You practice testing claims a lot in this course. You make claims as well, often within the context of writing assignments. This activity gives you the opportunity to focus squarely on making claims…and counterclaims. Not only will this help you assess your ability to make strong, evidence-backed claims, but will also give you an idea of how well you understand the causes of World War I.

Claim testing
“Claim testing” is really shorthand for “making and testing claims.” In this activity, you will practice your claim-making skills.

This is a quick activity where you’re asked to make two claims and one counterclaim about the origins of World War I.

Take out the Making Claims – World War I worksheet and come up with two claims about why World War I began. Using course materials, find two pieces of evidence that support each of your claims. Once you’ve written your two claims and provided supporting evidence, write one counterclaim that relates to one of claims. You should also find two pieces of evidence to back up your counterclaim.

Be prepared to share your claims at the end of class. Note that your claims are most likely what we refer to as causal claims. Historical claims often relate to historical thinking practices such as causation, CCOT, and comparison. You should consider the types of historical claims you want to make when responding to a particular type of historical question.

World War I was a total war, and it was the most devastating conflict the world had yet seen. Total war involves four things: large-scale mobilization for war, blurred lines between citizens and soldiers, a rejection of compromise, and the total control of society for the war effort. In much of the participant nations, citizens willingly contributed to the war effort. But the scale and devastation of the war left many soldiers and civilians disillusioned.

Now that you’ve explored the many explanations of what caused the First World War, this article provides you an overview of the effects of a total war. As a total war, World War I affected communities, networks, and production and distribution around the world. The article is intended to provide you with evidence to respond to the Unit Problem and evaluate how the war shifted power balances around the globe.

Preview – Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming for Gist section of the Three Close Reads Worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Key Ideas – Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. What does the author say are the four characteristics of total war?
2. How does the author argue that World War I was different from previous wars?
3. How did the war cause the spread of disease?
4. The nineteenth and early twentieth century saw attempts, such as the Hague Conventions, to put restrictions on warfare. What were some ways that these rules were violated in the First World War?
5. Other than wartime casualties, what were some ways that non-European societies were affected by the war?

Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following questions:

1. The author provides the four characteristics of total war, but asserts that no war has perfectly met all these criteria. In what ways does the author seem to think World War I was a total war, even though it did not fully meet those criteria?
2. The author argues that “total control of society” is an element of total war. What does she mean? Who did the controlling and who was controlled?

Helen Fairchild (1885-1918) was one of 21,000 American women who served as volunteer nurses during the First World War. She died in Europe, probably from poisoning due to her work on soldiers who were casualties of mustard gas. She represents the millions of men—and women—who volunteered to serve their countries in this conflict.

In this unit we see the First World War not only as a result of great global trends, but also an experience shared by millions, if not always in precisely the same way. As we ask why people willingly went to war, or in fewer cases, refused to support their nation’s participation, it is important to explore the stories of some individuals. Fairchild’s story is one such piece of evidence for you to consider.

Read 1: Observe

As you read this graphic biography for the first time, review the Read 1: Observe section of your Three Close Reads for Graphic Bios Tool. Be sure to record one question in the thought bubble on the top-right. You don’t need to write anything else down. However, if you’d like to record your observations, feel free to do so on scrap paper.

Read 2: Understand

On the tool, summarize the main idea of the comic and provide two pieces of evidence that helped you understand the creator’s main idea. You can do this only in writing or you can get creative with some art. Some of the evidence you find may come in the form of text (words). But other evidence will come in the form of art (images). You should read the text looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the main idea, and key supporting details. You should also spend some time looking at the images and the way in which the page is designed. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. Why did Nelle Rote’s classmate tell her that her aunt’s service in WWI didn’t count?
2. What did Helen Fairchild do in the war?
3. How did Helen Fairchild die?
4. How is Fairchild honored today in the United States?
5. Look at the arrangement of the four main panels in the center of the article. Now look at the “gutters”—the space between them. What shape does it make? Why do you think the artist chose that design?

Read 3: Connect

In this read, you should use the graphic biography as evidence to support, extend, or challenge claims made in this unit of the course. On the bottom of the tool, record what you learned about this person’s life and how it relates to what you’re learning.

