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CLAYTON THOMAS: Gulf War Oral History Lesson
IMES Lesson Plans 11/5/13
Clayton Thomas
Grade: 10-12
Lesson: 1
Topic: The Gulf War: official oral
histories
Objectives (Student Will Be Able To – SWBAT):
- Read, comprehend and summarize historical narratives
- Place narratives/oral histories in their proper historical and political context
- Make connections between policies and their real world consequences
- Distinguish between different perspectives and make comparisons between them
Resources Needed:
- Computer and projector to show video
- Internet access/computer lab for students to do research
- Copies of oral histories (linked)
Introduction (15-20 min):
- Ask students what they think when they here the phrase ‘Gulf War,’ and what they know/have
heard about the 1991 conflict. Write keywords on board.
- Pass out the ‘Gulf War Brief’ (below), with emphasis on the Gulf War as the first live televised
conflict in American history.
- Show the following videos, from ABC’s live coverage the night of January 16, 1991
-1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOMRPia8NeM and 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZB-JutwqsRY
Teaching Point/Activity (25-30 min):
- Tell students they are going to read accounts of the conflict by some of the key participants.
- Divide students into nine groups, and give each group the testimony of one of the following
participants: Colin Powell, Dick Cheney, James Baker, Margaret Thatcher, Robert Gates, Brent
Scowcroft, Mikhail Gorbachev, Wafiq al-Sammaarai, and Tariq Aziz. The transcripts of their
conversations can be accessed here: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/gulf/oral/
- Each group will give a short presentation on the following day on:
- who their ‘character’ was in 1991, and their role in the war
- what they’ve done since 1991, and what they are doing now
- a short summary of their description of the events of 1990-1991 and their role in them.
- at least 3 interesting facts about their narrative
- Each group will be responsible for a 5-7 minute presentation on the following day.
- Some groups may finish reviewing their materials and presenting their presentations in class;
otherwise, they will be expected to finish overnight and bring to class complete the following day (in
this case it would be helpful for groups to divide up the interview among members).
Conclusion (5 min):
- Review the presentations for the following day
Introduce the final assignment (to be completed the next night):
-Students will ‘interview’ a friend, neighbor, family member, etc. who lived through and
remembers the 1991 Gulf War, and compare their experiences and their narrative to those of the
political leaders of the time
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CLAYTON THOMAS: Gulf War Oral History Lesson
Grade: 10-12
Lesson: 2
Topic: The Gulf War: official oral
histories
Objectives (Student Will Be Able To – SWBAT):
- Comprehend and summarize historical narratives
- Place personal narratives in their proper historical and political contexts
- Make connections between policies and their real world consequences
Resources Needed:
- projector (if needed for student presentations)
Teaching Point/Activity (45-55 min):
- Students will give the presentations on their Gulf War ‘characters’
- Each group should be allotted 5-7 minutes (can be adjusted or spread out over two classes
depending on time/class duration)
Conclusion (5 min):
-Tonight’s homework: interview someone who experienced and remembers the Gulf War (anyone
born before, say, the late 1970s). In class, ask students to brainstorm some questions that they could
ask, and how those questions differ from the questions posed to the political leaders they just
learned about. Students need not bring in a written summary of the ‘interview,’ but should take notes
for their own benefit in preparing to write the final comparative assignment.
CLAYTON THOMAS: Gulf War Oral History Lesson
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Final Assignment: Conducting Oral Histories
For students’ final assignment, they will conduct a short interview with someone who
experienced and remembers the Gulf War. This assignment can be turned in at any point,
but should likely take a few days, possibly up to a week, to give students enough time to
complete the interview and writing assignment.
For students:
You will conduct a short interview with someone who remembers the Gulf War and use
their answers to write a short paper comparing different perspectives on the conflict.
First you must identify someone to interview. Feel free to choose from among family,
friends, neighbors, or anyone who is of an age to remember the war. Before you begin, write
out some possible questions that will help you understand how they experienced the Gulf
War. You should also prepare follow up questions, to expand on answers you anticipate
from your source.
As you interview your source, take notes on their experiences. You don’t need to write
down every single thing they say; just note the most interesting/surprising things that they
say about the Gulf War and how they remember it.
When you are done, look over your notes and think about the major themes of what they’ve
said. How does their account compare to the accounts of others, or to the basic historical
narrative? How do they overlap? What do they leave out? Do they differ on any points and, if
so, how? Most importantly, think about the reasons why these various similarities or
differences exist. In a well-structured, well-written paper, you should summarize the
respective accounts of your interviewee, the historical figure you focused on in class, and
the ways in which these accounts align or clash and why.
Gulf War Brief
In the 1980s, the United States and Iraq were close allies, and the U.S. strongly supported
Iraq during its 1980-1988 war with Iran. After the war, as Iraq tried to recover
economically, president Saddam Hussein began to accuse the small neighboring nation of
Kuwait of stealing oil from Iraqi territory. To the surprise of many international observers,
Iraq invaded Kuwait on August 2, 1990, quickly overrunning the country and dethroning its
ruling family. Hussein also made increasingly harsh statements against Saudi Arabia,
threatening to invade and seize that country’s oil fields, the largest in the world. Shortly
after the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait, President George H. W. Bush sent a large American
force to Saudi Arabia to protect it from any Iraqi aggression.
For the next 6 months, members of the international community attempted to persuade the
Iraqis to withdraw from Kuwait by diplomatic means. In November, the United Nations
passed a resolution giving Iraq a deadline of January 15, 1991 to leave Kuwait. A coalition of
forces from 34 countries was gradually assembled in Saudi Arabia, with the U.S. sending the
largest contingent by far. When the deadline passed on January 16, coalition forces began a
bombing campaign against Iraqi military targets in the capital Baghdad and elsewhere. After
over 2 months of bombing, coalition forces moved into Kuwait on March 24 and pushed
Iraqi forces out of the country within days. Less than 200 Coalition soldiers were killed in
action, compared with over 20,000 Iraqis. Rebellions against Hussein’s government broke
out amongst ethnic and religious minorities, but they were brutally suppressed.
CLAYTON THOMAS: Gulf War Oral History Lesson
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The Gulf War marks the first international conflict of the post-Cold War era, when America
assumed a role of nearly unchallenged global leadership. It also represents the first conflict
that Americans watched unfold live in their living rooms; the war was covered constantly
on new 24-hour news networks like CNN. Critics have questioned the decision to not pursue
Iraqi troops across the border, and have argued the U.S. did not do enough to support the
uprisings that broke out after the war. 12 years after the successful conclusion of the Gulf
War, the U.S. began another conflict with Iraq, invading the country and deposing Hussein.
U.S. troops finally left Iraq in 2011.