Trench+Warfare

Usha's comments in Blue. LESSON PLAN FILES:

Your name: Vanessa Kutsukake

===**Initial Reading and Assessment of Textbook Treatment of the Topic** ===

Name of Gr. 10 Textbook examined: "Canada: Face of a Nation" (2000) by Bolotta, Angelo, Charles Hawkes, Fred Jarman et al.

Name of more "scholarly" source examined: Cook, T. (2000). "More a Medicine than a Beverage": 'Demon Rum' and the Canadian Trench Soldier of the First World War", //Canadian Military History, 9// (1), 7-22.

__Your Initial Thoughts:__ Please provide a **brief** (5-10 sentences) initial assessment of the textbook's treatment of the subject. We have not developed any particular criteria by which to assess the textbook so this is really simply you initial reactions, feelings, questions about what you have read. Thanks!

==== In terms of content, this section of the textbook focused heavily on the “discomforts” of living in the trenches such as trench foot, rats and lice, and shell shock. While these are undeniably important aspects of trench warfare and help students to appreciate the appalling conditions soldiers had to endure, perhaps the text went into unnecessary detail about how lice was treated and the “bold” behaviour of rats. Alternatively, perhaps some of these issues might have been captured in a small vignette written by a soldier, which also exposes students to a primary reading. ==== ==== I was surprised to find little descriptive content on the structural features of the trenches and no diagrams providing a side and overhead view of the trenches to aid visualization. Just because it may not be as exciting to learn, does not mean it should be excluded! However, the photographs of soldiers in the trenches in the textbook were informative and evocative, providing students with a brief glimpse of life in the trenches. Moreover, the captions underneath contained questions to help students consolidate their understanding and facilitate further reflection. ==== ==== The final comment I would make concerns the organization of the information. The text introduced new weapons exploited during the war (e.g. machine guns), but failed mention chlorine and mustard gases until the very end of the section. In addition, the term “no-man’s land” appeared at the very end of the reading (with chlorine gas!), instead of being integrated into the paragraph explaining soldiers going “over the top” and running toward enemy trenches. Could this pose difficulties for students when they are attempting to learn and retain the information? ====  Thanks for your comments, Vanessa. I think it's great that you have highlighted using primary source readings, diagrams and visuals as useful ways to engage students in historical thinking. You might want to take a look at the curriculum documents to see what the curriculum writers intended by including trench warfare in this course - do they see at as a way to illustrate some greater issue? Do you see it as part of a larger picture? I look forward to hearing your thoughts. **__ Trench Warfare Critical Challenge __**

// Possible content required: // 1. How perceptions about war varied and changed over the course of time *initial delusion 2. An understanding of the significance of trench warfare *how it was a different style of warfare—e.g. new weapons and technology, military strategies, “confronting the modern” etc. 3. An understanding of the general conditions of the trenches *hardships the soldiers endured—e.g. living in mud, regimented, health issues, psychological impact of "waiting" and “going over the top” etc. 4. Key battles that involved Canadian forces (accomplishments //and// failures) in the trenches and the implications *e.g. 2nd Battle of Ypres, The Somme, Vimy Ridge and Passchendale

// Critical Question—Critique the Piece //

Assess the effectiveness of military strategy used on the Western Front. Some issues to consider might be the role of new technology, military leadership and tactics, and the conditions of the battlefields. Although this is clearly framed as a critical challenge, I wonder if it's feasible given your topic (trench warfare). This might serve better as a larger question that might tie together several topics. May not be feasible given your constraints of a single lesson... what do you think?

// Critical Challenge—Design to Specs //

Pretend you are journalist going overseas to discover the realities of trench warfare on the Western Front. In your report, please include a concise summary of the soldiers’ living conditions, a brief interview with a soldier describing their participation in a battle (specify the location and date) and a medical record assessing a soldier’s overall health. Be creative, but make sure your “documents” are based on historical evidence! This one is fabulous! Clearly a design to specs. Because it's a report, the journalist won't be making a judgement about the realities of trench warfare though - just reporting. The reason it requires critical thinking will have more to do with the students' having to make judgements about the text form they are using (i.e. a news report, an interview, a medical record). This is fine but if you want them to critically consider the content too, you might ask them to take a stand within the report on the conditions in the trenches (i.e. are they horrific? are they overexaggerated?). What are your thoughts? **__ LESSON DESIGN __**

**// Identify Key Learning/ “Big Idea”/ Learning Target //**

-students will begin to appreciate what Canadian soldiers had to endure in the trenches (e.g. physically, emotionally, and psychologically) -students will understand how primary sources are essential for building authentic connections between the past and present -students will understand how primary documents can be interpreted in a multitude of ways for different purposes Very well-framed key learnings.

**// REVISED Critical Challenge—“Judge the better or best” //**

Which source (memoir or photographs) provides a more enlightening account of the nature of trench warfare? Neat idea. Clearly a critical challenge.

// *Students will be given excerpts of a soldier’s memoir from the battle of Somme (1915) and a series of photographs of soldiers in the trenches during this period (e.g. three photos depicting soldiers digging, resting and “going over the top”) to analyze. //

**// How will this lesson help students build skills they will need for the summative assessment task for the unit? //**

-comprehend and analyze primary sources -develop empathy towards people and events of the past

**// What dimension of Historical Thinking will students actively engage in during this lesson? //**

-Evidence and Interpretation and/or Historical Perspective-Taking

**__ INTELLECTUAL TOOLS __**

__ Background Knowledge __

// Curriculum Expectations: // -explain the causes of World War I and how Canada became involved (pg. 47) -describe Canada’s and Canadians’ contributions to the war effort overseas during World War I (pg. 47) -distinguish between primary and secondary sources of information (pg. 52) -draw conclusions and make reasoned generalizations or appropriate predictions on the basis of relevant and sufficient supporting evidence (pg. 52)

// Content/Skills: // -understand the different facets of trench warfare -understand what a “primary source” is and how to grapple with it -recognize how narratives and visuals can provide different information

__ Criteria for Judgement __

à Criteria for “**enlightening**” · informative (contains details and examples that help us better understand the nature of trench warfare and its conditions) · evocative (evokes emotions and memories of the past) · influential (persuades us to form some perspective/outlook on trench warfare) · authentic and reliable (credibility of the source, biases etc.) Very good - you nailed the idea of criteria. Ver

__ Habit of Mind (I might just choose one to focus on to keep it manageable) __

à Attentive to detail: Is careful in attending to detail à Empathic: Is able to empathize with those in situation different from one’s own and in different historical contexts

__ Thinking Strategies __

à rating scale

__ Critical Thinking Vocabulary __

à analysis: involves looking more deeply at an issue by breaking it up into its parts and examining in detail à empathy: the ability to imagine oneself in another’s place and understand the other’s feelings, desires, ideas, and actions