1. How does this biography of Helen Fairchild support, extend, or challenge what you have learned about how people thought and felt about the First World War?
2. Compare and contrast Helen Fairchild’s decision to volunteer as a nurse to Rosa Luxemburg’s opposition to the war. With whose decision are you more sympathetic? Why?

To Be Continued…

On the second page of the tool, your teacher might ask you to extend the graphic biography to a second page. This is where you can draw and write what you think might come next. Here, you can become a co-creator of this graphic biography!

You have been learning about the impact of the First World War on both soldiers and civilians. In this activity, you will use your knowledge of the war from the texts, images, and videos you have analyzed to create a fictional letter from the perspective a soldier or civilian writing to their loved ones. This will help you exercise your historical empathy and creativity skills as you demonstrate your knowledge of events associated with the First World War. This should give you a better feeling about what it was like to be a part of World War I, and perhaps will also give you a sense of what it might be like for soldiers and civilians who are in war torn areas around the world today.

Contextualization, sourcing
In this activity, you are asked to think about the viewpoint of your letter’s writer from a historical perspective, rather than from today’s perspective. As part of this, it’s necessary to consider context. Being aware of and engaging in historical empathy is key to understanding how people thought, felt, and acted in the past.

In this activity, you will first hear about WWI from the perspective of a solider, then you will be asked to craft a fictional letter from a soldier or civilian writing to their loved ones. While you have learned a lot about World War I so far in the course, you haven’t really gotten the perspective of a soldier fighting in the trenches.

Your teacher will read the following excerpt to you, feel free to follow along. The excerpts in this primary source document are from the diary of Private Walter Hutchinson, a British soldier from Yorkshire who participated in the first days of the Battle of the Somme, the deadliest battle in the history of World War I.

“On Saturday July 1st we set off for the trenches about 10 o'clock. As soon as we got on the road we saw an awful sight for there was wounded men by hundreds coming from the line. When we was going across the marsh, German shells was dropping all round but none of us was hit. We then landed to a communication trench. But before we had time to get in it Fritz [German troops] sent us a tear shell. That was our first taste of gas…

We hadn't gone far up the trench before we came across three of our own lads lying dead. Their heads been badly damaged by a shell. Their names were Voice and Webster Brothers.

We had to go scrambling over the poor fellows—in and out, in and out. It was one of the awful sights I had ever witnessed and at this point our own lads was coming out wounded as we was following them in. Then the order came down dump everything and fix bayonets you have got to fight for it lads.

We obeyed the order like men…

I was talking to these three men some 10 yards away and a shell dropped and killed all the three of them. It was an awful sight. I then went and reported the matter to the officers and they came at once to the scene. We then got the poor fellows buried which was a very difficult task for shells was dropping all round us.”

Source: Hutchinson, Walter. “Extended extracts: Diary from the Somme,” The Telegraph, February 21, 2007.

What do you think it might have felt like to be Private Walter Hutchinson?

In this activity, it is your job to take on the role of either a soldier or a civilian in World War I who is writing to loved ones during the war. The process of putting yourself in someone else’s shoes from the past and seeing things from their perspective is often referred to as historical empathy.

If you choose the role of the soldier, you will be writing home to your family. As part of the letter, you should describe the conditions in the battlefield such as trench warfare and the impact of the new weapons introduced in this war. Additionally, you cannot just re-use or restate the information in Hutchinson’s diary. Instead, you might need to do a little research to find out what things were like for your particular soldier. This may change depending upon if you choose a soldier from the Allied or Central Powers and may also change depending upon when the letter was written during the war.

If you choose the role of a civilian, you are writing to a family member who is serving in the war. You should describe the sacrifices made at home to support the war effort. Again, details will depend upon where the family is located, who they are writing to, where the soldier is located, and the time in which the letter was written.

