Activity 2 - Building a Time Line

Aim

To have students gain a better understanding of Canada’s role in the Italian Campaign by first researching and then piecing together its main events.

Specific Learning Outcomes

Students will be expected to:

Gain detailed knowledge of Canada's role in the Italian Campaign; and
Demonstrate knowledge of the time line of events of the Italian Campaign by providing a written response to a variety of questions.

Target Audience

This activity is suitable for grades 7 to 12, ages 12 to 18.

Sequence and Anticipated Time Frame

Background: 25 minutes
Activity: 20 minutes
Discussion: 15 minutes

Required Class Materials

Detailed information on:
Labelled map of Italy
Class sets of Timline cards, each describing an important event in the Italian Campaign (see “Time Line Cards”, below). The number of sets will be determined by the number of students in the class divided by four.

Suggested Reference Materials

Veterans Affairs Canada - Canada and the Second World War - Valour Remembered, 1939-1945;
Map or atlas

Background: 25 minutes

Divide students into groups of 4 and distribute the required class materials to each group. Have students read the materials, each taking a turn in reading aloud for the rest of the group. Explain to students that they are to pay close attention to the order of events, as the following activity will test their knowledge of Canada’s role in the Italian Campaign. You may wish to assign the reading as homework the night prior to this activity and use this class time as a review of the reading.

Activity: 20 minutes

Collect all the information packages from the students, excluding the maps, as they may be used as reference material during the activity. If not already done, divide the class into groups of four. Hand out, to each group, a set of the Time Line Cards, which you may want to laminate for future, repeated use. Each card contains a sentence or short paragraph describing an important event from the Italian Campaign, taken from the information the students will have read. The students’ goal, working together with their group, is to create a Time Line of the Italian Campaign by placing all the cards on their desk, in the correct sequence, beginning with the first event and moving to the last.

While the students are working, circulate around the classroom, noting the order in which students have placed their Time Line Cards, and providing assistance and feedback where needed.

Time Line Cards

PDF Version

Fifty-eight Canadians drowned en route to Sicily when enemy submarines sank three ships of the assault convoy; 500 vehicles and a number of guns were lost.

After fighting through 240 kilometres of mountainous country side, Canadians had helped in the success of the 38-day Sicilian Campaign.

Canadian soldiers sailed across the Strait of Messina onto mainland Italy, to battle the Germans who had seized control of Italy.

Canadians fought their first battle against the Germans in Italy at Motta.

Canadians edged forward to Ortona where the fighting was difficult, due to the castles and stone buildings. The battle ultimately led to the fall of the city of Ortona.

In the spring of 1944, determined to hold Rome, the Germans constructed two lines of fortifications, the Gustav Line and the Adolf Hitler Line.

Rome fell to the Americans in June 1944, just before the long awaited D-Day invasion of Northwest Europe began on the beaches of Normandy.

With the objective of capturing Rimini, the Canadians’ next move was to break through the Gothic Line, the last major German defensive line separating the Allies from Northern Italy.

The Allies entered Rimini and the rain came; streams turned into raging torrents, mud replaced the powdery dust, and the tanks bogged down in the swamplands. The Germans, however, still resisted the enemy.

For three weeks, the Canadians fought in the water-logged Romagna, breaching the German defences of the Savio River.

While the Canadians were in reserve at the end of October into early November, Lieut.-General Charles Foulkes succeeded Lieut.-General Burns as commander of the 1st Canadian Corps.

The Canadians began to move to Northwest Europe to be re-united with the First Canadian Army, where they would join in the drive into Germany and Holland and see the war to its end.

Closing: 15 minutes

Ask a specific group to read aloud the card they have selected as number one. Have those students who agree this card is number one raise their hands, then have those who disagree, if any, raise their hands. Discuss the event with the class, determining whether or not it should be first in the Time Line. Once a consensus has been reached regarding the number one Time Line Card, ask another group to read the card they have selected as number two of the Time Line. Again, ask those who agree to raise their hand, then those who don't agree to raise their hand and discuss what the correct answer is. Continue this format until all twelve cards have been reviewed and placed in the correct order by each group.

Follow-Up Activities

Invite students to imagine that they were a Canadian soldier who took part in one of the main engagements in the Italian Campaign. Have them write a letter home to their family, telling them about the event and the role they played in it.
Have the students answer the following question in one to two paragraphs:
Because our Veterans will not always be around to share their stories and experiences about war, it is up to youth like yourselves to take time to learn about their experiences and appreciate what they have done for us in order to pass the torch to the next generation. What could you do to help preserve this rich legacy and pass it on to future generations so that our past is never forgotten?

Date modified:: 2019-02-14