Jun 09 2008
Vimy Ridge Report
As I have mentioned in earlier posts, my son and his dad are making a model together for a contest that is being put on by the local museum. The model that he chose to do was the Battle of Vimy Ridge and in particular Hill 145.
It has been an adventure and after 2 and a half months, he finally finished it this weekend. (I will post pictures when I can get the feature working again,) It looks really good and we decided that he would have a little plague beside it explaining what his model is about and what Vimy Ridge is.
Over the last two months, I (and Dad) have been talking to him about Vimy Ridge and World War I but I decided to gather a few print outs and read it to him over the weekend. I then had him tell me about Vimy Ridge in his own words.
This is actually a great way to get your children to remember what you are reading. Asking questions like, “So what happened when,” or “What part did you find interesting,” or even “Why is this important,” will help your child put some order into their thoughts on the subject while reinforcing the learning. It also prepares them for when they have to start writing reports and will have to think about those questions on their own.
I have done this with both of my children since they were very young and it is simply a way to recall learning. It is also a great way to remind me what we are learning because many times the subject is pretty new to me too.
So with that, I thought I would post his report today. It gives you some idea of what he retained, even at 6 (just about 7), and is an example of how effective these projects are.
Battle of Vimy Ridge: Hill 145
April 9th to 12th, 1917
My model is about Vimy Ridge. This is Hill 145 where the Canadians won against the Germans and no other army had won there before.
During World War I on April 9th, 1917, Easter Monday, at 5:28am, the Canadians began their battle to win the Ridge. It was a hard battle and they had to fight machine guns, artillery, cannons and Germans. They had to get through barbed wire and lots of mud and dirt.
They won Hill 145 on April 10th, 1917 and they won the Battle of Vimy Ridge on April 12th, 1917.
Many brave Canadians fought at Vimy Ridge and there were over 7,000 injured soldiers and 3,598 soldiers who died.
Why is Vimy Ridge important to Canadians?
- It was the “birthplace” of Canada!
- It was where Canadians became proud.
- It was the first time that the whole Canadian Army fought together and commanded its own soldiers.
- Canadian Soldiers invented the Rolling Barrage, the Platoon System, better communications, Indirect Machine-Gun Fire and many other things at Vimy Ridge that are still used today by soldiers.
- Canadian soldiers did what no other soldiers had been able to do before at Vimy Ridge.
I am proud of the soldiers who fought there because they fought for Canada. We should never forget them.
“In those few minutes I witnessed the birth of a nation.”
-Brigadier General A.E. Ross
The quote was one that my son really liked and was one that he wanted on his plague. So now he is ready and in two weeks he drops of the model and we will know if he wins by July 1st. Even if he doesnt, it was a great experience for both him and us and a lot of learning was done on all of our parts.
Sirena Van Schaik
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