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Year 11
Edexcel

Impact of the Vietnam War

I can assess the impact of the Vietnam War.

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New
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Year 11
Edexcel

Impact of the Vietnam War

I can assess the impact of the Vietnam War.

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Share activities with pupils
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These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Vietnam veterans suffered problems upon their return to the US.
  2. The Vietnam War caused the US public to lose faith in their government.
  3. The Vietnamese people and landscape suffered greatly due to the war.
  4. Although all of Indochina became communist, no other Southeast Asian country did.
  5. Relations between the US and the USSR and China improved, which made nuclear war less likely.

Keywords

  • Veteran - a veteran is someone who has long experience in a particular field

  • Impact - impact refers to the effect or influence of something

Common misconception

A war that ended 50 years ago does not affect anybody any more.

Much of the Vietnamese landscape and people are still impacted or recovering from the effects of the war even today.


To help you plan your year 11 history lesson on: Impact of the Vietnam War, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Show students images of children born with the effects of Agent Orange, or the efforts of teams to defuse landmines and collect other explosives, in order to demonstrate how the war still affects Vietnamese people today.
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Equipment

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Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
supervision-level

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

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Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match the US strategy in Vietnam with its intended purpose.
Correct Answer:The Strategic Hamlets Program,relocate rural populations away from Vietcong areas
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relocate rural populations away from Vietcong areas

Correct Answer:Operation Rolling Thunder,the bombing campaign against North Vietnam
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the bombing campaign against North Vietnam

Correct Answer:Operation Ranch Hand,use of chemical weapons such as napalm to clear jungle terrain
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use of chemical weapons such as napalm to clear jungle terrain

Q2.
This programme forced people to move away from the graves of their ancestors.
Correct Answer: The Strategic Hamlets Program, Strategic Hamlets Program, strategic hamlets program
Q3.
Who made a public announcement declaring that “peace is at hand” in October 1972?
Correct answer: Henry Kissinger
President Johnson
President Nixon
Q4.
Which country was responsible for providing more than three quarters of North Vietnam's military and technical equipment?
Correct answer: USSR
China
Cuba
North Korea
Q5.
Which country provided North Vietnam with 320 000 troops between 1965 and 1971?
Correct answer: China
USSR
Cuba
North Korea
Q6.
Match the words with their definitions. Write the correct letter in each box.
Correct Answer:occupier,a member of a group that takes possession of a country by force
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a member of a group that takes possession of a country by force

Correct Answer:ceasefire ,a temporary stoppage of a war
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a temporary stoppage of a war

Correct Answer:treaty ,a formal agreement between countries
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a formal agreement between countries

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
An view is an opinion that follows the generally accepted rules or beliefs.
Correct Answer: orthodox, Orthodox
Q2.
A view is an opinion that challenges and tries to change existing beliefs about an event.
Correct Answer: revisionist, Revisionist
Q3.
Roughly how many war veterans suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)?
Correct answer: 500,000
305,000
58,000
Q4.
Match the events that eroded the trust of the US public in their government with their correct date
Correct Answer:Gulf of Tonkin incident,1964
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1964

Correct Answer:Kent State shootings,May 1970
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May 1970

Correct Answer:Tet Offensive,January 1968
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January 1968

Correct Answer:My Lai Massacre,March 1968
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March 1968

Q5.
Which of the following statements accurately describes the effects of the Vietnam war? Select all statements that are correct.
Correct answer: An estimated three million Vietnamese lost their lives during the war
Correct answer: Roughly 800,000 South Vietnamese children were orphaned by the end of the war
Correct answer: An estimated three million Vietnamese were affected by the chemical weapons
Correct answer: Half of the rice paddies in the country were destroyed, causing starvation
Q6.
Which communist countries did the US become friendlier with under Nixon? Select all the answers that are correct.
Cambodia
Correct answer: China
Laos
Correct answer: USSR

Additional material

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