Student Activities
- Grade Level:
- Middle School: Sixth Grade through Eighth Grade
- Subject:
- Social Studies
- State Standards:
- History and Social Science: Focus on the Community: K.1a, 1.1, 2.1, 3.1
The United States since World War II: USII.8c
Civics and Economics: CE.1
Common Core Standards:
LITERACY.RH.6-8.1, RH.6-8.2, RH.9-10.1, RH.11-12.1
State Standards:
History and Social Science: Focus on the Community: K.1a, 1.1, 2.1, 3.1The United States since World War II: USII.8cCivics and Economics: CE.1
Objectives:List five types of offerings left at the memorial.Name two reasons why visitors leave offerings.Describe how these items help us understand the Vietnam War and the memorial.Describe different ways we remember loved ones.
Essential Questions: Why do people leave offerings at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial?What types of items are left?How can these items help us better understand the Vietnam War and the experience of those who served? How can these items help us better understand the memorial? What types of items do you have that help you remember loved ones?What should the National Park Service do with all of these items?
Key Vocabulary:
Tributes: an act, statement, or gift that is intended to show gratitude, respect, or admiration
Artifacts: usually an object showing human workmanship
Memorial: something, especially a structure, established to remind people of a person or event
Collections: something that is collected; a group of objects
Offering: a thing offered, especially as a gift or contribution
Protests: a statement or action expressing disapproval of or objection to something
ProcedureAsk students to examine one of the tributes that have been left at the memorial. You can find images of hundreds of items on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund site https://www.vvmf.org/items/). Have them think about the following:
- Why type of tribute is it?
- Why was it left at the memorial?
- What can it tell us about the Vietnam War or the experience of those who served?
- What can it tell us about the person who placed it at the wall?
BackgroundThe Vietnam Veterans Memorial Collection is believed to be the first of its kind – a collection created from public offerings left at a public memorial, most of which are left anonymously. In this case, the collection exists to honor the men and women who served in the Vietnam War. When the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was designed, constructed and dedicated, no one anticipated that visitors, touched by the war, would bring tributes to leave at the VVM. This phenomenon began soon after the dedication and took everyone by surprise. Every evening, park rangers and volunteers collect the offerings. The National Capital Region’s Museum Resource Center (MRCE) in Landover, Maryland, led by the Regional Curator, assumed care for them in 1984.The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Collection is primarily a history collection. Currently estimated to contain approximately 200,000 objects, it is divided into six major categories. The ones that students might most relate to are:
Personal Artifacts which have a direct connection to the Vietnam experience such photographs, poems, letters and toys.
Vietnam Military Service Items which include original uniforms, accoutrements, awards and gear.
Protest, Activism, and Advocacy Materials include signs, letters and other types of items that relate to protests, activism, and and/or advocacy of the Vietnam War.
Public Tribute Items includes objects left at the VVM by the general public to honor the men and women who served in the Vietnam War.
Materials
Tributes left at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall
Download Tributes left at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall
Last updated: August 3, 2023