As we previously discussed, the people going off to war find themselves without pretty much everything that they previously knew and loved and are put into a whole new life where they must fend for themselves. It’s time for you to consider what that would be like.

Imagine that you suddenly find yourself, for whatever reason, in a place where you have no access to the things that you currently enjoy. You can’t immediately contact any of your friends or family. You have none of the comforts of home. Most disturbing of all, NO CELL PHONE! You don’t even have NETFLIX! Oh, the horror!

Write me a story or journal entry explaining where you found yourself and what you would do to get by. You could go off to war if you like, but you could also just find yourself alone in a strange city, on a desert island, blasted off to space in a SpaceX rocket, lost in the woods, surviving a plane crash, or any other creative and interesting scenario!

This is YOU, so what would YOU do/think in that situation? You need to explain how you feel and what you would do IN DETAIL. You need to write roughly a page (and if your writing is big or you skip lines or make big margins, it’ll be more…) Give this some thought BEFORE you start to write! Have fun with it!

Please answer all of the following questions thoughtfully in complete sentences. Make reference to the book WITH PAGE NUMBERS as often as possible.

Chapter 3 – Out on Rest

Please answer all of the following questions thoughtfully in complete sentences. Make reference to the book WITH PAGE NUMBERS as often as possible.

1. What does it actually mean to be ‘out on rest’? Yeah, there’s an obvious answer, but what are the men actually doing while they’re “on rest?” Illustrate with quotes from the book and explain how they feel about this “rest.”
2. What is your personal impression of Clark as an officer/leader so far? What kinds of things does he do to give you that impression? (again, use proof from the book and explain what you/the men think about him.)
3. “We have learned who our enemies are – the lice, some of our officers and Death.” Are you surprised the author makes no mention of the Germans as enemies? Why/why not? Why are these things the “real” enemies?

Vocabulary

Lorry – truck

Foible – personal fault

Moujik – Russian peasant

Puttees – military leggings

Estaminet – little French cafe

If you’ve read anything about war or seen any movies or TV shows (like the episode of Band of Brothers that we watched yesterday), you know that it is an unpleasant experience. Well, duh! Of course it is, but there are some things that might seem unnecessarily unpleasant, like the treatment that soldiers face before they even go off to battle.

Here are some things that I’d like you to consider and reflect on (on looseleaf, in complete sentences…):

1. 1. The people signing up to go to war give up all of the comforts and joys of home and are treated like garbage repeatedly. Why do they do it? Let’s assume that they have a choice whether to go or not and can leave freely. Why would anyone go through the harsh conditions and treatment that seem common during even the most basic of training? Why wouldn’t they stand up for themselves or just leave?
   2. It seems like the officers in charge have no problem treating their new recruits terribly. Why do the officers in charge treat the men so badly in the first place? Does it have to be like that?
   3. In Band of Brothers, the commanding officer (played by Ross from Friends, what’s up with that?) narrates a letter that he’s written to the families of new recruits. He says, “Dear sir or madam, soon your son will drop from the sky to engage and defeat the enemy. Your frequent letters of love and encouragement will arm him with a fighting heart. With that, he cannot fail, but will win glory for himself, make you proud of him, and his country ever grateful for his service in its hour of need.” What is the point of that letter? What are his goals and his message to the families? If you received a letter like that after a family member had gone off to war, how would you feel?

Generals Die In Bed Chapter 2: In the Trenches

Please answer all of the following questions thoughtfully in complete sentences. Make reference to the book WITH PAGE NUMBERS as often as possible.

1. How has the setting changed from the first chapter? (include as many details from the chapter as possible – look on more than one page!)
2. “Keep your gun covered with a rubber sheet! No smoking!” (p.8) Why do you think the sergeant gives his men these warnings? What would each warning do to protect/help the men?
3. “I remember with a cold feeling that it was fat.” When the protagonist encounters a rat (p. 11) why is he so interested in its size? What does this observation mean?
4. Explain the effects that artillery bombardment has on a soldier’s body.
5. Choose a scene/event/description or character from the chapter that is most powerful to you. Tell me about that scene/event/description or character and explain why you chose this. Why is it most interesting/effective/powerful to you?

If you had a genie offering to grant you three wishes, what would you wish for & why? Explain how each would benefit you and consider what problems might arise. And don’t forget Aladdin’s rules! (and the most important rule – no wishing for more wishes!)

For example, many people might wish to have unlimited wealth. If you could have an unlimited supply of money, obviously there are good things that could happen, but if you think about it, you’d have a lot of new problems as well. (don’t use this example, it’s just to get you thinking)

Write your answer IN COMPLETE SENTENCES using PROPER ENGLISH AND GRAMMAR. This is English class. Show that you might just know how to use the language.

