World War I: The Life of a Soldier
CULMINATING ACTIVITY
This culminating activity will allow students to trace the life and death of an
actual Canadian soldier in World War I. Students will engage in research
about a specific Canadian soldier, research the battle(s) in which he
participated, and write a fictionalized diary entry that reflects the life and times
of the soldier.
Part A: You be the Historian!
The teacher will provide the class with a list of possible names to research. Students
may choose to research someone else, perhaps a distant relative, with teacher permission.
However, the soldier must have been a member of the British/Canadian Forces in World
War One.
Once a name has been assigned, students will perform a WEBQUEST to research
information about the soldier. Computer Lab time will be booked for this purpose,
although it is highly likely that additional time outside of class will be needed to
complete this task.
Once the WEBQUEST has been completed, students will create research notes to
summarize the information that they have accumulated. Students will submit the
research notes to be formatively assessed. (Please refer to RESEARCHING AND NOTE
TAKING reference sheet.)
Students will then prepare a ONE to TWO page biography of the soldier. This biography
shall include:
 Birth date and birth place
 Place of residence
 Any known family
 Height, weight and other particulars
 Occupation before war
 Religious affiliation
 Date of death
 Battle in which they died
 Regimental Number
 Regiment to which he belonged
 Cemetery in which he is buried
 Photograph of the cemetery (if possible try to locate the soldier’s plot)
 Students will also include one paragraph that states why this information is
important to a historian.
The biography will be evaluated summatively.
Part B: Battle Report
Once research has been completed about the individual soldier, it is time to research the
battle that the soldier died in. Students must use THREE resources to complete this task,
one of which must be a print resource and one of which must be an electronic resource.
Students are required to create research notes that will be formatively assessed.
Students will prepare a one to two page report (double-spaced) about the battle. In this
report, students will include:
 A description of the battle
 Canadian contribution to the battle
 A hypothesis as to how the soldier died (use your knowledge of the battle to
assist)
 A photograph or a map of the battle (with the source noted).
 MLA or footnote referencing
 A list of works cited, using appropriate format.
 All research notes will be submitted with the final product. PLEASE NOTE:
PLAGIARISM OF SOMEONE ELSE’S IDEAS OR WORK WILL RESULT
IN A GRADE OF ZERO.
Part C: Letter from the Western Front
Once research about the soldier and the battle has been completed, you will use this
knowledge to create a piece of historical fiction.
You are to imagine that you are the Canadian soldier that you have just researched. You
will write a one (1) page letter home which addresses the following:
 Indicate to whom you are writing, where you are stationed, what you are
doing.
 Provide a description of the trenches
 Identify personal problems – sleep, keeping clean, keeping dry, keeping
warm, the food etc.
 Comment on the war – do you hate the Germans or are they simply people
trapped as you are?
 Do you believe that the war is just?
The completed letter will be peer edited and then will be submitted to be summatively
evaluated.
Part D: Bristol Board Display
When all tasks have been completed, students will assemble all components on to a
Bristol board to make a visual display to be used for Remembrance Day activities.
Due Dates
Part A: You be the historian!
Formative assessment of Research Notes
_____________________________
Summative evaluation of Biography
(Application and Communication)
_____________________________
Part B: Battle Report
Formative assessment of Research Notes
_____________________________
Summative evaluation of Battle Report
_____________________________
(Knowledge/Understanding and Communication)
Part C: Letter from the Western Front
Formative/Peer assessment of Letter
_____________________________
Summative evaluation of Letter
(Thinking/Inquiry and Communication)
_____________________________
Expectations being assessed:
CG4.02
CG4.03
MI2.01
MI2.02
MI2.03
MI4.01
MI4.02
Demonstrate knowledge of Canada’s military contributions in WW1…
Evaluate Canada’s role in the Allied victories of WW1…
Use school and public libraries, resource centres, historic sites and
community and government resources effectively to gather information on
Canadian history.
Use computer stored information and the internet effectively to research
Canadian history topics
Record and organize information effectively using notes…
Make reasoned generalizations or appropriate predictions based on
research.
Demonstrate competence in research and writing.
