World War I

National History Day has engaged with several partners to commemorate the World War I Centennial. NHD has created (and is creating) resources to offer different perspectives on the war, engage students with unique primary sources, and remember those who served and sacrificed as part of the war effort. The programs on this landing page were sponsored by the U.S. World War I Centennial Commission, Pritzker Military Foundation, Pritzker Military Museum & Library, the National Cemetery Administration, and the American Battle Monuments Commission.

Use the orange buttons to explore resources that can be beneficial to NHD classrooms and projects.

World War I Webinar Series
World War I Silent Heroes and Veterans
How World War I Changed America
World War I Lesson Plans
World War I Webinar Series

The World War I Webinar Series is sponsored by the U.S. World War I Centennial Commission. The first phase of the series, completed in fall 2018, focused on new scholarship about the war itself. The second phase is running at this time.

Click here to watch the videos from the series.
World War I Silent Heroes and Veterans
World War I Silent Heroes
Nurse Esther Amundson
Video Eulogy
Ms. Katie Craven, Open World Learning Community
Private Frank Paul Ashbrook
Video Eulogy
Ms. Jennifer Camplair, Lorena High School
Private First Class John Billhimer
Video Eulogy
Mrs. Meghan Thomas, Von Steuben High Schoool
Private Jesse James Blanton
Video Eulogy
Mrs. Amanda Kordeliski, Norman High School North
Private Freeman Wilbur Bower
Video Eulogy
Ms. Megan Kopp, The Milton Hershey School
Private Benjamin Bowie
Video Eulogy
Dr. Isabel Morales, Felicitas & Gonzalo Mendez High School
Sergeant Roy Headrick Busch
Video Eulogy
Mr. Matthew Poth, Park View High School
Private William Denison Call
Video Eulogy
Mrs. Stephanie Hammer, William Monroe Middle School
Private Nick Carletillo
Video Eulogy
Mrs. Cherie Redelings, Frances Parker School
Private Oscar Bernard Collen
Video Eulogy
Ms. Christina O'Connor, Hingham High School
Corporal Millard W. Corson
Video Eulogy
Mr. Shane Gower, Maranacook Community High School
Private Frank Gilbert Dann
Video Eulogy
Mrs. Suzan Turner, Nashua-Plainfield High School
Private First Class Peter Radford Davis
Video Eulogy
Mrs. Kathy Carroll, St. John's Episcopal School
Corporal Ferdinand Egon Deeringhoff
Video Eulogy
Mr. Bradley Liebrecht, West Valley School
Private Gustaf Arvid Fredrik Ekstrom
Video Eulogy
Ms. Ann Jackson, Miller Middle School
Corporal Leroy Ferguson

Video Eulogy
Mrs. Sarah Gallagher, Saint Albans School
Private Aaron Ray Griffin

Video Eulogy
Mrs. Emily Lewellen, Brown County High School
Private Harry W. Hatcher
Video Eulogy
Mr. Jamie Sawatzky, Rocky Run Middle School
Corporal William Charles Herman

Video Eulogy
Mr. Michael Sandstrom, Chadron High School
Corporal Albert Hohberg
Video Eulogy
Mr. Kyle Johnson, Seaman Middle School
First Lieutenant William Augustus Hudgens

Video Eulogy
Scott Auspelmyer,Blythewood High School
Private Jacob Newcomber Kiehl
Video Eulogy
Ms. Alison Browning, J.P. McCaskey High School Campus
Private Burt Austin Markham
Video Eulogy
Mr. Jeremy Miller, Cambridge-Isanti High School
Second Lieutenant Vaughn R. McCormick
Video Eulogy
Ms. Mary Bezbatchenko, Licking Heights High School
Captain Philip Overton Mills

Video Eulogy
Ms. Pualeilani Fernandez, Hilo Intermediate School
Second Lieutenant Richard Willard Moody
Video Eulogy
Mr. Chris Stewart, North Lakes Academy Charter School
Private Sylvester Mushinski

