Programmes of Study

Medium Term Planning

Department: Unit Title: Year Group:

“Trenches and Tanks”
History or 9
“What was the fighting man’s Autumn Term Second Half
experience in the two world wars?” 3 lessons per week = 18 lessons

All
Students will understand
information about a range of
wartime experiences between 1914
and 1945. They will be able to
differentiate between events,
places, people and changes in the
two wars. They will have an
understanding of the technological,
tactical and societal changes
across the time period. They will
employ key historical words, terms
and phrases in their work and use
sources of information to explain
their answers.
(L4)
Unit Overview
Unit Focus: What life-changing experiences did young men undergo in the two world wars?
Key Learning Objectives
Most
Students will understand and begin
to explain why changes in attitudes
towards war took place between
the wars. They will be able to make
links between events, changes and
causes and offer opinionated
conclusions in their work. They will
structure their extended writing
with themed paragraphs,
introductions and conclusions and
begin to offer reasons as to why
interpretations of wartime events,
people and causes have been
given. They will be able to critically
analyse how the wars are
represented and interpreted today,
using a range of film, video, literary,
artistic and other sources.
(L5)
Some
Students will explain using
relevant, selected information from
sources of evidence, research and
own knowledge how the
experiences of the fighting men
differed, changed and remained the
same between the wars. They will
understand the relationships
between enlisted men and officers,
and how tactical decisions are
made. They will bring in and link to
contextual knowledge of
technological advances, political
changes and cultural differences in
their expositions. They will
understand how war can often be a
catalyst for human development,
and also an inhibitor to progress.
They will have a broad-based
knowledge to draw upon in their
analyses of the impact of the wars.
(L6+)

Key questions (3):

1. What was it like in the trenches of World War One?
2. Who were ‘The Few’? – How close was Britain to defeat in WWII?
3. Which WWII allied soldier had it worst – Tommy Atkins, GI Joe or Ivan?

Key concepts and terms that appear:

1. Propaganda & Recruitment , Life in the Trenches, The Pals at the Somme
2. Dunkirk, Battle of Britain, Arctic Convoys and the Battle of the Atlantic, RAF Bomber Command
3. Desert Rats and D-Day – the WWII Tommy , Massacres at Stalingrad, Band of Brothers – the GI’s war
 Cross Curricular Opportunities
ICT Lit
Reading

Writing

Numeracy Speaking and Listening

WRL / Enterprise VAK

PHSEE Citizenship