Whether you choose soldier or civilian, you should also explain the emotional toll of war and include the feelings one might have on a battlefield or at home. Also be sure to include the reason your country is at war and why the fighting is necessary. Finally, include a short bio of your soldier or civilian, including their age, date of birth, gender, country of origin, geographic location, side on which they’re fighting/supporting, whether they are a citizen or colonial subject being forced to fight in the war (conscript) or someone who joined willingly, and so on. The bio does not need to be extensive but enough to provide some context.

You may want to do some research to find out more about people’s experiences during this time period so that your letter is as authentic as possible. If your teacher requires extra research, make sure to cite any sources used.

Once you’re done, consider sharing your letter with the class. As you listen to other letters, can you guess the bio (location, Allied or Central Powers, time period, etc.) of those people using the context clues provided in the letter?

For centuries, the Ottoman Empire had operated with many different ethnicities within its borders. These different ethnicities, or “millets”, had some autonomy and maintained their own religions and languages. During the First World War, a new government in Istanbul carried out attacks on Armenian communities, claiming that they were a threat to national security. The Ottomans forced Armenians to flee their homes and go to labor camps, and systematically massacred their communities. The atrocities provoked international outrage. From 1915 to 1917, over one million Armenians died.

This video examines one of the most tragic consequences of the war. It provides another example to help you respond to the Unit Problem and to assess how the genocide was in part a result of trends and movements of the previous centuries.

Preview – Skimming for Gist

As a reminder, open and skim the transcript, and read the questions before you watch the video.

Key Ideas – Understanding Content

Think about the following questions as you watch this video:

1. How does this video define genocide?
2. What were millets?
3. Why did the Ottoman rulers begin to view Armenians as a threat?
4. Why did tension between Armenians and the state increase with the establishment of the new Young Turk government?
5. How did the international community respond to the genocide?

Evaluating and Corroborating

1. To what extent did World War I cause the Armenian Genocide? What evidence would you need to answer this question?
2. Could any of the transformations you encountered in the previous unit have led to these atrocities, even without the war?

In this activity, you will compare the Mexican and Russian Revolutions, a comparison that asks you to think about how things changed both over time, and in different areas of the world. By comparing two revolutions, you will see how political revolutions are generally similar in terms of their causes, while the consequences that follow vary greatly. Political revolutions still happen around the world today, often sparked by causes similar to those you have studied. Seeing this will allow you to use your understanding of earlier revolutions to better understand the ones occurring today.

Causation, CCOT, writing
In this activity, you will compare the Mexican and Russian Revolutions. You’ll identify both the causes of revolutions as well as the continuities and change over time as you explore the similarities and differences. Additionally, you’ll work on your writing by crafting a multi-paragraph response for a comparison prompt.

In this activity, you’ll compare and contrast the causes and consequences of Mexican and Russian Revolutions. Then, you’ll evaluate the similarities and differences to craft a response to a comparison prompt.

Your teacher will either hand out or have you download the Comparison – Mexican and Russian Revolutions worksheet. Then, working either in pairs or individually, use the articles “The Mexican Revolution” and “The Power of One: The Russian Revolution” to answer the questions and complete Part 1: Identifying and Describing of the Comparison Tool (included in the worksheet). After all sections in Part 1 of the tool have been answered, use the similarities and differences identified and described in Part 1 to complete Part 2 of the tool. In Part 2, you’ll write two thesis statements in response to the following prompts:

• What was the most significant similarity between the Mexican and Russian Revolutions?
• What was the most significant difference between the Mexican and Russian Revolutions?

Remember that you can use the acronym ADE (amount, depth, and endurance) to help determine historical significance. Consider if these similarities and differences affected most people in Mexico and Russia (amount); if people in Mexico and Russia were deeply affected by these similarities and differences (depth); or if these similarities and differences were long lasting (endurance).

Finally, you’ll use your thesis statements to individually write a multi-paragraph response that fully answers the following question: How were Mexican and Russian Revolutions the most similar and the most different?

In 1910, Porfirio Diaz won his eighth reelection as president of Mexico. But his stranglehold on power had started to look a lot like a dictatorship. He allowed foreign investors to control a large portion of Mexico’s land and failed to give his own people a say in government. He was finally challenged by Francisco Madero, a liberal reformer who called for revolution and quickly defeated Diaz. But the next two decades would hold much more conflict for Mexico, as the forces of counter-revolution tried to take things back to the way they had been and revolutionaries disagreed on what systems should replace Diaz’s dictatorship.

