Make Connections

Starting a unit on Vietnam War literature by having students view slides of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and listen to letters left there is just the first step in how an English teacher uses the arts to enhance student learning about the Vietnam War and its literature. After discussing their reactions to the slides and the offerings left at the memorial, the students review 13 topics for oral reports that involve music, visual arts, and the performing arts of the period. Through these oral reports that involve the arts, students are able to respond in English class in ways other than through linguistic expression. As a follow-up activity, students relate the art they have researched and reported on orally to the literature they have studied in class. Student responses to the follow-up activity indicated that what the artists and writers were trying to say about the Vietnam War was the common thread through which students were able to make connections between the art and literature. Student responses also illustrate the impact that the art of the war can have and how studying the art can help them make meaning out of the literature.