Tuesday, June 7

In-Class Today:

American Experience, My Lai

B Period Homework:

Part V: Values and the Vietnam War

Study Guide--Part V

Final Exam Info/Study Tips

Format of the Final Exam:

• The first hour of the exam will be a Paper One on the Vietnam War. It will be a "full paper one" meaning #3 will have TWO OPVL's, rather than just one.
• The second hour will be a separate essay that asks you to think back and consider our entire study of U.S. history, from "Westward Expansion" all the way to the Vietnam War. The prompt will be: "What is the most significant historical trend that has surfaced repeatedly during our study of U.S. history? Use relevant historical evidence to support your argument as to why this trend should be considered the most significant."

Study Tips:

• Review your materials from the Vietnam War unit. I've compiled the GoogleDocs of the readings and completed study guides for you here--

Part I Reading

Completed Study Guide Part I

Part II Reading

Completed Study Guide Part II

Tonkin Gulf Incident and Resolution, Reading

Part III Reading

Completed Study Guide Part III

• For the essay question, I would very much encourage you to create an outline, which will be your most relevant study guide. While I'm not allowing you to bring in an outside outline, you'll have some time in that hour to quickly recreate it for yourself. Doing this beforehand will allow you to review and consider the material we've covered, coming up with thoughtful and relevant historical examples from throughout the school year.

How to begin?

• I would suggest first brainstorming possible historical trends to discuss--what ideas and themes kept popping up in different forms across units?
• Once you've identified the historical trend you will discuss in your essay, begin to come up with examples that demonstrate this trend. Choose several strong examples to become your body paragraphs. From there can go back and fill in with more historical evidence and detail.

What I'm looking for:

• Clear thesis--you've identified the historical trend you will discuss and made a clear and strong argument as to why it should be considered most significant. While you have a lot of room to choose a historical trend, I will be judging whether I agree if it is relevant, well thought out and appropriate to use for this essay.
• Body Paragraphs--relevant historical examples and details are provided as evidence, all working to support your argument that the historical trend you are discussing should be considered the most significant.
• A conclusion--that reinforces the argument you've just presented.