First World War · 1914-1918

The Western Front: four years in the trenches

After the Battle of the Marne in September 1914 the armies dug in. A line of trenches ran from the Belgian coast to the Swiss border. Students follow the front on the map and meet the soldiers who lived in it.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
12–15
On the map
3 steps, AD 1914
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

After the Battle of the Marne in September 1914 the armies dug in. A line of trenches ran from the Belgian coast to the Swiss border. Students follow the front on the map and meet the soldiers who lived in it.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Trace the Western Front on the map from the North Sea to Switzerland.
  • Describe daily life in the trenches using at least three details.
  • Explain why attacks like Verdun and the Somme cost so many lives for so little ground.
2

Explore the map

15 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1914

The line on the map

Open the map in 1914 over Belgium and northern France. The front ran from the coast near Nieuwpoort to the Swiss border. Trace it with your finger: which countries does it cross?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1914

Verdun

Zoom in on Verdun on the river Meuse. In 1916 French and German armies fought here for ten months. Ask the atlas: "Why was Verdun so important to France?"

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1914

The Somme

Move west to the river Somme near Albert. On 1 July 1916 the British army attacked here. How far is it from the English Channel, and how far from Paris?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

15 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Why did both sides dig trenches after the Battle of the Marne in 1914?
  2. What would a day in a front-line trench have been like? Think of mud, rats, food, noise and fear.
  3. On the first day of the Somme the British army had about 57,000 casualties. Why did generals keep ordering attacks?
  4. New weapons such as gas, tanks and planes appeared. Which one changed the war the most, and why?
  5. Soldiers and workers from India, Africa, Canada, Australia and China served on the Western Front. Why are their stories often left out?
4

Game round

10 min

No ruler in Rule History lived in this war. Play one round as Napoleon Bonaparte and try to win a quick, decisive battle. Then discuss why generals like Joffre and Haig could not do the same in 1914-1918.

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

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