Video Eulogy
Mr. Joseph Nowinski, Almond-Bancroft School
Private First Class Philip J. O'Connell
Video Eulogy
Mr. Brian Sheehy, North Andover High School
Private William Rice Spann

Video Eulogy
Ms. Kathryn Spann, Woodglen School
Major George E. Sperbeck

Video Eulogy
Carissa VanderLey, North Andover High School
First Lieutenant Joseph Fletcher Swift
Video Eulogy
Mrs. Stacey Trepanier, New Vistas Center for Education
Major Maynard Ames Wells
Video Eulogy
Dr. Joe Russell, Plano East Senior High School
Sergeant Neil Evans Wheeler

Video Eulogy
Mr. John Heeg, Robert Frost Middle Schoo
Private First Class James Walter Williams
Video Eulogy
Ms. Kathryn Kennedy, James F. Doughty School
First Lieutenant Josephus Benjamin Wilson
Video Eulogy
Mrs. Whitney Joyner, Northeast Middle School
Captain Alexander Dickson (Dixon) Wilson
Video Eulogy
Ms. Eden McCauslin, District of Columbia Public Schools
World War I Veterans
Lieutenant Colonel Edwin William Armstrong
Mr. Kyle Johnson, Seaman Middle School
Nurse Mary Gertrude Smith Boaz
Mrs. Whitney Joyner, Northeast Middle School
Imperial German Army Pioneer Karl Georg (George) Camplair
Ms. Jennifer Camplair, Lorena High School
Seaman Second Class Arthur Dwight Curfman
Ms. Mary Bezbatchenko, Licking Heights High School
Private First Class Carl “Fritz” Demro
Mrs. Suzan Turner, Nashua-Plainfield High School
Private First Class Dantón D. Ferrero
Mrs. Kathy Carroll, St. John’s Episcopal School
Private Edmond A. Harjo
Mrs. Amanda Kordeliski, Norman High School North
Private Bertram F. Heuer, Sr.
Mrs. Meghan Thomas, Von Stueben High School
Staff Sergeant Bertram F. Heuer, Jr.
Mrs. Meghan Thomas, Von Stueben High School
Yeomanette Third Class Lulu Mae Hogue
Ms. Eden McCauslin, District of Columbia Public Schools
Colonel William A. Lee
Mr. Matthew Poth, Park View High School
Private Frank J. Markling
Mr. Jeremy Miller, Cambridge-Isanti High School
Colonel Marcus Aurelius Smith Ming
Mrs. Stacey Trepanier, New Vistas Center for Education
Private George E. Pearce
Mrs. Cherie Redelings, Frances Parker School
Seaman Second Class Wilbur Elting Peecher
Ms. Katie Craven, Open World Learning Community
Private Percy Louis Rancourt
Mr. Shane Gower, Maranacook Community High School
Nurse Ethel Gladstone Shapiro
Mr. Jamie Sawatzky, Rocky Run Middle School
Private Melina Olive Shaw
Ms. Christina O'Connor, Hingham High School
Corporal Benjamin William Stewart
Mr. Chris Stewart, North Lakes Academy Charter School
Yeoman First Class Helen M. Whittaker
Ms. Alison Browning, J.P. McCaskey High School Campus
How World War I Changed America

Sponsored by a grant from the U.S. World War I Centennial Commemoration and The Doughboy Foundation, The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, and National History Day have collaborated to create the new How World War I Changed America Teacher Resource. The resource includes the How World War I Changed America documentary series and classroom resources that engage students in exploring World War I's lasting legacy in United States history.

World War I Lesson Plans

In 2018 and 2019, NHD traveled to World War I cemeteries and battle sites sponsored by the sponsored by the U.S. World War I Centennial Commission, the Pritzker Military Foundation, and the Pritzker Military Museum & Library. The lessons and supporting materials can be downloaded below.

