Unit Title: World War One Grade level: Junior World History Length of unit: 13 days
Stage 1 – Desired Results
Meaning
Enduring Understandings/Generalizations:
Sometimes, attempting to prevent an event can hasten its arrival.
Greater technology brings wealth and more opportunities, but can also bring significant danger.
Scarcity of resources leads to conflict.
War creates innovation and degrades humanity.
Essential Questions:
How does technology advance opportunities and fears for nations?
What does a national identity mean for nations? Individuals?
How can a solution cause future problems?
How can seemingly minor events spur major events?
How can war dehumanize?
Knowledge & Skills Acquisition
Learning Goals: Understand chronology, causality, change, and conflict in order to explain, analyze, and show connections among patterns of historical change/continuity Understand from historical perspective the purpose and effects of treaties, alliances, and international organizations that characterize today’s interconnected world. Understand cultural factors that have promoted political conflict.
Students will know… New technology – machine guns, tanks, airplanes, etc. Europe’s tentative peace and how it was broken, and why war was inevitable. The events (fairly minor in coverage) of important battles along the way. Trench warfare – causes and effects.
Students will be able to…
Determine causality and its effects in relation to global events.
Use current information to predict future events.
Critically think about conflict as a neutral observer.
Identify document bias in primary resources.
Recognize responsible players for disasters and conflicts.
Create possible ways to avoid conflict and create alternate
Nationalism, Imperialism, Industrialization, and how they fueled a war. Difference between nation and state, and what those differences mean for people. Use of propaganda to motivate and demoralize. The war’s end, with Russia’s departure and revolution, America’s reluctant involvement, and victory. Wilson’s Fourteen Points and the League of Nations. Treaty of Versailles and the new world order and how the war’s end fueled global conflict for almost a century. Relevant vocabulary and terms.
solutions..
Cite examples of a change in values.
Write brief essays from prompts.
Read a map and explain changes across maps.
Resources/Materials: Textbook. Excerpts from “The War of the World” by Niall Ferguson. Differentiated instruction can be implemented with the readings, such as graphic organizers to preface the material, guiding questions for the readings, or summaries of key points Film – All Quiet on the Western Front. Primary sources – war correspondence, royal correspondence, soldiers’ correspondence.
Stage 2 – Evidence (Assessment)
Types of assessment: Selected-Response (tests, quizzes); Personal Communication (interview, oral exam, discussion); Written Response (short constructed response questions, entrance/exit slips, essays); Performance Assessment (role-play, Simulation, labs, dramatization)
Pre-assessment:
Hook – First day – Write 1 = 10,000,000 on board. Ask students what they think this equation means. Ultimately, they will be guided to answer the question – the death of one man led to the deaths of ten million people. It’s much more complicated than simply “Franz’ death caused a war”, but it will hook them in and make them curious. Ask – “how could this have happened?” Writing prompts every few days of a relevant Q at the beginning of class to get them thinking them for relevant lessons.
Formative Assessment:
Selected response/short answer quiz halfway through lesson to re-assess student’s learning. Exit tickets every few days, used to either re-assess learning or have students reflect upon what they have learned. Future’s wheel discussion will provide insight in how students picked up the causes. Fishbowl discussion prior to exam to explore issues of World War One and for a student created review session. If students display muddled and confused understandings of material, time will be taken to clarify and clean up their thoughts.
Summative Assessment: End of unit test with multiple choice, short answer, and essay. Differentiation will be implemented here if needed, such as making the entire test multiple choice if the student’s needs reflect that. A future’s wheel discussion on the problems that caused WWI and alternative solutions. Relevant factual data and skills outlined in Stage One will be the basis for assessments. The essay on the test will be the main performance assessment, as students will be graded both for their logic, reasoning, and relevant information used, but also on how effective their essay is at reflecting their point and how well it is constructed. There is no specific rubric for this. A trench warfare simulation is an idea I would like to implement (flip desks over into two long lines, split the kids up, have them throw paper “grenades and bullets” at each other), but that depends on the personality of the class, and how much time I have to spare. If both are acceptable, I will let the students simulate trench warfare to show how it worked and how it might have led to brutality and bleakness for the soldiers. If I implement this, its action and debriefing will take an entire class period, and it would take place in the last third or so of the lesson. A future’s wheel discussion will begin with the prompt given a few days before the discussion: Each student will think of several causes of World War One, and come up with a few ways to solve them, other than what actually happened. The best will be the basis for a future’s wheel discussion to problem-solve the causes of WWI and see if better solutions come up. They will, but only
because it is impossible to plan a war. This will test student’s knowledge of the war itself, and see what sort of conflict management skills they can utilize. Students will not be officially graded for this. A fishbowl discussion will occur for two days before the test. Using the prompt handed out in class earlier “Could WWI be prevented? Did it get out of hand? Could it have ended better?” students will discuss these topics and create an informal review session for the test. Students will be graded on participation.
