English Lesson - WWI diaries

1. Lessonplan in Englishfor secondary school purpose (on the analysis of the WWIsoldiers’diaries/memoirs)
withinthe Erasmus+ project→TransformingEurope:WWIand Its Consequences1918 – 2018
AIMS:
→ to enable studentsto revise the general information about WWI
→ to bring studentscloserto the WWIsoldiers’experience
→ to make studentspractise readingcomprehension,literaryanalysis
→ to make studentsrevise the characteristic featuresofdiaries/memoirs(alternatively- letters)
1st
lesson
I Students briefly researchthe topicof WWIin orderto revise itshistorical &social background. Theyworkonline.
Theyare dividedinto3groups,one doesthe researchonthe beginningsandcausesof WWI, secondrevisesthe
course of majorevents,thirdlearns aboutthe endingof the worldconflictanditsconsequences.Theyworkin
groupsfor 10 minutesandthen,for5 minutes, theygetpreparedforthe presentationof theirsearchresults.Each
presentationlastsnomore than5 minutes.
Recommendedwebsites:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01nb93y
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01nhwgx
http://firstworldwar.com/index.htm
II Studentsworkindividually for10minutes.Theyreadabout the soldier'sexperience inWorldWarOne.The taskis
aimedat bringingthe studentsclosertounderstandingsoldiers’situationatthe front,intrenches,farfromtheir
familiesandhomelands:
https://www.bl.uk/world-war-one/articles/combat-and-soldiers-experiences
http://www.bl.uk/world-war-one/articles/the-daily-life-of-soldiers
http://www.bl.uk/world-war-one/articles/sensuous-life-in-the-trenches
http://www.bl.uk/world-war-one/articles/how-did-soldiers-cope-with-war
2nd
lesson
IIIStudentsare dividedinto4groups.The followingfourpiecesof diaries/memoirsare assigned- one parttoeach
group.Theyread for25 minutes and
a) jotdown the characteristics of a diary as a texttype
b) analyse the writer’sstyle inregardsto tone,word choice, figuresof speech(figurative language),
words/expressionsreferringtothe senses (sensorydetails)

2. c) identify charactertraits & changesin character, attitude
d) take downtheirreflections,impressions,observations,conclusions
The Diariesof Robert Lindsay Mackay
http://firstworldwar.com/diaries/rlm.htm
The Diary of Thomas FredrickLittler
http://firstworldwar.com/diaries/littlerdiary1.htm
WilliamBernard Whitmore:England& The Somme 1915-16
http://firstworldwar.com/diaries/whitmore.htm
The Diary of Edwin Evan Jones
http://firstworldwar.com/diaries/edwinjones.htm
IV Theycompare & complete the notesin theirgroupsfor5-10 minutes andshare theirfindings inthe openforum.
Afterthe presentations,students mayshare theirthoughtsaboutthe topic,diaries,reading.
Additional reading:
Memoirs& Diaries
http://firstworldwar.com/diaries/index.htm
Prose & Poetry
http://firstworldwar.com/poetsandprose/index.htm
Love Lettersfrom the Front
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b077jrgw