Why did the British retreat from Dunkirk?​

Learning objectives:​
To understand the key events of the Battle of Dunkirk​
To investigate what it was like for the soldiers at Dunkirk​

I recommend starting the lesson with all students writing the date, title, learning objectives and key words in that order. An easy engagement activity is to ask students by name to read these out from the board, including the Did You Know?

Starter: students watch a video and answer questions about Blitzkrieg.

Task 1: Students watch a video from Atonement and fill in a table of observations in their book.

Task 2: Students study two visual sources, comment on and compare the two presentations of the evacuation.

Task 3: This source is based on the textbook The 20th Century World. Students write PEEL paragraphs about why sources about the same events in history can be inconsistent. This can be adapted to any textbook with a few sources about Dunkirk or even with the visual sources from Task 2.

Plenary: recap on propaganda and bias in historical sources