Stage 3 – Learning Plan
WWI pacing Calendar – Patrick Smith
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Test day for prior lesson – Imperialism and Second Wave of Colonialism. Ask students to think about how European global power translated to continental relations for informal homework assignment.
1 2 3 4 5
Hook question – 1=10 million on board; “How could this have happened?” Introduction of Europe’s problems(competing for resources, nationalism, imperialism, technology, fears) – Teacher-led discussion Discuss prompt for future’s wheel activity on causes of WWI HW – Textbook page range
Main causes of WWI – teacher led discussion Exit ticket – What was the most important cause?
Future’s wheel involving main causes of WWI HW – Excerpts from War of the World, Chapter 3
Writing Prompt – “What does a national identity mean for a nation? Individuals?” War – 1914-1917 Teacher-led Discussion (early battles, Germany’s two front war, weapons tech, trench warfare, stalling fronts) Exit ticket – What did I learn/not learn? HW – Textbook page range
Finish War – 1914-1917 Teacher-led Discussion Open day for student questions, catch-up
6 7 8 9 10
Quiz (Short answer, multiple choice) over material learned thus far Start discussion over America’s Entrance and
Finish discussion over US and War’s End Exit ticket – What did I learn/not learn? HW – Excerpts from War
View excerpt of All Quiet on the Western Front (40ish minutes) HW – Ending of WWI textbook range, start
Writing prompt Entrance Slip – “How can war dehumanize?” Post War Climate( Treaty of Versailles,
Writing Prompt Entrance Slip – “How can a solution cause more problems?”
War’s End (Zimmerman telegraph, Feb/Oct Revolutions)
of the World, Chapter 4 planning for fishbowl Discuss prompt for fishbowl activity – Could WWI be prevented? Did it get out of hand? Could it have ended better?
League of Nations, 14 Points) -Teacher led discussion HW – Finish all readings by this point, finish fishbowl planning
Complete Post War Climate Open day for student questions, catch-up
11 12 13 14 15
Fishbowl over unit in preparation for test
Fishbowl continuance If time allots or if needed, formal review for test.
Test for World War One.
16 17 18 19 20
World War One Test Multiple Choice
1. Archduke Franz Ferdinand was nobility from which country?
a. Germany
b. Spain
c. Italy
d. Austria
2. The French Republic is a :
a. Nation
b. State
c. Nation-state
3. Which of these empires survived the War?
a. Russia
b. Japan
c. Austria-Hungary
d. Ottoman
4. Vladimir Lenin was sent by which nation to throw Russia into disarray at the war’s end?
a. Germany
b. Britain
5. Why did the United States not join the League of Nations?
a. President Wilson felt the US should not have a say in global affairs.
b. The US was rejected by the League.
c. The League never actually formed.
d. The US Congress did not approve the treaty needed to join.
6. Chemical warfare was used extensively and to great effect during the War.
a. True
b. False
7. German Industrialization was different from other nations in that:
a. It was started by foreign investors.
b. It was initiated by the government.
c. It focused on clean technology to produce its goods.
d. It started after World War I.
8. The Serbians are a:
a. Nation
b. State
c. Nation-state
9. Adolf Hitler was a soldier during World War One.
a. True
b. False
10. The Russian Empire was brought down by which revolutionary, leader of the Bolsheviks?
a. Vladimir Lenin
b. Josef Stalin
c. Alexander Kerensky
d. Lavr Kornilov
11. What was the document that pushed the United States into World War One?
a. Decree of War from Germany
b. Request of Assistance from France
c. Zimmerman Telegram
d. Fourteen Points
12. How was President Wilson different from European leaders with regards to Europe after the war?
a. He desired to give states to disillusioned nations.
b. He felt Germany should only be marginally punished.
c. He wanted to grant independence to claimed colonies.
d. All of the above.
