Southland

Title: Christmas in the Trenches
Author: John McCutcheon
Topic: Christmas
Grade: 4-6

We read this wonderful book Christmas book to our older grades this week. It's especially great for 5th and 6th grades because they will study US and World History this year. It takes place in 1914 and is about the unofficial truce that took place during the first winter of World War I. We first of all talked about what a trench is and what it is used for. Then, I read the story and touched on a few of the histroical facts in the back of the book. I thought it was amazing that they estimate 100,000 soldiers took part in this unoffical truce that Christmas day in 1914. When reading the book, there seems to be no sound, because the students are listening so intently. It's happened with every class I've read it to so far this week.