World War I and All Quiet on the Western Front Project:
The (Not Really So) Great War
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque presents the story of Paul Baumer, a German soldier in World War I. Paul, as the novel's first-person narrator, describes a series of incidents and impressions of war through his own eyes. One main theme of the novel is how war creates feelings of disillusionment. The novel also represents a generation destroyed by the dehumanization of the war and its trench warfare. As you study the novel and complete the activities in this project, you will explore historical and social aspects of World War I by focusing on the following question: How does war affect the lives, emotions, and thoughts of those involved?
The Task:
You will take the perspective of a soldier during World War I who has done a majority of their fighting in the trenches on the Western Front, and will create a scrapbook/journal in the year 1918 describing what the conditions are like and how you feel.
Your job will be to visit the suggested and supplementary websites, record and cite information in a “Dossier” for your “Soldier’s Journal,” and then find creative ways to demonstrate what you have learned about The Great War in the voice of a solider “Poet” on the Western Front.
The Steps:
1. “Dossier”: To find the information for this journal, you may use All Quiet on the Western Front, as well as some or all of the following websites:
http://www.worldwar1.com/sfguide.htm
Trenches on the Web: This guide offers primary source documents, poems, trench maps, statistics, etc.It is truly an awesome site to explore for just about everything.
http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/ww1_res.html
World War One Resources: This site links you to other primary and secondary sources on WWI.
http://wwi.lib.byu.edu/index.php/Main_Page
The World War One Document Archive: Links you to images and primary source documents.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwone/
The BBC History- World War One: Provides tours of the trenches, diaries, etc.
http://videoindex.pbs.org/resources/greatwar/primary/index.html
PBS Videodatabase: Links you to images and primary source documents.
http://www.firstworldwar.com/
Straightforward explanations of the war, the weaponry, major players and poets.
The Lost Poets of the Great War: http://www.english.emory.edu/LostPoets/
German Poet: http://www.worldwar1.com/sfgp1e.htm
*For morephotos of World War I not found above, google for "World War I" at the Google Image Search Site.
As always, be careful what you Google!
While you will use the guidelines for the Soldier’s Journal below to guide your searching, please be sure to record the sources from which you cull information, images, sounds, etc. in MLA format. IMAGINE YOU ARE IN A WAR AGAINST PLAGIARISM! All sources cited should be included in your dossier along with a description of the content used; therefore, it is okay to quote from a source or copy an image as long as it is credited in this annotated bibliography (a fancy term for describing how you used the source—see the example below). You do not have to cite each page individually within the website, as long as your annotation specifies the sections used.
Dossier Entry Example (created using EasyBib and right-clicking the webpage the photo was published on to “View Page Source” & “View Page Info”):
A 'sap Trench' in No Man's Land. Photograph. The Imperial War Museum, London. PBS VIDEOdatabase Resource:The Great War: Primary Source Documents:. PBS Online, 1999. Web. 27 Sept. 2010. <http://videoindex.pbs.org/resources/greatwar/primary/ph_26.html>.
This photograph shows helmeted soldiers in battle using a sap trench. The website included an explanation of how the sap trench was used.
As always, see Mrs. Gillespie with questions.
2. “Soldier’s Journal” Put together the information you find in an interesting and seemingly-authentic trench journal, scrapbook, billfold, series of letters, or other medium (if other, convince me it is valid!). Please do not just include the facts in your final project—record your reactions to the materials as “a soldier” as well. How would you feel if you were faced with these situations? What would you think of these images and/or events? What do you smell, hear, taste, etc.? BE DESCRIPTIVE, BE CREATUVE, and BE ACCURATE.
In your Soldier’s Journal, please include the following information/elements:
1. Explain how the whole mess began: what started it? When? Who is fighting, and with whom? And most importantly, do you care?
2. Describe the everyday conditions on the front lines: what is the food situation like? Explain what dysentery is all about (aside from something you catch playing Oregon Trail)—what causes it, and why is it such a big problem for guys in the trenches?...And what’s up with the “trench rats”?
3. Explain the role that gas attacks played in the war. What types of gas were used, and what were the effects? Do you think it is right?
4. Describe two of the following new weapons that are being used in the Great War and explain how they are changing the face of war in 1918. What was their range, effects, etc. Weapons to explore: flamethrower, tank, machine gun, airplane, and 3" mortar.
5. Include an illustration of atypical set of trenches used during WWI using information you gather from research and the novel—do not simply copy a map found on the internet—but rather personalize your map to your situation. Be able to explain how they work.
