WW1 books for younger teens...

[Peridot]

I read Stay Where You Are and then Leave by John Boyne (he of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas fame) recently and thought it was good; quite subtle and different from the Morpurgo offerings.

http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-bo ... then-leave" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[JaneEyre]

For your 13 years old, the play ‘Journey's End’ by Robert Cedric Sherriff might be interesting as it is short and easy to read. You could then discuss the play with him, being supported by some teaching notes like this one:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Journeys-End-Y ... ey%27s+end" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
(I have always found that reading teaching notes after reading a work in literature very useful to reflect more )
This film is also presently on youtube (I cannot comment as I haven’t yet found the time to watch it):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y98QdRmLfbQ" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



When I was a child, my parents offered me a comic strip about WW1 which has had a great impact on me (especially the gas attack!). In English, you have these:

- Over the Top: The 10 Best First World War Commando Stories Ever! by Calum Laird (it is not only abou tthe Western front)
- Charley's War: A Boy Soldier in the Great War by Pat Mills (there are several volumes and it is very detailed. It is in black and white)
- On the Western Front (Graphic Modern History: Wwi) by Gary Jeffrey
- WWI in Cartoons by Mark Bryant
- Ypres Memories by Philippe Glogowski

There is much to absorb from the Great War just walking around.
http://www.iwm.org.uk/visits/iwm-london" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A trip there before going abroad would be a plus! The exhibition is vast so maybe skip all that is not linked to the western front to avoid an 'overloading ' of information.
My DS is fourteen and we have been there twice this year... and at the end of the second time, I could see he was tired and no more able to take in any more info ( he was at the point about the Traité de Versailles)... So my advice would be to visit this exhibition at the pace which is appropriate for your boys! The exhibition is really great and detailed!!



The film 'My boy Jack' is rated 15, but I would consider it suitable for a mature 13 years old.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWShF8H2YlA" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[southbucks3]

"Our World War"
Currently on BBC iPlayer has to be the easiest and least boring route for your nippers. Much as this stuff moves and fascinates us, it can be rather dull for children, I distinctly remember dreading "another" war programme, museum visit or book as my dad was rather drawn to that genre.
The BBC programme has RGS High Wycombe boys, from history A level class, as extras and some minor parts so it was very school friendly in its making.
We are lucky in that both our boy's schools schedule trips to the battle fields and the boys stay with French families, the eldest visited the grave of an RGS old boy too, where the school attend a service every year.

[loobylou]

Thanks everyone. Loads of really good advice. I shall check out the youtube clips on my day off and also iplayer.
Their school also does a WW1 trip in year 9 so I am also conscious that we don't want to see and do everything that dd is going to do again next year (and definitely don't want them to be bored by it) but both my children have good imaginations and I think having a good awareness of what happened in their heads (albeit fictionalised) as we go will really help them to understand more of what we are seeing.
We haven't taken them to the IWM yet. My only memory of there really is the holocaust exhibition which was so powerful (and awful) that I think I have forgotten that there are other areas of the museum. I think the museum advises that the holocaust exhibition is only for people 14 and over...
Thanks again for all the ideas - I'll be looking at them all!

[JaneEyre]

We haven't taken them to the IWM yet. My only memory of there really is the holocaust exhibition which was so powerful (and awful) that I think I have forgotten that there are other areas of the museum. I think the museum advises that the holocaust exhibition is only for people 14 and over...

The museum is huge, huge, huge... As my DS has taken history as one of his GCSE (and like you, I have heard that the holocaust exhibition is hard to go through), we are going step by step: year 10 would have been understanding more and more about WW1 ( and as I said, to go through all just this single exhibit takes several hours... and we needed breaks to refresh ourselves and then go back to it). Next summer and next year, we will focus more on WWII: he will be 15 by then...

[JaneEyre]

This film is also presently on youtube (I cannot comment as I haven’t yet found the time to watch it):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y98QdRmLfbQ" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I had a chat with a person who has great knowledge of English lit and of films. She explained to me that this film (Journey's End) is great but it has a dreadful sound and picture quality as it is old ( I personally thinks this is the reason why the DVD is not on the market). What is needed is a remake of the film; but otherwise, this is a good film!