If you’re looking for a hands-on opportunity for your
students to discover the Canadian experience in the First World War, you need
to check out the Canadian War Museum’s new program “Supply Line.”
Supply Line is a discovery box of WWI artifacts that students
are able to pick up, inspect, test, and even try on. There are 22 objects from WWI (5 authentic
artifacts and 17 reproductions) representing different aspects of the Canadian
experience in Europe. Some of the highlights
for my students included a soldier’s dress jacket, a steel helmet, a trench
periscope, a small box respirator (gas mask), and a gas alarm rattle.
Also in the box are contextual photographs, artifact
information labels such as you would find in a museum display, and a binder of
teacher resources. The teacher resources
include additional background information on each artifact and a series of
lesson plans, with student handouts, based on different themes, topics, and
cross-curricular connections. All
information is provided in French and English.
.JPG) |
| Service Dress Jacket with contextual photos and information labels |
Supply Line is a free program - the Canadian War Museum even
covers all shipping costs. Boxes are
loaned out for two-week periods and there is a limit of 1 loan per semester per
school. While the Canadian War Museum is
unable to guarantee a specific request, you can specify your preferred month
when you submit your application. I
submitted my request in mid-September for delivery any time between October and
early January. I received an email 2
weeks later indicating a box could be delivered on October 15. Demand for the boxes will likely grow as more
schools hear about this great opportunity so get your request in soon.
My students really enjoyed this opportunity to interact with
history and watching them try to figure out what some of the more obscure
objects were used for (and which students already had the answer!) was a great
opportunity for me to observe their thinking and analytical processes, too.
The Canadian War Museum has put in a ton of work to make this
a really valuable resource and it is definitely worth checking out!
