Here’s a link to several letters written by soliders to their homes during WWI.

Click to access Letters%20from%20the%20Trenches%20SAMPLE.pdf

Click to access letters-from-the-first-world-war-1915-3-trenches.pdf

http://spcoll.library.uvic.ca/schoolnet/digicol/pearkes/plv5/trenches.htm

Assignment 1- Life in the Trenches and at Home

For this assignment, imagine that you are a Canadian soldier participating in World War 1. You are living in or near the trenches in France or Belgium. Your task is to write a letter home to your husband/wife telling him/her about your life in the trenches.

You are to write a short letter (200 words min) from the perspective of a Canadian soldier fighting in the trenches in World War 1. In your letter, describe his and her experiences at war and at the home-front. Make sure that you outline the living conditions in the trenches and lifestyle/perspectives of the war at home.

In your letter, include at least five specific pieces of information related to the First World War, a battle and the individual’s experiences and emotions: (1) weather, (2) food, (3) moral, (4)health, (5) recent events, (6) other news about friends or information from home, (7) sleeping and living conditions, (8) sounds and (9) your fears. -Your letter must include: dates, sights, sounds, smell, feelings, and thoughts of war. -Try to make your letter sound and look authentic.

Evaluation: Date and to…. /Address
Sights /1
Sound /1
Smells /1
5 Specific Examples of Experiences/Emotions /5
Authenticity/Creativity /3
Total /12×2=24
You can use your notes, textbook, and internet for references, make sure to cite at the end of the assignment, include a title page with your name, date, and class number. A detailed look at Canadian soldiers’ experiences in the Great War, including life in the trenches, is available online on The Canadian Encyclopedia and the Canadian War Museum websites.