A Day in the Trenches - Anzac Day in the classroom

Little did the students know when they arrived at school on Wednesday, that they were about to be brought to their knees...literally. 

We teachers had transformed Te Waka Ako (our learning space) into an 'Under the Wires' no man's land. We had strung 34 wires (coloured wool) in an interwoven web about 1m off the ground. Each wire was wound around furniture and over obstacles. 

Students were asked to crawl under the wires holding only their Art book, a pen, ruler and a pencil. The day in the trenches had begun. While gunfire and mortar shells were played over a UE Boom, they started their day heads bent, trying to complete a basic facts test....with mixed results!

The teachers were dressed in black with army face paint and armed with nerf guns. Students were warned that if they poked their heads above the wires...they would be shot! This helped to get the creative juices flowing for some very descriptive writing. Fruit break was held under the wires, as was our fitness time...very restrictive planks and stretches.

Throughout the rest of the day the soldiers were released for swimming time (in torrential rain...appropriate) and then a lunch break, where they could stretch their legs. They returned to the trenches for a Gallipoli timeline picture dictation activity and each teacher read an ANZAC story out loud. 

At the end of the day the students crawled into pairs. One student was blindfolded and handed the end of one wire on a popsicle stick. The other partner was then given the task of leading their wounded comrade out of the trenches by following the wire to the end.

After a fantastic day of Anzac activities the students were very happy to get to their feet again (as were the teachers). Please visit their blogs to get their perspective of the day, read some incredible descriptive writing, about their thoughts and feelings of their day in the trenches.