This teaching resource aims to raise awareness of the impacts and causes of the First World War. It is focused on Canterbury and Christchurch’s involvement with the war from 1914-1919 and highlights some of the resources available through Christchurch City Libraries. This pack has been designed to be used with Years 7-10 students with information that could easily be adapted for older students.
Download the Remembering the First World War Teaching Resource [35 MB PDF]
The resource contains links to booklists accessed through Christchurch City libraries online catalogue. There are also links to library eResources; to access these you will need a library card and password / PIN.
The New Zealand Curriculum
This resource is aligned with the visions and principles of the New Zealand curriculum, and the suggested activities encourage students to be connected and actively involved learners. The resource content reflects the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi and Cultural Diversity. Whilst the resource is primarily focused on the specific learning areas of Social Sciences, English, and the Arts, there are links across many aspects of the curriculum. The variety of activities included are designed to allow opportunities for all of the key competencies and values to be met.
Thanks to Lottery Grants Board for funding this resource
Special thanks to Barry O’Sullivan
Christchurch City Council, Christchurch City Libraries, WW100, Canterbury100, Lottery Grants
Contents
- The Road to War
- The Front Line
- Canterbury Soldiers
- Māori Involvement
- Pacifica Involvement
- Military Hospitals / Nurses
- Animals at War
- Life at Home
- Conscription and Conscientious Objectors
- Communication and Propaganda
- The End of the War
- Remembrance
- Influenza Pandemic
- General Library Resources
- Other Useful Resources
- WW1 Teaching Resource downloads
- Glossary
Resources
The Road to War
- First World War - the road to war booklist
- First World War - Overview and introduction from N.Z. History
- Origins of the First World War - overview and detailed story from Te Ara, The Encyclopedia of New Zealand
- New Zealand First World War History – resource list of digitised materials from the New Zealand Electronic Text Centre
- Details of the week that New Zealand joined the war from the WW100 website
- Papers Past
The Front Line
- First World War - the front line booklist
- Campaign maps with details of battles from N.Z. History
- The Western Front – overview of some of the battles of the western front from N.Z. History
- The Gallipoli Campaign – detailed overview from N.Z. History
- Passchendaele in the Context of the First World War – resource provided by the Passchendaele Society
Canterbury Soldiers
- First World War - Canterbury Soldiers booklist
- Cecil Malthus - collection of his letters and documents from April 1914 to his discharge in April 1917. The letters follow Malthus’ progress from training in New Zealand to his experiences throughout the war, including his time in Egypt preparing for Gallipoli, and his time in France. Malthus was injured in September 1916 and returned to New Zealand in March 1917.
- Herbert Harold Stephens, of Sydenham, Christchurch – war diary covers the period from August 13, 1915 to November 16, 1916.
- William Brown - served with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, probably in Turkey. He was wounded in the hip and sent to a military hospital in Malta, and then on to England. Letters and postcards are addressed to Jeff Box, a child in Ashburton.
- Memorabilia from Oswald Norris.
- Henry Nicholas - first soldier from the Canterbury Regiment to be awarded the Victoria Cross.
- Henry James Nicholas – first soldier from the Canterbury Regiment to be awarded the Victoria Cross.
- Canterbury Mounted Rifles Regiment timeline 1914 – 1919 – introduction from N.Z. History.
- Canterbury Mounted Rifles – concise overview of regiment.
- Digital N.Z. collection of images of the Canterbury Mounted Rifles.
- Cenotaph Database from Auckland War Memorial Museum - search for First World War service personnel.
- Collections Search - Archives New Zealand - documentation of Government records, including First World War service records.
Māori Involvement
- Māori and the First World War from NZ History
- Māori units of the NZEF from NZ History
- ‘The Māoris in the Great War’ digitised book from New Zealand Electronic Text Collection, 1926.
- Recruitment waiata and links to other Māori war songs
- ANZAC - Māori in the Great Wars reading list
Pacifica Involvement
- First World War - Pacifica Involvement booklist
- Pacific Islanders in the NZEF from NZ History
- Samoan soldiers in the First World War
- Fijian soldiers in the First World War
- Tongan soldiers in the First World War
- Capture of German Samoa from NZ History
- The rise of the Mau movement in Samoa
- Samoa and its journey to independence from Te Ara, The Encyclopaedia of New Zealand
- Pacific Islanders in the NZER – Roll of Honour
Military Hospitals/Nurses
- First World War - Nurses booklist
- New Zealand Military Nursing – resource established to recognise military nurses. Provides a historical overview of military nursing, photographs and nominal rolls.
- The Long, Long Trail – provides information about base hospitals in France and Flanders.
- Helping the Wounded in Belgium – details on stretcher bearers, nurses and victims of gas.
- New Zealand Army Nurses – Chapter 5 from digitised book ‘The War Effort of New Zealand’, 1923.
- Merchant Marines in the War – role of seafarers in the war.
