This eight-day unit is designed for use in social studies and science classes at the secondary and community college levels as a general introduction to the technical, organizational, legal, and ethical issues related to war. While this unit is not meant to serve as a complete history of war and warfare, it supplements the discussion of war by familiarizing students with important analytical perspectives. Students work in groups to discuss the characteristics of war, tactics, weapons, and society in the Stone Age, ancient Greece, the early Middle Ages, the Hundred Years War, the Mongol empire, World War I, and World War II. They then examine the changes in the technology of warfare, focusing particularly on technical developments such as the speed, accuracy, and yield of weapons. Next students study and discuss some of the rules of war, codes of conduct, and other attempts to limit or control the behavior of nations and individuals at war. Finally, many of the legal, organizational, and ethical issues relating to war are raised by the assault on the village of Mi Lai during the Vietnam war. The lessons make ample use of maps, overhead transparencies, and a variety of handouts. Five appendices provide: (1) a list of related activities; (2) connections to textbooks; (3) connections to California's Framework and Model Curricular Standards; (4) a bibliography; and (5) a statement of educational philosophy. (DB)