Lesson Overview 

Either give a very short quick quiz today - or hold off and combine it with the first part of Chapter 7.  See the bookmark for breaking up the reading.  

Begin by showing a 10 minute excerpt from the 1930 film, All Quiet on the Western Front, that shows the horrors of trench warfare (from approximately 40:59 to 50:00.  You know your students best - if you feel it is appropriate please exclude students (or have them put their heads down and listen) that may be adversely affected by viewing the video.  It is explicit and it is graphic.  Tell students to just watch - no notes - just absorb - they can look for specifics of what they've read - but they are just to let the video tell its story.

After the video - tell them to turn over the handouts (up to this point they should only have the blank side up) - go over (briefly) the directions.  The students are to cover these handouts with their notes - continuily writing.  Draw arrows - write short comments - etc.  Remind them what the handout says - the quotes are thematically arranged like the trenches - and that should help.  They should look for a common theme - a thesis.  They are then to write a couple of paragraphs - using as much specifics and text as possible.  Here are the opening instructions taken directly from the handout:

After you have watched the film excerpt (if you miss this in class and are doing this at home, it is the 1930 version of the film; we watch the trench warfare scene from 41 mins in to 50 mins in – right after they take Kemmerich away on the stretcher) – closely examine the following quotes (from All Quiet and Things) – write on them, connect them – both to each other and to what you have just seen. Give yourself 10 minutes.  After the note-taking stage write as much as you can, connecting these quotes – coming up with an overriding thesis.  Write what you see as that thesis – and write a mini essay 2 paragraphs is fine on the most striking connection you see between these quotes (to each other) and to the film excerpt. Hint1: Think of the geography of trench warfare. Meta-hint – when you are considering the film excerpt, consider both the effect the warfare had on the men – but also how, we,  as viewers of this film are connected to the 3rd box in the 2nd column below…  – closely connected to each other – and as a whole connected to the boxes in the middle.  The excerpts from The Things They Carried are in a different font.  Connect it all!  Turn this in by the end of the day tomorrow (100 points).

Give students until the end of the period - or the next day and then collect what they've written (or collect it the next day).  Oh - sometimes I tell them at the beginning (after the video) that  I'm going to collect the sheet with the quotes to see how many notes and connections they made - but I do that to get them to be more focused.

Remote Enhancements 

I did do this as remote work - it meant me showing (sharing) the video with the students and making sure that they got the handout.