Fill in the blank 1. The machine gun allowed soldiers to fire bullets much faster, making cover more important than it had been and
increasing death rates immensely.
2. A group of people with a similar culture and identity who desire autonomous self-rule is called a nation
.
3. A state is a recognized government system with complete control within its borders.
4. Despite its limited effectiveness, mustard gas was used against soldiers, even with international
treaties banning its use.
5. Unrestricted submarine warfare was used by the Germans to break the British blockade around their
country.
6. While the February Revolution ended the rule of Russian Tsar Nicholas II, it was not until the
October Revolution the Bolsheviks claimed power over Russia.
7. The country of Turkey committed genocide against the Armenian people at the end of the war.
Short Answer – Choose three. 1. In what ways are nationalism and imperialism linked?
a. Strength of empire fuels pride in nationality, devalues other nations and empires, spread of empire spreads
nationality and nationalism.
2. Why was this believed to be the war to end all wars in its time?
a. Such a violent and destructive war (at least 10 million dead) that became worse than any imagined could not
be surpassed. Germany was severely weakened and not thought of as a threat after the war.
3. In what ways did this war dehumanize its combatants?
a. Soldiers initially reluctant to fight – Germans, British, and French more alike than different. As war
progressed, each side saw the other as less than human and preferred executing prisoners rather than
capturing them.
b. Officers and medics directly targeted, whereas they were previously a low priority.
c. New technology designed to kill as many soldiers as possible, death became a statistic rather than a loss.
Long range weaponry meant the operators had no idea how many they killed.
4. How was technology responsible for the immense death toll in this war?
a. Made killing easier – machine gun killed faster, tanks and airplanes provided protected short range artillery,
railway guns provided long distance (miles, even) artillery. Detached soldiers from killing, making them less
reluctant to kill.
b. Cities could be bombed from greater distances, increasing civilian casualties.
5. Why were the American troops instrumental in ending the war less than a year after their entry?
a. They weren’t better soldiers; they just had not been fighting in horrible trench warfare for three years. They
were fresh and eager to be done with the fighting as soon as possible, compared to the Europeans who
were complacent with trench warfare.
6. How did the system of alliances create a war out of a minor event?
a. The ever-shifting alliances created an atmosphere of tension across Europe and pledged allied nations to
each other. This was an attempt to prevent war amongst nations by creating an alliance, but since they were
pledged to each other, their own problems pulled them into conflicts that were escalated just by the amount
of countries.
Essay – Pick one, and answer the question in one to two pages. 1. How did industrialization, imperialism, and nationalism cause World War I?
a. Industrialization required massive resources – Europe at this point was fairly depleted and becoming more
expensive (labor of whites) to extract resources. By spreading to other areas of the world, resources could
be extracted for less cost and less competition (in theory) from other European nations.
b. It also lessened expansion worries, as land was becoming densely populated by fast growing European
populations who had less disease and starvation problems than the past. At the same time, the scarcity of
resources was becoming a reality, demanding some sort of conflict or resolution to fix the problem.
c. It also advanced technology more swiftly than it had in the past, and weapon technology advanced
incredibly fast compared to understanding of its use.
d. In order to claim these resources, nation-states had to become empires, spreading themselves across the
world to claim resources for themselves, using their ever-advancing technology to protect their spreading
empires. While they vastly increased their wealth, they weakened their home defenses.
e. To compensate for weakened home defenses, alliances were formed amongst the various home empires on
Europe. These were unstable, shifting alliances that were often tenuous at best. Their ultimate goal was to
prevent European war, but the constant distrust and fear made war unavoidable.
f. Nationalism spreads the belief that one’s nationality is superior, and is entitled to autonomous self-rule.
While the nations on top of the imperial structure (Germans, Russians, British, French) were not concerned
with the lesser nations, those lesser nations were demanding self-rule.
g. In order to protect an empire on Europe while they focused on resource acquisition (Mercantilism) in Africa,
Asia, and the Americas, fragile alliances formed on the European Continent to prevent a war leaders were
scared of, due to advanced weapons technology. When a nation’s desire for independence became
uncontrollable by its empire, the systems of alliances activated and started the war.
