Lesson Plan Template rev 1/22/18

Date: 2/18/18 Teacher’s Name: Matthew Peters

Subject: Social Studies Grade level: 12th
Unit: Civil Liberties; Public Policy Length of lesson: 1 class period (40-
45 minutes)

Central Focus: Students will analyze the role of the media and learn the process in which the
freedom of the press has evolved since the founding of the United States. In this lesson, the
central focus is on the Pentagon Papers, with students looking at the role of the media in the
Vietnam War and understanding the complex debate over the role of the media in releasing
classified information.
Lesson Title: How the Media Evolved with the Pentagon Papers
For unit, __ out of __:

Essential Question(s): depends on type of lesson/unit; stimulates thinking and inquiry

 What is the role of the media?
 How much freedom does the press actually have?
 How has the media evolved since the founding of our nation?

Learning Standards: NYS content standards, professional standards (CEC, NCSS etc.)
12.G5d Active and engaged citizens must be effective media consumers in order to be able to find,
monitor, and evaluate information on political issues. The media have different venues, which have
particular strengths and serve distinct and shared purposes. Knowing how to critically evaluate a media
source is fundamental to being an informed citizen.
12.G2f Freedom of the press is an essential element of a democratic system, and allows for a citizen to
receive and interpret information representing different points of view. Freedom of the press has limits,
which are intended to protect the rights of individuals and other entities. The degree to which the press
is free and impartial in practice is a source of ongoing debate.

1.c Use words, phrases, and clauses to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and
clarify relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between
claim(s) and counterclaims.

Pre-Assessment: Determines prerequisite skills and knowledge students have about the lesson

Students should already have a basic knowledge on the Vietnam War, including the time period
and Presidents that were involved in the war. Since this is a 12 th grade social studies classroom,
students should be relatively well-versed in writing responses to primary and secondary
sources. Furthermore, students should be aware of the previous events surrounding the media,
such as the 1st Amendment, which they will learn about in earlier lessons for this learning
segment.
 Lesson Plan Template rev 1/22/18

Learning Objectives: describes appropriate Assessments: Ways of evaluating each

learning outcomes to be attained during
class that are clear and measurable (Use
action verbs)
 Students will be able to define and
explain the Pentagon Papers
 Students will be able to identify the
presidents involved in the Vietnam
War
 Students will be able to identify key
figures from the New York Times and
Washington Post in relation to the
Pentagon Papers
 Students will analyze/argue the role
of the media in the Vietnam War and
its impact on society.
learning objective
 Students will fill out a graphic
organizer to define the term,
Pentagon Papers
 Students will fill out the graphic
organizer by identifying the “Who,
What, Where, When, and Why”
 Students will read a recent article
from the New York Times to analyze
the impact of the media during the
Vietnam War

Differentiation: Adapt or modify instruction, materials, and/or environment to meet specific

characteristics and special needs of students (e.g. ELL, gifted learners, students with disabilities)

Academic Language: Provide components of language that students need to learn and use in
specific content areas. Teachers need to consider: vocabulary, language functions (eg. analyze,
interpret, argue, compare, identify), syntax (e.g. sentences, graphs, and tables), and discourse
(oral and written language).

 Pentagon Papers
 Journalism
 Media
 Vietnam War
 Analyze
 Define
 Argue
 Identify
 Richard Nixon
 New York Times

Procedure:

Anticipatory Set (hook, motivation, etc. to engage students)

a. Students will be presented with a “Do Now” activity upon entering class; they
must answer the following questions:
a. What is the 1st Amendment?
b. What do you know about the Vietnam War?
 Lesson Plan Template rev 1/22/18

Students will then complete these questions and come back together as a
group and will discuss the questions aloud. The teacher will guide the
students in the direction of thinking about the role that the media played
during the Vietnam War, while referencing the 1st Amendment that was
discussed in previous lessons for this learning segment.

Initial Phase
The teacher will begin direct instruction with the following, brief lecture:
1. Intro- The Vietnam War in the U.S.
2. The Release of the Pentagon Papers
3. Impact on the Public Opinion of the War
Once the lecture is complete, the instructor will show a brief clip from the 7 minute video
called, “The Pentagon Papers” from the Ken Burns documentary The Vietnam War. This clip will
focus on the debate that ensued between people in the U.S. over whether or not to release the
Pentagon Papers in the New York Times.

While the direct instruction is going on, the teacher will supply students with a graphic
organizer/semantic question map for students to use to define the term “Pentagon Papers.”
While listening to the lecture and the video, students will answer the Who, What, When,
Where, and Why surrounding the Pentagon Papers.
Middle Phase
a. Students will be split into groups and must answer the question, “How did the
role of the media change with the debate over the Pentagon Papers?” Students will
be expected to refer back to the 1st Amendment that was discussed in the previous
lesson. Students will also be given charts and public opinion polls about the Vietnam
War before and after the release of the Pentagon Papers to answer this question.

Concluding Phase
a. The teacher will close the lesson by discussing the debate over the role of the
media in today’s society, especially when talking about “leaking” information.
The teacher should make it clear that there is a similar parallel between the
Nixon Administration and the Trump Administration in terms of disliking for the
media and “leakers.”

Follow up:
For homework, students will read the New York Times article on the recent Spielberg movie,
The Post, and they will write a paragraph response to the following question: “What was the
lasting impact of the Pentagon Papers on the role of the media and freedom of the press in the
U.S.?”

Materials: (items, technology, etc.)

Whiteboard
 Lesson Plan Template rev 1/22/18

Markers
SmartBoard
Documentary video
Public Opinion polls/charts
Copies of New York Times article
Copies of graphic organizer/semantic question map

References and Resources: Cite (APA style) sources, texts, lesson plans used
https://whut.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/97545af7-1e6d-4104-89ed-8756a813f067/the-
pentagon-papers-clip-the-vietnam-war/#.WotskqinHIV

https://whut.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/3e72b35a-e697-4c94-b25a-06c0cbf98cac/the-
pentagon-papers-national-security-versus-the-peoples-right-to-know/#.WotvEqinHIX

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/24/business/media/spielberg-post-media-trump.html

https://edsitement.neh.gov/vietnam-war-lesson-guide/theme-6-propaganda-truth-and-media