Hot War, Cold War

Year 9 History Module

The First and Second World Wars.

The Consequences of Warfare.

Peacekeeping.

18 Weeks of teaching.

What is war? 1 week

Starter Activity

Provide students with a set of images of war. Students should sort these into groups: Civilian Experience, Naval Warfare, The war in the air, Wartime technology, Armies.

Discuss the students reaction to the images. Use the 7 statements on the ‘What is war?’ activity sheet as a focal point for this.

Main Learning Activity

Sequencing task: 6 conflicts of the Twentieth Century. (Boer War, First World War, Second World War, Korean War, Vietnam War, Falklands War).

Add images to illustrate the nature of warfare at the time.

Annotate the timeline.

Plenary Session

Show the class a different selection of images of war and statistics about wars. Discuss these and place them under the same headings used at the start of the lesson.

Ask students:

What impact does war have on everyday life?

What type of person is most likely to die in a modern war?

Can war be justified?

Explain to the class that these questions will be answered in depth over the course of the module.

Differentiation

Gifted and talented students should be provided with a wider range of images. Additional headings can be used, for example: Civilian loss, Weapon of Mass Destruction, Propaganda. Complex information about the different conflicts should be made available.

SEN: Sequencing task includes dates. Annotations are provided. Key Words are developed via provided glossary. Teachers should develop understanding of these key words during the Starter activity and during the Plenary session. The ‘What is War?’ activity sheet is differentiated for SEN students and includes activities designed to consolidate understanding of Key Words and of the correct spellings of these words.

Glossary of Key Words:

Civilian- someone who is not in the armed forces.

Navy- armed boats and submarines. They fight at sea.

Army- fights on land.

Technology- machines and inventions.

Devastation- when lots of things are destroyed.

Propaganda- information that is presented in a way designed to persuade people that one opinion is right.

Justified- when it is alright to do something.

Alternative activities:

Have a large (A3) map of the world available. Label this with the names of conflicts that occurred during the Twentieth Century. Students can then place their images and annotations in boxes around the location. This work could then be put on display and/ or added to as different conflicts are studied.

Internet Links of interest:

(This provides an interesting alternative lesson plan, and covers different types of ‘war’ such as gang warfare).

(A useful list of statements about war – written by a Gulf war veteran).

(The financial cost of war in the modern world is outlined on this page).

(A poem about war).

(relates to children in war. Lots of very useful facts and figures)

What caused the First World War? 2 weeks

Lesson One

Starter Activity

Explain to the class that the First World War broke out in 1914. The war resulted in the deaths of an estimated 20 million people. The activities in this lesson will explore and analyse the reasons for this war.

Provide students with a range of causes cards. Students should work in pairs to place these into 4 categories of cause: Military, Alliances, Imperialism, Nationalism. (10 minutes). (Definitions of 4 categories provided for students).

Check that class have established the links between causes correctly and placed causes into the right category. (2 minutes).

Main Learning Activities:

Provide students with a range of sources relating to the causes of the war. Working in pairs the students should place these contributory factors into chronological sequence.

Students should then label each cause with M A I or N to identify the type of cause that each is.

Complete tick sheet to illustrate which nations were involved in each of the events that occurred in the build up of tensions.

Plenary Session

Have a large map of Europe on the board. Have a range of cards for students to stick onto the map, relating to different causes. Highlight the way that the changes, particularly in the alliance system, lead to the encirclement of the Central Powers. Then recap the different causes and make links between them to illustrate how they combine to create added tension.

Homework

Crossword Puzzle about the Causes of the First World War.

Lesson 2 - ICT based lesson.

