Goals and Objectives
Students will understand major turning points of the war and life on the battlefront.
Students will understand what is meant by total war and why WWI was a total war.
Given various primary source documents, students will consider what life in the trenches was like for soldiers fighting in WWI and will relate to the civilian population and total war by writing a diary entry taking on the perspective of a civilian living through total war or a soldier in the trenches.
Students will understand what is meant by total war and why WWI was a total war.
Given various primary source documents, students will consider what life in the trenches was like for soldiers fighting in WWI and will relate to the civilian population and total war by writing a diary entry taking on the perspective of a civilian living through total war or a soldier in the trenches.
California State Content standards
HSS 10.5 Students analyze the causes and course of the First World War.
1. Analyze the arguments for entering into war presented by leaders from all sides of the Great War and the role of political and economic rivalries, ethnic and ideological conflicts, domestic discontent and disorder, and propaganda and nationalism in mobilizing the civilian population in support of "total war."
4. Understand the nature of the war and its human costs (military and civilian) on all sides of the conflict, including how colonial peoples contributed to the war effort.
1. Analyze the arguments for entering into war presented by leaders from all sides of the Great War and the role of political and economic rivalries, ethnic and ideological conflicts, domestic discontent and disorder, and propaganda and nationalism in mobilizing the civilian population in support of "total war."
4. Understand the nature of the war and its human costs (military and civilian) on all sides of the conflict, including how colonial peoples contributed to the war effort.
Common Core Literacy Standards
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.2. Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.6. Compare the point of view of two or more authors for how they treat the same or similar topics, including which details they include and emphasize in their respective accounts.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.6. Compare the point of view of two or more authors for how they treat the same or similar topics, including which details they include and emphasize in their respective accounts.
Driving historical questions
How did war in the trenches impact the soldiers?
What is total war and what makes WWI a total war?
How did total war affect civilians?
What is total war and what makes WWI a total war?
How did total war affect civilians?
Lesson introduction
The teacher will introduce the lesson by showing a video clip of WWI propaganda depicting the Germans as evil Huns. After the video, the teacher will ask the students about what they saw. The teacher will ask the students who was being targeted in the clip and how they were being depicted. The teacher will then ask the students what the purpose of having a propaganda film is.
vocabulary
Key vocabulary:
Total War
Civilian
Trenches
Dulce et decorum est
Total War
Civilian
Trenches
Dulce et decorum est
Content Delivery
Day 1: After the introduction, the teacher will introduce the class to the concept of total war. The teacher will ask students to take out a piece of paper and will ask them to take Cornell notes on the vocabulary that will be presented in class. The title of the Cornell notes will be Life As A Civilian/Life As A Soldier During WWI. On the left side of the notes, students will write down total war. On the right side they will write down the definition that will be given by the teacher. The teacher will then ask the students what civilian means. The students will write this definition in their notes as well. The teacher will go over the various ways that total war affected the civilian population during WWI. The teacher will present the class with various propaganda posters asking civilians to pay for bonds, enlist into the army, ration food, etc. The teacher will also ask the students if they think changing laws and modes of production during war is necessary for war time success or if civilians should be left out of the conflict. The teacher will ask the students how they would have felt living through this time and will ask them to write down their reflection in their notes.
The teacher will then go over life in the trenches. The teacher will show pictures of soldiers in the trenches. The teacher will introduce the students to images of trench foot. The teacher will also call upon prior knowledge and will ask the students what type of new technology was being used in the war. The teacher will remind the students that poison gas was being used as a weapon during this war. The teacher will go over the effects of poison gas on the battlefield as well as the other new technologies being used at the time. The teacher will introduce the students to the concept of shell shock as well.
Day 2: The teacher will then pass out handouts with several primary sources that further showcase what life was like for those living a civilian life and for those who ended up in the battlefield. The teacher will instruct the students on the correct way to look at a primary source document. The teacher will tell the students that they must source the document, put the document in context, close read document, and corroborate the document. The teacher will go over these criteria with the whole class, using document A as the example. The teacher will let the students know that they will have to write a journal entry or letter that takes on the perspective of either a civilian going through total war or a soldier fighting in the trenches. The diary entry or letter must be at least four paragraphs long and must include details from each of the documents provided. The documents must be cited within the letter or diary entry to ensure that students used the primary sources provided.
The teacher will then go over life in the trenches. The teacher will show pictures of soldiers in the trenches. The teacher will introduce the students to images of trench foot. The teacher will also call upon prior knowledge and will ask the students what type of new technology was being used in the war. The teacher will remind the students that poison gas was being used as a weapon during this war. The teacher will go over the effects of poison gas on the battlefield as well as the other new technologies being used at the time. The teacher will introduce the students to the concept of shell shock as well.
Day 2: The teacher will then pass out handouts with several primary sources that further showcase what life was like for those living a civilian life and for those who ended up in the battlefield. The teacher will instruct the students on the correct way to look at a primary source document. The teacher will tell the students that they must source the document, put the document in context, close read document, and corroborate the document. The teacher will go over these criteria with the whole class, using document A as the example. The teacher will let the students know that they will have to write a journal entry or letter that takes on the perspective of either a civilian going through total war or a soldier fighting in the trenches. The diary entry or letter must be at least four paragraphs long and must include details from each of the documents provided. The documents must be cited within the letter or diary entry to ensure that students used the primary sources provided.
