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| Enquiry 4: The Western
Front |
| Why was the war on the Western
Front so terrible? |
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Mini Enquiry Questions
- Why was the war not over by Christmas?
- How did the nature of fighting on the Western Front change during the course of
the war?
- What kinds of understandings can letters give us about the nature of trench
warfare?
- Why, when conditions were so terrible, did soldiers continue to follow orders and
fight?
- What event marked the most important turning point that led to the defeat of
Germany?
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| Timing - 7 Lessons |
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| Assessment Focus |
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Key Stage 3 (Level 3-7):
- 4a - identify, select and use a range of appropriate sources of information
- 4b - evaluate the sources used, select and record information relevant to the
enquiry and reach conclusions
- 5 - organisation and communication of ideas
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| GCSE: use historical sources critically in their context, by
comprehending, analysing, evaluating and interpreting them |
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| Standard Grade: S3-S4 |
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| Learning Objectives |
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Pupils should learn:
- Why the war on the Western Front reached stalemate and the reason why conditions
were so terrible
- What motivated men to fight on
- How to evaluate a range of different sources, record information relevant to an
enquiry and reach substantiated conclusions
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| Suggested Teaching
Activities |
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Lesson 1:
- Pupils use articles to explain how fighting reached a stalemate on the Western
Front and why it took so long to break this stalemate
- Discuss what the biggest danger was to a soldier about to advance over the
top
Lesson 2:
- Pupils research and report on the main changes in technology and tactics that
took place during the course of the war
- debate the most significant changes
Lesson 3:
- Pupils use a range of sources to investigate life for soldiers on the Western
Front
- Compare the usefulness of different types of source material for the
investigation
Homework task:
- Pupils use the articles and diary accounts to describe a typical day in the life
of a soldier on the Western Front
Lesson 4
- Pupils examine the possible reasons that motivated men to continue fighting,
despite the terrible conditions. They prioritise six possible explanations and
prepare a speech supporting their decisions.
- Whole class debate
Lesson 5 and 6
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Pupils work in pairs to produce a PowerPoint presentation that explains why the
war on the Western Front was so terrible for the soldiers involved.
Lesson 7
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Pupils work in groups of 3 to analyse the key turning points in the war on the
Western Front and explain how Germany was eventually defeated.
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| Extension Activities |
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| A choice of two case studies:
Case Study A: The Eastern Front
Pupils use the interactive timeline to identify key battles that took place on
the Eastern Front and ( after additional research) compare their significance to the
key battles that took place on the Western Front orCase Study B: The War
Poets Pupils examine the war poetry produced by soldiers who fought in the war
and assess its value as a historical source
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| Resources |
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| Points to Note |
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| ICT - The central learning activity for this enquiry
involves pupils using PowerPoint to communicate their ideas. This should ensure that
pupils incorporate visual source material into their presentation and have to be very
selective and precise with their use of source material.
Literacy - One of the extension tasks incorporates the work of the war poets and
could provide an opportunity for a joint initiative with your schools English
department
Citizenship - Pupils could show their PowerPoint presentation at a year assembly
or a whole school assembly during the week leading up to November 11th.
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Enquiry 1
