KS3 - WW1 Written & Presentation Project

“Hell cannot be so terrible.” Do you agree? A complete KS3 WWI research project

Give your Year 8s a real historical argument to get their teeth into. In 1916 a young French officer at Verdun wrote in his diary that “Hell cannot be so terrible.” In this nine-lesson enquiry, students research life on the Western Front for themselves and decide whether he was right. Was the war really worse than Hell, or is the truth more complicated?

Students pick three sub-topics, such as disease, trench design, fighting, daily life, shell shock, letters and poetry, or the major battles. They write a 1,500–1,750 word project using PEEL paragraphs, then give a short presentation on a fourth topic. It builds independent research, use of evidence and sustained argument, and it’s ready to teach straight away.

What’s included (17 pages, PDF and editable Word):

Teacher notes covering the overview, learning outcomes, timings, practical tips and adaptations for support and stretch
Student project brief with clear requirements for the written project and the presentation
Nine-lesson schedule with homework tasks and deadline boxes
Research guide with seven sub-topics, enquiry questions and links to videos and articles
Guided video question sheets on tanks and aircraft
PEEL planning template with a judgement scale
Bibliography log
A full top-level exemplar project, annotated with teacher comments showing what makes it successful
Levelled mark schemes for the written project and the presentation, plus a weighting formula
Student self-check and teacher feedback sheet (WWW/EBI)

Ideal for KS3 History, a homework project or a cross-curricular unit with English, since it pairs well with WWI poetry.