The First World War: The Battle of the Somme

PowerPoint (with 9 slides) and two Word Documents that examines whether the Battle of the Somme was a victory or defeat fro the British army.

Activities include:

• A quick quiz on the opening stages of the First World War.
• A chronology exercise in which the stages of General Haig’s plan of attack are put into sequence.
• A matching exercise in which British errors are connected with the correct explanation.
• A ranking exercise on Britain’s biggest error during the Battle of the Somme.
• A sorting exercise on British successes and failures.
• A concluding paragraph / plenary discussion in whether the Battle of the Somme was a victory or defeat for Britain.
• A re-evaluation of that judgment after the tactic of attrition is introduced and considered in the context of the Somme.
• A past paper exam style question (8 marks) on the Battle of the Somme.

Designed for the teaching of Edexcel iGCSE History 4HI1 Paper 2 A1 The Origins and Course of the First World War, 1905-1918.
Lesson Length: 1hr depending on pace
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