English Online – http://english.unitecnology.ac.nz
Conflict and War

Group Work Research

Students placed in groups of four.  They are given one of the following wars to study in their group.  The questions give them guidance in what to research, they should combine these with key words and brainstorms of what they know/need to find out. 

·	THE AGE OF ANXIETY  - VIETNAM WAR 
·	THE GREAT WAR 1914-1918 
·	THE ARRIVAL OF THE ATOMIC AGE   - HIROSHIMA 1945 
·	THE SECOND WORLD WAR 1939-1945 
·	THE LOST PEACE   - THE SPANISH WAR 1936-1939 
·	THE KOREAN WAR 

Research focus:

·	What were the causes of the war?
·	Who were the key players involved?
·	Who started the war?
·	What countries/armies fought in this war?
·	When did the war begin and end officially?
·	How was the war fought?  With what technology?
·	What was the feeling of the general public of this time?
·	What was the attitude of people towards war?
·	How did the war conclude?

For extension, some of the students or groups could look at the poetry of the time.  The book "The Poetry of War" covers all these wars and the poetry written during the time.  The students could gauge an even greater understanding of the beliefs and feelings prevalent at the time of the war. These web sites will also be useful:

·	Poetry and Music of the War Between the States (see http://www.erols.com/kfraser/)
·	Vietnam Veterans' War Stories (see http://www.war-stories.com/)
·	Poetry of the First World War (see http://www.illyria.com/poetry.html)
·	Italian War Poetry (see http://www.worldwar1.com/sfip1.htm)
·	World War One Poetry (see http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1914warpoets.html)
·	Lost Poets of the Great War (see http://www.emory.edu/ENGLISH/LostPoets/index.html)
·	Virtual Seminars for Teaching Literature: WW1 Poetry (see http://info.ox.ac.uk/jtap/)

Groups present this is the form of poster, booklet, video, models, or seminars. All forms of research sources should be used including; CD Rom, chronicles, encyclopaedia, internet, guidelines and fax request, fiction and non fiction, vertical file (if relevant), phoning embassies and visits to other libraries. 

© Ministry of Education, Wellington, New Zealand (First published 1998)