Instructional Video

Hell's Handmaiden - Canadian Flying Ace Billy Bishop

Curated and Reviewed by Lesson Planet

He would have been expelled for cheating, but Canadian flying ace Billy Bishop was drafted at the start of World War I before school officials could punish him. A dog fighter of legendary proportions, only the Red Baron rivaled him with the number of kills. The biography of this less-known flying ace demonstrates the role the budding technology of aviation played in the Great War. 

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CCSS: Adaptable
Instructional Ideas
  • Show the video as a case study of how aviation influenced World War I
  • Offer the biography as research on key figures during World War I
Classroom Considerations
  • Part of the Who Did What in World War I? video biography series
  • This video is hosted on YouTube
Pros
  • Video footage of World War I dog fights intrigues young historians
  • Quotes from Bishop and an engaging narrator keep the class interested
Cons
  • Video is highly pedantic and may lose some learners who aren't interested in details of military maneuvers
  • Biography offers no context for Bishop's service within the war
Common Core