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CREATIVE CURRICULUM PLANNER Y4What was it like for children in the Second World War?

In this unit children find out about the effects of the Second World War on children in their local area, nationally and internationally. There are also opportunities to consider the effects of waron children today.

Children use a range of sources, including the recollections of people alive at the time. They consider the reasons for and results of key aspects of the war.

Main Teaching Group Activities Plenary

1

What was it like in WWII? When andwhere did it take place?

Use a map to show who was involved and

a timeline to illustrate when. Do thechildren recognize pictures of key

figures? What do they already knowabout the war? What do they want tofind out?

The war has begun listen to Chamberlains broadcast. Priorto this lesson we will have made gasmasks and completed a

newspaper report for the day the war began.

Our first experience of the air raid siren. Take cover. Gasmasks, smoke machine and sound-scape. The children hide

under the tables. How do they feel?

Evacueesphotographs of evacuees at train stations. Have an

evacuees suitcase as a prop. What do the children alreadyknow? Look inside the suitcasewhat would the children

choose to bring?

Drama work: children in groups. Call out related objects andthe children make these shapes. Use evacuee photos. The

children create their own freeze frame photograph. Thoughttrack.

Make evacuee tags.

Thought tracking thephotographs we have made.

2 What was the Blitz? Areas most likely to

be affected and high risk cities. Thehome front.

Lots of work to be completed on this inLiteracy also (historical stories &

newspaper reports.)

Look at why the Blitz began and whatthe Germans used to drop down on us use pictures/props to show maybe life

Creating Anderson shelters for use during the Blitz. Look atshelter photos and talk about how they must have beenfeeling. Look at positives and negatives.

Give the children materials to create bomb shelters and

disguise them using plants and grass.

Link with materials in science. Evaluate. Link to design andtechnology.

Evaluation.

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size cut outs of the bombs.

Look at eyewitness accounts and showthe film of the reconstruction of the

Blitz bombings and damage.

3

Life on the home front. What did people

eat in the war.

Rationing. Look at food stores and menuboards. Look at typical meals andcompare with those of today. Talk about

why foods were so limited in supply.

Define. Look at photographs and discuss

how people lived and survived this time.

Look at the home guard application form and ask the

children to try and complete it.

Rationing: make ration books and have ingredients thatwere rationed. Act as a grocer and the children visit thestore (with their ration books) to obtain ingredients to make

ww2 recipes.

Reorder a recipe we have just

made using the interactivewhite board.

Taste and review.

4

In what other ways might the war have

effected people.

Give the children selected sources, eg

photographs of soldiers, women at work,the home guard, a funeral, newspaper

headlines.

Work with the children to list what the

pictures show. Consider what can beinferred about the effects of the war on

people's lives, and about the qualitiespeople needed to survive.

Ask the children to write captions/thought bubbles for one

or more of the pictures peer support for LA children. WW2mind readers!

Share, review and discuss

ideas. Record on digital voicerecorders.

5 Hold an evacuee day in school. Evacuee Day:

Tags, gas mask boxes, costumes,

Parents say good bye to their children as they get on the

train (make tickets before hand and have a ticket office.)The children go in and sit at their tables/carriages They

have to sit in the correct carriage. Play WWII games such asBeetle whilst passing the time on their trip to the

countryside.

Selectors to arrive and pick up the children. Whilst they waitshare info about their families with talk partner. Who they

Evaluation of the daycompleted through the lettersent home.

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will miss. First day at a country school, imagine meeting otherchildren for the first time, talk about families. An evacuees

letter. Send the letters home to parents. Link to recountwork in Literacy. Use tea bags to create old fashioned

newspaper. Evacuee country cooking. Evacuee playgroundgames in the country school. Gardening and chores.

6 What were a childs experiences of lifein the war?

Lots of work completed on this duringLiteracy (British, German and Jewish

childrens points of view.)

Look at photographs of homes that were

bombed in all countries to ensurechildren know it wasnt just Britishchildren that were affected by the war.

Listen and read recounts from different children affectedby the war. Give the children photographs of different

children and ask them to write a speech bubble explaining

what has happened and how they are feeling.

Share points of view andcompare.

7 What was it like to be a child living in

this area during World War II?

Interview session. Make preparationsbefore.

Think of questions to ask someone who was a child during

World War II. Send letters home to parents asking if theyknow anyone who was a child during World War II that would

like to come and visit. Create a display ready for the adultvisiting for the children to show and discuss. A big map for

the visitor to show where things might have happened and toexplain memories.

Make a war time recipe to eat when our visitor is in school.Could we also film the interview?

Recount the interview. Write a

short report for topic books.

8 How did WW2 affect this area locally?

Show pictures of bomb damage or justevery day events in WW2 in the local

area. Discuss The One That Got Awayand the Prisoner of War camp in

Swanwick. Show pictures and sections of

the film.

Make a wanted poster for The One That Got Away withdetails of his escape.

Review posters on a gallerywalk to WW2 music!

9 What has been done since to preventanother war?

United Nations theme. Collect great ideas (1 best ideafrom each group) to make a

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Look at the war in Afghanistan and how

that war started. Compare photographsof bomb damage and soldiers. Talk about

the involvement of citizens. Talk aboutthe UN and their involvement in peace

keeping. Is the world better or worse atkeeping peace today?

Working in teams to design a peace treaty. Hold a debate,children who think that the world has improved and is more

peaceful and those who dont. Both sides think of argumentsfor there ideas. Hold a vote at the end.

Working in groups the children take into consideration the

different views expressed today and design a contractpeople should follow to keep peace on this earth.

class peace treaty. All childrensign it to signal the end of war

and future peace.

Could finish with a street party to celebrate the end of World War II, think about how people celebrated it and exactly what happened.