World War One (junior)
Where can I find information about World War One?
Image: [Machine gun practice] by [Unknown]. Collection: Auckland War Memorial Musuem.
Entry last updated: 29/05/19
Introduction
World War One, also called the First World War, took place between 1914 and 1918. It is called a 'world war' because so many different countries were involved. New Zealand also took part in the war, on the side of the Allies.
General websites
Here are some of our favourite sites that have information about the war, how it started, where the battles were and what it was like for soldiers and other people involved.
This website is from a publisher of educational books, and has lots of good facts and pictures. From here you can explore lots of different topics, including Origins of war right through to The end of the war.
Tips: Websites from other countries often have useful information, but they don't have much about New Zealand. Try the New Zealand websites below to find out more about our country during the war.
This website is from the BBC and is especially for primary school students. There are lots of useful sections you can visit, like:
- What were the causes of World War One?, which also explains how the war started
- What was life like in a World War One trench?, which shows what life was like for soldiers
- How did children help in World War One?, about the ways children helped the war effort, and
- Which new weapons were used in the war?, showing how new technology made a difference in warfare.
There are lots of other pages too, including quizzes and videos, so make sure you explore all the different ones!
Tips: Websites that have .com or .co in the address can have good information, but you need to check how reliable it is. Look at the About us link on the website, if you can find one. That can tell you what the company’s mission and values are.
This is part of a collection of reliable websites called EPIC. They cover lots of different topics, and are put together especially for New Zealand school students. You may need a password from your school or local library to get to them.
- Search Britannica for your keywords 'world war one' to find the World War I article. This article includes an animated timeline of the war that you can watch.
- From the first results page you can also choose to look at Images or Videos about World War One.
Tips: To get to the EPIC resources you will need a password from your school librarian first. Or you can chat with one of our AnyQuestions librarians between 1 and 6pm Monday to Friday and they will help you online. Some EPIC databases may also be available through your public library.
New Zealand websites
World War One had a big impact on New Zealand, even though the actual fighting happened in other countries. These websites have information and stories about New Zealand in the First World War.
Te Ara: The encyclopedia of New Zealand
Te Ara is a great place to start for information about Aotearoa New Zealand.
- Use your keywords 'world war one' to search.
- Select First World War from the results.
This first page gives a summary of what happened from a New Zealand perspective. From here, you can go to different parts of the story to get more detail.
Tips: We like sites like this because they're reliable. You can tell because of their web address - they have either .govt or.ac, meaning they are from government or educational organisations.
New Zealand Goes To War - NZHistory
This website also has lots of information about New Zealand history.
- Look under First World War - overview to find some facts and figures about World War One.
- Go to NZ's First World War horses to see how New Zealand's horses were used in the war.
Tips: If we go all the way down the page we can see that the website belongs to the Ministry for Culture & Heritage, so we can trust the information.
Schools' Living Heritage Stories
This website shows what some primary school students have been learning about World War One.
- Look at the story A past pupil goes to war to read about what Kilbirnie School discovered.
- Go to Brooklyn School remembers to find lots of stories of local soldiers, written by students.
Tips: Websites with .org can have good information but we need to check how reliable it is. Look at the About us page on the website, if you can find it. That will tell you more about the organisation and what their purpose is.
Books
There have been many books written about World War One - check out your local public or school library to see what they have.
Some suggested titles are:
- World War one by Stephen White-Thomson
- Why did World War I happen? by R. G. Grant
- Archie's war by Marcia Williams
- Meet the ANZACs by Claire Saxby and Max James Berry
- World War I for kids : a history with 21 activities by R. Kent Rasmussen.
