Summary
In this lesson, students examine World War I technologies through poems, letters, images, and readings, then demonstrate their learning by answering the lesson’s essential question.
Essential Question(s)
How did new technologies impact the way World War I was fought?
Snapshot
Engage
Students analyze the poem "Dulce et Decorum est."
Explore
Students make observations and inferences of WWI technology images.
Explain
In groups, students jigsaw readings about WWI weapon technologies.
Extend
Students analyze a primary source letter from a WWI soldier to his parents.
Evaluate
Students summarize their learning by responding to the lesson’s essential question.
Materials
Lesson Slides (attached)
Images Notes Student Example (attached)
"Dulce Et Decorum Est" handout (attached; one per student)
Images Notes handout (attached; one per student)
Technologies Readings handout (attached; one per group)
Technologies Notes handout (attached; one per student)
Letter from Wayne to his Folks handout (attached; one per student)
Engage
10 Minute(s)
Use the attached Lesson Slides to guide the lesson. Review the essential questions and lesson objective on slides 3–4 with students. Pass out the attached Dulce Et Decorum Est handout to each student. Display slide 5. Play the Dulce Et Decorum Est video and have students follow along with their handouts.
Move to slide 6 and have students discuss in pairs what the poem is about. After students share with a partner, ask for several volunteers to share their thoughts about the poem. Display slide 7. Explain to students that the last two lines of the poem are in Latin and translate to, "It is sweet and good to die for your country." Ask students if their thoughts about the poem changed after learning the meaning of the last two lines. Move to slide 8. Provide students with information about the author of the poem, Wilfred Owen. Ask them if their thoughts about the poem changed after learning about Wilfred Owen’s experience.
Explore
20 Minute(s)
Pass out the attached Images Notes handout to each student. Display slide 9 and explain the Painting a Picture strategy to students. Have students access the link on the slide with a personal device. Provide time for students to examine each image and take notes over what they see and how they think the technologies in the images influenced the way World War I was fought.
After providing time for students to analyze the images, have them pair up and discuss what they have written down. Then, ask for several volunteers to share their thoughts.
Explain
25 Minute(s)
Tell students that World War I led to many new weapon technologies. Display slide 10 and play the Tech Developments of World War I video, which introduces how new technology was used during the war.
Place students into groups of three and pass out the attached Technology Readings handout to each group and a Technology Notes handout to each student.
Show slide 11. Introduce students to the Jigsaw strategy. Have students divide the six readings between the three group members. Explain that as they read their assigned topics, they should take notes on the Technology Notes handout. Students should take notes over the technology and its impact on how World War I was fought.
After students have taken notes on their assigned parts, ask them to share the information they have gathered with the other group members. Explain that group members will take turns sharing so that all six technologies have been discussed and students have written notes about each technology.
Ask students to think about how these new technologies affected the duration of the war and the number of people killed and injured in combat.
Extend
15 Minute(s)
Display slide 12 and pass out the attached Letter from Wayne to his Folks handout to each student. Introduce students to the Surprising, Interesting, Troubling strategy. Provide time for students to read the letter individually or read as a class. The letter was written by a soldier during WWI to his parents. Then, have students write something they find surprising, interesting, and troubling about the letter on the back of the handout. Have students discuss what they have written down with a partner and then ask for several volunteers to share.
Evaluate
10 Minute(s)
Move to slide 13 and have students respond to the lesson’s essential question, how did new technologies impact the way World War I was fought? Students can write their response on a handout or piece of notebook paper. Collect the responses to review and check for student understanding of the lesson content.
Resources
Channel 4 Documentaries. (2013, November 7). Dulce Et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen: Read by Christopher Eccleston | Remembering World War 1 | C4 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qB4cdRgIcB8
HISTORY. (2014, May 22). Tech Developments of World War I | History [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7v3cq1ZJjM
K20 Center. (n.d.). Bell ringers and exit tickets. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/125
K20 Center. (n.d.). Painting a picture. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/1331
K20 Center. (n.d.). Jigsaw. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/179
K20 Center. (n.d.). Surprising, interesting, troubling. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/926