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Living in Total War

Driving Question: How were different groups of people affected by the First World War?

What did it mean to be part of the lost generation? Firsthand perspectives from the war reveal the fear, courage, and resilience that shaped the lives touched by total war.

Learning Objectives

  1. Use close-reading skills to understand how the First World War impacted soldiers, civilians, and entire communities in different ways.
  2. Practice quick sourcing to evaluate how different individuals and groups experienced and responded to the First World War.
  3. Use a graphic biography to support, extend, or challenge the overarching narratives of this period.

Vocab Terms:

  • antisemitism
  • casualty
  • conscription
  • socialist
STEP 1

Opener: Living in Total War

Teaching Tools

To teach this lesson step, refer to page 2 of the Lesson 6.4 Teaching Guide Locked .

STEP 3

War on the Homefront

Teaching Tools

To teach this lesson step, refer to page 4 of the Lesson 6.4 Teaching Guide Locked .

Have your student use the Three-Step Reading for Graphic Biographies tool to structure their approach to reading this type of text.

Compare graphic biographies about two very different women who experienced World War I. Then, read an article and complete an activity to help you evaluate the long-term effects of the conflict.

STEP 4

Closer: Living in Total War

Teaching Tools

To teach this lesson step, refer to page 7 of the Lesson 6.4 Teaching Guide Locked .

It’s often easy to see how those closest to the battlefield were impacted by war. But even those who were hundreds of miles away felt the impacts of this global and total war.