In The Trenches

HOW IT WORKS
In the interdisciplinary program In The Trenches students are immersed in the study of World War One. Under the guise of a game, the students are divided into two teams: The Allies and the Central Powers. Each team must work and learn together. In Math class, several kinds of maps are made. Students then use their critical thinking skills to help them judge the accuracy of their work. The final map is one that divides the classroom into an X and Y axis. In Social Studies class, the causes of the war are compared to present-day global conditions. The students compare their lives and alliances to the ones in effect during the war. In Language Arts, they read from literary classics about World War One such as All Quiet On The Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque. They keep a war journal where they imagine themselves to be soldiers. They send home personal letters to loved ones describing classroom progress. The students also send business letters to the commanding officer (the teacher) to complain about conditions.  Finally, in Art class, the students construct their team’s trench. The research each team has conducted both on the computer and using other sources plays a big part in design. The closing is a simulated war, a variation of several non-violent games. 

THE STUDENTS
The program was designed for an eighth-grade class containing 11 students in a school for severely emotionally disturbed children. There
are four computers in the classroom used for research on the Internet as well as word processing  and basic presentations. There is one classroom paraprofessional and one crisis management  paraprofessional. They receive computer lab instruction for two hours and fifteen minutes a week and classroom computer instruction, on average, another 10 hours a week. 

THE STAFF
Sheldon Jonas has been teaching seventh and eighth grade at P009Queens for four years. He has led the In the Trenches program for the past year. Sheldon is the staff editor of the student newspaper, the chairman of the student council election committee, and the organizer of all the poetry contests. He has led staff development training in effective read-aloud techniques and in integrating social studies across the curriculum.  

WHAT YOU NEED
Computers with Internet access and word-processing programs are needed. To do this program with a minimum of supplies, you can simply use a tape measure and a roll of tape to make an X and Y axis on the classroom floor. You will also need some graph paper. The other parts simply have to be well researched. 

OVERALL VALUE
This program combines many diverse subjects under one umbrella. The study of coordinates becomes interesting when utilized in playing a game. Old classics become fresh when you are imagining yourself as one of the characters. Cooperation is not a dirty word when you are doing it to win a game. The Mathematics Standards of M2b, M2I, M2j, and M2k are addressed in the graphing and griding of the classroom. The creation of the maps falls under State Standard M4a of organizing and displaying data. The entire Problem Solving Standards from M5a to M5d are included in the lesson to discover the center of the classroom. Management and planning are used throughout the course of study (M8d), as well as being able to measure accurately (M6d), and being able to convert with ease between like units (M2h).