Flags of Vietnam

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Flags of Vietnam

Ethnic Vietnamese fly the flag of former South Vietnam in Orange Country, California.

Author: Tori Phù
Grades: 7-8

Suggested Amount of Time: 60-80 Minutes
Area of Study: Framing the Vietnamese American Experiences Model Curriculum

Compelling Question

  • Why is it important to learn about Vietnam, Vietnamese refugees, and Vietnamese American experiences?

Lesson Questions
  • Why are there two Vietnamese flags?
  • What is the meaning behind the two Vietnamese flags? 
Lesson Objective

Students will be able to explain the major differences between the two Vietnam flags by completing a thinking map and reflect on their own identity by creating their own flag.

Lesson Background

The Vietnamese flag has undergone several changes over time. Vietnam has two flags: a red flag with a yellow star (cờ đỏ) and a yellow flag (cờ vàng) with three red stripes. The yellow flag with the three red stripes was used from 1948-1975, during which Vietnam was divided into North Vietnam and South Vietnam. The red flag with the yellow star is the current national flag of Vietnam, since 1945. The red flag was later adopted as the flag of the unified Vietnam in 1976. For many Vietnamese community members, the flags evoke strong emotions and pride in their national identity. The symbols in both flags (stars and stripes) represent a rich history.

Image Citation: Clark, H. (2017, July 23). South Vietnam flag still flies high. Asia Times. https://asiatimes.com/2017/07/south-vietnam-flag-still-flies-high/

Ethnic Studies Theme: This lesson connects to the ethnic studies theme of community and solidarity from the Asian American Studies Curriculum Framework (Asian American Research Initiative, 2022). Students analyze community resistance and alliances between communities, as well as the complexities within these experiences.

For additional guidance around ethnic studies implementation, refer to the Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum (2021) https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/cf/esmc.asp.

Historical Thinking Skills: This lesson will facilitate student proficiency in historical significance, one of Seixas’ historical thinking skills (Seixas & Morton, 2013). Students make personal decisions about what is historically significant, and then consider the criteria they use to make those decisions. Students consider how historical significance is constructed. That is, events, people, and developments meet the criteria for historical significance only when they are shown to occupy a meaningful place in a narrative.

  • Supplies:
    • Access to laptop device
  • Readings:
    • “The Flag of Vietnam”
  • Videos:
    • “Traditions Explained: History of the Vietnamese Heritage and Freedom Flag” (timestamp 1:09–12:39)
  1. Cultural Energizer (five minutes)
    1. Ask students to think of one to two symbols that best represent their identity and explain why. (Example: waves because they love the ocean, the plane because they love to travel, or a ladybug because they love being in nature.)
    2. Have students share their symbol and explanation with a partner. 
    3. Solicit student responses to the class.
  2. Anticipatory Set (10–15 minutes)
    1. Teachers will display photos of both flags, without giving historical context to students. Teachers can introduce that these are the two flags of Vietnam, and withhold further details at this time. 
      1. Flag 1: Red flag with yellow star. https://ucdavis.box.com/s/6uwe6s1fkl4e7u7psz9zq0ibsrkfioxu 
        1. Sourced from: https://www.britannica.com/place/Vietnam 
      2. Flag 2: Yellow flag with three red stripes. https://ucdavis.box.com/s/kxq9fdepqnojln17hghsl0w8p4rl5smt 
        1. Sourced from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_South_Vietnam#:~:text=Flag%20of%20the%20Viet%20Cong&text=A%20large%20yellow%20star%20centered,colored%20red%20and%20azure%20field.&text=The%20flag%20was%20designed%20by,%2C%20central%2C%20and%20southern%20Vietnam. 
    2. Teacher will guide students through a See-Think-Wonder activity. This can be written down, or discussed orally as a class. 
      1. See - Ask students to jot down what details they notice from each flag. They should identify color, icon differences, three stripes, etc. Students can note initial impressions here, too.
      2. Think - Have students consider why there are two flags and what the symbols might represent.
      3. Wonder - Have students pose one or two questions or wonderings. 
  3. Interaction with sources (20 minutes) 
    1. Teachers can use the lesson background to reintroduce the two flags. Additionally, teachers should introduce the lesson questions.
    2. Students should have a notetaker. Teachers can prepare this for students ahead of time, or students can create their own. Suggested thinking map for notes: a double bubble map or a venn diagram.
      1. One side of the thinking map should be for the red flag with the yellow star, and the other side should be for the yellow flag with the three red stripes. 
    3. Students will be asked to add details of each flag to their notes. This can include information about history, dates, symbolism, meaning, usage, etc. 
    4. Source 1: “Traditions Explained: History of the Vietnamese Heritage and Freedom Flag” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXGPW1jsGMs (timestamp 1:09–12:39) Teacher can choose to end the video at any point. 
      1. This video mostly provides information about the yellow flag. By the end of this video, students should have a lot of notes for that side.
      2. Have students turn to a partner and share their takeaways. Encourage students to add to their notes any new information learned from their partner.
    5. Source 2: “The flag of Vietnam” https://vietnamoriginal-travel.com/news/the-flag-of-vietnam/ 
      1. This source provides brief information about both flags. This can help students solidify their understanding of each flag. This source can be done independently or again with a peer.
  4. Shared Learning (10–15 minutes)
    1. Once students are done with the sources and notes, have a whole class discussion about the similarities and differences between the two flags.
    2. Students will synthesize their understanding of each flag on their thinking maps by creating a short two to four sentence summary for each flag. Their summaries should answer both lesson questions.
      1. Possible sentence frames:
        1. “The red flag with the yellow star/yellow flag with the three red stripes represents…” 
        2. “The … flag is mostly used by … because…” 
        3. “Vietnam has two flags because…” 
      2. Optional: Teachers can call on a couple of students to share the summaries for each flag to check for understanding.
      3. Class discussion
        1. Have students reflect on the following prompt: How has learning about the flags deepened your understanding of Vietnam’s history and culture? 
  5. Cultural Production (15–20 minutes)
    1. Students will be tasked with creating their own flag that best represents their identity or a cause they strongly believe in. This can be digitally created or physically. Encourage students to think of how their identity or cause can be symbolized through colors, design, style, formatting, icons, etc. The flag should convey a clear message about their identity or cause. 
      1. Alternatively, students can produce a written product (i.e: poem, song, etc.). The final product can be open to a written, visual, or audio narrative. 
  6. Circular Exchange (10 minutes)
    1. Students will walk around the classroom with their final flag creations and share with three to four peers their design and meaning behind the flag creation.

