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). |