Great War, Flawed Peace, and the Lasting Legacy of World War I Lesson Plans
Alien Enemies Detained: German Americans in World War I
Created by Kyle Johnson, Seaman Middle School
English Only: A Wartime Necessity or an Act of Intolerance?
Created by Suzy Turner, Nashua-Plainfield High School
"I Didn’t Raise My Boy to be A…” Mothers, Music, and the Obligations of War
Created by Jennifer Camplair, Lorena High School
Baseball: Patriotism and Civic Duty
Created by Brian Sheehy, North Andover High School
Mobilizing the Masses: Propaganda on the Home Front During World War I
Created by Bradley Liebrecht, West Valley Junior High School
Conscientious Objectors of World War I
Created by Carissa VanderLey, Chamberlain High School
Women on the Front Lines: American Nurses in World War I
Created by Katie Craven, Open World Learning Community
Female Servicemembers of World War I: Their Story
Created by Emily Lewellen, Brown County High School
Suffragists Unite!
Created by Kathryn Kennedy, George Stevens Academy
In Their Boots: Understanding the Effects of Trench Warfare
Created by Sarah Gallagher, Saint Albans High School
The Ethics of Shell Shock Treatment: A Socratic Seminar in History and Psychology
Created by Shane Gower, Maranacook Community High School
Coming Home: The Doughboys Return to Civilian Life
Created by Megan Kopp, Milton Hershey School
The Bonus Army and the Election of 1932
Created by John Heeg, Robert Frost Middle School
Poetry of World War I
Created by Kathryn Spann, Woodglen School
How They Write about the Fight: American Soldier-Poets Since World War I
Created by Joe Russell, Plan East Senior High
Jazz: The Harlem Hellfighters' Gift to the World
Created by Stephanie Hammer, William Monroe Middle School
Memories from the Great War: Art, Letters, and the Collective Memory
Created by Stacey Trepainer, New Vistas Center for Education
War Memorials Abroad: Foreign Memorialization of the Great War
Created by Michael Sandstrom, Chadron High School
War Memorials at Home: Constructing the Legacy of the Great War
Created by Chris Stewart, North Lakes Academy Charter School
From Armistice Day to Veterans Day: America’s Decision to Change a Worldwide Holiday
Created by Eden McCauslin, District of Columbia Public Schools
Waging Peace: International Peacekeeping after World War I
Created by Joseph Nowinski, Almond-Brancroft School
Versailles to Vietnam: The Long-Term Effects of the Peace Process
Created by Mary Bezbatchenko, Licking Heights High School
What is Genocide?: Analyzing the Armenian Massacres of World War I
Created by Ann Jackson, B.R. Miller Middle School
We Return Fighting: Mapping the Experiences of African Americans Soldiers After World War I
Created by Isabel Morales, Mendez High School
Social Injustice in Hawai'i
Created by Pualeilani Fernandez, Hilo Intermediate School
How World War I Changed the World: Analyzing the Geographic Impact of the Great War
Created by Jamie Sawatzy, Rocky Run Middle School
The Rise to Power of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis
Created by Scott Auspelmyer, Blythewood High School

Click here to download a complete copy of the lesson plan book!

These lessons, sponsored by the sponsored by the National Cemetery Administration and the American Battle Monuments Commission connect the experiences of World War I with American national cemeteries. Each lesson contains a component connected to the cemetery, but each is designed to work whether or not you can visit the cemetery in person.

Memorializing the Fallen World War I Lesson Plans
Analyzing the Pennsylvania Veterans’ Memorial
Created by Alison Browning, J.P. McCaskey High School Campus
Answering the Call: The U.S. Army Nurse Corps in World War I
Created by Whitney Joyner, Northeast Middle School
Finding the Human Side of History
Created by Matthew Poth, Park View High School
Not Written in Stone: How National Cemetery Marker Policies Have Changed
Created by Jeremy Miller, Cambridge-Isanti High School
Remembering Service: Creating Found Poetry at the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery
Created by Meghan Thomas, Von Steuben High School
The Army Behind the Army: Quartermaster Corps Support the Troops
Created by Cherie Redelings, Frances Parker School
Thinking Historically about Veterans’ Stories
Created by Kathy Tucker Carroll, St. John's Episcopal School
What is a Veteran?
Created by Christina O'Connor, Hingham High School
A Secret Language: American Indian Code Talkers
Created by Amanda Kordeliski, Norman High School North