World War I, part 3: American Becomes Involved ,1917-1920

World War I monument, Elkton, Maryland

World War I, Hands-On Style

Making a submarine model, World War I, Hands-On Style

The Zimmerman Note, 1917,
 World War I, Hands-On Style

Russia Changes Their Government

The Russian army suffered terriable defeats and the war caused shortages of food in Russia. The Russian people began to starve and many blamed it on the tsar. Riots broke out and workers went on strike. Tsar Nicholas gave up his throne. By 1917, the Bolsheviks, now known as the Communists, led by Lenin seized power and made peace with Germany.

U-Boats

We learned a lot about ships and submarines or U-boats this week. First we review the things we had learned four years ago when we had studied this period before and made boats and submarines.Then we learned about it in more detail. Britain had blockaded German ports when it declared war. Britain hoped to lure Germany into a Naval battle since that was Britain's strength.The British naval blockade began to have a serious impact on Germany. By 1917, Germany announced that any ship would be sunk on sight. Germany wanted Britain to withdraw from the war by depriving the island of food and other supplies. The figured that their best chance of winning the war would be if Britain opted out, France alone could be defeated, and that this had to be achieved before the US entered the war. 

World War I, Hands-On Style

America Enters the War

Outraged by the sinking of the ships without warning, especially the Lusitania, America considered entering the war. Then a coded message to the German Ambassador in Mexico was intercepted  by British Intelligence and decoded. It suggested that if Mexico entered into a war with America, Germany would give Mexico Texas. America enters the war by sending troops to France and eventually engage in 13 campaigns, during the period 1917–1918.

As a writing activity,  students can write a series ofdiary entries from a soldier's point of view.  Start with one at enlistment and then others that describe being in the war. A good example of how to do this can be found at ABC'S to ACT's.

Woodrow Wilson delivers his 14 points speech.

President Woodrow Wilson

28th President
Served: 1913-1921

Party: Democrat

Wife died in 1914; he remarried in 1915

Federal Reserve Act passed – one government owned central bank

Struggled to keep America out of World War 1, until his second term in 1917

Oct. 1919, suffered a stroke that left him almost totally incapacitated – This was kept from the public by his wife

Namesakes:

Home in Washington, D.C. now a museum, the Woodrow Wilson House

and the $100,000 bill

The Peace Treaties of 1919

Treaty of Versailles, 1919 
Treaties are signed and the League of Nations is formed.

For Our Timeline:

Pancho Villa, the Mexican Revolution, 1910-1920

Father Flanagan and Boy's Town, 1917

Influenza Epidemic, 1918-1919 

maps from Knowledge Quest
Comparison of countries in Europe from 1914-1918 and 1919 to 1929.

source
Walt Disney 

Walt Disney
Walt Disney was a teenager during WWI. He became the cartoonist for his school newspaper, drawing patriotic topics and focusing on World War I. Despite dropping out of high school at the age of sixteen to join the army, Disney was rejected for being underage. After his rejection by the army, Walt and a friend decided to join the Red Cross. Soon after joining he was sent to France for a year, where he drove an ambulance, but only after the armistice was signed on November 11, 1918. Notice his sketch on the ambulance.

related posts:

• World War I:Hands-On Style
• World War I, 1914: The Beginning
• World War I, 1915-1916: Weapons and Warfare
• Playing War Games...or which is larger...a platoon or a battalion?
• A Learning Twist on an Old Game (could be made with WWI weapons instead)

sources and inspiration:

• How did the United States end up in World War I? at Adventures in Mommydom
• The Peace Treaties of 1919 worksheet and map
• Maps of World War I and Post World War I countries in Europe from Knowledge Quest
• World War I Bi-Planes

books:

• Hero Over Here, A Story of World War I, Kathleen V. Kudlinski (This is actually more about the Flu Epidemic than the war, but it does touch on the flavor of the war, too.)

World War I, part 2: 1915-1916 Weapons and Warfare

We picked up where we left off with our timeline of World War I battles.

