Cluster 3 Trench warfare Name: ___________________________

Trench Warfare & Writing Home

After reading the firsthand account of a soldier’s letters home during World War I, you are going
to take a historical perspective of a soldier writing home from the trenches. Use what we have
learned in class and your class notes to incorporate historical accounts of what the quality of life
was like for World War I soldiers living in the trenches. The assignment is broken down into 2
parts. Part 1: Your letter will 1-2 pages long and must describe all accounts with factual details.
For the following lists below, you must answer all 9 questions in the ‘Required List’ and answer
at least 3 of the questions from the ‘Your Choice List” (marked with *). The letter rubric for your
letter is on the backside of this page. Part 2: You will write a reflection on your experience
taking up the historical perspective of WWI soldier writing home. The reflection details are on
page 3 and the reflection rubric is on page 4.

Part 1:

Required List:

1. Opening remarks. Who are you writing to? (i.e. parents, wife or husband, friends,
siblings, or grandparents)
2. How is your health? Do you have any diseases, injuries, or amputations?
3. What do you eat? How often do you eat?
4. Why are you writing home?
5. Are you changing locations soon?
6. Have you faced an attack?
7. To give the letter a personal touch, provide information or questions to ask about what
home is like to whoever you are writing to.
8. Is the war or your idea of war living up to your idea when recruited or in training prior to
enlisting?
9. Closing remarks. How do you sign off? (i.e. forever yours, your faithful, or sincerely
yours)

Your Choice List (Remember you have to answer and describe at least 3 of the choices below):

1. What is an attack like? *

2. How do you cope with the dangers you face daily? *
3. Where do you find food? *
4. Where/ When do you sleep? *
5. How do you and your fellow soldiers pass the time? *
6. Do your fellow soldiers have any diseases, injuries, or amputations? *
7. List one positive and one negative fact about trench life. *
8. Give news about friends or family who enlisted with you. Are they okay? *

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Cluster 3 Trench warfare Name: ___________________________

Part 1: Trench Warfare & Writing Home Rubric

The chart below is the following grading scheme for the letter you will create as a soldier writing
home. The purpose this assignment is for you to take the historical perspective of a soldier in the
trenches of WWI through using the letters we examined in class, your notes, videos, and artifacts
we have looked at in class to add to your understanding.

Criteria: Scale:

Focus: The letter is developed thoughtfully.

The letter demonstrates the student’s understanding of 1 2 3 4 5
the quality of life of a soldier in the trenches during WWI
and the importance of them writing back home.

Organization: The letter has a logical structure 1 2 3 4 5

with an address, greeting, evidence, personal anecdotes,
and final sign off.

Content: The letter often references the historical 1 2 3 4 5

evidence we discussed in class, or in their notes to
back up the claims made in the letter. The letter answers
all of the questions from the outline (9 required
and 3 of your choice).

Writing Skills: Letter is written in full length, 1 2 3 4 5

proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

Comments:

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Cluster 3 Trench warfare Name: ___________________________

Part 2: Trench Warfare & Writing Home Reflection

Going back to our focus question for the lesson: Students will gain an understanding of what trench
warfare on the Western front was like for enlisted men through recognizing the importance of writing
letters, and examining letters written by World War I soldiers about the quality of their life in the trenches
and the struggles they faced. Write your response on the lines provided below. Your reflection will
be 2 paragraphs long (5-7 sentences PER paragraph) and reference what you have written in
your letter (i.e. the mind mapping activities, analyzing the soldier’s letters, your class notes,
artifacts, videos we watched and our class discussions) and your reasons for including and
answering the questions you chose in your letter. The rubric for the response is on the last page.

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Cluster 3 Trench warfare Name: ___________________________

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Cluster 3 Trench warfare Name: ___________________________

Part 2: Trench Warfare & Writing Home Reflection Rubric

The chart below is the following grading scheme for the reflection about your experience taking
the historical perspective of a soldier writing home. The purpose this reflection is for you to
demonstrate how you internalize what we have been learning in class about the life of a solider
in the trenches during World War I through referencing the letters you examined in class, your
notes, videos, and artifacts to add to your understanding.

Criteria: Scale:

Focus: The letter reflection is developed thoughtfully.

The reflection demonstrates the student’s understanding 1 2 3 4 5
of the quality of life of a soldier in the trenches during
WWI and the importance of them writing back home.

Organization: The reflection has a logical structure 1 2 3 4 5

with an introduction, claim, evidence to support you
claim, and final thoughts.

Content: The reflection often references the historical 1 2 3 4 5

evidence we discussed in class and their reasons for
including and answering the questions they chose in their
letter.

Writing Skills: The reflection is written in full length, 1 2 3 4 5

proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

Comments:

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