1. Suicide in the Trenches

2. Our Learning Journey

3. Learning Objective: To understand the key events in Sassoon’s
‘Suicide in the Trenches’.
To know what life
in the trenches was
like during WW1.
To analyse the key
events in Sassoon’s
poem.
To predict the
content of
Sassoon’s poem.
Steps to Success

4. To know what life in the trenches
was like during WW1.
Step to Success
LO: To understand the key
events in Sassoon’s ‘Suicide in
the Trenches’.
Activity
Using your own
knowledge and what
you have learnt,
think about what
soldiers in the
trenches might...
SEE
HEAR
TOUCH
SMELL
FEEL

5. Life in the Trenches

6. Life in the Trenches

7. What was trench warfare like?

8. LO: To know what life in the trenches was like during WW1.
I can see...
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•
•
I can hear...
•
•
•
I can touch...
•
•
•
I can feel...
•
•
•
I can smell...
•
•
•
Extension: How do you think soldiers in the trenches might have felt? Write
in full sentences e.g. They may have felt sad because they missed home.
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9. Learning Objective: To understand the key events in Sassoon’s
‘Suicide in the Trenches’.
To know what life
in the trenches was
like during WW1.
To analyse the key
events in Sassoon’s
poem.
To predict the
content of
Sassoon’s poem.
Steps to Success

10. To predict the content of Sassoon’s
poem.
Step to Success
LO: To understand the key
events in Sassoon’s ‘Suicide in
the Trenches’.
Activity
Listen carefully to the
information about
Siegfried Sassoon’s life.
Use this information, as
well as your knowledge of
life in the trenches, to
predict what might
happen in Sassoon’s
poem.
Think about words you
might expect to see.

11. Siegfried Sassoon
• He joined the army when war was declared in
1914.
• In November 1915, his younger brother was
killed in battle.
• He became horrified by the realities of the
war. This horror was reflected in his poetry.
• Another friend – David Thomas – died in 1917,
leaving Sassoon devastated.
• He eventually left the army, refusing to fight
on, and was admitted to hospital for shell
shock.

12. LO: To predict the content of Sassoon’s poem.
Siegfried Sassoon’s poem was called ‘SUICIDE IN THE TRENCHES’.
Predict what might happen
in Sassoon’s poem:
I think that...
I think this because...
Words I
might see in
the poem
are...

13. Learning Objective: To understand the key events in Sassoon’s
‘Suicide in the Trenches’.
To know what life
in the trenches was
like during WW1.
To analyse the key
events in Sassoon’s
poem.
To predict the
content of
Sassoon’s poem.
Steps to Success

14. To analyse the key events in
Sassoon’s poem.
Step to Success
LO: To understand the key
events in Sassoon’s ‘Suicide in
the Trenches’.
Activity
Answer the questions about
each stanza of Sassoon’s
poem.
Success criteria:
• You have made a clear
point e.g. (I think that...)
• You have backed it up with
evidence from the poem.
• You have linked your
answer to your own
knowledge of WW1.

15. Siegfried Sassoon: Suicide In The Trenches

16. Siegfried Sassoon: Suicide In The Trenches
I knew a simple soldier boy
Who grinned at life in empty joy,
Slept soundly through the lonesome dark,
And whistled early with the lark.
In winter trenches, cowed and glum,
With crumps and lice and lack of rum,
He put a bullet through his brain.
No one spoke of him again.
You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye
Who cheer when soldier lads march by,
Sneak home and pray you'll never know
The hell where youth and laughter go.
(1) lark = bird (2) cowed = scared (3) kindling = burning, alight

17. LO: To analyse the key events in Sassoon’s poem.
Stanza Analysis Mark
I knew a simple soldier boy
Who grinned at life in empty joy,
Slept soundly through the lonesome dark,
And whistled early with the lark.
Q: How is the soldier feeling in this stanza? How do you know?
A:
In winter trenches, cowed and glum,
With crumps and lice and lack of rum,
He put a bullet through his brain.
No one spoke of him again.
Q: What happens to the soldier? Why does this happen?
A:
You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye
Who cheer when soldier lads march by,
Sneak home and pray you'll never know
The hell where youth and laughter go.
Extension Q: What does the poet think of the crowds?
A:

18. Learning Objective: To understand the key events in Sassoon’s
‘Suicide in the Trenches’.
To know what life
in the trenches was
like during WW1.
To analyse the key
events in Sassoon’s
poem.
To predict the
content of
Sassoon’s poem.
Steps to Success

19. Plenary
Success criteria:
• You have made a clear point (1 mark)
• You have backed it up with evidence
from the poem. (2 marks)
• You have linked your answer to your
own knowledge of WW1. (3 marks)
Self-assess your work. Give yourself a mark for each question.

20. Next time...