Recruiting, recruits & equipment

4. Plenary - Snowball

Required Resources

• A4 paper

Delivery

• The class discussion should bring to light the fact that the recruits had to carry a huge amount of heavy kit which would make movement particularly difficult, especially considering the difficult (i.e. wet and muddy conditions).
• To help the students to empathise with the recruits (who could have not been much older than themselves) ask for a student to volunteer. Clear a space in the classroom and ask the student to carry six school bags on each shoulder (although this may not amount to 30kg, the weight of the basic pack, it should be close). Ask the student to walk up and down the classroom.
• Ask the student to feedback to the rest of the class on how it feels. Remind the class that soldiers during the First World War would have had to carry this out in thick mud having had little food or adequate rest for several weeks. On top of this they would have been plagued by gunfire during any attack against enemy lines.
• Split the class into two groups and circulate two sheets of paper around each group, one marked with the heading 'Recruitment Messages' and the other with the heading 'A Soldiers' Kit'.
• Ask students to conduct a 'snowballing' exercise where members of the group take it in turns to note down either a piece of kit or recruitment technique on the sheet of paper.
• Allow the paper to circulate for five minutes before asking each group to present their results. Each group could feedback on one of the sheets with group members taking it in turns to read out the responses.
• Ask students why they think women were not conscripted to fight? If women can be engaged in the Armed Forces today then what stopped them taking part in the First World War? Was it fair (on men and women) to limit conscription to men?

Differentiation

Lower Ability:

Ensure that all members of the group contribute to writing the list. Lower ability students can check Student Worksheet 2 if they are unable to contribute.