2. Did the assassination of a minor noble cause Europe to erupt in war? Does this seemingly minor event match the
scope of the Great War, or were there other factors that caused the war to explode?
a. Germany offered Austria-Hungary unconditional support in its endeavors to bring justice to Franz’
assassination, including persecution of Slavic people within and without its borders. Russia declared war on
Germany and Austria-Hungary to protect Slavic people, and France/Britain joined Russia. The complicated
alliance structure across Europe was designed to protect the continent, but it actually started a war due to
military obligations.
b. Royalty attempted to stop the war, but the militaries had already realized war was an unpreventable reality.
This showed how weak royalty had become in the face of democracy.
c. His death gave nations an excuse to end the game of shifting alliances and suppressed tensions to have a
reason to attack each other.
d. The cause of the war simply ignited all possible powder kegs across Europe. While the event itself was fairly
minor (around forty heads of state were killed between 1900-13), it activated the various alliances held
throughout Europe. Ferdinand’s death was an excuse for nations to go to war.
3. In what ways did the Treaty of Versailles not solve the major causes of World War I? What happened with the
United States, Wilson’s Fourteen Points, and the League of Nations?
a. Minor nations not given independence, winning empires gained more territory and influence.
b. Germany sought to assert themselves as a global power – treaty weakened and humiliated them, did
nothing to remove this desire.
c. British, French, American, Japanese Empires made stronger.
d. America’s goal of global cooperation, not merely global stasis, ignored.
e. Wilson was seen as an outsider by Europe; considerations (including giving states to disenfranchised
nations) were completely disregarded by Europe, who needed an outsider to negotiate terms.
f. The League was formed, but the US did not join, as Congress did not want to become involved in European
and global affairs. The League was inefficient and weak and could not enforce any of its decrees.
My unit is on World War One (WWI), covering the causes of the war, the war itself, and the immediate aftermath, dates
ranging from 1914 to 1918 or so. I selected this time period for several reasons – one, a unit on World War Two (WWII) is incomplete
with learning about its main causes of WWI and its own causes; two, because WWI set up the world order we still experience today;
and three, it is generally a war that is given minimal coverage in history class. Too often, it seems WWI is used purely as a preface to
WWII, even though it had major differences and was the first truly modern war in the world.
The more personal reason for selecting a history unit on WWI is that whenever I am presented with a chance to make a lesson
or unit, I default to American government. My primary bachelor’s degree is in political science, and a government lesson requires
little planning and research on my part. I have gathered my first teaching job will likely be in history or general social studies, so I
chose a lesson that would require a bit more planning and research and be adaptable for those classes. I also tend to sneer at war units
due to a frequent focus on the battles (exciting stuff) and not enough on the causes and aftermath (dry stuff), so this is my attempt to
make one I would be glad to use.
My learning objectives come directly from the State of Iowa’s Core Curriculum, and are a guide to focus what I want students
to learn from this unit. The three I picked that I felt best reflected what I want students to learn and what I want to teach deal with
cause and effect and how effects are not always immediate, how the world order is decided, and how culture promotes conflict. These
three are also commonly found in my ideas for other units, and a large part of my general philosophy for teaching history. Students
cannot question the importance or correctness of a “thing” without knowing its causes and reasons.
However, the Core does not specifically state “teach World War One” nor what is to be included. I have decided to focus my
unit on technologies and the problems they can present, nationalism and how it can promote conflict, when solutions are only
solutions in the short-term, a minor event causing a major event, using events to predict outcomes, and the effects of war on humans. I
feel these are the best I could pull from WWI. As a history teacher, I show disdain for rote memorization being the only reason for
history class. The information is important, but it is best used so students can learn a long-term understanding that will occur
frequently in history courses and contribute to their growth as a member of a democratic society. These enduring understandings will
surface in my later lessons (as they have also surfaced in prior lessons, I am sure), and will be seen enough times to become universal
and applicable to more situations than the ones I present.
Technology is used to illustrate how new innovations require new resources, the main reason for colonialism and imperialism
that will be taught in the preceding unit. Technology also illustrates how deadly WWI was – as the first major modern war, it showed
what new dangers automatic weapons, the external combustion engine, flight, and long range artillery could bring to the already
terrifying existence of war. I will frame it as the main reason the soldiers retreated into a complicated trench system for four years. My
objective of teaching students that war is terrible will also address this, and that war can greatly lower the human condition regardless
of the technology used. Many soldiers recounted how they did not view the enemy as human as the war dragged, despite initial
reluctance to fight someone who was not terribly different from them.
