World War I (1914-18) in the primary school classroom

Events which encapsulate family, community, national and global history provide rich opportunities for engaging children. Some of these draw on positive memories associated with past events: the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, how people responded to the first flight to the moon, the Millennium celebrations. Yet it is perhaps gruelling aspects of the past such as World War I which provide particularly rich opportunities to explore ways in which personal and local stories can be related to their wider context. What follows is based on the firm conviction that this conflict has a place in the primary classroom with a focus which is appropriate to the age of the children...