Christmas in the Trenches

Christmas in the Trenches by John McCutcheon is a children's book based on a true historical event. The book starts out on Christmas night after all the presents are opened and dinner is finished. Thomas Tolliver asks his grandfather about his favorite Christmas. Thomas’ grandfather tells him about Christmas in 1914 when he was a soldier during the Great War. He describes life in the trenches and how both sides knew there would be no end to the fighting just because it was Christmas. On Christmas night everything was very silent for the soldiers when the German’s began singing Silent Night on the opposite side of no mans land. German soldiers came closer and soon enough all of the soldiers were trading small gifts with one another but eventually they had to go back to their own trenches.

Although this is a picture book, I believe it can be used for students in older grades as well. The book comes with a CD disc with music, which is aweseome. The teacher I was student teaching with last fall spoke of the Chrsitmas in the Trenches and played some music from the era as well.

All Quiet on the Western Front

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque is a gripping novel that follows the life of young men in Germany during World War I. Paul, the main character, and his other college friends are urged to join the fight for their fatherland from their college professor. The boys decide to join and quickly realize war isn't as fun as they imagined it would be. The novel shows the boys as they lose members of their platoon and also their innocence. It follows both their physical and emotional stresses during the war and how they cope with civilian life after they have experienced the war.

Interestingly, Remarque was a veteran of WWI. All of his books were banned in the 1930s in Germany because of their anti-war message. All Quiet on the Western Front was publicly burned by the Nazi's as well.

Any teaching ideas with this? I used the movie in my global 10 class during student teaching but the book is beautifully written, with great detail.