Free Lesson Plans Available
The National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial offers four complete lesson plans
(see below). “Lessons of Liberty” are multi-day educational materials, activities, and classroom guides available in CD format and can be mailed to teachers worldwide.
The CD includes documents and images from the collections of the National World War I Museum and the National Archives and Records Administration-Central Plains Region. Each lesson plan, written with state and national standards in mind, is targeted to a specific grade level or course of study, but can be manipulated by experienced teachers for multiple grade levels and curricula.
“Lessons of Liberty” classroom materials are also available to teachers in the Kansas City area in a “trunk” format that includes hands-on objects from World War I. An educational trunk cannot be mailed and requires a returnable deposit of $150.
Courage and Honor
Written for the upper elementary grades. Focuses students on the Great War as seen through the eyes of a Medal of Honor recipient, an American surgeon, the first American – an African American – decorated by our French allies, a YMCA entertainer, and a Red Cross Nurse. The trunk version replicates a laboratory chest of the period that contains objects and documents in addition to the educational materials.
Patriotism
Written for middle school grades. Asks students to interpret the war’s meaning (“to bring peace and safety to all nations and make the world itself at last free”) by considering a collection of 68 incentive posters from the combatant nations of World War I. The trunk includes laminated copies of these posters for hands-on examination.
Sacrifice
Written for high school grades. Requires students to compare and contrast the Selective Service document of today with that of 1917. The curriculum follows a young doughboy through the draft process and his journey to the Western Front. Students are invited to explore their ideas and opinions on a draft today. This trunk contains World War I military objects, along with replicated documents that the soldier would need overseas.
“Star in Education” is a lesson plan created in conjunction with
The Kansas City Star. It includes current information on the Liberty Memorial, women in war, World War I posters, fast facts on the war, and relevant classroom activities.
To order a free "Lessons of Liberty" CD,
click here.