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Trench Life Plymstock History Department. Trench Life – Aims for the lesson. 1) Identify 3-6 questions/key areas on Trench Life that you want to research further 2) Decide how the research on your chosen areas of trench life will be presented (a
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Trench Life – Aims for the lesson 1) Identify 3-6 questions/key areas on Trench Life that you want to research further 2) Decide how the research on your chosen areas of trench life will be presented (a Project, booklet, a ppt, an audio project or model with guide book).
STARTER ACTIVITY – 10 minutes • When the Germans attacked in Belgium, they quickly beat the armies defending the borders and managed to get into France very quickly. The British and French Generals, uncertain about how to stop the German advance, decided to ‘dig in’ and ordered the construction of the Trenches to act as a barrier against the attack.
STARTER ACTIVITY – 10 minutes • In pairs, read the description of the trench system. • Draw a ‘birds eye’ view of the trench system. You must show both German and British trenches an the land between them. • Next label some of the key features of the trenches. You might like to draw a separate cross section of a trench to show how it looked inside. (highlight key words in the text to make sure you provide as many labels as possible.)
Description of the Trench System • The Trenches that the British dug were usually made of three lines. The front line trenches were usually a metre wide at the bottom and two metres deep. Duck boards were placed on the ground to act as drainage; men would walk on them to avoid the mud. On the side of the trench facing the enemy a ‘fire step’ was cut into the wall. This was for soldiers to shoot from. Sandbags were placed at the top of the trench. This would stop the trench caving in of a bomb went off nearby. It also provided more protection from bullets. Ammunition shelves were also cut into the side of the trench walls which faced no mans land (the land in between the two army’s trench systems). At various points in the wall, dug outs were cut into the trenches to provide shelter for sleeping/resting soldiers. In front of the trench barbed wire was rolled out. This was to stop the enemy able to charge at the trench. • Behind the front line were support trenches and then further back, reserve trenches. Linking the three lines was a series of communication trenches. There were also ‘blind allies’ dug to confuse the enemy in case of a successful attack. The whole of the trench system was made to zigzag so as to prevent the enemy firing down the line of the trenches if they were captured.
STARTER ACTIVITY – 10 minutes • In pairs, read the description of the trench system. • Draw a ‘birds eye’ view of the trench system. You must show both German and British trenches an the land between them. • Next label some of the key features of the trenches. You might like to draw a separate cross section of a trench to show how it looked inside. (highlight key words in the text to make sure you provide as many labels as possible.)
Description of the Trench System • The Trenches that the British dug were usually made of three lines. The front line trenches were usually a metre wide at the bottom and two metres deep. Duck boards were placed on the ground to act as drainage; men would walk on them to avoid the mud. On the side of the trench facing the enemy a ‘fire step’ was cut into the wall. This was for soldiers to shoot from. Sandbags were placed at the top of the trench. This would stop the trench caving in of a bomb went off nearby. It also provided more protection from bullets. Ammunition shelves were also cut into the side of the trench walls which faced no mans land (the land in between the two army’s trench systems). At various points in the wall, dug outs were cut into the trenches to provide shelter for sleeping/resting soldiers. In front of the trench barbed wire was rolled out. This was to stop the enemy able to charge at the trench. • Behind the front line were support trenches and then further back, reserve trenches. Linking the three lines was a series of communication trenches. There were also ‘blind allies’ dug to confuse the enemy in case of a successful attack. The whole of the trench system was made to zigzag so as to prevent the enemy firing down the line of the trenches if they were captured.
Birds eye view of the Trench System Front Line Communication Trench Support Trench Reserve Trench No Man’s Land
Cross Section of a trench with key features labelled. Sand Bags Sand Bags Barbed Wire Fire Step Ammunition shelf Dug Out Duck board
MAIN ACTIVITY - Carousel • We remember: • 10% of what we read • 20% of what we hear • 30% of what we see • 50% of what we see and hear • 70% of what we say • 90% of what we simultaneously say and do • SO………….
MAIN ACTIVITY - Carousel • In pairs, you will complete the following 4 activities: • WORK STATION 1: Back to Back • WORK STATION 2: Key Concepts • WORK STATION 2: Broken pieces • WORK STATION 4: Making Sense of it
MAIN ACTIVITY - Carousel WORK STATION 1:‘Back to Back’ • Sit in pairs ‘back-to-back”. • Decide who is A and who is B. • A is given a visual material; which they hold close to their chest. • B is given a plain piece of paper and a pencil. • A describes the visual to B, while B draws it, aiming to make a perfect replica which is exact in size, shape and detail. • B can ask as many questions as they like. • When the time is up, students compare the drawn image to the original.
MAIN ACTIVITY - Carousel WORK STATION 2:‘Key Concepts’ • Read the WWI poem below, written by Wilfred Owen, a WWI soldier. Don’t worry of you find some words difficult. • Try to identify 15 of the most important words in this poem that sums up this piece of writing. Write them inside the key.
MAIN ACTIVITY - Carousel WORK STATION 3:’Broken Pieces’ • Take the envelope which contains several images that have been cut up. • Try and put back together as many of the pictures as you can. • (What do the images tell you about trench life?)
MAIN ACTIVITY - Carousel WORK STATION 4: ‘Making Sense of It’ Listen to a passage from the audio book ‘Birdsong’, written by Sebastian Faulkes. This is a challenging text describing the British attack of a German trench. Record in the table, what the main character ‘Stephen’ would have seen, heard and felt.
Plenary – ‘Diamond 9’s • You should now have a good understanding of trench life during WWI. In this final part of the lesson, you need to reflect on the 2 lesson aims: 1) Identify 3-6 questions/key areas on Trench Life that you want to research further 2) Decide how the research on your chosen areas of trench life will be presented (a Project, booklet, a ppt, an audio project or 3D model with guide book).
Plenary – ‘Diamond 9’ most important • Look at the 9 statements which might be important to the planning process. • In pairs, rank the statements in order of significance through the formation of a diamond. EXTENSION: Look at the ‘Research Log’ on the back page of your A3 sheet. Write in the top box the key topics that interest you. 1 2 3 6 4 5 8 7 9 least important
Next lesson • You will have 3 lessons and 2 home works to complete your research project on trench Life. • Deadline for handing in work = MONDAY 26th November (4 weeks today)
