World War I

By

Tom Renick

Rationale

The reason for studying World War I is due to the need for 10th grade students to study a war that had major repercussions in the 20th century and has shaped the world in many ways.

Objectives

Students should be able to explain how and why the war started and what the end result was.

They should be able to explain what the words militarism, nationalism, and imperialism mean and how they contributed to the war.

Students should be able to differentiate between the Allied Powers and the Central Powers and what countries they were made up of.

Finally students should be able to explain what turned the tide of the war, who won, and what happened at the peace process that made WWII inevitable.

Materials Needed

Pen and or Pencil Notebook Colored Pencils (some will be provided in class)

Websites

http://www.worldwar1.com/ http://www.art-ww1.com/gb/index2.html http://www.firstworldwar.com/ http://raven.cc.ukans.edu/~kansite/ww

_one/photos/greatwar.htm http://www.lib.byu.edu/~rdh/wwi/

Activity One

Country Identification On a blank map color in the countries that

make up the Central Powers in one color, the Allied Powers in another color, and the neutral countries in yet another country.

Activity Two

Definitions Define the following

terms in your notebook.

Militarism Nationalism Imperialism Alliance System

Balfour Declaration Armistice Lusitania U-boat Treaty of Versailles Allies Central Powers Somme

Activity Three

Write a letter in which you pretend to be either a soldier, a nurse, a wife at home, or a wounded soldier in the hospital.

Pick which country you are from. Your letter needs to be a minimum of one

page to a maximum of three pages. Be descriptive!!!

Activity Four

The students will watch the movie All Quiet On the Western Front and discuss how it portrayed World War I. Students will also keep a journal on the movie everyday. Roles will be assigned to role play everyday such as: a German soldier, a captured French soldier, a poisoned Russian soldier, an Austrian nurse, etc.

Activity Five

Write a two to four page paper explaining what you would have done with Germany after World War I. Remember:

Were the Allies too hard on Germany? Was World War II inevitable? How was the League of Nations supposed

to work?

The Horrors of War- An Introduction to World War I

Why Study WWI – Short Term

Enormous cost in lives and money Russian Revolution Creation of new nations in Eastern Europe

- Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary, Yugoslavia, & Turkey

Requirement of German Reparations German Loss of Colonies Balfour Declaration League of Nations

Why Study WWI – Long Term

Economic Impact of War Debts on Europe Emergence of U.S. and Japan as

Important Powers Growth of Nationalism in Colonies Rise of Fascism – Mussolini & Hitler World War II!!!

Connection To Today

Ethnic Tensions in the Balkans International Ban of Poison Gas First use of airplane, tanks, and

submarines for military purposes Arab – Israeli Conflicts

How the War Started

Nationalism – Loyalty and Devotion to a Nation Militarism – A policy of aggressive military

preparedness Imperialism – The policy, practice, or advocacy

of extending the power and dominion of a nation The European Alliance System Assassination of Franz Ferdinand Invasion of Belgium by Germany

Countries Involved

The Allied Powers – France, Britain, Russia, Italy, Belgium, Serbia, Canada, Australia, & U.S.

The Central Powers – Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire

Total War

Total War

Total War

Many Fronted War – Eastern, Western, Italian, & Middle Eastern

Millions of Casualties – 9 million dead, 18 million wounded

Destruction of Land and Cities Stalemate Armenian Genocide – 500,000 to 1 million

killed