Students will create their own flag that represents their identity or a cause they believe in. This flag can be a physical or digital creation. Alternatively, students can produce a written product in the form of a poem or song.

  • Engagement: Consider the following method to support with lesson engagement:
    • Invite personal response, evaluation and self-reflection to content and activities
  • Representation: Consider the following method to support with multiple means of representation:
    • Define domain-specific vocabulary (e.g., map key in social studies) using both domain-specific and common terms. 
    • Embed visual, non-linguistic supports for vocabulary clarification (pictures, videos, etc). 
  • Action and Expression: Consider the following method to support in presenting their learning in multiple ways:
    • Provide models or examples of the process and product of goal-setting.

For additional ideas to support your students, check out the UDL Guidelines at CAST 2018 http://udlguidelines.cast.org.

  • Emerging: Consider the following method to support with emerging students:
    • Reading: Pair students to read one text together.
      • Students turn to their designated partners to discuss prompts posed by the teacher. Partnerships are organized in teams of two.
  • Expanding: Consider the following method to support with expanding students:
    • Reading: Provide a content vocabulary word bank with non linguistic representations
      • Students use a Frayer graphic organizer to support understanding of a key word or concept. Place the target word in the center amid four surrounding quadrants to support different facets of word meaning.
  • Bridging: Consider the following method to support with bridging students:
    • Reading: Use focused questions to guide reading
      • Students use inquiry posing their own questions and wonderings to guide shared research experiences.

For additional guidance around scaffolding for multilingual learners, please consult the following resources:

  1. New Flag Design - Students can be tasked with creating a new flag that can represent Vietnam. They would apply their knowledge of the current flags and their symbolism. The new flag should reflect the values and identity of Vietnam. 
  2. Timeline Activity - Students can create a (digital or physical) timeline to track the important dates of the use and introduction of the flags of Vietnam. The timeline should identify the dates, flag used, historical context, and any important figures. 

American Initiative. 2022. Asian American Studies K-12 Framework.  https://asianamericanresearchinitiative.org/asian-american-studies-curriculum-framework/   

Britt, K. 2020, May 11. English learner toolkit of strategies. California County Superintendents. https://cacountysupts.org/english-learner-toolkit-of-strategies/

Buttinger, J., & Turley, W. S. 2019. Vietnam | History, Population, Map, & Facts. In Encyclopaedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/Vietnam 

California Department of Education. 2021. Ethnic studies model curriculum. https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/cf/esmc.asp 

California Department of Education & English Learner Support Division. 2012. California English Language Development standards (Electronic Edition) kindergarten through grade 12 (F. Ong & J. McLean, Eds.). California Department of Education. https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/el/er/documents/eldstndspublication14.pdf

California Educators Together. (n.d.). ELA / ELD framework. https://www.caeducatorstogether.org/resources/6537/ela-eld-framework

CAST. 2018. The UDL guidelines. http://udlguidelines.cast.org

Flag of South Vietnam. 2024, April 15. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_South_Vietnam#:~:text=Flag%20of%20the%20Viet%20Cong&text=A%20large%20yellow%20star%20centered 

Original, V. (n.d.). The flag of Vietnam Best Tour Operators and Travel Agencies in Vietnam. Vietnamoriginal-Travel.com. https://vietnamoriginal-travel.com/news/the-flag-of-vietnam/

‌San Diego County Office of Education. (n.d.). Providing appropriate scaffolding. https://www.sdcoe.net/educators/multilingual-education-and-global-achievement/oracy-toolkit/providing-appropriate-scaffolding#scaffolding

Sexias, P. & Morton, T. 2013. The big six: Historical thinking concepts. Nelson Education.

Tulare County Office of Education. (n.d.). Strategies for ELD. https://commoncore.tcoe.org/Content/Public/doc/Alpha-CollectionofELDStrategies.pdf 

Vietnam Flag: Colors, Meanings, and The Stories Behind. (n.d.). Vinpearl.com. https://vinpearl.com/en/vietnam-flag-the-national-pride-of-the-vietnamese-people

Model Curriculum

Vietnamese American Experiences

Standard(s)

RI.7.2 W.7.7

Grade(s)

Grade 7 Grade 8