Think Like a Historian: The Last Hundred Days Education Guide and Video Series

ACTIVITY 5: INTERPRETING PERSPECTIVES IN PRIMARY SOURCES — PERSONNEL RECORD To begin, watch and listen to the Think Like A Historian: Personnel Record video. A Personnel Record, sometimes referred to as a Military Service File, is the collection of documents that outlines events and information regarding each Canadian Expeditionary Force member’s service. It includes a variety of documents, including enlistment, training, medical and hospitalization history, finances, medals and titles, discipline, and discharge or notification of death. Excerpts from four sets of documents within Metcalf’s Personnel Record are available in the Activity Five Worksheet: Hospital/Health, Casualty and Service, Awards, and Attestation Paper. These documents are found in the Last Hundred Days Worksheets Package on the Education Portal . TEACHER TIP: HAVE STUDENTS COMPLETE ACTIVITY 2 BEFORE WORKING ON ACTIVITY 5. William Henry Metcalf was born in Waite, Maine, USA. Metcalf was one of an estimated 40,000 Americans who enlisted with the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War. He arrived on the Western Front in May 1915 and fought with the 16th Battalion. In 1917 he was awarded the Military Medal “for bravery in the Field,” and was later awarded the medal a second time. Metcalf was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration awarded to troops serving in British Empire forces, for his “most conspicuous bravery, initiative, and devotion to duty in attack” at the Drocourt-Quéant Line. During that battle, he was wounded by a bullet, and recuperated in hospital for the rest of the war. He married an English nurse, Dorothy Winifred Holland, in 1919, and they returned to Maine after the war. Metcalf died on August 8, 1968, the 50th anniversary of the start of the Hundred Days offensive. Metcalf’s Personnel Record contains 59 pages. Selected excerpts and documents can be found in the Worksheets Package. Click here to access the full Personnel Record from Library and Archives Canada. Note that the full document is available only in English, but excerpts for classroom use are provided in English and French in the Worksheets Package. TEACHER TIP: CORNELOUP’S WRITING REQUIRES A HIGH READING LEVEL. YOU MAY WANT TO READ THROUGH THE EXCERPTS WITH YOUR CLASS. Compare Corneloup’s account of the Last Hundred Days with a letter written by a soldier in the 22nd Battalion to assess the accuracy of Corneloup’s descriptions. 1. In pairs, use the Finding Proof Chart in the Last Hundred Days Worksheets Package on the Education Portal to compare Corneloup’s account with a letter written by Armand Thérien, a soldier in the 22nd Battalion. Identify the similarities and differences in Corneloup’s account of the Last Hundred Days with Thérien’s letter and record them in the chart. 2. As a class, discuss: • What are the most important similarities or differences? • Are there any inconsistencies in the accounts? • How has your thinking about the Last Hundred Days changed and how has it stayed the same after comparing soldiers’ perspectives? • What questions do you still have? Modification: Draft a letter or a series of short letters from Corneloup’s perspective that describe his thoughts, feelings, perspectives, and values regarding key events during the Last Hundred Days. Based on evidence from Corneloup’s account, develop conclusions about the experiences of French-Canadian soldiers in the 22nd Battalion, and Corneloup’s thoughts, feelings, and values regarding the Last Hundred Days. 1. Record your conclusions and evidence in the Reaching Conclusions Chart in the Last Hundred Days Worksheets Package on the Education Portal . 2. Discuss the following as a class: • As a source of evidence about the Last Hundred Days, what are the benefits and limitations of Corneloup’s account? • What other kinds of sources would we want to look at to understand the Last Hundred Days or soldiers’ experiences during this time? D) REACHING CONCLUSIONS E) FINDING PROOF Title page of L’Épopée du Vingt-Deuxième (courtesy Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec /http://numerique.banq.qc.ca/ patrimoine/details/52327/1986825). 6 Reread and analyze the selected excerpts from The Epic of the 22nd Battalion in the Activity Four Worksheet in the Last Hundred Days Worksheets Package on the Education Portal . A close reading is important to gain a deeper understanding of the soldiers’ experiences during the Last Hundred Days. 1. In pairs, find and circle any words or phrases that express or reveal Corneloup’s feelings, thoughts, or values. 2. Identify dominant themes and messages in Corneloup’s account. What do these reveal about Corneloup’s experience and perspective? Modification: Explore objects and photographs available in the online exhibition for the First World War on the Canadian War Museum website. Select an image and briefly summarize how it captures one of the themes, messages, or details you identified in the excerpts from The Epic of the 22nd Battalion . Left: Attestation Paper for William Henry Metcalf, Digitized Service File 6140-35 (courtesy Library and Archives Canada/http:// central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.item/ ?op=pdf&app= CEF&id=6140-35). Right: L/Cpl. W.H. Metcalf, V.C. (courtesy Canada Dept. of National Defence/Library and Archives Canada/PA-006712). C) EXPLORING