John McCrae In Flanders Fields

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 5

De Eerste Wereldoorlog

2. De Grote Oorlog

John McCrae

In this lesson  you will:

-read information about John McCrae's connection with WW1

-listen to Flanders Fields by John McCrae

-analyse the poem

-learn how Remembrance Day is celebrated

-realize the importance of poppies on Remembrance Day

In Flanders Fields is one of the most famous war poems. It was written in 1915 by a Canadian military doctor, John McCrae, who saw his friends die on the battlefields in Belgium during World War 1. Flanders, referred to in the poem, is a county in northwest Belgium.

John McCrae wrote the poem in less than an hour. He was very upset after the death of a friend who died in battle, and expressed his feelings through the poem. After writing it, he tossed it in the garbage! Another officer picked it up and sent it to some newspapers in England, where it was soon published.

First impression?

recitation

https://youtu.be/K6BlOkpdkg8

recitation

https://youtu.be/FydFyyVHXQU

Which recitation is better? Why?

song

https://youtu.be/1QBtdzXGYmo

song

https://youtu.be/ZPgZnhtTwmM

song

http://www.greatwar.nl/contemporary/romislokus/romislokus.html

Which song do you prefer? Why?

https://clpe.org.uk/poetryline/poetic-forms-and-devices

1 In Flanders Fields is written in the "voice" of a certain type of soldier. What type of soldier? 

2 The symbols used in this poem are: poppies, torch, rows , larks 

What do they represent?

4 Why has the writer chosen poppies instead of another flower?

Discuss your answers in your group

The poem, written from the point of view of dead soldiers, describes how men sacrificed their lives in war. They ask that people carry on their fight and never forget them. 

As a result of the poem, poppies, the flowers referred to in the poem, have become an international symbol for remembrance.

00:36

What does this picture clarify?

02:25

How is Remembrance Day celebrated?

02:51

Which countries use poppies as a symbol on Remembrance Day?

04:37

How do volunteers raise money?

00:41

Why is Remembrance Day a better name than Armistice Day?

01:01

When is Remembrance Day celebrated? Why then?

02:47

Differences?/Similarities?
all over the world

03:41

Why is Lest we Forget an appropriate theme of Remembrance Day?