Dunkirk: Triumph or Disaster? (Second World War / World War Two)

This lesson is the second in a series of lessons on the Second World War. It is a source based lesson including a full, easy-to-follow powerpoint presentation, 3 video links, a range of contemporary and modern sources as well as associated written and discussion activities. The lesson is aimed at students in KS3 and focusses upon the differing interpretations of Dunkirk. Students are asked to consider whether this significant event should be regarded as a triumph or disaster for the British. The lessons begins with an engaging starter task in which students are hooked into the lesson by looking at the trailer for the 2017 film ‘Dunkirk’ . Students are then briefly introduced to the background to this event and its presentation as a great triumph by the wartime government and contemporary media. The main task involves the study of a range of contemporary and modern sources before students judge how this event should be interpreted by modern historians.