Making Meaning of May 4: Teaching about the Kent State Shootings (Web Resource)
Title: Making Meaning of May 4: Teaching about the Kent State Shootings
Author: Laura L. Davis
Author: Todd Hawley
Author: Katherine Bryk
Abstract: The Making Meaning of May 4 web site provides resources for educators to use to: • promote understanding of the Kent State shootings on May 4, 1970, • enhance humanities education across the disciplines, and • demonstrate the meaning of May 4 for today. Explore the site to find: • sample teaching plans developed by sixty-nine K–12 educators from throughout the United States • May 4 chronology, maps, teaching handouts • what happened on May 4—recommended readings and videos • pointers to primary & context sources—the sixties, May 4 & Vietnam War Literature, oral histories, guardsmen’s accounts, student activism now • an examination of the significance of the Kent State shootings on the arc of American history • connections among Kent State—South Carolina State, Orangeburg—Jackson State • quick links to 50,000+ digital May 4 resources • how to visit the May 4 site, museum, and archives with students, and more.
Year: 2022
Primary URL: https://www.kent.edu/ehhs/making-meaning-may-4
Primary URL Description: Making Meaning of May 4: Teaching about the Kent State Shootings is a Web site featuring sample teaching plans, pointers to a wealth of May 4 resources, and the in-depth account in the successful nomination for the shootings site's designation as a National Historic Landmark in 2016. Web site materials are for use by educators from K–12 through college to teach students about the Kent State Shootings on May 4, 1970, and their meaning for today. On that day, members of the Ohio National Guard dispersed onlookers and student protestors against both the invasion of Cambodia during the Vietnam War and the presence of the National Guard on campus. When they appeared to be leaving the area and without warning, guardsmen turned, aimed, and fired, killing four Kent State students and wounding nine other Kent State students. The May 4 story relates to significant issues for students and citizens today, including the First Amendment and the importance of civil discourse even when we disagree.

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