The Things they Carried:
Tim O’Brien
A WebQuest for 11th Grade English
Designed by Cara Stephens
Introduction | Task | Process | Evaluation | Conclusion | Credits
Introduction
Tim O’Brien’s novel is about his own experiences as a combat soldier in Vietnam. As
with the current war in Iraq, during the Vietnam War people had access to a limited
amount of information about soldiers’ daily lives. The media gives us statistics and
political speeches, but rarely do we see or hear the point of view of the men and women
who are fighting and experiencing the war (on both sides). O’Brien’s account of Vietnam
gives honest, compelling, strange, grisly, and sometimes humorous details about war, and
his novel deals with the issues of bravery, fear of death, cowardice, guilt, and love. In
this book, we see how different events impact various characters as we expand our own
viewpoints on the topic of war.
This webquest will further expand your thoughts and knowledge about the Vietnam War.
In this project, you will find out about the war’s history, the people involved, social
commentary, and you will also be developing your own opinions about two issues
O’Brien highlights in The Things They Carried: cowardice and bravery.
The Task
You will work on a team with four members (yourself included).
As a team, you will complete activities to learn about the following objectives:
 Search the internet for three pro-war and three anti-war song lyrics.
 Survey ten people about their possible choices about fighting in a war.
 Identify and evaluate O’Brien’s and your own ideas about cowardice and bravery.
 Research one aspect about the Vietnam War which interests you.

Research and read an online journal about the Vietnam War.
The Process + Resources
Each team member will select one of these options and complete the assignment. At the
end of completion, each person will present his or her individual topic with the group, as
part of a class presentation. If your assignment includes making a chart, listening to
music, reading articles and stories, or compiling information, you need to include audio
or visual aids in your presentation instead of simply reading your individual project
paper to the class.
OPTION 1
Survey ten people (you don’t have to know them personally), asking if they would
dodge or consent to a draft if it was reinstated for the current war in Iraq or a
subsequent war. Develop questions for asking them to explain their reasons and
feelings. Develop a chart that compiles your data for these ten people, and write a
three-page paper about their answers to your developed questions and your own
reactions to the question. You also need to include O’Brien’s view on this topic, as
demonstrated in the short story “On the Rainy River” in The Things they Carried.
RESOURCES:
Tips for Surveys
Informal poll on the net
OPTION 2
Search the internet for three pro-war songs and three anti-war songs. Make sure
that you have pro and anti-war songs from these two periods: the Vietnam era
(sixties) and from the Iraq war/September 11th conflict (last four years). Write down
or print the lyrics and identify the language that appeals to our emotions. Which lines
point toward ideas of cowardice and/or bravery? What are the differing ideas
between the two camps? Point out any specific images or details in the songs that
stand out. Compose a three-page paper about your research, organizing your ideas
and information in an understandable format. Include printouts of the six songs’
lyrics with your paper.
RESOURCES:
Sixties war songs: listen
Comprehensive site on war songs
Current songs: Iraq
Article about pro-war songs + links
OPTION 3
Research one historical aspect of the Vietnam War using information from these
links. You may choose to document the timeline of events leading up to the Vietnam
War to more fully understand the causes and disagreements about the war; you may
want to document the experience of African American or women soldiers in Vietnam;
you may want to research Agent Orange and its effects on soldiers; you may wish to
explore the Vietnamese experience during the war. This option is completely open to
which topic you are most interested in. You will write a four-page paper devoted to
your area of study, and you must include one graphic representation: a chart, a
timeline, pictures with captions, etc.
RESOURCES:
VietnamWar.net
Vietnam War Index
Salon.com retrospective
OPTION 4
The online journal Viet Nam Generation: A Journal of Recent History and
Contemporary Issues explores issues and narratives from the sixties and Vietnam
war. Click on one of the journal editions and explore the articles, stories, poems, and
pictures. Write a three-page paper that tells us about what to expect in an issue of
Viet Nam Generation and describe two topics that caught your attention the most.
RESOURCES:
Vietnam Generation Journal On-Line
Evaluation
Your grade will be composed as follows: 60% will be your individual project, and 40%
will be your performance in your group presentation.
Group presentations should last no longer than 25 minutes: this means that you will need
to meet with your group and coordinate how you will present your information and how
much time you will give each person.
