Hello, I'm Mrs. Tipping, and I'm really looking forward to learning with you today all about the Great War, and thinking about the question, how did the Great War affect my local area? So shall we get started? Let's go.

By the end of today's lesson, you're going to be able to describe what conflict was like in World War I.

Before we start, I'd like to introduce you to some keywords and we'll be using these keywords during the lesson.

So it might be a good idea to write them down.

The keywords will be using today are front, trench, No Man's Land, morale.

I'm going to say those again and I'd like you to repeat them after me.

Front, trench, No Man's Land, morale.

Good job.

Let's think in more detail about what these keywords mean.

Here are some definitions.

A front refers to the line where the opposing armies meet in battle.

A trench is a long deep hole dug in the ground where soldiers fought from, lived in, and used to shelter from the enemy.

The piece of land in between the defensive trenches of rival armies was called No Man's Land.

Morale is a feeling of positivity about what is happening.

Pause the video here to make a note of these keywords and when you are ready to continue, press play.

These are the learning cycles that we'll be working through together in today's lesson.

Where were the major battle fronts in World War I? What was life like in the trenches? How did soldiers communicate home? In the first learning cycle, we will explore where the major battlefronts were in World War I.

Battles between the rival alliances were fought across many countries and continents.

World War I had many fronts and battles were fought on the Western Front, the Eastern Front, in Africa and in Asia.

The two major European fronts where major battles took place were the Western Front and the Eastern Front.

I wonder why they were called that.

Well, soldiers fighting in battles west of Germany were said to be fighting on the Western Front.

And soldiers fighting battles to the east of Germany was referred to as fighting on the Eastern Front.

I think that makes sense.

These battles though, they resulted in a huge number of casualties for all the armies involved.

In some battles like the Battle of the Somme in 1917, there would be thousands of dead or wounded soldiers in just one day.

It's estimated that around 8.

5 million soldiers were killed during World War I.

And there are many memorials around Britain to acknowledge this significant loss of life.

We can see an image there of an example of a World War I memorial that remembers those who lost their lives.

Let's pause and check our understanding.

All battles took place on the Western Front.

Is that true or false? Take a moment to think.

If you said that's false, you're correct, well done.

How would we justify our answer? Which of these two sentences helps us to do that? There was also an Eastern Front and fighting which took place in Asia and Africa.

There was also a Southern Front and fighting which took place in Asia and Africa.

Talk to your partner, which of these two sentences helps to justify your answer? Well done if you said that there was also an Eastern Front and fighting which took place in Asia and Africa.

This brings us to our first learning task for this lesson.

So I'd like you to draw a line to match the definition to the correct name.

So we have Western Front and Eastern Front.

Battles fought to the east of Germany were fought along this front, battles fought to the west of Germany were fought along this front.

So you could write these out like you can see on screen on a piece of paper to draw the line, or you could write Western Front and Eastern Front and continue to write the definition next to those two names, and talk to your partner about which ones you would match where first before you have a go at drawing the line or writing those out.

Pause the video here to give yourself enough time to do that and press play when you are ready to continue.

How did that go? Shall we take a look? So the Western Front is where battles fought to the western of Germany were fought along this front, and Eastern Front battles fought to the east of Germany were fought along this front.

Well done if you matched those names to the correct definition.

Let's move on to the second part of our lesson.

What was life like in the trenches? There was fighting on the Western Front for all four years of the war.

These armies fighting along the Western Front each dug large trenches, and these were large holes in the ground that soldiers lived in and fought from.

Soldiers used sandbags and wooden beams to strengthen their trenches.

The trenches were dug around three metres into the ground and enemy trenches were very close.

Take a moment to look at the image of a World War I trench.

What can you see there? Can you spot any soldiers? Can you see where the wooden beams and sandbags are to prop up those holes in the ground? So why do you think the soldiers dug these trenches? Soldiers dug these trenches to protect themselves from the enemy while they fought.

Both sides boarded their trenches with barbed wire to protect themselves from the enemy.

The soldiers had to live in these trenches.

They ate, they cooked, and washed and slept in them.

Can you imagine what it was like being in a World War I trench? The ground between two rival trenches was called No Man's Land, and this was a dangerous place for soldiers to be, as they risk getting shot or wounded when trying to get close to enemy lines.

Trenches were dug in a zigzag shape for better protection from the enemy.

So they weren't in a straight line, they were zigzagged.

Barbed wire was placed around the trench and across No Man's Land, and this was usually done at night so that it was more difficult for the enemy to see the soldiers fixing the trenches.

However, it was still a very dangerous job as the enemy soldiers would sometimes shine light to try to catch the soldiers.

Having a look at this drawing of No Man's Land, it really looks like a terrifying place, doesn't it? What can you see there? Let's pause and check our understanding.

No Man's Land is the piece of land between enemy trenches.

Is that true or false? What do you think? If you said that was true, you're absolutely right, well done.

How do we justify our answer? Which of these two sentences helps to do that? The land between enemy trenches did not belong to either army.

Both armies shared No Man's Land between them.

So discuss that with your partner.

Which do you think helps justify your answer? If you said the land between enemy trenches did not belong to either army, that's correct, well done.

Life in the trenches was incredibly hard and soldiers suffered a lot.

The trenches were dirty and they smelled really bad.

The toilets were pits dug into the ground which soldiers had to try and clean.

Have a look at this image, shows that the trench is filled with water.

It wouldn't be very pleasant at all.

