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K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Join Up

This lesson is designed to help students look more closely at the reasons why Paul and his friends from the novel All Quiet on the Western Front, along with other soldiers joined the armed forces in WWI. Through primary sources and the novel, students will have a better understanding of propaganda and how it affects people.

A lesson plan for grade 10 English Language Arts

By Kari Siko

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Learning outcomes

Students will examine the propaganda used in Erich Maria Remarque’s novel All Quiet on the Western Front and relate it to the propaganda posters from the United States during WWI.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

2 days

Materials/resources

Poster paper, markers, crayon, colored pencils

Technology resources

Computer lab with Internet access for each student

Pre-activities

Students should have read chapter one of All Quiet on the Western Front.

Students should have prior knowledge of propaganda.

Activities

  1. Have students define propaganda. Have students define propaganda. Discuss as a class how propaganda is used in the students’ lives.
  2. Look at chapter one in All Quiet on the Western Front. Have students discuss what caused Paul and his friends to join the army. What types of propaganda were used?
  3. Have students find a poster from the military section of the Propaganda posters from the Doc South website. Have students discuss the purpose of the poster. Who was the intended audience? What types of propaganda are used?
  4. As a class, discuss how both sides (Germany and the US) used propaganda to get young men to join the army. Would the students join based on the posters? What would make them join the armed forces?
  5. In small groups, have students create a poster that Paul may have seen before joining the army. Be sure to use propaganda in the poster. Have students define propaganda. Discuss as a class how propaganda is used in their lives.

Assessment

Students should be assessed on participation in activities.

Assessment of the poster can be given for completeness and use of propaganda.

Supplemental information

Remarque, Erich Maria. All Quiet on the Western Front. Little, Brown and Company, 1958.

Related websites

Propaganda Posters for the Military

Comments

This lesson can be used as an extension of the novel or as a free standing lesson.

North Carolina Curriculum Alignment

English Language Arts (2004)

Grade 10 — English II

  • Goal 1: The learner will react to and reflect upon print and non-print text and personal experiences by examining situations from both subjective and objective perspectives.
    • Objective 1.01: Produce reminiscences (about a person, event, object, place, animal) that engage the audience by:
      • using specific and sensory details with purpose.
      • explaining the significance of the reminiscence from an objective perspective.
      • moving effectively between past and present.
      • recreating the mood felt by the author during the reminiscence.
    • Objective 1.02: Respond reflectively (through small group discussion, class discussion, journal entry, essay, letter, dialogue) to written and visual texts by:
      • relating personal knowledge to textual information or class discussion.
      • showing an awareness of one's own culture as well as the cultures of others.
      • exhibiting an awareness of culture in which text is set or in which text was written.
      • explaining how culture affects personal responses.
      • demonstrating an understanding of media's impact on personal responses and cultural analyses.
  • Goal 2: The learner will evaluate problems, examine cause/effect relationships, and answer research questions to inform an audience.
    • Objective 2.02: Create responses that examine a cause/effect relationship among events by:
      • effectively summarizing situations.
      • showing a clear, logical connection among events.
      • logically organizing connections by transitioning between points.
      • developing appropriate strategies such as graphics, essays, and multi-media presentations to illustrate points.