1917 in 2019 - A Lesson Out of Time

The Grade 8s of 2019 embarked on a wonderful journey of discovery during their Third Term Project. History and English Home Language merged to present them with an opportunity to learn, in depth, about the First World War - with a twist.

They had to create the character of a 19 year old boy, freshly drafted to join the War effort (either Allied or Axis). They were tasked to tell the story of The War from their character's perspective.

When I read about the film, 1917, directed by Sam Mendes who gave us 'Spectre' - I was intrigued. Here is a film that tells a story from the point of view of two young soldiers during the First World War.

Mendes is a genius who decided to create the film from a 'one shot' perspective - meaning that the whole story is from a single perspective (think the opening of Spectre with Bond wreaking havoc in Mexico).

He gave his team a very similar brief to the one we gave our students. Create two characters - one a young man newly drafted, and write the story from their point of view.

Just goes to show how much fun you can have with storytelling and imagination. Here is the link to the brief and resource document we gave our students.

Enjoy the trailer for 1917 (released 4 December 2019)