To help bring the book to life for students who have yet to study WWI in history class, Ellen Menesale and retired teacher Sally Leety created an "in the trenches" lesson. Integrating passages from All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Remarque, visual images from the archives of WWI, and a simulated trench, Ms. Menesale and Leety provided an opportunity for students to understand the setting of the book and begin to connect to the emotions of the characters.
In one part of the lesson students see soldiers from the 132nd Regimental Infantry crouching in a trench. From All Quiet on the Western Front students hear "A shell crashes. Almost immediately two others. And then it begins in intensity. A bombardment..."
Below are some pictures of students as they sit "in the trenches" and reflect on the passages and pictures.
