ENCOURAGE YOUR STUDENTS TO ENGAGE DEEPLY WITH HISTORY USING THESE WWI CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS KEYED TO THE FILM MY BOY JACK What would it be like to actually fight in the First World War? How would it feel to watch a beloved son go off to fight -- and what could you do on the home front to help support him? How much should a government lie to its citizens about the conditions and progress of the war -- do the ends justify the means? These are just a few of the powerful questions addressed by the keenly insightful film, My Boy Jack, produced by the BBC and first aired on Decoration Day (the equivalent of Memorial Day in the United States). Unlike many war movies, this one is not fiction. It is the true story of Rudyard Kipling and his son, who wanted to go off to fight for king and country, and and after many struggles, finally got his wish -- much to the regret of the father who had encouraged him to go off to war at the tender young age of 17. WHY THIS MOVIE WORKS IN CLASS Because the main character is just 17 years old, high school students can really relate to him and put themselves in his shoes! They see him dealing with a difficult home situation (something many of our students have on their plates), applying for military service only to be rejected, pressing his case, going through basic training, serving as an officer training his own battalion, and finally, going "over the top" on the Western Front and confronting the very ugly realities of trench warfare. Students find it interesting and really pay attention -- and it doesn't hurt that John Kipling is played by the same actor many of them recognize as Harry Potter! These questions focus on issues raised by the film and will help students personalize and internalize how total war affected individuals in families. They will provide a springboard for class discussion and debate about issues such as nationalism, propaganda, and patriotism. Because the character of Jack is so close to the age of high school students studying the war, it's easy for students to put themselves in his shoes and really feel involved as they watch the film. These critical thinking questions expand on that angle and turn the movie into a much more powerful teaching tool. LEARNING IS THINKING! These 23 questions are not your usual "who did what?" kinds of problems. In fact, they aren't really designed to test students on the movie, but rather to get them thinking hard about life in 1915 Britain -- about the issues that real people had to face in that challenging era. Each question can open up the door for discussion and debate, encouraging students to dive deep into history and put themselves in another place and time. Great for essays, debates, and projects as well as class discussions!

A large set of reading comprehension quizzes covering assorted stories commonly used in World Literature courses. Many of the matching stories are public domain / available online! You might want to assign these stories as core readings, or use them as extra credit or as the backbone of a summer school curriculum. Either way, the assessment piece is taken care of for you. Teacher convenience is a hallmark of my products. Therefore, each quiz is included as a Microsoft Word file that you can edit if you wish, or print out as is to distribute. This would be the primary format educators find useful. However, for those of you who are accustomed to electronic testing, I also provide Examview .tst and .eot files, along with helpful notes included with the download for more information. Most of the quizzes have 10 questions and begin with a question or two about the author's life and/or writing style. A couple of quizzes are based on very short works of literature and so have only 5 questions. All questions are multiple choice. Quizzes included in this download cover the following stories: "A Country Doctor" by Franz Kafka "A Drink in the Passage" by Alan Paton "A Sunrise on the Veld" by Doris Lessing "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" by Gabriel García Márquez "An Outpost of Progress" by Joseph Conrad "Araby" by James Joyce "Downtown" by Fumiko Hayashi "Goblin Market" by Christina Rossetti "Good Climate, Friendly Inhabibitants" by Nadine Gordimer "How Much Land Does a Man Need?" by Leo Tolstoy "In a Grove" by Ryunosuke Akutagawa "Lament for Ignacio Sánchez Mejías" by Federico García Lorca "Marriage is a Private Affair" by Chinua Achere "Mista Courifer" by Adelaide Casely-Hayford "One Soldier" by Katai Tayama "The Black Cat" by Edgar Allen Poe "The Damask Drum" by Motokiyo Zeami "The Doctor's Divorce" by S.Y. Agnon "The Fly" by Katherine Mansfield "The Guest" by Albert Camus "The Heavenly Christmas Tree" by Fyodor Dostoyevski "The Inextinguishable Race" by Silvina Ocampo "The Kiss" by Anton Chekhov "The Lovers" by Bessie Head "The Man Had no Useful Work" by Rabindranath Tagore "The New Year's Sacrifice" by Lu Hsun "The Other Wife" by Colette "The Outlaws" by Selma Lagerlof "The Rain Came" by Grace A. Ogot "The Shadow" by Hans Christian Anderson "The Tree" by Maria Luisa Bombal "The Trials of Brother Jero" by Wole Soyinka "War" by Luigi Pirandello

My Boy Jack Movie Worksheets are designed for use with the excellent WWI film "My Boy Jack" starring Daniel Radcliffe and David Haig. ABOUT THE MOVIE: MY BOY JACK My Boy Jack is a dramatic presentation (not a documentary) telling the true story of Rudyard Kipling and his son, who was killed in World War I -- but who arguably should not have been allowed to join up at all, since he didn't meet the vision requirements for battlefield work. As such, the movie raises profound questions about the duties of patriotism and of parenting, even as it portrays *both* life in the trenches and on the home front. TOPICS COVERED IN THESE MY BOY JACK WORKSHEETS Topics covered in the movie include • nationalism • British empire • Motivations for war / Causes of WWI • Total War • Life on the UK home front • Trench warfare As you can see, all very appropriate and topical for world history and European history classes! SET UP WITH TEACHER NEEDS IN MIND The questions are organized into three separate files, each one covering a specific portion of the movie. The segments are timed such that in a normal high school period, you would have enough time to show a full segment of the movie and then use the associated question set with the students as either a quiz or discussion-starter activity. FLEXIBLE SCHEDULING: A THREE-DAY PLAN OR A TWO-DAY PLAN In this way you could show the 90 minute movie over a three day period and do assessment on it as you go. Another option would be to print out the Word files included in the download and have students fill them out as worksheets while the movie plays. In this way the entire movie could be completed in two class periods, including assessment being done as it plays. 68 Questions total, all true/false or multiple choice for super-fast correcting! FULLY EDITABLE FILES All questions are provided in both Word format for paper/pencil use and also in Examview format so that if you want to use them in CPS or Examview, you will not have to type them in. Either way, you can edit the files if you want to customize them! LOOKING FOR A CRITICAL THINKING OPTION? To help students analyze the film in more detail -- and to help personalize the experience of watching it, so students feel much more drawn into the action, you might want to look at my My Boy Jack Critical Thinking Questions, also here at TES. Movie Questions by Elise Parker.