The extraordinary truce that took place on Christmas Day during World War I is a piece of history that you might like to share with older students during December. It can be shared in less than 15 minutes or expanded into a longer lesson with time for discussion. Your decision to share will depend on the group of students you have, current events, and other factors.
One year, I had several mature fifth graders who were true history buffs, so I knew they’d be interested in learning about this event. In my eighth-grade class, I used the videos below as a writing prompt. Even if you don’t share this with students, you may be interested in viewing these two short videos. The Sainsbury Supermarket commercial is a dramatization done very tastefully and allows students to visualize the event.
INTRODUCING THE VIDEOS: I always began by asking students what they knew about World War I. They often know very little, so I would explain just a bit about what the world was like in 1914 (see kids’ page below) and what trench warfare was. I usually did not go much into the causes of the war or the outcome, but in order to appreciate the videos, the students needed to understand a little about the trenches, “No Man’s Land,” and the importance of letter writing for communication between the soldiers and their families. You can find a very simple history HERE. The page below is part of a family education newsletter produced by the Education Dept. of UNC (see all pages HERE). Your students might also be interested to know that airplanes had not been around very long in 1914 (read more here).
Before sharing the video, I told students I was going to share something remarkable that happened during World War I, but I didn’t tell them what it was.
THE DRAMATIZATION
After students viewed the video, we discussed how remarkable it was that the opposing sides called a truce at Christmastime. We discussed that a supermarket company had produced the video so the sharing of food (chocolate) was intentionally included.
THE STORY BEHIND – This video is just 3 minutes and is a good follow-up and conclusion. Students learn a little more about the truce, which extended to soldiers across several areas.
If you have shared about this event with students, please consider commenting on your experience in a comment below or in our Facebook group.