Chapter Four

Chapter Four Introduction | Exemplar material for use with the Chapter 4 activities |
Example Questions | Bibliography

(i) Questions

Read the information about life in the trenches and then answer the following questions in sentences.

• How long did the men normally spend on the front line?
• What were the dangers of daytime duty?
• What jobs had to be done at night?
• What was the food like?
• What caused soldiers to have lice?
• What did rats feed on?
• What was trench foot?
• How many British soldiers suffered from trench foot?
• What was shell shock?
• Why were soldiers afraid of ‘going over the top’?
• What would have been the worst thing about life in the trenches

Write a paragraph to explain your answer.

(ii) Structured notes

Write a sentence to explain each of these words or phrases. One example has been done for you.

E.g.: Men usually spent four days in the front line trench before moving back to the supporting trenches.

(iii) Cloze Exercise

Copy out this paragraph and fill the gaps with words from the box.

During battles the men often spent________ at a time in the front line trench. Conditions were very difficult. During the day the men feared being shot by_________. During the night__________ had to be repaired. There was a shortage of __________ and the menu rarely changed. It included beef, a _______ and jam. Men rarely washed and so were covered in__________ . __________ fed on sewage and dead bodies. Men who stood in water for long periods of time suffered from ___________ _________. The men knew that if they went _______ ______ ______, their chances of returning were slim. Men who lived in constant fear sometimes suffered from _______ ______, in which their body would shake and they would stammer.