6. Explain what "no man's land" is and include an illustration of it.
7. Explain “shell shock”—what are the symptoms? Can you avoid it?
8. Explain “a dogfight” (and this doesn’t mean pitbulls!) for someone who has never seen one.
9. Talk about two or three pictures of World War I that you will include copies of in your journal. (You'll find thousands of pictures in your quest, choose carefully.)
10. *Include a Found Poem
3. “Found Poem” Finally, you will conclude your Soldier’s Journal with an original war poem, written using words from the novel.
All Quiet on the Western Front is full of vivid, frank, and unique language; often, the author uses metaphors, imagery, and hyperbole (exaggeration) just as a poet might to help create a clear picture for the reader. You will write a found poem, selecting passages and combining memorable words and phrases from All Quiet on the Western Front to "find" a poem that reveals a powerful message from the novel. Your poem will be graded for the quality of expression (sound conventions, word choice from the novel, line breaks, etc.), focus (on one subject or theme), and format (follow directions!).
Found Poem Instructions (Instructions adapted from “Found and Headline Poems” from Getting the Knack: 20 Poetry Writing Exercises by Stephen Dunning and William Stafford.)
1. Decide on a theme or topic for your poem. Carefully re-read the sections of the text you have noted in the course of your reading and look for phrases (approximately 50–100 words) that stand out in the passages as particularly powerful, moving, or interesting. Look for imagery, figures of speech, alliterative phrases, or anything else that creates a unique image or sound.
2. On a separate sheet of paper, make a list of the details, words and phrases, keeping them in the order that you found them. List page numbers (of the words you use to create the poem) next to the phrases in MLA fashion (1). Double space between lines so that the lines are easy to work with. Feel free to add others that you notice as you go through the prose piece again.
3. Look back over your list and cut out everything that is dull, or unnecessary, or that just doesn’t seem right for the topic of your poem.
4. Decide on a tone for your poem (angry? despairing? wistful?) As you look over the shortened list, think about the tone that the words convey. Make sure that you have words that communicate your emotions or those of the person in the prose text.
5. Make any minor changes necessary to create your poem. You can change punctuation and make little changes to the words to make them fit together (such as change the tenses, possessives, plurals, and capitalizations).
6. When you’re close to an edited down version, if you absolutely need to add a word or two to make the poem flow more smoothly, to make sense, to make a point, you may add up to two words of your own. That’s two (2) and only two!
7. Space or arrange the words so that they’re poem-like. Pay attention to line breaks, layout, and other elements that will emphasize important words or significant ideas in the poem.
• Read aloud as you arrange the words! Test the possible line breaks by pausing slightly. If it sounds good, it’s probably right.
• Arrange the words so that they make a rhythm you like. You can space words out so that they are all alone or allruntogether.
• You can also put key words on lines by themselves.
• You can shape the entire poem so that it’s wide or tall or shaped like an object (say a heart?).
• Emphasize words by playing with boldface and italics, different sizes of letters, and so forth.
8. Choose a title—there is a much better title than “Found Poem”! At the bottom of the poem, tell where the words in the poem came from. For example: “A kind word goes a long way” by Rachel Yoder, on Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson.
Found Poem Example:
I am Outcast
I watch myself in the mirror across the room
I'm hiding in the bathroom, waiting for the coast to clear
I can't stop biting my lips
It is getting harder to talk
My throat is always sore, my lips raw
Even if I dump the memory, it will stay with me
What is wrong with me?
I adjust the mirror so I can see reflections of reflections
I should have washed it
My face is dirty
I lean into the mirror
Eyes after eyes after eyes back at me
A thousand eyes blink
No makeup. Dark circles
Am I in there somewhere?
Final Project Evaluation:Due 9/15
You will be evaluated on the accuracy and citation of your research, the completeness of your project (are all the required elements present?), the insight you show into the war experience, and finally, the creativity of your presentation.
Rubric / No Credit / In Progress / Basic / Proficient / AdvancedOrganization and clarity: Journal is written from the perspective of the soldier, is written in the student’s own words, and is in chronological order. / 0 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 10
Entries (Facts): Required facts are clear with good details. Accurately uses the sources to describe events in the soldier’s life. / 0 / 10 / 13 / 16 / 20
Entries (Feelings): Details of the journal are expressive, revealing insight into the soldier’s experience. Use of primary source documents like quoted descriptions and photos helps elicit emotional response / 0 / 10 / 13 / 16 / 20
Found Poem (see assignment) / 0 / 10 / 13 / 16 / 20
Creativity: Includes thoughtful visuals (drawings, doodles, etc) and shows evidence of effort. / 0 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 10
Dossier: Is in MLA format with notes as to the types and uses of information from the sources. / 0 / 10 / 13 / 16 / 20