PUT SOME THOUGHT INTO YOUR ANSWER. It’s always clear when someone starts writing without knowing where the answer will go. If you take a moment to compose your thoughts, maybe even plan/outline, your answer will be much more intelligent and interesting, and your MARK WILL BE BETTER.

If you choose to write on paper, make it NEAT.

A good answer to today’s question should be close to (if not more than) A PAGE LONG (single spaced, normal sized writing & margins. Giant writing and huge margins ain’t foolin’ nobody!)

Please answer all of the following questions thoughtfully in complete sentences. Make reference to the book WITH PAGE NUMBERS as often as possible.

1. What is the setting of the novel? (provide as many details of the time and place as you can gather from the chapter. Yes, we know when the war took place from previous discussions and the introduction, but what details does the author provide that show us when & where this took place?)
2. How does the city treat the soldiers as they leave? What does this treatment suggest about Canadian attitudes toward The Great War at its outbreak?
3. Why is Anderson so disliked by the other soldiers?
4. On page 5, our protagonist meets a girl, and he says that “She is the last link between what I am leaving and the war.” What does he mean by this? Why is meeting this stranger so significant for him? It seems to have an effect on him. Why?
5. There are lots of unfamiliar words and phrases in the book. Find an example of something new or unfamiliar and figure out what the unfamiliar word/phrase means. Write down the original sentence, with a page number, and then write out a version of the sentence where you replace the unfamiliar term with a different word or phrase that works in that context.Ex: “Some of us are green under the gills.” (p. 6) Could be rewritten as, “Some of us are nauseous and sick to our stomachs.”

As we go through our novel & story studies, you will need to provide some longer answers – journal entry style – to what we’ve read or discussed. Today you will do the first one.

Write your answer IN COMPLETE SENTENCES using PROPER ENGLISH AND GRAMMAR. This is English class. Show that you might just know how to use the language.

Answers should show that you’ve PAID ATTENTION to the reading/viewing/discussion, so MAKE REFERENCES to the topic/chapter/story. PUT SOME THOUGHT INTO YOUR ANSWER. It’s always clear when someone starts writing without knowing where the answer will go. If you take a moment to compose your thoughts, maybe even plan/outline, your answer will be much more intelligent and interesting, and your MARK WILL BE BETTER.

Write NEATLY (or use a computer.) Put thought into your answer!

A good answer to today’s question should be close to (if not more than) A PAGE LONG (single spaced, normal sized writing & margins.)

Some context & information:

Today’s question:

If Canada went to war and the country needed soldiers to fight to protect your family and our way of life, would you enlist (sign up) to join the military? People are often EXPECTED to join as it is considered your responsibility to fight if you are able, so you might not entirely have a choice.

Using references to our discussion and considering the DETAILS of WORLD War 1, please talk about why you would join and why you would not. Explain yourself well and show that you paid attention in class for full marks.

I want to get to know a bit more about you. So here’s your chance to tell me about something that you think that I should know. It can be just about anything. I’d love it if you told me about yourself, but telling me about something that you’re passionate about or an expert on is just as valid to me. So what do you know that you think I might not know and might find interesting/useful?

Your assignment is to write, create, or present something that explains what you want to teach me and/or the class. It does not have to be 5 things as in the video above, you could clearly explain one thing or come up with your own number of things. It’s UP TO YOU.

You DO NOT have to present or share your work with the class, but I’d LOVE IT if you would!

Your creation needs to give me enough information to learn about your topic and understand it well. I shouldn’t have too many unanswered questions. Your job is to teach me well.

How should you do this? Well, what works for you? Obviously, this is a reading & writing class, so many will opt to write something. If you’re going to do that, make sure that it’s creative, original, and interesting. I don’t want to read it if it’s boring. Don’t spend time trying to figure out what I want you to do, instead do what you want to do! Write it as a letter, essay, interview, newspaper article, whatever!

We do have access to computers, so ideally you will drop something off on your computer. If you wish to use a program on your computer (or online) to create your work, you should probably run it by me first to make sure that it’s going to work, but be as creative as you want.

The one thing you SHOULD NOT DO is be lazy. Don’t go with the thing that’s easiest. Spend some time being creative! Have FUN with it! This is your opportunity to dazzle me/us, and your mark will be better if you challenge yourself or show me something impressive.

Example: My life pretty much revolves around music. It’s the thing that I know most about and other than my family, it’s the thing I care the most about. So there are a lot of songs that I love, and sharing those songs and talking about why they’re so great is really fun for me. Here’s me talking about a song that I’ve been listening to a lot lately. Warning: it’s SAD! Here’s my sample assignment.