A New Moral Order: Britain at the Start of the Great War | History Today
When Britain declared war on Germany in August 1914 there was no outbreak of jingoism and no immediate rush to enlist. What Anthony Fletcher finds instead, in letters, diaries and newspapers, is a people who had little comprehension of the profound changes to come.
A global guide to the first world war - interactive documentary
Collection of videos written and narrated by historians from around the world organized in a topical, interactive timeline allowing users to take different paths through the site. The quality of the historical footage is remarkable and the information is comprehensive. Teachers can cull this to find classroom or homework material. Alternatively, students can be set free in this to find areas of personal interest.
First World War.com - A multimedia history of World War One
A multimedia history of World War I. Great resource for maps, battle lists, weaponry and who's who. But be advised that the owner of the site advises visitors that the site not be used for academic purposes
WW1 - Hell in the trenches - Color Film World War I combat
Archive of color film from World War I. This 6 minute video can be used before or after class as part of a lesson focusing on the advance of weaponry, the cost of the war. Viewing this through the lens of the "End of the Enlightenment" can bring more to the film than the simple message that the industrial age advanced the ways in which men could kill each other.
BBC News - World War One: 10 interpretations of who started WW1
The Causes of World War I lesson has been done perhaps more than any other lesson, except perhaps the Constitutional Convention. Yet in a World Studies or History course it's a staple lesson, this provides a brief overview of ten different explanations. Why not throw them into a "final four" bracket and set the students free to find support for them.? This helps with a Treaty of Versailles lesson as well.
Passengers board British liner Lusitania at Pier 54 in New York, United states. HD Stock Footage - YouTube
This 3 minutes of film was made on May 1, 1954 on Pier 54. Passengers arrive at the pier and the ship is loaded - much of the film was shot from a nearby building at deck level. Although this is watermarked it can be shown as students come in the room for that "start of world war I lessn"
Was There a Cover-Up After the Sinking of the 'Lusitania'?
This interview with Erik Larson seems to break new ground, but only to the people who hadn't heard this before. The fact that the British were tracking the submarine that sank the Lusitania has been public for some time, but it has never made it into general knowledge or contemporary understanding. The question for teacher is - do you include this?
High quality interactive video from the BBC. It runs about 20 minutes and you are asked to make decisions that are often life-threatening. For example, do you send up a flare or send out a runner? It's all part of the Battle of Somme in 1916. Great to play as a class in conjunction with "soldier's experience" lessons
12 Technological Advancements of World War I | Mental Floss
though this is a trade magazine with little detailed information, the list includes developments that are not often considered and aren't on most teacher's lists.
This is the ledger book of captured and de-coded messages from the German submarine that sank the Lusitania. Not only were the British aware of submarine activity in the Irish Sea, they tracked the one that ultimately sank the Lusitania (U-20). Scroll down to page 5 and you'll see the specific entry for the sinking.
Fritz Haber won the nobel prize for chemistry because his discoveries made it possible to mass produce fertilizers. Yet he also played an integral role in the development of poison gas weapons for Germany. Teachers have been telling students about trenches, machines guns and tanks for years - but the biography of Fritz Haber provides a focal point for a much stronger lesson in any scope and sequence of World War I lessons. After explaining how technology made the defense stronger than the offense on the battlefield and the trenches that resulted, teachers and students can explore the way in which the scientists were called in to break the stalemate on the battlefield.
A treasure trove for teachers looking for historical background and instructional material. Engaging host, solid scholarship and quality photography and editing. Teachers of US and World history should set aside some time to spend here
Propaganda During World War 1 - Opening Pandora's Box I THE GREAT WAR Special - YouTube
8 minute video that's "classroom ready" or could be used as a homework assignment from the quality "Great War" youtube series. Propaganda was nothing new at the beginning of World War 1. But the rapid development in mass media and the total war effort by the nations led the way to our modern understanding of mass propaganda, especially in Germany and Britain.
German WWI veteran describes killing a French corporal during a bayonet charge and articulates his view on war as a whole : CombatFootage
This 5 minute video a German veteran recounting his bayoneting of a French Corporal in World War I is riveting. It would fit well with Wilfred Own poetry or "All Quiet" excerpts, exploring what it was like for soldiers to kill each other up close. This should also be included with explanations of the new technology of warfare. It's an effective tool to communicate the personal impact of the war without being graphic
Why German spies blew up this US island - VOX History Videos
The Black Tom explosion is explained in this 8 minute video which also places the event in context and provides background on the war itself. It would be interesting to see if students should fact check the video - maybe the authors took a little too much information from only USA sources, which could have been shaped to develop more anti-German spirit - maybe not. What do they think? What could they find?
This is a simple set of two European maps that allows the viewer to slide one over the other and compare the map of Europe in 1914 (before World War I) and the map of Europe today.
World War I Centenary: 100 Legacies of the Great War
Just like the title says, this compendium of legacies of the Great War are well organized and sortable for easy review. This could easily serve as the basis for a hierarchy analysis - how would students rank these? Why?
