How Do I Teach . . .: World War I - A Brief Introduction

Studying the World Wars does not sound like a lot of fun; however, using The Checklist for ideas of topics to cover and some creativity, studying the World Wars can be fun and interesting! Here are some resources you can use to create a short unit on World War I for your elementary age students:

Books to Read:

The Night Flyers (American Girl History Mysteries) by Elizabeth McDavid Jones
Eddie Rickenbacker: Boy Pilot and Racer (Young Patriots Series) by Kathryn Sisson

Internet Research:

Timeline of WWI - US.
How the War Began and Simple Version.
PBS - The Great War.
Document: Wilson's War Message to Congress.
Postcards of WWI.
What is a doughboy?
Diary of a WWI soldier.
Letters from WWI.
Overview Map of World War I.
Winston Churchill.
Woodrow Wilson.
Weapons of WWI.
Pigeon Spies in WWI (photo) and message. and Cher Ami - True Story.
Excerpt from the Treaty of Versailles.
The Balfour Declaration.

Science:

Listen to the first radio transmission in 1906.
100 Years of Radio history.
Baby Snooks radio show.
Ramsey AMFM7 AM/FM Radio Learning Kit.
Sinking of the Lusitania.

Poetry, Music and Art:

Poetry - memorize the poem, In Flanders Field. Audio: In Flander's Field.
Learn the Song: The Caissons Go Moving Along.
Music from WWI.
Look at some art from WWI.

Hands-On Activities to Do:

On a map of the world, color in all the countries involved in World War I. Color the allies in blue and the Central Powers in red.
Using clip art and photos, create a scrapbook or timeline of World War I.
Draw a World War I recruitment poster.
Cook some World War I Food. Doughboy Recipes.
World War I Puzzle.

Composition:

Research one of the major battles of WWI. Draw a map showing where it took place. Describe the battle and its results.
Make a list of the Allies and the Axis countries.
Pretend you are a solder in Wold War I or child of a soldier. Write your own diary entry.

Worksheets: