Fairlight Primary and Nursery School
Year 5 Topic: First World War
In Year 5, our Autumn topic is the Great War, later known as the First World War. It is a serious topic in history, which will challenge your child to think about serious questions about the morality of war and the decisions that leaders of different countries make that can affect the lives of millions. We will find out what the 'MAIN' factors were that lead to the outbreak of war, and the assassination that was the trigger event. We will learn about the propaganda that was used to persuade ordinary people to join up, and what it was like to fight in the trenches of the Western Front. We will find out about the experiences of women serving at the front lines and in No Man's Land, in the munition factories, and campaigning for the right to vote. We will find out about the links between the Great War and the colonial empires, and the experiences of people from around the world at the front and in Brighton itself.
Sussex by the Sea: Brighton in Summer 1914
Travel back in time 106 years to find out what life was like in our city in the summer before the Great War broke out. How has Brighton changed and stayed the same since then? Oh, we do like to be beside the seaside!...
Blighty Brighthelmstone in 1914 Powerpoint
Brighton in 1914 Google Earth Tour (work in progress!)
A Timetraveller's Factsheet about Brighthelmstone in 1914
A Map of Brighthelmstone in 1914
Brighthelmstone Landmarks Map activity!
Converting
What were the causes of the Great War?
It is the summer of 1914, and the Great Powers of Europe have been arguing. What are the arguments about, and what is causing them to think about war with each other?
What were the Causes of the Great War Powerpoint
The Shots Heard Around The World!
It is Sunday 28th June 1914. The place is Sarajevo, in the country of Bosnia-Herzegovina, now controlled by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The heir to the Austrian throne, Archduke Franz-Ferdinand and his wife Sophia, are driving through town on their holidays. What happens next will change the history of the entire world!
Your Country Needs You!
It is the 4th August 1914, and the United Kingdom has declared war on Germany and her allies. They need recruits to join the armed forces to help the British Expeditionary Force. Year 5 are joining Stingray and Manta Ray Platoons, Fairlight Pals' Company, the Royal Sussex Regiment. Find out how and why men, women, and boys from the UK, the other countries of Europe, and people from across the British Empire signed up for the British Army. Then, join the Sergeant-Major to learn how soldiers trained in the British Army!
Life In The Trenches
We have been posted to the Western Front: a series of trenches separating the armies fighting in Belgium and northern France. What was it like to live in the trenches during the Great War?
Life in the Trenches Power Point
Life in the Trenches Horrible Histories poster (not sure that British Tommies really ate rats though - there were enough rations!)
Over The Top!
The order has come down the line from the General: we go over the top of the trench tomorrow to launch an attack! We role-play our life in the trenches, and prepare to take part in the first day of the Battle of the Somme on July 1st 1916. We see the new weapons and machines of war that make this war so terrible. Some of us are captured; some of us survive to live another day; some of us fall and lie still in a field in France. We meet German soldiers and wonder if they are in fact just like us.
War Songs: It's a Long Way to Tipperary, Pack Up Your Troubles
War Songs: The Old Barbed Wire
Diagram of a British Soldier's Uniform and Kit
The Battle of the Somme Fact file
Sounds of WWI: Rifle shots and machine guns taking 'pot shots', 'whizz bang' mortar bombs.
Sound of WWI: An artillery barrage bombarding enemy trenches.
War Animals
Humans are not the only creatures doing their duty during the Great War. There are animals too of many kinds. They Also Serve.
Home and Far Away: The Empire and Brighton at War
We return to Brighton during the First World War with wounded soldiers from India, one million of whom fought as part of the British Empire at that time. We'll find out what it was like to recover at the Indian Military Hospital at the Royal Pavilion and elsewhere in Brighton, and what it meant to be from a country colonized for the Empire in that time. We also learn about Subadar (Captain) Mir Dast VC IOC, who received his Victoria Cross at the Pavilion from King George V.
Women at War
Women played an important part in many parts of the First World War: from the 'canaries' or 'munitionettes' who risked their lives making shells in the munition factories such as in Circus Street in Brighton; to police officers, land girls and tram drivers; to the Woman's Army Auxiliary; to the 'angels of mercy' - ambulance drivers, nurses, doctors and stretcher bearers who rescued the wounded from the middle of No Man's Land. Find out more about their lives here!
The Christmas Truce 1914
It is Christmas Eve 1914, and the German guns have gone mysteriously silent. Then, lights and fires can be seen, and over No Man's Land, the sound of singing from both trenches: Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht; Silent Night, holy Night. A truce for Christmas has been declared, for the first and last time in the war, or any war since.
The Christmas Truce 1914 Power Point with video link to an interview with a soldier and letters
Black Britain at War
Armistice 1918