Second Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele) (Spring 1915)

The Second Battle of Ypres was fought for control of the strategic Flemish town of Ypres in western Belgium in the spring of 1915. The German's release of chlorine gas during this battle was the first use of chemical warfare in WWI. Canadian physician and Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae. was inspired to write the poem, "In Flanders Fields" after presiding over the funeral of friend and fellow soldier. It reference to the red poppies that grew over the graves of fallen soldiers resulted in the remembrance poppy becoming one of the world's most recognized memorial symbols for soldiers who have died in conflict. The poem and poppy are prominent Remembrance Day symbols particularly in Canada, where "In Flanders Fields" is one of the nation's best known literary works.

The Battle of Gallipoli (April 1915)

 The inability of France and Britain to achieve success on the Western Front, led to Allied Marines landing at Gallipoli peninsula.in the Ottoman Empire (in modern day Turkey) to capture the Ottoman capital of Constantinople (Istanbul) and secure a sea route to Russia.

Air-Bombings of London (spring 1915)

Beginning first with zeppelins and then later with airplanes, the Germans led 51 bombing raids over London.

The Eastern Front (May 1915)

Italy joined the Allies and invaded Austro-Hungry. Although the Italian army was not victorious, they helped to slit the attention of the Germans, who backed up the Austrians.

The Battle of Verdun (February 1916)

The Germans sent troops forward to the hilly terrain north of the city of Verdun in north-eastern France, to begin the longest battle of the war. It ended with a French victory by recapturing most of the lost ground including the centerpiece of Verdun's defensive system, Fort Douaumont.

The Battle of Jutland (May 1916)

This was a naval battle fought by the Royal Navy against the Imperial German Navy in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. Both sides claimed victory. At the end of the year, after further unsuccessful attempts to reduce the Royal Navy's numerical advantage, the German Navy turned its efforts and resources to unrestricted submarine warfare. German U-Boats sink the civilian transport, Lusitania, whose American deaths prompted US to warn Germany of its possible involvement. 

The Battle of Somme (July 1916)

Fought on either side of the river Somme in France, it was the British's heaviest artillery barrage intended to create a rupture in the German line which could then be exploited with a decisive blow. This goal failed but they did gain three miles of territory. First collective use of tanks.

source

Trench Warfare

To learn about these in a hands-on way, we decided to create a war zone, building trenches in the sand, complete with a No Man's Land so they boys could visualize trench warfare. I planned to use some jewelry wire for the fences, but I couldn't find it, so I used what I could easily locate, some raffia. I just couldn't stand using WWII soldiers for WWI play, so I splurged on some WWI soldiers 

(French Army in Horizon Blue, 

US Army Doughboys, which we doubled for English troops as well and 

German Army Pickelhaube Helmet 1914-1916). 

I was pleased about how much they learned about the equipment by looking closely at the soldiers, comparing and contrasting the different soldiers. They also made connections between the Eyewitness World War I book photographs and the plastic soldiers.

A week later, we went down to the beach and they dug one-man trenches and had their own no-man's land.

notebook pages from Homeschool in the Woods, The Industrial Revolution through The Great Depression

We also learned about weaponry.

The pictures form little booklets. Alex made notes in them.

Another activity students can do is to write a newspaper article. Students benefit from writing two articles about one battle or incident, writing each from a different perspective, such as one from an American newspaper and one from a German one. Discussions on propaganda are appropriate while doing this activity. A good example of how to write such an article can be found at ABC's to ACT's.

source

I would like to bring your attention to some posts over at Life's Adventures of field trips her family has taken to some World War I spots. Really wonderful posts to see!

Norman Rockwell began his career during World War I.

During World War I, he tried to enlist into the U.S. Navy but was refused entry because, at 6 feet tall and 140 pounds he was eight pounds underweight. To compensate, he spent one night gorging himself on bananas, liquids and doughnuts, and weighed enough to enlist the next day. However, he was given the role of a military artist and did not see any action during his tour of duty.

related posts:

• World War I, 1914: The Beginning
• Playing War Games...or which is larger...a platoon or a battalion?
• World War I:Hands-On Style
• A Learning Twist on an Old Game (could be made with WWI weapons instead)

sources and inspiration:

• What Was it Like in the Trenches of World War I at Adventures in Mommydom
• Sandbox Learning at Life's Adventures
• Life's Adventures  Field Trip Posts
• Eyewitness WWI
• When Europe Went Mad; a Brief History of The First World War by Terence Finn
• History Lesson: WWI at Colored Moon
• Come In Spinner:An ANZAC Game for Kids at My Little Bookcase