Your individual grade will be based on your paper.
Rubric for group presentation grade:
(Maximum score: 36)
Exemplary
4 points
ORAL
PRESENTATION
Well-balanced
participation by
all group
members
Accomplished Developing
3 points
All group
members have
significant
participation
2 points
Most group
members
participate
Beginning
1 point
One main
speaker; little
participation
from other group
members
Score
Information
Subject
Knowledge
Evidence
Student presents
information in
logical,
interesting
sequence which
audience can
follow.
Student presents
information in
logical sequence
which audience
can follow.
Audience has
difficulty
following
presentation
because student
jumps around.
Audience cannot
understand
presentation
because there is
no sequence of
information.
Subject
knowledge is
evident
throughout.
(more than
required) All
information is
clear,
appropriate, and
correct.
Subject
knowledge is
evident in much of
the product.
Information is
clear, appropriate,
and correct.
Some subject
knowledge is
evident. Some
information is
confusing,
incorrect or
flawed.
Subject
knowledge is not
evident.
Information is
confusing,
incorrect or
flawed.
Recommendation
given, evidence
well-chosen,
explanation
thorough
Recommendation
given, but not
fully supported by
evidence
No consensus
among group
members, or no
explanation
given for group
recommendation
No
recommendation,
or no evidence
given
Eye Contact
Student
maintains eye
contact with
audience, seldom
returning to
notes.
Elocution
Student uses a
clear voice and
correct, precise
pronunciation of
terms so that all
audience
members can
hear
presentation.
VISUALS/AUDIO Accurate, indepth
information
enhances
presentation
Visually
attractive, i.e.
includes colorful
pictures or
diagrams, uses
Student maintains
eye contact most
of the time but
frequently returns
to notes.
Student
occasionally
uses eye
contact, but still
reads most of
report.
Student reads all
of report with no
eye contact.
Student's voice is
clear. Student
pronounces most
words correctly.
Most audience
members can hear
presentation.
Student's voice
is low. Student
incorrectly
pronounces
terms. Audience
members have
difficulty
hearing
presentation.
Student
mumbles,
incorrectly
pronounces
terms, and
speaks too
quietly for
students in the
back of class to
hear.
Information
accurate
Most
information
accurate
Inaccurate
information
given
Adequate visuals,
but not very
interesting
Some pictures
or diagrams, but
poorly planned
Very weak
visual
component
space well
Mechanics
Presentation has
no misspellings
or grammatical
errors.
Presentation has
fewer than two
misspellings
and/or
grammatical
errors.
Presentation has
three or more
misspellings
and/or
grammatical
errors.
Presentation has
four or more
spelling errors
and/or
grammatical
errors.
TOTAL
Rubric for individual grade:
Essay evaluation form
Introduction/Conclusion
Highest possible score: 20___________
*Includes a thesis statement that is clear and well-adapted to the assignment
*Introduces a clear topic that is relevant to the assignment
*Concludes paper in a clear and concise manner
*Engages interest
Supporting Material
Highest Possible score: 30__________
*Works toward supporting the thesis
*Uses specific, sufficient, and relevant examples
*Showing, not telling
Organization
Highest possible score: 20__________
*Presents information in a logical order
*Makes purpose of each point clearly related to thesis
*Uses clear transitions
Mechanics
Highest possible score: 20__________
*Agreement of verb tenses
*Sentence Variation
*Clarity in sentence structure
*Spelling, punctuation, capitalization
*Avoidance of comma splices, run-on sentences, sentence fragments
Manuscript
Highest possible score: 10____________
*Carefully proofread
*Adherence to format requirements (double space, Times New Roman 12-point font,
page numbers, title)
*Entire manuscript complete (prewriting, rough draft, final draft)
Conclusion
You will be reading and analyzing text throughout your life, whether it is for a human
Psychology class, reading newspapers, or searching out information on the internet. The
project you’ve just completed, along with O’Brien’s book, provides many opportunities
for involved thinking: we have explored issues of death, cowardice, bravery, and social
commentary in songs. In the process of exploring these objectives, you have learned a
little more background about the Vietnam War to add to your current arsenal of
O’Brien’s narratives. Even though you didn’t grow up during the Vietnam era, you can
see how these issues are relevant to us today.