And it was impossible for the soldiers to keep their feet dry in the trenches.

As you saw in that image, when it rained the trenches would fill with water and this often resulted in trench foot.

Goodness, a fungal disease caused by the poor conditions of the trenches.

Sometimes trench foot got so bad that soldiers had to have their toes cut off.

You can see on this poster here just what it was like or an image of what it could have been like.

Let's pause for a moment and check our understanding.

Which two things made life difficult for soldiers in the trenches? Was it, soldiers had too many beds to choose from? The trenches filled up with water.

There was a disease called trench hands.

Soldiers did not know when the enemy would attack.

What two things made life difficult for soldiers.

Have a discussion with your partner, which do you think? Let's take a look, shall we? If you said that the trenches filled up with water and the soldiers did not know when the enemy would attack, you are correct, well done.

The trenches were also very cramped.

Living so close together meant that disease spread quickly and soldiers had to live with lice, fleas, and rats.

There were no beds in the trenches, so soldiers had to sleep anywhere that they could.

Some soldiers experienced shell shock because they often did not know when the enemy would attack.

So they lived in fear.

Shell shock was also caused by the traumatic fighting that the soldiers had to do.

They sadly saw their fellow soldiers killed or badly injured, which was very upsetting.

Soldiers with shell shock experienced a range of symptoms such as constant ear ringing, being unable to speak or sleep, and suffering from anxiety and nightmares.

And this is now known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

A mental health condition which is caused by experiencing an extremely traumatic event.

At the time there was little support for soldiers and sadly many continued to suffer with PTSD long after the war was over.

So not only did they have to experience these trenches which were dirty and smelly and cramped, and with nowhere to really sleep, they also had to experience all of that horrible trauma whilst they were fighting for their country.

This brings us to our second learning task.

I'd like you to pause the video here, to give yourself enough time to write two or three sentences for points one and two, using the sentence starters provided.

So life in the trenches was difficult because.

I'd like you to finish that sentence.

Many soldiers experienced shell shock because.

You might wish to use the following words in your answers.

Trench foot, rats, lice, anxiety, nightmares, Battle of the Somme.

So pause the video here, make sure you've got your pen and paper to continue those sentences, and when you are ready, press play to continue.

How did that go? Shall we take a look at a couple of examples? Your answer could have included: Life in the trenches was difficult because the conditions were very bad, cramped and there were overflowing toilets.

It was constantly wet and many soldiers suffered from trench foot.

There were lots of large rats and lice in the trenches making life for the soldiers even harder.

Well done for completing that learning task for the first sentence.

Let's have a look at that second sentence starter.

Many soldiers experience shell shock because of the traumatic fighting that they had to do.

They sometimes saw many people die in one day, like in the Battle of the Somme.

Many soldiers with shell shock suffered with anxiety and nightmares.

Shell Shock is now known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD.

Well done if you got something similar in your answer for that second sentence starter.

This brings us to the third part of our lesson.

How did soldiers communicate home? Letters tell historians a lot about what life was like for soldiers in World War I.

The only way soldiers could communicate with their families was through letter writing, as there were no mobile phones or email.

Writing and receiving letters helped soldiers' morale and kept families connected even though they were often very far apart.

Morale means to remain positive about what is happening.

Keeping up soldiers' morale was very important as life in the trenches was very difficult, and the generals in charge, they needed the soldiers to remain positive about the war so they could keep fighting.

Troops faced many long hours in the trenches waiting for the next battle.

So to relieve boredom they often played cards and read books and magazines.

Some also wrote diaries to record what their experiences were like.

And many of these diaries still exist today.

And like letters are important sources about life in the trenches for historians.

Let's pause and check our understanding.

How did soldiers communicate with their families during World War I? Was it through a, letters, b, telephone or c, telegraph? What do you think.

If you said a, letters, that's absolutely right, well done.

And why was letter writing for soldiers so important in World War I? Was it because it helped to keep up soldiers' morale? It helped soldiers communicate with loved ones.

It helped families to learn about battle plans.

Why was letter writing so important? What do you think? If you said, that it helped keep soldiers' morale up and it also helped them communicate with their loved ones, you are absolutely right, well done.

We've now reached our final learning task of this lesson.

I would like you to pause the video here and give yourself enough time to write one paragraph to explain why letter writing was important for soldiers in World War I.

A good explanation will include these words, communicate and morale.

So pause the video here, get yourself a piece of paper and a pen, and when you're ready, press play to continue.

Well done for having a go at writing that explanation.

Shall we have a look at an example.

So you could have written something like this? Letter writing was very important because it meant soldiers could communicate with their families and stay connected even though they were far apart.

It also helps soldiers morale so they would keep on fighting even though it was very hard.

Well done if you wrote something similar and if you managed to include those two words, communicate and morale.

Before we finish this lesson, let's summarise what we've learned about trench warfare on the Western Front.

World War I had many fronts and battles were fought on the Western Front, the Eastern Front, in Africa and in Asia.

In some battles, like the Somme in 1917, mass attacks led to thousands of dead or wounded soldiers in a day.

The Western Front saw the use of trench warfare where the conditions were terrible and soldiers on both sides suffered a lot.

Many soldiers suffered from shell shock which is now known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD.

Historians know about life in the trenches because of soldiers' letters and diaries.

Writing letters home was important for morale.

Thank you for joining me in this lesson today, and I look forward to seeing you for the next lesson.

See you next time.