Transcript Dunkirk - presentation

 starter activity
You will be given an extract from a new guidebook on Dover and its tunnels. However,
before it goes to the printers it needs proof-reading. There are 15 errors to find!
Was Dunkirk a
triumph or a disaster?
 Learning objectives
Review knowledge from earlier in the course
To explain why Dunkirk was a key event in WWII
To evaluate whether it was a success or a failure for
the British
 Your task

Read p.158 in ‘Peace & War’ and identify as
many reasons as you why Dunkirk was a
significant event in World War Two.
Why Dunkirk was so significant






New type of warfare used by German army – blitzkrieg
Entire British Army could have been captured
(300,000+)
Demonstrated the leadership & organisation skills of
Churchill & Ramsay
Involved civilians using pleasure craft & ‘little ships’ in
rescue operation
Propaganda victory & morale booster for British
Marked end of ‘phoney war’
 Your tasks




Your teacher will give you a copy of Charles Cundall’s
painting of the ‘Withdrawal from Dunkirk’. Annotate
the picture with what you can see and already know
about the evacuation.
Compare the painting of Dunkirk with sources 2-7 on
p.158-9. In a different colour, note down additional
details you learn about the event.
 Extension – how do you imagine the German
newspapers would have reported the same event?
Watch this clip from ‘Atonement’. How similar or
different is it to the accounts you have read so far?
Note down and similarities / differences.
Charles Cundall (official war artist), ‘Withdrawal from Dunkirk’, 1940 -
 Your task


Complete the table your teacher provides.
Divide into pairs. One of you is a journalist trying to
show her readers that Dunkirk was a terrible disaster
the other that it was a triumph. Read through sources
2-14 and gather evidence to support your
interpretation.
 Extension


Why do historians disagree about Dunkirk?
Do you think we will ever know ‘the truth’
about Dunkirk?
 Homework


Ensure you have completed your table on the
Dunkirk sources.
Next lesson, we will hold a debate on whether
Dunkirk was a triumph or a disaster. Highlight
your 2 best pieces of evidence that you would
use for either side of the argument and explain
why you have chosen them.
 Plenary




Give 3 typical SPAG mistakes from the starter
activity you should avoid in your own writing
Give 3 reasons why Dunkirk was such a
significant event
Give 2 pieces of evidence that suggest it was /
wasn’t a ‘miracle’
Extension: can you think of any other events
from WWII that might not have been as much
of a ‘triumph’ as they appeared at the time?