An action packed WW1 afternoon for Year 5

Year 5 enjoyed a whistle-stop, action packed, interesting and fun afternoon on day 2 of the Festival of Literature - complementing their WW1 studies.

Mr Stok brought in a huge amount of items from the First World War for the children to try on and handle. They wore gas masks, fired a rifle, pulled the pin out of grenades, tried various helmets and items of uniform and kit on. Mr Stok answered many interesting questions.

Mr Hudson talked to the children about the cavalry and had swords, helmets and lots of very interesting items he had brought back from France in a long standing interest in the First World War. The children were in awe of the swords and especially how heavy they were.

Mr Warren built a trench in Miss Rudd's classroom with real sand bags and real pretend barb wire (as used in War Horse). The sounds of the war were all around them, it was very atmospheric with shots and blasts echoing around them. Children sat in the trench whilst trench life was explained to them with a series of video clips and dialogue. They wrote letters home before going over the top when the whistle blew.

It was a great afternoon and Year 5 really enjoyed handling real things from WW1 and experiencing what it was like in a trench.

Here are some comments from the children...

• ‘It was exciting to hold all the old things’ - Oscar S
• ‘The stuff we saw was amazing and to see and touch it all. It was a great afternoon’. George B
• ‘There were so many things to do and see and talk about, it was fantastic’. - Josh M
• ‘The WW1 afternoon was really fun and interesting because we got to hold the things’. Charlie G