The Western Front

Topics Year 2/3
This unit is part of World War 1 World War 1 Mini Topic

Objectives

History

  • A study of an aspect or theme in British history that extends pupils’ chronological knowledge beyond 1066.
  • A study of a significant turning point in British history.
  • Understand how our knowledge of the past is constructed from a range of sources.

English

  • Discuss writing similar to that which they are planning to write in order to understand and learn from its structure, vocabulary and grammar.
  • Build on what they have learnt, particularly in terms of the range of their writing and the more varied grammar, vocabulary and narrative structures from which they can draw to express their ideas

Lesson Planning

Young men lied about their age to fight on the front line, and many soldiers travelled a long way from across the British Empire to join the fighting. From various sources find out about what it was like when they got there. Make a trench in the classroom with tables, and get chn to record their thoughts and write a poem in a diary while sitting in 'trenches'.

Teaching Outcomes:

  • To explore the different sources about what life was like at the Western Front.
  • Write a diary about life in the trenches.

Children will:

  • Use sources to make a recreation of a trench more accurate.
  • Make a collaborative design for a trench constrained by resources and space.
  • Make a booklet out of folded paper.
  • Do some creative writing about life in the trenches.

You Will Need

  • A4 paper
  • Scissors
  • Pencils.