As students enter high school and begin studying major military conflicts in depth for the first time, they are encountered with terminology (in documentaries and in print) which will be largely unfamiliar to them outside of (perhaps) motion pictures and network news. What is a skirmish? What are civilians? In order to better understand the content of high school history courses, and write better essays, we've prepared handy worksheets that help with an understanding of "fighting words."

Here are 24 key terms which students should know when writing about war. The worksheet shown above has students match synonyms and antonyms. Click here to print (PDF file) this worksheet. Answer key: (1) D (2) E (3) B (4) A (5) C (6) L (7) K (8) F (9) G (10) J (11) H (12) I

Teaching Idea: Have students write a five-paragraph essay describing a battle or altercation, requiring them to use at least a dozen of these terms. Perhaps have students write in the style of a war correspondent. Additionally, have students watch or read war reports, and pick out how many of these terms they hear or see.

We also have a worksheet that asks students to define all 24 terms, which you can print here. For a worksheet asking students to use each word in a sentence, click here.

Terms: advance, allegiance, altercation, armed forces, arms, attack, civilians, combat, defense, deploy, dugout, engagement, offense, onslaught, patriotism, peace, retreat, skirmish, soldiers, trench, troops, war, weaponry, withhold