As this year marks the 100th anniversary of the start of World War One, we felt it was important for us to learn about the conflict here at school. As such, on the week beginning May 19th we held a History Week throughout school, during which our lessons were all themed around the First World War. We learned a huge amount, and despite the tragic nature of the topic, we managed to have some fun too.
The infants enjoyed an exciting drama workshop, complete with costumes, pictures, artefacts and music. Some of the children were chosen to dress up as key figures from World War One; they looked fantastic! Years 1 and 2 marched through the hall listening to music from the era, waving flags and cheering the soldiers along. They looked fantastic! They also spent time in classes finding out about propaganda posters and soldiers ration packs. Reception also learned about ‘life long ago’, and had the experience of rationing gummy bears. Some of them managed to save all fifteen of their sweets until the end of the week! Well done Reception!
Years 3 and 4 had a wonderful time meeting Private Steve and Captain Tommy. We all thought they were very funny! These two soldiers, in full uniform, spent time showing the children how they prepared to go and fight in the trenches. The classes learned why the conflict began, how soldiers worked as a team to protect themselves and how to guard against a gas attack. They tried on a real gas mask from World War One (it looked quite strange!) and some of them even held a real bayonet. The three classes of the lower juniors also worked with Mrs Cox to make poppies of remembrance out of fabric. They were quite tricky, and we were all so grateful to Mrs Cox for showing us what to do.
As well as reading Michael Morpurgo’s Private Peaceful, the children of the Upper Juniors worked with poet and author John Malam, finding out about Corporal Horsnell from the Lancashire Fusiliers. Corporal Horsnell was a real soldier who fought during World War 1. Years 5 and 6 spent time reading diary extracts and letters sent from the front line. These artefacts inspired them to write their own ‘letters from the front’, some of which were very moving indeed. They also spent time during the week thinking about the bravery and selflessness required of all those involved in various conflicts around the world. Year 5 walked to the War Memorial and laid a wreath on behalf of all of us here at school, and Year 6 made medals showing personal attributes they associated with the soldiers of World War 1.
We had a fantastic week learning about this important aspect of our history. All of our work has been put together to make two wonderful displays in school, showing the broad range of activities we covered during the week. We hope you like them!
Click on the photograph to see our WW1 photo gallery:
