Teaching Points for the Great War 1914/1918
Foundation Stage/Key Stage One
Please do not be frightened about introducing the Great War to younger children. Go
through a very practical approach or take a famous story such as the Christmas Truce
or The Angel of Mons. There are plenty of picture resources and artefacts out there
which you can use to bring a curriculum day to life.
Ideas
1. Plan a whole day with 6 practical topics, e.g. Poppies, weapons, a trench, etc.
2. Contact your local WFA branch – They will be only too pleased to help with
resources.
3. Ask the local British Legion to come along and do an assembly for you.
4. Have a day making and talking about the wearing of poppies.
5. Visit a local memorial and adopt it as a community project. (Some branches of
the WFA restore these as projects and you could get involved as part of the
Community Cohesion for your SEF !)
6. Have a day dressing up as soldiers, nurses, etc. and set up drama and hot
seating areas. Teachers should dress up too!
7. Make a makeshift trench and get the children to feel how difficult it would be
to live and work in such a small space.
8. Have a marching and drill session (We hired the Khaki Chums for the day –
expensive but brilliant) and our children realised just how hard it was to march
up and down for the day.
9. Set up some team work situations such as using your outdoor play area to
carry over barrels or pretend equipment over no mans land when bean bags
and balls are flying at you (to take the place of bombs).
10. Make some trench food – plenty of ideas for stew and hard biscuits on the
internet - and have a tasting session.
11. Have a good old fashioned sing song – learn some of the songs from the era,
make some union jacks and sing your heart out. Invite the community in to
join in.
12. Let the local papers know you are having a Great War day and get them to ask
the local community to come and help you.
13. Set up a classroom as a Great War dressing station with dolls and teddies as
injured soldiers, make some weak tea for shock and let the children be the
doctors and nurses tending the injured with bandages etc.
We had a wonderful time organising our special day. Each aspect of the war that the
children were going to be taking part in was introduced by a power point with photos
and questions. Some of these power points have been added to the KS1 resources to
help you make a start.
Any further help, please get in touch.
Julie McDonald
Headteacher, Hillcrest School, Gainsborough
01427 613483
[email protected]