- Hospital Ships – an introduction from N.Z. History
- Hospital Ships – Chapter 7 from digitised book ‘The War Effort of New Zealand’, 1923
Animals in the War
- First World War - Animals in the war booklist
- Detailed information on NZ’s First World War horses from N.Z. History.
- New Zealand Veterinary Corps - Chapter 9 from digitised book ‘The War Effort of New Zealand, 1923.
Life at Home
- First World War - Life at home booklist
- Christchurch Chronology - a timeline of Christchurch events in chronological order from pre-European times to 1989.
- Map of Christchurch 1912
- PapersPast
- The Home Front from NZ History
- Schools and the First World War from NZ History
- Online catalogue of the School Journal and other resources (subscription required)
- Daily tweets from life 100 years ago in Christchurch & Canterbury
- Links to information and photographs in our collections about the places and landmarks of Christchurch.
- Events in Canterbury and the world during 1914 to 1919.
Conscription and Conscientious Objectors
- First World War - Conscription and Conscientious Objectors booklist
- Leaflet Advertising a Public Meeting in the Choral Hall, Latimer Square, Anti-Conscription Campaign Committee, Canterbury (N.Z.)
- Overview of Conscientious Objection from NZ History
- Conscription, Conscientious Objection and Pacifism from Te Ara, The Encyclopedia of New Zealand
- First World War census and conscription from NZ History
- Biography of conscientious objector Archibald Baxter
Communication and Propaganda
- First World War - Communication and Propaganda booklist
- New Zealand Newspapers - PapersPast
- British Newspapers - Times Archive, Guardian & Observer
- National Collection of War Art – includes portraits, battle scenes, landscapes and abstract works, depicting the men and women who served New Zealand
- First World War art from NZ History
- World War I Posters: The Graphic Art of Propaganda
- Mass politics and the Western Front - an article from BBC History website
The End of the War
- First World War - The End of the War booklist
- City of Christchurch, N.Z. : peace celebrations - programme of Christchurch peace celebrations, held on 19-21 July 1919 to mark the end of World War I.
- Overview of Armistice and useful information about New Zealand in 1918
- Details of the Treaty of Versailles, including video clips - from the BBC study guides
- Impact of the Treaty of Versailles from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- A personal account of an American soldier at the front on 11th November 1918
Remembrance
- First World War - Remembrance booklist
- War and Remembrance from NZ History
- Information about Anzac Day and a Gallipoli guide
- Kids page about Anzac Day
- Information and links about the Bridge of Remembrance
- Interpreting First World War memorials
- Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Influenza Pandemic
- First World War - Influenza Pandemic booklist
- Opposing Viewpoint in Context eResource
- The 1918 Influenza Epidemic project resource pack
- Christchurch specific information about the Influenza Pandemic
- Nationwide information about the Influenza Pandemic
- Overview of the Influenza Pandemic in New Zealand and Samoa
General Library Resources
- Digitised local First World War resources from Christchurch City Libraries
- Christchurch City Libraries resource list covering sources of information on the men and women who served in New Zealand forces during the First World War
- First World War Fiction Book List
- First World War Picture Books
eResources with useful First World War content
- Britannica Library Teens
- World Book Discover
- World History in Context
- The Times Digital Archive
- Papers Past
- History Reference Center
Other Useful Resources
- Official website for New Zealand’s First World War centenary projects and activities
- Official War photographs – free to use
- First World War educational resources and activities
- Any Questions – online school homework help for New Zealand school students
- The First World War collection from NZ On Screen
- National Library research guide for the First World War
- Digital NZ – New Zealand items from the digital stores of libraries, museums, archives, communities, and government
- NZ History – First World War articles and resources
- Overview of New Zealand’s involvement in the First World War – Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand
- Digitised First World War material from Victoria University of Wellington Library – New Zealand Electronic Text Collection
- Canterbury Museum
- Air Force Museum of New Zealand - Wigram
- Canterbury 100 – Canterbury stories, objects and timeline
- National Army Museum
- Auckland War Memorial Museum
- Royal New Zealand Navy Museum
First World War Teaching Resource downloads
WW1 teaching resource cover letter
[957 KB PDF]
WW1 teaching resource posters
[7.8 MB PDF]
WW1 teaching resource posters
[6.2 MB PDF]
WW1 teaching resource postcards
[3.4 MB PDF]
WW1 teaching resource cover
[4.3 MB PDF]
WW1 teaching resource timeline
[2 MB PDF]
WW1 teaching resource bookmark
[472 KB PDF]
Glossary
- Alliance
- An agreement to work together made between two or more countries.
- Allied Powers (Allies)
- The nations who fought against the Central Powers. At the start of the war the main Allied Powers were Britain (and its empire), France and Russia.
- ANZACs
- An acronym used to describe soldiers from Australia and New Zealand. It stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.
- Armaments
- Weapons and equipment used by a military force.
- Armistice
- A formal agreement between opposing sides in a war to stop fighting.
- Artillery
- Large guns, such as cannons, mortars and rockets.