The issue of solutions will be used to illustrate how solutions need to target the base of the problem, not just its effects. None
of the major causes of WWI were addressed in the Treaty; marginalized nations and people were not given voices, the main powers
(sans Germany) still maintained their empires, and Europe remained divided and competitive rather than attempt some measure of
unity. These problems re-surfaced in WWII in almost exactly the same ways and could have been prevented if leaders focused on
them. Students need to learn problem solving skills, and the best solutions address the base problems. Small events building to major
events will teach a similar skill.
Nationalism is a double-edged sword; it can raise a nation to greatness and cause great conflict. The events leading up to WWI,
the war itself, and the aftermath are terrific examples of this. It was German nationalism that unified the state and turned into the most
industrial European nation, and it was Serbian nationalism that assassinated a noble. Nationalism is still a concept that exists today,
and students should learn that it is not always a good thing for nationalism to have influence in the way a nation operates. Loyalty to a
nation above all else creates decisiveness and creates an “other” that is identified as either inferior or competition. Nationalism is still
a major part of American politics and geo-politics, and I hope students will be able to recognize when raw nationalism is overriding a
sense of logic and ration.
For the most part, my lesson revolves around teacher-focused instructional strategies with a few student-focused strategies. I
plan to use teacher-led discussion for the majority of the unit, asking questions to students as I teach and fielding their questions to
clarify any idea or concept they had from the readings or information presented in class. My pre-planned questions will ascend
Bloom’s hierarchy and push the students to think critically about the information they are being questioned on, while exploring the
information itself and what it means in the larger context of the unit. While I will anticipate specific answers, I will stall until they are
given (unless the response are completely wrong, at which point I will adjust my guidance) and let students play with the information.
For example, trench warfare comes after weapons technology. I will ask the class “If you were faced with this terrifying
technology, what would you do?” Most answers will be some form of running and hiding, and I will guide the students using
questions and statements to lead them to form the idea of digging a hole or trench and staying in it for a long time. I can then ask what
this meant for the war in general, looking for what students can predict about the future.
I have planned two student-focuses strategies, both intended to help all students learn the information from each other. A
future’s wheel discussion at the beginning of the unit will ask them to list major causes of the war, and create possible solutions for
those problems, and how those solutions would have changed the outcome. Students will use critical thinking and prediction skills to
create a world different from the one they are about to study and note how different the actual world is, and provide a student-
organized review over the causes. A fishbowl discussion for two days as the end of the unit, prior to the test will create another review
session organized by the students, but with more structure and a focus on students discussing material with themselves.
Summative assessment takes the form of selected response and an essay to ensure retention of rote knowledge, and check that
students can use critical thinking and writing skills to answer a short essay prompt on a question of their choosing over the
understandings and questions. While I have provided a brief outline of what I would expect from the answers, there is no hard answer
to the essays; I expect students will give varied answers based on my instruction. A halfway quiz of multiple choice, short answer, and
fill-in-the-blank will provide similar results, and will be used as a formative assessment to discover ways to adjust instruction to either
regroup and refocus instruction on a topic, or move ahead and perhaps glaze over some future instructions if needed.
The two student discussions are also formative assessment, as I check to make sure they are learning the material properly
from class and readings. If the fishbowl goes poorly, I can also adjust the schedule for a formal review session led by me. I anticipate
my test will be fairly difficult, so I will give students multiple ways to succeed.
Differentiation for scaffolding or students’ needs can come at any point in the instruction, depending on the situation. A
graphic organizer, guiding questions or summaries can accompany the readings and discussion if needed, and the tests can be changed
to multiple choice or some other format, as well. The main challenge I anticipate with this unit is the excerpts from The War of the
World. The book is bit heady yet manageable, but I would like for students to read from it in order to gain a bit of higher level thought
on the information war and its causes to think beyond “The Archduke was assassinated and a war started”. If students struggle too
much with the book, I can provide pre-reading summaries, lexicons, and guides to start students with a bit of preparation into the book
itself. I could also cut the readings from the syllabus, but it is a last resort.
Overall, my unit aims to teach students the main ideas of causality, how and why conflicts start, the effects of swift
advancements in technology, and that war can be one of the worse things humanity can create. By letting students play with the
information in discussions with me and the entire class, they should be able to explore the unit with guidance from me.