   You are a editor for the Chicago Sun-Times assigned to write an editorial for or against the Vietnam War. Write a 5 paragraph editorial  detailing the position of your newspaper.

Here are some links to tips for writing an editorial:

• Tip #1

• Tip #2

• Tip #3

• Tip #4

When you write your editorial, please make sure that it is historically accurate.

Here are some documents that might help you define your thesis:

An Argument against the war in Vietnam

Nixon's Address to the Nation on Vietnam

A Vietnam War Timeline

3.   Analyze two characters from the novel or film using the biopoem format. One of your poems must be about Perry or Peewee, and the other about any major character from the novel or the film, Platoon.

Line 1: First name

Line 2. Four traits that describe the character.

Line 3: Relative of __________________  (list two people)

Line 4: Lover of __________________      (list three THINGS)

Line 5: Who feels __________________   (three things)

Line 6: Who needs __________________ (three things)

Line 7: Who fears __________________   (three things)

Line 8: Who gives __________________   (three things)

Line 9: Who would like to see __________________ (three things)

Line 10: Resident of __________________

Line 11: Last name

4. Pretend you are one of the characters. Write a letter from the day you arrive in Vietnam, one from half way through your tour of duty , and one from the day before you leave Vietnam. Your letters can be to anyone, a father, a mother, a brother, a sister, or a girl/boy friend, for example.

5. Themes & Symbols:  Below are the eight statements that we responded to before we began reading the play. Choose three of these statements. In a Word document, copy and paste a picture from here that you believe is an accurate representation of the statement. Underneath the picture, type the statement. Then, in at least a couple of sentences, explain how the picture you have chosen fits the statement. Then, explain what the statement and picture has to do with the play. An example of this is here.

• Young soldiers in combat typically undergo a personal transformation—a passage from youth to maturity, from innocence to experience.
  
  Warfare often forces soldiers to reconsider their traditional ideas about right and wrong.
  
  The conditions of war show the true nature of heroism.
  
  Friendships and bonds are often intensified among people who face constant danger and the threat of sudden death.
  
  War brings out extremes of behavior—not only courage, loyalty and sacrifice, but also brutality, prejudice, and arrogance.
  
  War is chaotic: Soldiers often find it difficult to make sense of or find meaning in combat.
  
  The experiences of war may leave long-lasting emotional scars on soldiers, civilians, and nations.

Evaluation:

Here is how your project will be graded.

Adapted from Christie and Mike's Webquest: http://www.plainfield.k12.in.us/hschool/webq/webq13/mike.htm