- Badge
- An emblem (a small piece of cloth or metal) that signifies your status rank or affiliation with an organization or support for a cause.
- Barrage
- A heavy concentration of artillery fire, sustained for a period of time.
- Battalion
- A large military unit, often containing between 300 and 1000 soldiers.
- Baxter, Archibald
- Well known conscientious objector from Dunedin who was sent to the front line and punished for refusing to fight.
- Blockade
- Tactic used to prevent food and supplies from getting in or out of a city or port.
- Bombardment
- A heavy attack or artillery fire.
- Canterbury
- A province that in 1853 ran from Waitaki to Hurunui Rivers, and from east to west coasts. The region now known as Westland became a separate province in 1873.
- Campaign
- A military operation
- Casualties
- A person injured or killed in a war
- Cavalry
- Soldiers mounted on horseback.
- Central Powers
- The nations who fought against the Allies. The main Central Powers were Germany, Austria- Hungary and Turkey.
- Cenotaph
- A monument commemorating people who died in a war.
- Civilian
- A person who is not a member of the armed forces.
- Conscientious Objector
- A person who refuses to join the military on the grounds of moral or religious beliefs.
- Conscription
- Compulsory military service. Conscription was introduced in New Zealand in 1916, as there were not enough men volunteering to join the war.
- Dardanelles
- A narrow strait of water in northwestern Turkey connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara.
- Division
- A large military formation consisting of a number of smaller units.
- Dog tags
- The informal name given to identification tags worn by military personnel.
- Dug- outs
- Underground shelter used for rest and living space in the trenches.
- Eastern Front
- The combat zone in Eastern Europe fought over by Russian forces on one side and forces from Germany and Austria- Hungary on the other.
- Empire
- A group of countries under the control of another country.
- Entente
- An informal agreement or alliance between two or more countries.
- Fatalities
- Those killed in action or died of wounds in war.
- Flanders
- A region in Belgium and the site of the Third Battle of Ypres.
- Front Line
- Area where part of an army is closest to its enemy and where fighting takes place.
- Gallipoli
- First battle where New Zealand and Australian (ANZAC) troops supported British and French soldiers in an attempt in 1915 to capture the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey
- Gangrenous
- Rotting skin.
- Great War
- Another term for the First World War, generally used between the world wars.
- Home Front
- The term used for civilians that supported the soldiers while away at war.
- Infantry
- Soldiers that fight on foot
- Influenza Epidemic
- Influenza (flu) spread through New Zealand between October and December 1918 killing over 8,000 people
- Kaiser
- The emperor of Germany
- League of Nations
- A diplomatic organization set up in the aftermath of the First World War.
- Lusitania
- British passenger ship sunk by a German U- boat in 1915.
- Massey, William
- Served as New Zealand’s Prime Minister during the First World War
- Mobilization
- Preparation of a national military force for war
- Morale
- Confidence or spirits of a person or group
- Munitions
- Weapons
- Neutral
- Impartial, does not take sides
- No Man’s Land
- Term used to describe the dangerous, often battered, and usually narrow ground separating enemy trenches
- Occupy
- Take control of a place or country by military conquest
- Origins
- The point or place where something begins
- Offensive
- A major attack
- Owen, Wilfred
- British soldier who has become the most well- known poet of the First World War.
- Pacifism
- A belief that conflict should be settled by peaceful means
- Pandemic
- Health epidemic of global proportions
- Papers Past
- Digitised pages from New Zealand newspapers published between 1839 and 1945
- Passchendaele
- Battle on the Western Front in October 1917 with horrific loss of New Zealand lives, part of the Third Battle of Ypres
- Propaganda
- Information designed to promote or damage a political cause
- Rank
- Level or position
- Reconnaissance
- Search for information about enemy positions on either land or sea through observation
- Regiment
- Unit of the army often divided into companies, squadrons or battalions
- Reparations
- Post-war payments made by the losers to the winners to pay for wartime damages
- Shell Shock
- Medical condition caused by the prolonged and distressing experiences of trench warfare
- Somme, Battle of
- Battle beginning in July 1916 which saw huge casualties on both sides, particularly for the Allies on the first day. New Zealand troops first saw action on the Western Front during this battle.
- Sniper
- A rifleman or woman who takes shots at enemy soldiers from hidden cover
- Tactics
- Plan of action or strategy to achieve a specific outcome
- Treaty
- An agreement between countries
- Trench Foot
- Rotting disease of the foot caused by prolonged exposure to the cold and dampness of the trenches
- Trench Warfare
- Type of warfare where two sides fight each other from opposing trenches
- Triple Alliance
- The military alliance formed in the late 1800s between Germany, Austria- Hungary and Italy. This alliance went on to become Central Powers, but Italy later renounced it and joined the Allied Forces.
- Triple Entente
- The military alliance between Great Britain, France and Russia.
- U-Boat
- German submarine
- Western Front
- Combat zone mainly in northern France and Belgium in which a significant portion of land fighting occurred during the First World War.
