Battles of World War I

                          A Webquest by Sharon Ancelet, Grade 7 Social Studies at Southport Middle School, MSD Perry Township, Indianapolis, Indiana

Introduction

Task

Process

Resources

Evaluation

Conclusion

Introduction      Today in our global community, war is a reality.  War rages in Afghanistan and the Middle East, and civil war exists in Sri Lanka, Mozambique, and many other places in the world.  Almost 100 years ago, the world was embroiled in its first "world" war.  Known today as World War I, it was called "The Great War" at the time.  I t was also called "the war to end all wars" and the war to make the world "safe for democracy."  As we see, this was not true.      Much has been written and documented about our other great world war, World War II, but World War I is often thought of as the forgotten war.  In honor of the 10 million people who died in this war, a museum is going to be built in Brussels, Belgium.  What aspects of the war should be included in the museum?

Your Task

    Working with the premise that there will be different galleries for different battles of the war, we will design a room dedicated to a particular battle.  Our goal is to research some of these battles to determine who won and why, and then design a gallery based on the research.  For each battle, there will be a team of four students who research a specific aspect of the battle.  These four will then come to a consensus in designing the gallery.  The battles you will choose from are:  Verdun, Jutland, Somme, St. Mihiel, Gallipoli, Marne, Cambrai, and Passchendaele.

In a small group of four students, you will design a room in the World War I Museum dedicated to your battle, and based on your research, be able to explain who won the battle and why.

Roles

· The Biographer - This member of the team will examine the people involved in the battle and behind the scenes such as the commanding officers, the politicians, and the soldiers themselves.

· The Weapons Analyst - This member will research the various weapons, machinery, and technology used in the battle.

· The Cartographer - This member will analyze and reproduce the map of the area, recreate the battle scene, and determine what effect the terrain and the weather had on the outcome of the battle.

· The Statistician - This member will research and record all the data related to the battle such as the number of troops involved, number of tanks, planes, etc. involved, and the number of casualties.

Process

    Each group has two parts in completing the task:

1. an oral report, following the format below

2. either a flat drawing or 3-dimensional model of the room you will be dedicating in the museum.

Part I:  The Oral Report

The following questions should be answered:                                        

· What countries were involved in the battle?

· Where did the battle take place?

· What was the terrain like and how did it affect the outcome of the battle?  (For example, were there rivers, mountains, deserts, etc.?   What was the weather like?)

· How long did the battle last?  Provide the dates.

· Who were the  people involved?  Who were the commanding officers?  Did the battle involve infantry, fighter  pilots, tank units, etc? 

· What kind of machinery was used and who had the better machinery?  (tanks, planes, submarines, U-boats, etc.)

· What type of weapons were used? (grenades, machine guns, rockets, torpedoes, etc.)

· How many casualties were there on each side? (dead and wounded)

· What was gained by the winner?

· SUMMARIZE - THE BIG QUESTION:    Who won and why?

Part II: The Visual Aid     Your visual aid should depict what your gallery in the museum will look like.  The gallery should include: · A map or recreation of the battle scene · An area honoring the men and women involved in the battle · An area showing pictures or replicas of the weapons and machinery used in the battle · An area with charts or graphs showing the number of casualties

Resources

Major Battles of World War I   BBC News: World War I Military History: World War I World War I: The Great War The First World War:1914 -1918 Canada and World War I Battles Reference Links - American History - World War I Battles of World War I Casualties Chronology of the First World War World War I: Trenches on the Web Battle of Passchendaele World War I: Heroes, Leaders, and Battles

Evaluation

Peer Evaluation

Collaboration with Group	Beginning 1	Developing 2	Accomplished 3	Exemplary 4	Score
Research and Gather Information	Does not collect any information that relates to topic.	Collects very little information; only some relates to the topic.	Collects some basic information; most relates to the topic.	Collects a great deal of information; all of it relates to the topic.
Fulfill Team Role's Duties	Does not perform any duties of assigned team role.	Performs very few duties.	Performs nearly all duties.	Performs all duties off assigned team role.
Contribute to Oral Report	Does not speak during presentation.	Either gives too little information or information that is irrelevant.	Offers some information; most of it is relevant.	Offers important and relevant information.
Stay on Task	Rarely stays on task.	Is on task some of the time.	Is on task most of the time.	Always on task; works hard.
Listen and Cooperate with Teammates	Does not listen to others' suggestions.  Argues with teammates.	Sometimes argues and wants own way; rarely listens to others' ideas.	Listens most of the time and sometimes talks too much.   Rarely argues.	Listens to others' ideas and also conntributes to discussion without arguing.

Teacher Evaluation of Visual Aid

Visual Aid	Beginning 1	Developing 2	Accomplished 3	Exemplary 4	Score
Attractiveness	Unorganized; lack of color, neatness, and creativity	Some color; a bit unorganized; some creativity	Colorful and neat; fairly organized; some creativity	Very attractive and creative; neat and colorful
Map or Battle Scene	Very crude drawings or photocopy of the battle scene; missing elements	A hand-drawn map or drawing that has some inaccuracies and missing elements	Includes an accurate, hand-drawn map of the area or a drawing of the battle scene	Either a detailed, accurate, hand-drawn map with a title, key, scale and labels; or a 3-D model of the battle scene
Personalities Involved	The impact of one person related to the battle	The impact of two people related to the battle	The impact of three people related to the battle	The impact of four people related to the battle
Weapons and Machinery	Very few drawings or pictures of weapons and machinery used	Some drawings and pictures of weapons and machinery used	Several drawings or pictures of weapons and machinery used	Many drawings or recreations of weapons and machinery used
Statistics	Very little data; presented in an unorganized manner	Some data and statistics; not organized into tables or graphs	A fair amount of data; some organized into graphs and charts	Lots of accurate data organized into graphs and charts

Teacher Evaluation of Oral Report Using Bloom's Taxonomy

Point Covered Completely = 2 points Point Covered Incompletely = 1 point RECALL FACTS:	Score
Countries involved
Where the battle occurred
Date(s) of the battle
Weather conditions
Type of landscape or terrain
Types of machinery used
Types of weapons used
Military leaders on each side
Political leaders on each side
Number of casualties
INTERPRET
Compare and contrast the number of casualties on each side
Differentiate between the types of weapons and machinery used on each side
Summarize the course of the battle
ANALYZE
Explain the effect the geography (weather, land) had on the outcome of the battle
Explain why the battle was fought where it was
SYNTHESIZE
Generalize what was gained by the winner
Generalize what was lost by the loser
EVALUATE
Assess who had the better military leaders and/or soldiers

Conclusion

    I hope that by completing this webquest, you have learned more about the battles of World War I, the people involved, the weapons used, and the impact of weather, terrain, leadership, and luck played in the outcome of the battle.  

    It has been said that those who do not learn from the mistakes of the past are condemned to repeat them.  I hope you have learned something about the horrors of World War I, so that you may play a part in preventing future wars.

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Last revised March 2005 by Trisha Armstrong