World World I, part 1:The Beginning, 1914

Norman Rockwell
Scout at Ship's Wheel, 1913

 

timeline from
Homeschool in the Woods'
Time Travelers'
Industrial Revolution to the Great Depression

We used the Eyewitness WWI book as our main resource. This is more of a textbook style book but they do love the DK Eyewitness books because of all the pictures in them. We also used Heritage History's Story of the Great War by Roland Usher  and When Europe Went Mad; a Brief History of The First World War by Terence Finn as our main narrative style books. They both give a very complete overview of the war and briefly explains the causes and sentiments of the war, along with a comprehensive overview of the battle strategies. 

We began our timeline of the war.

We looked at the causes of the war, and the alliances made and colored maps. 

"In 1914 most military experts believed that the army that attacked first would win."

-When Europe Went Mad; a Brief History of The First World War by Terence Finn

We learned about how in October 1879, Germany and Austria-Hungary became allies and formed the Dual Alliance. On 20 May 1882, they were joined by the Kingdom of Italy in what was known as the Triple Alliance. This alliance was intended to be limited to defensive purposes. We also learned that only 40 years prior to World War I, France had been invaded by Germany and had lost Alsace and Lorraine. France planned to some day regain them. Russia was also afraid of Germany's desire for dominance in Europe.

The Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers to form the Triple Alliance in August 1914. 

map of the alliances in Europe

Germany's strategy was to hit France fully, going on to Paris, believing that Russia could not mobilize its troops quickly enough to aide support. Once France was taken, Germany then planned to confront the Russians with a victorious army. But France had been preparing for war already and had constructed fort along the border with Germany.

Ticia at Adventures in Mommydom also has a good summary of the beginning of WWI.

Then we looked at a timeline of events of the beginning of the war:

• A Serb student shoots Austrian Archduke Ferdinand. 
• Austro-Hungary declares war on Serbia.
• Due to her Alliance, Russia helps Serbia.
• Due to alliances, Germany declares war on Russia.
• Germany declares war on France.
• Germany invades Belgium. 
• Britain declares war on Germany.
• Austro-Hungary declares war on Russia.
• France and Britian declare war on Austro-Hungary.

Western Front map 

German forces (five armies) crossed into Belgium, heading for France. They left two armies home to protect Alsace and Lorraine, and one army to protect the Russian border. Once Belgium's neutrality was violated, British sent their army to France.

Battle of Marne 

Germans pushed aside Belgians, defeated French and caused the British to retreat. By Sept. 3, the Germans reached the Marne River

"Savior of Paris"

France got taxi drivers to transport troops, 5 men at a time, to take the army to the front line. By this time, the German army was tried and had suffered numerous causalities  The largest problem, however was that they were desperately short of supplies, particularly food. 

"The Miracle of the Marne"

Germans withdrew to the high ground at the Aisne River and began to dig the 475 miles of trenches, from the  Swiss border to the North Sea.

The First Battle of Ypers

Britain lost all of its professional army. Britain and France retained control of a small slice of Belgium but the rest was occupied by Germany. The Germans were very cruel to the Belgians -they killed them, looted and burned buildings, which upset the British and the Americans, but Americans were not yet ready to enter into the war.

Two Russian armies attacked, crossing the border into East Prussia. The Germans crushed the Russians. This began the battles between the Germans and the Russians, which mostly resulted in Germany winning 

Turkey formally entered World War I on October 28, 1914, with the bombing of Russian Black Sea ports. The Triple Entente, or Allied Powers, declared war on the Ottoman Empire on November 4.

