First World War - Home Front (Teaching)

1) Contemporary Documents (Photos, sources, videos etc.)
i) http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/britain1906to1918/g5/cs2/g5cs2.htm (Recruit and Conscript)
ii) http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/britain1906to1918/g5/cs1/g5cs1.htm (Dora in Action)
iii) http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/britain1906to1918/g5/cs3/g5cs3.htm (Shortages and Rationing)
iv) http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/britain1906to1918/g5/cs4/g5cs4.htm (Workers and
the War)
v) http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/britain1906to1918/g6/cs1/g6cs1.htm (Government and Propaganda)
vi) http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/britain1906to1918/g6/cs2/g6cs2.htm (Press and the People
vii) http://www.firstworldwar.com/photos/homefront.htm


2) Audio Clips (and some other supporting images)
i) Imperial War Museum:
http://www.iwm.org.uk/searchlight/server.php?show=nav.24437 (Contains an audio clip and images relating contentious objectors)
http://www.iwm.org.uk/searchlight/server.php?show=nav.24444 (Contains and audio clip and images relating to recruitment)


3) Interactive Sites:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/worldwarone/hq/hfront1_01.shtml (Article: What is the home front?)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/worldwarone/hq/hfront2_01.shtml (Article: Women)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/worldwarone/hq/hfront4_01.shtml (Article: Work)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/worldwarone/sister/index.shtml (Interactive Site)


4) Teaching Ideas
i) http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/worldwarone/teacher/enquiry7.shtml
ii) Get students to complete a series of questions relating to sources on:

a) Recruitment and Conscription
b) Workers and the War
c) DORA
d) Rationing and Shortages
e) Government and Propaganda
f) People and the Press
(see the 2 posts below for more details)

iii) Get students to write a week long diary of someone living on the home front, covering all the major aspects they have studied.
iv)Get the students to create their own recruitment poster
v) After listening to audio clip and doing further research get student to role play the life of a contentious objectors (reactions of public, trial, prison etc.)
vi) Gets students to complete interactive articles
vii) Using interactive BBC site get students to explore life on the home front in general (aided by a set of questions)

First World War - Home Front (Resources)

All images and questions below have been taken from the Education section on the National Archives website.

RECRUIT AND CONSCRIPT

1) Call to Arms:

What is the main aim of source 1a?

Is the aim of source 1b the same?

Do sources 1a and 1b use the same methods to get men to join up?

Is this evidence that Britain was badly prepared for war in 1914?

2) Troop Inspection:

What does this source tell historians about the type of men who joined up?

What does the source suggest about the effectiveness of posters like source 1a and source 1b?

How could you be sure whether or not this response was typical in all cities?

How could you be sure whether or not this response was typical beyond the early stages of the war?

3) No Conscription Fellowship:

Why did the No Conscription Fellowship write this letter at this particular time?

What is the letter saying?

Why are they opposed to conscription?

Do you get the impression these people are

prepared to suffer for their beliefs?

The newspapers often accused the opponents of conscription of being cowards who did not want to fight. Does this source support that view?

4) The Recruiting Problem:

What is the attitude of the writer towards conscription?

What does the following phrase mean: 'This question is one of fact, and ought not to be approached from the party or political points of view'?

How does this source show that conscription was an issue which divided the members of the government?

What solutions did William Long put forward?

5) The Recruiting Problem (2):

What was wrong with the system of starring?

Why were professional and commercial men not joining up?

What was wrong with the system of recruiting?

What kind of lucrative employment was available?

Do you get the impression that men did not want to go to war, or that they simply wanted a fairer and better organised system of recruitment?

6) Conscientious Objectors:

What is the main concern in this source?

Prison governors were being told to act cautiously in this source. What words or phrases tell you this?

What is the general attitude towards conscientious objectors in this letter?

On the basis of this source, would you say they were well or badly treated?

7) Prisoner and conscription Cartoon:

What does the cartoon suggest about the kind of person the prisoner is?

How is he trying to get out of military service?

Does the cartoon suggest that this kind of trick is common?

From the other s

ources you have seen, is there much evidence to support the view of the cartoon?

8) Conscription of Married Men

What are the main attitudes towards conscription?

How reliable is this as a view of how the majority of people felt?

What impression do you get of the government's attitude towards extending conscription to married men?

9) Using all the sources in the section what do we know about:

The strengths and weaknesses of voluntary recruiting

Why the government was concerned about troop numbers by late 1915Why conscription was introduced

How conscription worked

The reasons why people opposed conscription

How opponents of conscription were treated.

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/britain1906to1918/g5/cs2/g5cs2.htm

SHORTAGES AND RATIONING

1) Cartoon on Shortages

When was the cartoon published and what was happening at the time?
What do the background scenes suggest about conditions in Britain at this time?
Who is the man playing the trumpet?
What is the cartoon saying about the Prime Minister's attitude?
Would you say this cartoon is critical of the Prime Minister?

2) Doing their bit:

What differences are there between the people in the car and the people in the street?
According to the cartoonist, how are the rich people in the car 'Doing Their Bit'?
Do you think the cartoonist is being sarcastic?
Would food shortages and high food prices affect all the people in this cartoon equally?
What clues are there in this cartoon about why the government introduced rationing in 1918?

3) Criticism Over Government Control of Supplies:

Who is doing the protesting?
What are they protesting about?
Would you say that this source is critical of the government?
What would you say are the motives of the businessmen in passing this resolution?
How useful is this source in telling you about shortages in 1917?

4) Food Rations

What is being rationed?
Explain how the coupon system worked?
Do you get the impression that shopkeepers were fully involved in the scheme?
Rationing was a big change from the free market which people were used to. Why did most people support it?

5) Food Economy

What does the Ministry of Food want the Board of Education to do?
What does this source tell you about shortages in March 1918?
Does this provide evidence that rationing was or was not working?

6) Eat Less Bread

Who issued this poster?
What is the aim of the poster?
Does this poster suggest that measures to get people to save food were working or not working?

7) Cartoon on Rationing

What is the 'New War Terror'?
Do you think rationing is really seen as a terror?
What does this cartoon tell you about attitudes to rationing and about government control in general?

8) Using all the sources in this section what do we know about:
How serious shortages were
How shortages affected people
How the government tackled the problem
How people reacted to government measures.

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/britain1906to1918/g5/cs3/g5cs3.htm