Reflect on the life of Private Peaceful in the classroom

Join Michael Morpurgo on the 24^th of June to teach your class about life in WW1 before the centenary of the Battle of the Somme on July 1^st

Michael Morpurgo, in partnership with HarperCollins Children’s Books, is hosting a real-time digital event on the 24^th of June to encourage children to learn about the realities of living in WW1 in the lead up to the centenary of the Battle of the Somme on July 1^st.

The event will consist of thirteen diary entries released online from Pte T Peaceful, Morpurgo’s narrator in his award-winning novel Private Peaceful, reflecting on his life before and during the war. Each diary entry will be accompanied by an activity that teachers can use in the classroom to help students further understand the impacts of WW1. The activities are suitable for children in the high KS2 and low KS3 stages of education.

The event has been designed by an educational expert who has considered how modern day children consume information in small bite-size bursts. Thus, the short diary extracts and smaller class activities will encourage learning and enable the subject of WW1 and its impacts to be more accessible to children.

Morpurgo is an avid advocate of learning about history through storytelling and labels both Private Peaceful and his bestselling War Horse as his anthems for peace. Please do join Michael Morpurgo and encourage your class to reflect on the life of Private Peaceful as he journeys to the Battle of the Somme.

The event will be hosted here, on the Michael Morpurgo site, and will begin at 10.05am on the 24^th June. The extracts and activities will then be uploaded in real-time throughout the day. If you can’t join us on the 24^th, please note all extracts and activities will be available from the 25^th of June onwards.

Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo has now been published in special edition to commemorate the millions of soldiers who lost their lives in the Battle of the Somme. As well as an introduction from the author, there are testimonials and first-hand accounts from soldiers who fought on the front lines.