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GCSE Module: Cold War in Asia

Unit: Vietnam War

Year group: 11

When taught: November to May

AQA syllabus link: click here

What are we learning?

  • Long term origins: The French rule of Vietnam;
  • How did Diem’s rule of South Vietnam create a civil war?
  • How did Eisenhower and Kennedy escalate America’s involvement in Vietnam?
  • How did the Gulf of Tonkin incident lead to Johnson sending in US troops to Vietnam?
  • How and why did America get involved in Vietnam?
  • What was the fighting like in the Vietnam War?
  • Why did America fail to win?
  • Who won the Tet offensive? Why was it a turning point in the war?
  • What does the My Lai massacre show us about the impact of American soldiers in Vietnam?
  • How did the US media report on Vietnam? Was the war lost in the living rooms of America?
  • What impact did the protest movement have on America’s involvement in the Vietnam War?
  • Why did America fail to win in Vietnam?
  • How successfully did Nixon’s policy of Vietnamisation try to remove US troops?
  • What happened at Kent State in 1970?
  • What was agreed at the Paris Peace Talks and how did America finally leave Vietnam?
  • The Fall of Saigon: What happened in Vietnam after the US troops left?
  • What were the consequence of the Vietnam War?

How will we be assessed on this topic?

  • The end of topic assessment will include a knowledge test (including some multiple choice questions, some non multiple-choice questions, a chronology task and a key word task).
  • A one hour assessment paper conducted in timed conditions covering all the different question types on the GCSE paper.

What makes a strong piece of work in this topic? What are teachers hoping to see?

  • A sound and good chronological understanding of key events;
  • Use of specific factual evidence relevant to the question asked;
  • A wide range of appropriate key terms used in written responses;
  • Developed explanation: use of the BLT framework;
  • ‘Complex thinking’/ evaluation in answers – thinking about short term/ long term/ people/ place/ extent etc.
  • Developed source analysis of the content and provenance of sources using detailed supporting knowledge.
  • Strong linkages in conclusions and between paragraphs.

What key words are there in this topic?

Quizlet, click here

What can I try if I want to stretch and challenge myself on this topic?

  • Learn more about the Vietnam in this period by using the school’s Historical Association account where you will find lots of information/ podcasts about the topic. Ask Mrs Wahlen for the username and password;
  • Cold War documentaries: click here
  • Listen to some podcasts. There are some excellent pods on The Rest is History: click here
  • Podcast: Vietnam the definitive history of the war:click here
  • Watch some films about Vietnam… there are plenty. Some suggestions:
    • Platoon
    • Good Morning Vietnam
    • We Were Soldiers
    • The Killing Fields
    • Forrest Gump

Read some historical fiction or non fiction – see the ideas below!

What wider reading can be done on this topic?

Historical fiction:

  • The Sorrow of War by Bao Ninh
  • NAM, a novel: Story of the Vietnam Generation by Mel Smith

Recommended non-fiction:

  • Vietnam: An epic history of a tragic war by Max Hastings: click here
  • Tet by Dan Oberdorfer: click here
  • Vietnam: An intimate history by Geoffrey Ward and Ken Burns

Supporting document/links:

  • Students will be given a knowledge organiser at the end of the topic to revise for the end of topic assessment.
  • GCSE pod