Using inquiry and primary documents to research WWI

1. Inquire Within:
A Look at Primary Sources
Background Research
and a look at Citations
VA SOL: TROUBLED TIMES IN EUROPE (WS.3d)
VA SOL LA Writing 5.9
Tracey Cain, Librarian
Reams Road Elementary School, CCPS
2014

2. Look at the pictures.
What do they tell you?
What do you think is happening?
When do you think these pictures were taken?
How might they be useful in research?
Read the letter.
What did it tell you?
How might this be useful in research?

3. German Trench
http://www.wereldoorlog1418.nl/warpictures/trenches/images-trenches/03-german-trench-gw000.jpg

4. Use EasyBib to cite
your pictures

5. Here is the citation

6. English Trench
http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/07/magazine_faces_of_battle/img/3.jpg

7. English Trench
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/0/ww1/25626530

8. The Bedfordshire Times and Independent
Friday, January 1, 1915: British and Germans Good Friends on Christmas Day in the Trenches
Miss N. Thody, 1, Peel-street, Bedford, has received a letter from Lance Corporal Cooper of the
2nd Northampton's which gives an astonishing account of Christmas Day in the trenches. It is
dated December 27th:
At last I have found the time to answer all your letters. Well dear, you asked me to let you know
what kind of Christmas I had. Well I never had a merry one because we were in the trenches, but
we were quite happy. Now what I am going to tell you will be hard to believe, but it is quite true.
There was no firing on Christmas Day and the Germans were quite friendly with us. They even
came over to our trenches and gave us cigars and cigarettes and chocolate and of course we gave
them things in return. Just after one o'clock on Christmas morning I was on look-out duty and
one of the Germans wished me Good morning and a Merry Christmas. I was never more
surprised in my life when daylight came to see them all sitting on top of the trenches waving their
hands and singing to us. Just before we came out of the trenches (we came out of them on
Christmas night) one of them shouted across, "Keep your heads down, we are just going to fire"
and they sent about a dozen bullets flying over the top of our heads. Now who would believe it if
they did not see it with their own eyes? It is hard enough for us to believe. What kind of
Christmas did you have? I do hope you enjoyed yourself. I thought of you a good many times. I
don't expect it was much of a Christmas in England. I haven't received mother's parcel yet. I
wonder what has become of it. I have had some eatables but they were nowhere near as good as
mother's."

9. A website citation:
"Christmas Truce: Bedfordshire." Christmas Truce
1914. Alan Cleaver, 29 2012. Web. 27 Nov 2012.
<http://www.christmastruce.co.uk/html>.

10. Your Own Research
http://www.christmastruce.co.uk/index.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/0/ww1/25626530

11. Teacher Resources
• Book:
Christmas in the Trenches by John McCutheon
• YouTube song performance:
Christmas in the Trenches by John McCutcheon
Readers’ Theatre
• http://www.aaronshep.com/stories/061.html