Introduction
In this Learning Experience, you will discover the new types of warfare that came about because of World War I and the role that technology and new weapons played in escalating the number and severity of casualties.
Watch the following short clips from the 1930 movie All Quiet on the Western Front:
Click ANSWER and respond to the following quickwrite prompt:
Describe your reaction to the type of warfare that you saw in the two video clips. What do you see that might have been different from past wars?
Task
Task:
Get into groups of three or four.
Read about trench warfare in Chapter 7, lesson 3 of the McGraw-Hill digital resources. Look at the map in the same lesson and locate the western front. This is the name given to the line of trenches in Western Europe where the Allies fought the Central Powers. Discuss with your group why trench warfare caused a stalemate in this area.
Several new technological innovations played a role in shaping the processes and outcomes of trench warfare. You and your group will now engage in some research on one of the new types of technology used in World War I. You will need to put yourself in the place of a World War I soldier and see the information through his eyes.
The topics are as follows:
airplanes
machine guns
chemical weapons (poison gas)
tanks
anti-aircraft guns
World War I casualty figures
Process
Each group will use technology to "Go Visual" in explaining their topic. This activity needs to be done in a short amount of time. Students researching casualties may choose to draw a graph. Those researching weapons should illustrate the technology and impact of those weapons in battle. Time permitting, each group can report out. All displays will be posted in a common location so that all groups may view the impact of each technological innovation.
Process:
1. Research your topic using Chapter 7, Lesson 3 and the following suggested websites or ones that you locate on your own. You may not use Wikipedia as a source.
Airplanes Aircraft in World War I
Machine guns Machine Guns in World War I
Chemical weapons (poison gas) Poison Gas in World War I
Tanks Tanks and World War I
Anti-Aircraft guns http://www.britannica.com/technology/antiaircraft-gun
World War I casualty figures World War I Casualty and Death Tables
2. Write a short description of the topic that includes its impact on the war. For casualty figures, you might also include causes.
3. Draw or digitally create an image to illustrate the impact of your topic. If you draw an illustration by hand, you need to be able to take a picture of it to be uploaded. You may not copy and paste a picture from the Internet
4. Share your work (description and illustration) at the following link: Padlet. Be sure to use the name of your topic as the title, and include all group members' names at the beginning of the post.
Evaluation
Click ANSWER to respond to the following prompt:
- From the perspective of a soldier serving during World War I, and based on your knowledge of new technological innovations, write a journal entry about your experiences of the cruelties and horrors of war in trench warfare.