South Carolina ETV

Over the Top: Trench Warfare in the First World War (Grades 9-12)

Master Teacher

Domer F. Ridings

Time Allotment

90 minutes

Overview

This lesson examines the horrors of trench warfare during World War I through the use of video and the Internet.

Subject Matter

World History

United States History

Western Civilization

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to:

  • Give three reasons men joined up to fight in World War I;
  • Place in order the events leading to the outbreak of war;
  • Describe the solders arrival in the trenches;
  • Describe the duties the solders had each day;
  • Write a letter home describing life at the front that will pass the censors;
  • Correctly identify the major components of the trench;
  • Describe the three major health risks involved with trench warfare;
  • Identify the commanding general at the battle of the Somme;
  • Explain, as the war went on, some of the ways men reacted to the horror of the war and the punishment for self inflected wounds;
  • Describe a gas attack and the danger in not wearing a gas mask.

South Carolina Standards

Visit SC Standards Web site

10.2     The learner will demonstrate an understanding of the major developments in the history of the world during the modern era (ca. 1500 to the present). The student should be able to

10.2.15  analyze the causes, course, and global consequences of World Wars I and II;

12.1  The learner will demonstrate an understanding of the major developments in the United States and South Carolina from the end of Reconstruction through World War II (1945).

12.1.9    The student should be able to assess the causes, course, and effects of World War I

Media Components

Video

The Western Tradition, Lesson 47: "The First World War and the Rise of Fascism."

Web Site

Life in the Trenches. This Web site is a simulation game/investigation of trench warfare in World War I from the viewpoint of a British soldier.

Equipment

  • Computers with Internet connections for each student
  • TV
  • VCR

Prep for Teachers

  • Bookmark the Web site on the computers in the lab and have the computers booted up when students arrive.
  • Have the television, VCR, and video set up and ready for the Introductory Activity.
  • Make a copy of the worksheet available on the Web site for each student.
  • When using media, provide students with a Focus for Media Interaction, a specific task to complete and/or information to identify during or after viewing of video segments, Web sites or other multimedia elements.

Introductory Activity

Step 1: Insert the video The Western Tradition, Lesson 47, into the VCR. FAST FORWARD the video to where the narrator says, "They cheered the war in all the great cities, London, Paris, Berlin." On the screen you see men in civilian clothes marching. Provide a Focus for Media Interaction by asking the students as they view the video "What attitude do the people and the nations have towards going to war?"

Possible responses are:

1. happy, enthusiastic,

2. very patriotic,

3. thought the war would be over quickly.

Step 2: STOP the video where the narrator says, "the chief contestants on each side were . . . ." and where you see a map of Europe. Provide a Focus for Media Interaction by asking students "How do you think these attitudes changed over the course of the war?"

Possible responses are:

1. horror and bloodshed of trench warfare,

2. mental problems resulting shell shock and the length of the war,

3. loss of confidence in the leadership of the army.

Learning Activities

Direct students to the Life in the Trenches Web site. Have students work through the site using the following steps:

Step 1: Joining Up. Have students give 3 reasons why men joined up. Have students investigate each link on the site under Joining Up.

Step 2: Up the Line. Have students describe a soldier's arrival at the front by investigating the links on the site under Up the Line.

Step 3: Morning Duties. Have students describe the morning duties by investigating the links on the site under Morning Duties.

Step 4: Writing Home. Have students write a letter home describing life in the trenches that will satisfy the censors. Students should investigate the links under Writing Home, then pair up with another student and alternate positions as "censor" and "writer."

Step 5: Health Risks. Have students investigate the health risks involved in trench warfare by investigating the sites under Summer: Rats, Autumn: Lice, and Winter: Trenchfoot.

Step 6: The Battle of the Somme. Have students investigate the links under The Battle of the Somme in order to answer the question "How does the Battle of the Somme reflect out-of-date tactics and modern weapons of war?"

Step 7: Results of The Battle of the Somme and Field Punishment No. 1. Have the students describe the psychological affect of the Battle of the Somme on soldiers. How did some soldiers attempt to cope with this? What was the response of Army authorities towards men who deliberately wounded themselves?

Step 8: Gas Attack. Have students use the links under Gas Attack to describe the use of poison gas by the Germans.

Culminating Activity

Have the students produce a diary describing their experiences as soldiers in the trenches in World War I.

Assessment

At the end of the Web site simulation the game will assess the student's chance of survival in the trenches based on choices made as each played the game. Students with survival chances above 80 percent should be considered successful. Students below 80 percent may want to repeat the game.

Cross-Curricular Extensions

English: Have students read All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque and compare the experiences of a German soldier with those of a British soldier on the Web site.

Have students read the "War Poets" (Wilfred Owen, Edmund Blunden, Siegfried Sasson and Alan Seeger) and document the changes reflected in their poetry over the course of the war.

Geography: Have students make a map of the Western front showing the trench system and the major battle sites.

Science: Have students research new technology used in World War I in weapons.

Have students research the causes, treatment and psychological affects of the disease trenchfoot.

Community Connections

Have veterans from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and Desert Storm talk to the class about their personal experiences during war as compared with trench warfare in World War I.

NTTI

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