Student Engagement
Day 1: Students will be taking Cornell notes on the information given in class and will participate in class discussion.
Day 2: Students will have class time to work on the document questions; whatever is not finished will be homework. Students may answer the questions to the documents in pairs. Students will have to read through the primary sources provided and answer specific questions based on the sources. The questions will ask the students how they feel about the primary source provided and will ask the students to try to picture themselves during that time. This will prepare students for the summative assessment that will follow the lesson. Students should keep in mind when they are reading the primary sources that they have to write a diary entry or letter from the perspective of a civilian or a soldier. As they are reading the sources, the questions provided will help the students place themselves in the time period. Students would have to write the letters as homework and will turn in the letters the following day.
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primary_source_c.docx | |
File Size: | 128 kb |
File Type: | docx |
primary_source_d.docx | |
File Size: | 79 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Lesson closure
Day 1: The lesson will close with the teacher going over diary entry/letter assignment and will answer any questions regarding the assignment.
Day 2: The teacher will whip around the class and will ask the students what they learned from the documents provided. The final closing activity for this lesson would be for students to spend some time sharing their letters and diary entries with their peers and if they feel comfortable enough, they can read what they wrote to the class. A discussion will then follow about what it must have been like to live during war time and how they would feel if war came to the United States and they had to give up rights for the war effort.
Day 2: The teacher will whip around the class and will ask the students what they learned from the documents provided. The final closing activity for this lesson would be for students to spend some time sharing their letters and diary entries with their peers and if they feel comfortable enough, they can read what they wrote to the class. A discussion will then follow about what it must have been like to live during war time and how they would feel if war came to the United States and they had to give up rights for the war effort.
assessment
There will be a summative assessment for this unit. Students will be required to produce a diary entry or letter from the perspective of either a civilian experiencing total war or a soldier in the trenches.
ACCOMMODATIONS for english learners, striving readers, and students with special needs
English Learners: The documents would also have been modified to make it easier to read. For example, some words in the king’s speech have been modernized. The primary sources provided do not solely focus on reading to gain understanding. Students will be asked to analyze posters as primary sources. These posters do not have much text so English learners will not have to worry about difficult vocabulary. They will still be receiving the same message from looking at propaganda posters but they will not have to read heavy text to arrive at meaning. English learners would also benefit from writing a letter or diary entry instead of a research paper. This assignment asks students to consider historical empathy. They have to write from emotion and successfully place themselves in the time period using the documents provided. This type of writing is easier than writing a research paper and English learners would benefit from this type of writing because they are still getting the content necessary to conceptualize the content but are presenting their knowledge in a way that is more accessible.
Striving Readers: The documents provided would have difficult vocabulary defined within the text and students would be encouraged to use their phones as a dictionary if they find a difficult word in the text. Striving readers will benefit from the Cornell notes taken in class. Students would know the vocabulary necessary to place the primary sources into context, which is important to getting meaning from a document. By going over the vocabulary and by going over what is meant by total war and showing images of life on the battlefield, striving readers would be able to look at the primary source documents and would understand that the document deal with information presented in class. Striving readers can also work with a partner to answer the document questions. Even though a striving reader may have difficulty with decoding text, they will have a partner that will help them with the documents.
Students with Special Needs: Students with special needs would benefit from taking down Cornell notes. This specific type of note taking would act as their graphic organizer. This will ensure that students will have the information necessary to place the documents in context and the information would be more accessible because it would be written down in a specific way. This lesson is based on analysis and historical empathy and is asking students to place themselves in the time period. The types of documents students will have to analyze and how the contextual information is presented in class, does not solely focus on writing. This would be a multi-media lesson that would engage all different types of learners.
Striving Readers: The documents provided would have difficult vocabulary defined within the text and students would be encouraged to use their phones as a dictionary if they find a difficult word in the text. Striving readers will benefit from the Cornell notes taken in class. Students would know the vocabulary necessary to place the primary sources into context, which is important to getting meaning from a document. By going over the vocabulary and by going over what is meant by total war and showing images of life on the battlefield, striving readers would be able to look at the primary source documents and would understand that the document deal with information presented in class. Striving readers can also work with a partner to answer the document questions. Even though a striving reader may have difficulty with decoding text, they will have a partner that will help them with the documents.
Students with Special Needs: Students with special needs would benefit from taking down Cornell notes. This specific type of note taking would act as their graphic organizer. This will ensure that students will have the information necessary to place the documents in context and the information would be more accessible because it would be written down in a specific way. This lesson is based on analysis and historical empathy and is asking students to place themselves in the time period. The types of documents students will have to analyze and how the contextual information is presented in class, does not solely focus on writing. This would be a multi-media lesson that would engage all different types of learners.
resources
Dulce et Decorum Est- Wilfred Owen
firstworldwar.com
ww1propoganda.com
firstworldwar.com
ww1propoganda.com