Ammo Belt Notebook page from Homeschool in the Woods' Time Travelers' Industrial Revolution to the Great Depression

We made this nifty Ammo Belt for their notebooks. It will hold the things they make during our study of World War I.

related posts:

• Playing War Games...or which is larger...a platoon or a battalion?
• World War I:Hands-On Style
• A Learning Twist on an Old Game (could be made with WWI weapons instead)

inspiration and sources:

• Eyewitness WWI  
• What Caused WWI at Adventures in Mommydom
• History Heritage maps and images
• Story of the Great War by Roland Usher from Heritage History
• When Europe Went Mad; a Brief History of The First World War by Terence Finn
• Map of Europe on the Eve of WWI
• PBS site (Interactive diagrams showing battles and the front lines.)
• Army hat at Catholic Icing
• Trench Warfare in the Sandbox at Life's Adventures
• WWI lapbook/notebook at Jimmie's Collage
• WWI activities at Counter-cultural School
• Free templates for notebook pages and minibooks related to WW1 and WW2.
• Templates for WWI- German Aircraft minibooks.
• Free sample from A Journey Through Learning –shutterfold minibook template including the two sides that fought in WW1.
• Schoolhistory.co.uk: WW1 Worksheets and Grade 9 WW1 Worksheets
• Teacheroz.com (WW1 maps)
• Western Front map 

World War I, Hands-On Style

I wanted the boys to get enough of the sense of WWI to be able to play old-fashioned boys' games. So, I showed them lots of games they could play and taught them how they related to WWI.

We talked about the role both boats and submarines played in the war. We then made paper boats and power boats made from milk/oj cartons and balloons, so they could play out their own battles. We experimented with buoyancy and made submarines out of Gatorade bottles, stones, baking soda, baking powder and vinegar and floated them in an aquarium.

We talked about trench warfare and then I tried to get them the feel of it by making mousetrap trench bombers (catapults really, but we have imaginations) but the arc of the marshmallow ammo was too low. They had fun anyway, and that was my original purpose, so I was happy.

They began calling the ammo, "whammo."

There were some bugs to work out.

It is nice when your whammo can also be used as a snack.

Next, I made up a tabletop game with a checkerboard, stones, dice and green, plastic army men. If you would like to play, get a chess or checkerboard and put a stone or marker in each square of the two middle rows. This is the "No-man's Land," or the space between the trenches. Each side can now set up their army men anywhere they wish. The first row behind the stones on either side is the trenches, and men are safe from being hit there. Once set up, each side takes turn making two moves for each round. A turn can consist of either: 1) moving a man one square in any direction, or 2) deciding which man is firing and rolling a die to see where his weapon hit (did you hit a man on the other side? If so, that man is removed from the game.) or 3)moving the trench line one row. To win one side has to either trap their opponent behind the trench line so that they cannot move or to eliminate their opponent's men.
After a brief and simple explanation of the beginnings of WWI, we showed the kids how to make paper airplanes. They chose from a hat the insignias of the various countries involved, found the country on a map and determined what side they were on. They added the insignias to their airplanes.

Lastly, I used a portion of the Zimmerman Telegram and had them be cypher-breakers. Through this they learned about Germany approaching the Mexican government with a proposal for military alliance; Germany's offer to give Mexico material aid in the reclamation of territory lost during the Mexican-American War. This telegram, which was intercepted, and decoded, led to America being drawn into the war.

These activities not only gave them some basic knowledge of WWI, but also gave them lots of information and skills to use in their play.

Playing War Games...or which is larger...a platoon or a battalion?

To help the boys learn about the ranking of serveral things in the military, we played a version of the old card game "war," but these cards had names of the various things I wanted them to learn about on the card instead of numbers.

For example, they are learning which weapons are more or less powerful by looking at a ranking list and determining which wins in a skirmish. For example Sam might put down an Breech-Loading Rifle card and James, a Small Mortar Card. Since the Mortar is more powerful, he would win Sam's card that round.

You can also learn the names for various amounts of soldiers.

Did you know that...
a Squad is about 8-10 soldiers (commanded by a sergeant)
a Platoon is about 2 or more squads or about 30 soldiers (led by a lieutenant)
a Compandy is about 3-5 Platoons (commanded by a captain)
a Battalion is 2 or more Companies (commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel)
a Regiment is 2 or more Battalion with soldiers and armored calvary
a Brigade is 2 or more Battalion with only soldiers (commanded by a Colonel)
a Division is 3 or more Brigades (commanded by a Major General)
a Corps is 2-5 Divisions (commanded by a Lietuenant General)
an Army is 2 or more Corps (commanded by a Lieteunant General)

You can also learn about military rank. It is fun to have the losing side salute the higher ranking card holder each round.You could write the names of these Military Groupings on index cards and play "war' card game.