Topic: Causes of the First World War
Key Elements: / Chronology
Historical Knowledge and Understanding
Interpretations
Historical Inquiry
Organization & Communication
Aims: Through the use of ICT, allow pupils to investigate the causes and events leading up to the outbreak of the First World War. Aid interpretation through interactive questions, improving knowledge and understanding.
Equipment / Resources: Suite of Internet connected computers, one per each / two pupil(s). Website address: Copies of appropriate worksheet (upper and lower).
Lesson Development
Time: / Introduction:
10 / Register, settle class. Go over rules for computer room.
Explain task: exploring the outbreak of WWI. Need to follow on-screen instructions and complete notes using worksheet.
Activities:
5 / Pupils log onto computer system following school guidelines, following directions to locate WWI activity. Wait until whole class have found the objectives screen. Instruct pupils to read objectives and begin.
20 / Pupils use the online activity to explore, investigate and learn about the causes of WWI. Knowledge and understanding is assessed through recap questions and end of section tests. 'Points' at the end of lesson automatically determine appropriate extension tasks.
5 / Pause to discuss and share difficulties and successes. Go over initial key points to ensure pupils understand.
10 / Following class feedback pupils should continue with exercise again to see if they can improve on their and class scores. Then take the additional quiz, go over the lesson or explore further WWI internet links.
Conclusion:
10 / Complete ICT work, log off computers following school policy. Ensure all pupils have a copy of their worksheet. Go through key points using worksheet answers. Find out who got the highest points. Is there anything else they would like to find out having completed the lesson? Set homework, pack up and dismiss.
Differentiation: / Special Needs:
By task using ICT activity and teacher selected worksheet. Related to final score in activity, pupils are guided to appropriate activities.
Assessment: / Homework / Continuation:
Pupil own by recording 'points', teacher by class discussion / questioning and marking of completed homework. / Using completed worksheet, create a summary of the causes of the First World War for next lesson. Learn points for a brief test.

If an ICT suite is unavailable (remember to check the CLC’s availability) the following options are available:

Newspaper report: use source material from the textbooks and the information acquired in the previous lesson to write an objective newspaper front page story about the outbreak of the First World War. This should include a chronology of the events leading up to the war and an evaluation of the causes.

A range of worksheets on the Causes of the First World War are also available. These are stored in M1. Alternative resources are stored electronically in T Drive.

Differentiation

Alternative causes cards and structures are available for students of different abilities. Source material has been selected for different ability levels.

Internet Links of interest:

Warfare in WW1 2 weeks

Starter Activity

Short thinking task:

You are a British general. The Year is 1914. The German forces have advanced rapidly through the Low Countries (Belgium and Holland). Unless something is done to stop them very quickly they will capture the French Capital, Paris, and the war will be lost. Your task is to establish a method of stopping the German troops. The only materials you have available are:

Men: You have a force of approximately 200 000 men. The German army is much larger than this.

Rifles: Every man has one rifle and ammunition.

Machine Guns: You have 5000 heavy machine guns. It takes 3 men to carry each one, or a horse to pull them along on a carriage.

Terrain:The land on which you are fighting has many hills. These can be used to your advantage.

Artillery:You have 5000 artillery pieces (big guns). These cannot be moved easily, but can fire up to 3 miles.

You are not allowed to retreat any further. You cannot go around the enemy as this would allow them to walk into Paris unopposed. You cannot wait either, the Germans will be upon you within a day. You have just 10 minutes before you have to inform the Field Marshall (head of the army) of your plans to defend Paris. Remember that the objective at this point is simply to stop the enemy. So far all of the fighting has taken place in open battlefields, the Germans are advancing on foot or horseback.

Students should be asked to make a note of their ideas. Explain that this activity roughly replicates the dilemma that the British and French generals found themselves in in 1914. The purpose of this activity is to identify prior knowledge of the conflict and to develop an understanding of the problems faced. Students will find out what really happened in the main learning activity.

After 10 minutes stop the class. Discuss their proposals and question them about how realistic and workable each suggestion is.

Main Learning Activity

Complete activities on ‘The Trenches’ worksheets. (Differentiated for G&T, Core and Foundation).

Plenary Session

Have a large, unlabelled picture of a trench available. Ask students to add labels to the diagram to check knowledge.

Tell students that many methods of attacking trenches were tried. What methods of attacking a trench do they think would work? Create a spider diagram of their ideas. Tell them that in the next lesson they will be looking at the battle of the Somme and establishing the way in which trenches and to what degree these methods worked.

Differentiation

Differentiation for the starter activity will be by outcome. The teacher should bear in mind that prompts may be more necessary with some groups. For SEN groups it may be worthwhile visualizing this and turning the activity into a game on the board.

Activity sheets for the main learning activity are differentiated for Upper, Core and Foundation groups.

Lesson 2

ICT based lesson

Starter activity:

As a whole group work through the trenches activity found at:

This activity will assess students understanding of the trench systems learnt in the last lesson. You do not need to continue to the next page – and this page is in the middle of a larger activity.

Main Learning Activity

In the ‘history’ folder on the Desktop there is an activity on the battle of the Somme (not the sorting exercise). Double click on this and the programme will load up.

Students are introduced to the battle scene. The programme illustrates visually the concept of a creeping barrage, bombardments and different forms of attacking a trench system. Students have to plan their own attack along the banks of the Somme. Students should complete accompanying worksheet whilst completing this activity.

