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Classroom simulations are educational exercises that teachers and
students can use to
dramatize an
historical or
fictional event in
their classrooms. CAHO
teachers developed the
simulations according
to the methodology of
Eric
Rothschild.
Rothschild, a
nationally recognized
teacher, also reviewed
the simulations. Each
simulation includes
(1) a brief historical
background, (2) a cast
of fictional or
historical characters
for students to
impersonate, (3) a
pre-simulation writing
assignment to help
students research
their characters, (4)
discussion questions
to guide the
simulation, and (5) a
post-simulation
writing assignment to
help students assess
what they have
learned. The
simulation experience
helps students explore
salient aspects of
American history in a
fun and
thought-provoking way.
The United States in Vietnam
In this simulation, a special congressional committee—the
U.S. Senate
Subcommittee on Vietnam—will examine changes in U.S. foreign
policy toward
Vietnam from 1954 through 1975. The committee will investigate why the
United
States entered the war but failed to prevent the communist takeover of
the
Republic of South Vietnam. Students will impersonate historical
characters who
are called to testify before this fictitious Senate subcommittee. The
historical
characters will explain, from their perspective, why the United States
entered
the war, why it escalated its military involvement there, and then,
despite the
escalation, why it suffered defeat. Do the senators and journalists
reporting on
the investigation blame any one U.S. president? Or do they blame
rather a wide
range of circumstances both domestic and international? This
simulation will
expose students to a variety of conflicting interpretations of the
U.S. role in
Vietnam.
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