Here’s my roundup of the best, short World War I videos to reinforce concepts in your classroom. Most are around 4 minutes long. These should not all be shown in one day, but throughout the unit. Be sure to ask questions after each video and discuss with your students what they learned or thought was interesting.
How a Wrong Turn Started World War I – a great explanation of Franz Ferdinand’s assassination
Life in a Trench World War I – a short summary, good contrast between German and Allied trenches, as well as dramatic description of how soldiers felt about trenches (it’s listed as age-restricted because it shows dead bodies)
Life in the Trenches WWI – Trench Warfare Explained – a longer description of trench warfare (about 8 minutes), less dramatic, more factual approach (may want to use for students who want to dive deeper)
Tech Developments of World War I – a great summary of the change from the beginning to the end of the war (show after trench warfare video)
Dog Fights: WWI Uncut – a 7 minute video, use for students who want to know more (side note: turn closed captions off – the word fokker is translated as the f word)
The Treaty of Versailles: What Did the Big Three Want 1/2 – a great summary of the feelings leading to the Treaty, show Part 2/2 below to get the full picture
The Treaty of Versailles: Terms of Treaty 2/2
Bet You Didn’t Know – a good summary of the entire war, might be good to show the day before a test or at the end of the year for End of Course test-prep