Website Spotlight: First World War.com

Website URL: http://www.firstworldwar.com/

Introductory Note:

Welcome to one in a series of posts which spotlight quality websites that I use with my U.S. History survey course students at Azusa Pacific University to enrich the regular material in our learning modules.

In this post, I limit myself to those specific aspects of the website which I find fit particularly well within our face-to-face class sessions (each student is required to bring a laptop to class) or as the basis for the students' regularly-assigned written reactions.

++++++++++

I ask the students to work through the following links:

1. Read these articles to get a clear picture of a soldier's life in the trenches during World War One

a. First World War.com -Life in the Trenches
http://www.firstworldwar.com/features/trenchlife.htm

b. Trench Warfare Photos (History Channel)
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/photos#world-war-i-trench-warfare

c. The Trenches: Symbol of Stalemate (The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century: this is a terrific website)
http://www.pbs.org/greatwar/chapters/ch1_trench.html

2. Posters in World War One
http://www.firstworldwar.com/posters/usa.htm

Go to Posters, United States.

Click through the posters on each of the 4 pages.

What is the intended audience? What does the government want people to do?

3. Read each of the following articles:

First World War.com - Women and WWI
http://www.firstworldwar.com/features/womenww1_one.htm

First World War.com -No Man's Land
http://www.firstworldwar.com/atoz/nomansland.htm

First World War.com - Observation Balloons
http://www.firstworldwar.com/atoz/balloons.htm

First World War.com -Poison Gas
http://www.firstworldwar.com/weaponry/gas.htm

First World War.com -Creeping Barrage
http://www.firstworldwar.com/atoz/creepingbarrage.htm

First World War.com -Big Bertha
http://www.firstworldwar.com/atoz/bigbertha.htm

First World War.com -Tanks
http://www.firstworldwar.com/weaponry/tanks.htm

First World War.com - Snipers
http://www.firstworldwar.com/atoz/snipers.htm

First World War.com - Wiring Parties
http://www.firstworldwar.com/atoz/wiring.htm

First World War.com - A Night Counter-attack
http://www.firstworldwar.com/diaries/nightcounterattack.htm

First World War.com - Alvin C. York
http://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/york.htm
Internet Movie Data Base: Sergeant York (played by Gary Cooper)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034167/

First World War.com - Hun
http://www.firstworldwar.com/atoz/hun.htm

First World War.com - Hitler in WWI
http://www.firstworldwar.com/features/aslowfuse.htm

4. Songs from the FirstWorldWar.com website (they are organized by year):
http://www.firstworldwar.com/audio/index.htm

Most Famous Song in U.S.:
http://www.firstworldwar.com/audio/overthere.htm
Bio of George M. Cohan
http://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/cohan.htm

Other noteworthy songs:


http://www.firstworldwar.com/audio/mademoisellefromarmentieres.htm
http://www.firstworldwar.com/audio/packupyourtroubles.htm
http://www.firstworldwar.com/audio/keepthehomefiresburning.htm
http://www.firstworldwar.com/audio/theresalonglongtrailawinding.htm
http://www.firstworldwar.com/audio/katy.htm
http://www.firstworldwar.com/audio/howyagonna.htm
http://www.firstworldwar.com/audio/ohhowihatetogetupinthemorning.htm
http://www.firstworldwar.com/audio/youreagrandoldflag.htm
 
++++++++++

Concluding Note:

I hope you will use this blog post in conjunction with both the modules on my Learning Professor wiki and the numerous other posts in my Website Spotlight series.

1. The website spotlighted in this post fits within the following U.S. History survey course module on the wiki:
http://thelearningprofessor.wikispaces.com/World+War+I

2. The other blog posts in my Website Spotlight series--chronologically displayed by U.S. History survey course module-- can be found on this wiki page:
http://thelearningprofessor.wikispaces.com/WEBSITE+SPOTLIGHT