World War 1 History 1&2

Thank you to Mrs. Mitchell for substituting!!!

The Great War began when Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated setting off a crisis between multiple international alliances.  The conflict soon grew to include more than 70 million soldiers fighting in muddy trenches.

In the end, both the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires ceased to exist, and maps were re-drawn decreasing the territory of both Germany and Russia.  In addition, the League of Nations was formed with the intention of preventing future wars.

In class activities:

• Read to original letters from WWI soldiers
• Dressed as soldiers
• Reenacted the Christmas truce

The main thrust of class was focused on learning that the fighting stopped to honor Christmas, although this was hard to convey over the excitement of holding large toy guns and playing dress up!  The kids were encouraged to really think about what war would have been like and that even though these countries were fighting Christmas was a uniting factor and they all respected one another in honor of that day.

The Explorers made scenes of the letter that begins, "On Christmas Day one of the Germans came out of the trenches and held his hands up..."  The second video was of "During the early part of the morning the Germans started singing and shouting all in good English..."

Trailblazers acted out the conversation between Fritz and the soldier with Joey and Isaiah playing the main parts.  The second on was "You will no doubt be surprised to hear...": 2 soldiers/4 soldiers and exchanging of gifts.

Optional lesson extension activities:

• Did you know reindeer were used in World War 1?  Take a look at these fascinating images of animals of the War to End All Wars.   
• Snoopy loves to pretend to be a World War 1 Flying Ace.  Pick up a cartoon  like this one by Charles Shultz to enjoy, then go online to research the invention and use of the airplane.  

There is no assignment for next week's Christmas presentation.  Enjoy your holiday!