This activity should take approximately 20 minutes.

Discuss the tactics used by students and explore possible methods of improving their success rate. What problems did they have in attacking the German trenches?

Students complete activities on differentiated worksheet on the Battle of the Somme.

Homework: complete tasks on the battle of the Somme activity sheet.

Internet Links of Interest:

Role of the Individual: Haig 2 weeks

Starter Activity

Recap the basics of Trench Warfare.

Main Learning Activity

Watch section of video on the Battle of the Somme.

Complete activities on ‘Lions led by Donkeys’.

Plenary Session

Summarise the main tactics employed by Douglas Haig at the Somme. Ask students to suggest alternative methods of warfare – and discuss how successful these methods would have been.

Differentiation

Internet links of interest:

This is an activity based on Haig’s life. From the NLS website.

Lesson 2

Starter activity

Students are presented with a range of statements about Douglas Haig. They must then separate these into one’s that suggest he was a good commander and those that suggest he was a useless tactician or a butcher.

Discuss findings with class to ensure that they have understood each of the statements.

Now provide a range of sources about Douglas Haig. Students should match one source to one statement.

Check that students have matched the sources correctly.

Main Learning Activity

Students use writing frames (where appropriate) to answer a selection of questions about Douglas Haig’s leadership.

Plenary

Summarise the different opinions that historians have had of Douglas Haig. Ask students to explain what they think of his leadership: Was he a donkey leading the lions?

Internet links of Interest:


How did the First World War affect peoples lives? (Conscription and the Role of Women) 2 weeks

Lesson 1

Starter Activity

Matching exercise of cause and event cards. Intended to assess the students initial understanding of the impact of the war and introducing some of the themes to be studied during the next 2 lessons. Key word definitions should be available to students to ensure understanding of some of the terms used.

Cause / Event
High loss of life on the Western Front. / Introduction of conscription
German submarines blockade British ports. / Rationing of food and essential supplies
Many male workers have joined the army. / Women go to work in the Munitions Factories.
Lord Kitchener, the Minister for War, urges men to join the army. / Many men join ‘Pals battalions’ and become soldiers.
Key Word / Definition
Battalion / One unit (part of) in the army.
Blockade / When someone or something prevents people from moving in and out of a place.
Conscription / When people are forced to join the armed forces.
Munitions / Bombs and bullets
Rationing / When limits are put on the amount of food and other items you can buy.
Submarines / Boats that can sail underwater.
Western Front / The battlefields in France and Belgium, where most of the British troops fought.

Main Learning Activity

Complete activities on Conscription worksheet. Available at 3 levels for Gifted and talented, Core and foundation groups.

Plenary Session

Use sequencing cards on board and Q&A to summarise the events of 1914 – 1916. (Cards on next page)

Phrases for use on the cards:

  1. War breaks out in Europe.
  2. The British Expeditionary Force (Professional army) suffers heavy losses.
  3. The British and French generals ‘dig in’ to prevent further German advances.
  4. Lord Kitchener urges people to join pals battalions.
  5. The war becomes a war of attrition with many men dying.
  6. More men are needed for the war effort. Conscription is introduced as a result.
  7. Kitchener’s army of pals battalions and conscripts fights in the battle of the Somme. 20,000 men die on the first day.

Homework

Complete the letter from the trenches activity.

Differentiation

Main learning activity is differentiated for 3 ability groups. Further differentiation of these tasks is possible through use of writing frames and jumbled sentence activities for the lower attainers. More able students can be stretched further if necessary by adding a wider range of responses to Conscription: from a more diverse range of sources including conscientious objectors.

Homework can be differentiated by providing writing frames with differing amounts of prompts available.

Lesson 2

Starter Activity

Provide students with fact sheet: The Suffragettes.

Ask students to scan the sheet. They should annotate it to highlight the following:

  • The complaints made by the Suffragette movement
  • The methods used by the Suffragette movement.
  • Reactions to the Suffragette movement.

NB: Annotating sheets in this way is likely to form part of the KS3 SAT paper in English, students should be familiar with this form of activity but will require prompts and examples varying according to ability.

Main Learning Activity

Working in groups and Using the information in Unit 1.4 Living Through History.

Each group should have a focus for their research. They should make a large poster or spider diagram illustrating their findings.

One group should look at the way that the women fought for the vote. They should examine the different methods and the changes that the Suffragette movement made in their approach during war.