THE LIFE OF A SOLDIER: WEBQUEST
This WEBQUEST is not a typical one. Instead of asking a series of questions and directing you to websites
where these questions will be answered, this webquest will provide you with a series of websites which will,
hopefully, lead you to information about the Canadian soldier you are researching.
The first three websites will prove invaluable in your search for information. You will be able to locate key
biographical information, as well as information about the battle(s) in which the soldier participated.
Canadian Virtual War Memorial
http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/general/sub.cfm?source=collections/virtualmem
This is part of the Veteran’s Affairs Canada website. Begin your quest for information about your soldier at
this website. It will provide you with key information from which to begin your biography.
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
http://www.cwgc.org
This website contains information about any Commonwealth war grave in the world. As Canada is part of
the British Commonwealth, its war dead are also listed here. This will provide invaluable information about
the soldier and his final resting place. You can, as in the above website, search for information about your
soldier.
Soldiers of the First Word War – Digital Archives
http://www.archives.ca/02/02010602_e.html
This website is a digital archive which lists all Canadian soldiers in the First World War and links to any
relevant documents associated with that soldier, such as attestation (or registration) papers.
Following your exploration of the sites listed above, a clear picture should be emerging about the soldier
you are researching. Once key information has been located, you now have an indication as to what you
should look up next. It is suggested that you use key names or events (i.e. Names of cemeteries, battles) as
key words in further searches. The sites listed below may prove useful in your search.
First World War.Com
http://www.firstworldwar.com
This website will provide information about many events of World War I. It is exceptionally detailed.
First World War
http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/general/sub.cfm?source=history/firstwar
This page is again part of the Veterans Affairs website. It provides information about Canada’s participation
in World War I.
WW1 LIFE OF A SOLDIER
Exemplary
K&U
-Report
demonstrates
superior
comprehension
of information
-Extensive
evidence of
knowledge
COM
-Report is
exceptionally
well written,
concise,
organized and
sophisticated
-No spelling or
grammatical
errors
-Tense is
consistently
appropriate
T&I
-Report
demonstrates
exceptional
creative and
thinking skills
-Analysis
exceeds
expectations
APP
-Report
demonstrates
superior
historiography
skills
-Bibliography
and citations
are error free
Level 4
Level 3
Level 2
Level 1
Remediation
-Report
demonstrates
thorough
comprehension
of information
-Considerable
evidence of
knowledge
-Report
demonstrates
good
comprehension
of information
-Solid
evidence of
knowledge
- Report
demonstrates
adequate
comprehension
of information
-Good
evidence of
knowledge
- Report
demonstrates
marginal
comprehension
of information
-Limited
evidence of
knowledge
Incomplete
report
and/or does
not meet
grade
expectations
- Report is
competently
written
-Report is
complete
Incomplete
report
and/or does
not meet
grade
expectations
- Report is
well written
and focused
and organized
- Report is
well written
-Some spelling
and
grammatical
-Few spelling
errors, but
or grammatical quite readable
errors
-Some spelling -Considerable
or grammatical number of
errors
spelling and
grammatical
errors
-Tense is
-An effort has
mostly
been made to
appropriate
achieve tense
consistency
-Tense is
consistently
appropriate
-Tense is
appropriate
-Report
demonstrates
excellent
creative and
thinking skills
-Analysis is
thorough
-Report
demonstrates
very good
creative and
thinking skills
-Analysis is
good
-Report
demonstrates
good creative
and thinking
skills
-Analysis is
successfully
completed
-Student is
beginning to
explore
creative and
thinking skills
-Analysis is
attempted
Incomplete
report
and/or does
not meet
grade
expectations
-Report
demonstrates
excellent
historiography
skills
-Bibliography
and citations
are almost
error free
-Report
demonstrates
very good
historiography
skills
-Bibliography
and citations
are mostly
correct
-Report
demonstrates
acceptable
historiography
skills
-Bibliography
and citations
are attempted
with some
success
-Student is
beginning to
explore
historiography
skills
-Bibliography
and citations
are attempted
Incomplete
report
and/or does
not meet
grade
expectations