Lesson 5, WWI: Treaty of Versailles

With the end of the week finally here, the class finished off discussions about WWI by learning about the Treaty of Versailles and its significance for the future of Europe. Before the last lesson began, we viewed the video recordings that were taken using the flip recorders yesterday. These films can be found on Blackboard under Lecture Material. At the end of class there was a short open-notebook quiz that was not graded.

For homework this weekend, students are to create a blog entry to reflect on the week. Questions about material are encouraged. Each entry needs to include personal opinions on the closure of the war.

Lesson 4, WWI: Critical Battles and Armistice Day

In class today we staged a battle using trench warfare with a few students filming the reenactment using flip video cameras. We spent time discussing the major battles fought along the Western Front, and the period leading to Armistice Day.

For homework tonight, students are required to read chapter 3 of All Quiet on the Western Front and make a blog response. A copy of chapter 3 can be found on Blackboard.

Lesson Three, WWI: America at War

Today we watched a brief video clip on America at the beginning of WWI. As a class we discovered how both America's political leaders and average citizen responded to the call of war. Students were required to write a brief entry in their journals depicting themselves as an American at the start of the war, including information learned from today's lecture.

For homework, students need to read the next assigned chapter of All Quiet on the Western Front and use Flickr to find a few good pictures of soldiers during the war.

Lesson Two, WWI: Declaration of War

For today's class, we utalized two different maps to show the changes between the boundaries of European countries on a current map and a map of Europe in 1914. On those maps we located the major players involved in WWI and where the Eastern and Western Front existed.

To begin class, we viewed and discussed the propaganda used to incite patrotic feelings within each country. Such as this poster used in America to bring about feelings of disgust toward Germany.



During the lecture portion of the class, we talked about Germany's plans for mobilization and those events that led to each country declaring war.

At the end of class, we added all important dates to our classroom timeline.

For homework this evening, I've assigned the first chapter of All Quiet on the Western Front which I handed out in class. A PDF file of all chapters that will be distributed can be accessed through Blackboard under Assignments. Students have also been asked to write a brief response, using the chapter and their notes from the lecture, in their class blogs.

Lesson One, WWI: Causes to the Beginning

In this lesson, students were expected to bring their writing journals with them to class along with their notebooks and textbook. We spent the first part of class discovering what knowledge of WWI the students already had through use of the Classroom Response System (or clickers) and then students received a blank handout found here. If your child was absent, please have them print this out before returning to class as we will be referring to it over the next few days.

We next took notes on causes of the Great War, the key political figures involved and the alliances that were formed prior to the wars start. A podcast of the lecture notes and a copy of the PowerPoint will shortly be available on Blackboard under Lecture Material for the students to use.

Today's homework assignment is for the students to finish their journal entries started in class and type a clean version in their class blog. The full set of instructions for this assignment may be found under the Assignments tab on Blackboard.

Welcome!

This week's unit shall give a broad overview of WWI, including the causes, declarations of war, key figures and events, America's involvement and the future impact the Great War had on the future of Europe. Each day our class will cover one major topic relating to the war. By the end of the week, each student will be able to explain how World War One reshaped society in both America and Europe and how it influenced later European events.


Topics to Be Covered:

Day 1: Causes of WWI, Alliances & Key Figures
Day 2: Mobilization & Declaration of War
Day 3: America’s involvement
Day 4: Key Battles to Armistice Day
Day 5: Treaty of Versailles & Future Impact