Teaching World War I in the 21st Century 1 | Page 51
• The summarizer will write down on a poster/PowerPoint slide an alternative passage for their textbook
based on the additional evidence from their primary source.
• Finally, the presenter will share the alternative passage with the class. Their classmates will record the
information in a timeline summary of the major events in World War I.
• The teacher will lead a class discussion on comparing primary and secondary sources. Suggested questions:
• Why would information in a newspaper article be different from the textbook?
• What are some limitations of both sources?
• Which source is more trustworthy? Why?
• The Alternative Textbook Passage Rubric will be used to assess students’ work and understanding of the
Assessment Materials:
material. The students will be graded on both the summary paragraph and presentation.
• Students will create a human timeline of major events of World War I. Randomly pass out cards with the
name of major events to different students. Then students will place themselves in order with the help of the
classmates still in their seats. Students have to explain the event on their card as they go down the line.
• Provide the students with several primary sources related to a World War I event or topic. Have the students
Methods for Extension:
brainstorm possible questions related to each primary source. Then ask the students to rank the questions
based on which questions hold the most promise for further research and why.
• Using information from the newspaper article and textbook summary, students should write a descriptive essay
from the point of view of someone who witnessed the event.
• Teachers may choose to add guiding questions to the newspaper articles and/or textbook entries to help
Adaptations:
students with reading comprehension.
• More advanced students can find additional articles on their World War I events by using the Chronicling
American database, http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/. Then the students can compare the accounts and
determine which sources are more trustworthy.
Scan for additional resources (including
links to the documents and materials) or
visit http://www.nhd.org/WWI.htm.
Lesson Plans & Activities
47