Ambleside Classical

World War I - Week 4

Here is an update to our current unit study.

We have 2 more weeks (of six) left to study The Great War, and have really enjoyed the books, discussion starters, and activities from World War I Thematic Unit by Teacher Created Resources. I highly recommend these studies for 6th-8th, and one nice thing is that they can be downloaded instantly from CurrClick. I have used several of these units, and each has a literature book, a "spine" book, discussion questions, suggested schedule, and cross-curricular activities. It has been fun learning about The Great War, as it was a topic I knew very little about before. Gotta love homeschooling!

Here are some of the things Miss M did this week in our unit study:

• Read Chapters 13-16 of World War I and discuss provided questions. (History)

• Read Chapters 16-20 of After the Dancing Days and discuss provided questions. (Literary Analysis)

• Researched the Purple Heart award and it's origin. (History)

• Learned about the different types of gas used in WW I. (Science & Technology)

• Discussion, "Is the use of chemical warfare ever justified?" (Critical Thinking)

• The need for faster, quicker, more powerful weapons brought about numerous inventions during this time period. Research one WW I weapon, and create a scrapbook page to show what you learned. (Science & Technology, Language Arts, Design)
  

• Create a short story of an imaginary war experience, using one of the story starters listed in the Thematic Unit. (Creative Writing)

• Second Lieutenant Frank "Balloon Buster" Luke became one of America's greatest flying aces during WW I. Read about his problems as well as his triumphs. Discussion, "What makes a good hero?" (Critical Thinking, History)

• Video: "The First World War" Part 8 - Germany's Final Gamble (History)
  

• Family Read Aloud - Rilla of Ingleside (Literature)
  

• Free Reading - Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson (audiobook) - Miss M really enjoyed listening to this on audio. She says the story was exciting, and she loved it. She wrote down a recipe from the book for World War I time Spice Cake, and just announced that she wants to make it today. (History, Practical Life Skills).

Here is the WW I Cake (eggless, milkless, butterless) recipe from Hattie Big Sky:

War Time Spice Cake

Ingredients:

1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 1/2 cup water
1/3 cup shortening or lard
2/3 cup raisins
1/2 tsp each of ground cloves and nutmeg
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder

Directions: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and floud 8x8 inch baking pan.

Boil brown sugar, water, shortening, raisins, and spices together for 3 minutes. Cool. Dissolve soda in 2 tsp water, and add to raisin mixture. Add salt. Meanwhile, stir together flour and baking powder, and add to raisin mixture 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition.

Pour into prepared 8x8 inch pan and bake at 325 degrees for about 50 minutes.



I will close with the poetry assignment Miss M completed this week, a World War I-themed cinquain.

"World War I" by Miss M
Death
Gone forever
Lost to war
Never coming back home
Grief

Thanks for taking a peek into our homeschool. How was YOUR week?