This article tells a complex story, but that’s because it deals with the contradictions and challenges of the revolutions that emerged from the long nineteenth century. As both a social/economic and a political revolution, the Mexican Revolution provides evidence to evaluate how the transformations of the long nineteenth century helped set the stage for conflict in the twentieth century. As you read, ask yourself what ideologies that you’ve encountered so far match up best with each of the figures in the Mexican Revolution.

Preview – Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming section of the Three Close Reads worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Key Ideas – Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. What’s the difference between a social revolution and political revolution, according to the author?
2. Who was Porfirio Diaz and why did some think of him as a dictator?
3. Why did Madero’s presidency fail?
4. What role did the United States play in the Mexican Revolution?
5. Who were the two sides of the revolution after 1913 and what each side want?

Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following questions:

1. Which of the leaders in the Mexican Revolution do you think was the most effective leader, and why?
2. First, write a list of the causes of the Mexican Revolution. Second, rank those causes from most important to least important. Finally, identify whether each cause was a “political” cause or a “social” cause. Based on your list, do you think the Mexican Revolution was more of a political revolution or more of a social revolution?

The First World War devastated Russia. Social and economic conditions led to the fall of the Russian tsar and the rise of a new political leader, Vladimir Lenin, and his Bolshevik party. Mismanagement and political unrest destabilized the country. Russia suffered more casualties in World War I than any other nation, and the winter of 1916-1917 was particularly harsh. In response to all these tensions, factory workers began to strike, and people took to the streets. In the events that followed, the Bolsheviks took control of the government. But Russia’s problems were far from over.

The Russian Revolution was one of the most transformative events of the twentieth century, and it was a direct result of the First World War. This article provides you with evidence at a national level to respond to the Unit Problem and assess the impact of the war in Russia and around the world.

Preview – Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming for Gist section of the Three Close Reads Worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Key Ideas – Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. Why does the author suggest that Russian peasants would have been excited when they heard about the Russian Revolution?
2. How were the tsar’s actions one of the causes of the revolution?
3. Why did Russia have a different experience with nationalist fervor than its European neighbors?
4. After the tsar stepped down, why did the Provisional Committee eventually lose power to the Bolsheviks?
5. How did the Bolsheviks change both production and distribution as well as communities in Russia?

Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following questions:

1. Based on your reading of this article, do you think the war would have been different if Russia and other nations had communist systems before 1914?
2. What evidence from this article supports or challenges the idea that World War I was a total war?

World War I was devastating for both soldiers and civilians. While many people were excited about the war and fighting for their nation at the beginning of the conflict, the realities of war quickly changed these sentiments. People became disillusioned, not only with war but with everything they had once believed—reason, rationality, the benefits of capitalism and industrialization. As a result, the generation that came of age in the war was lost, both physically and mentally.

The members of the Lost Generation questioned everything they had once believed—all of those highlights of the long nineteenth century such as reason and progress. The information in this article will also allow you to question the frame narratives you’ve learned thus far. In addition, this article will help you answer the second part of the Unit 6 problem: What caused the global conflicts and atrocities from 1914 to 1945, and how did people experience this period of global war?

Preview – Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming for Gist section of the Three Close Reads Worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Key Ideas – Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. Why were people enthusiastic about the war when it first began?
2. How did nation-states and their rulers try to convince people, in particular young men, to join the war effort?
3. What is disillusionment and why did people begin feeling disillusioned by the war?
4. The author explains how these feelings of disillusionment weren’t confined to just soldiers’ thoughts about the war. Why did civilians also experience disillusionment?
5. What is the double meaning of the term the “Lost Generation”?
6. How was disillusionment represented in post-war art, literature, and philosophy?
7. How was disillusionment experienced in European colonies in Asia and Africa?
8. How did different regions of the world respond to the end of the “Great War”?

Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following question:

1. This article argues that the experience of the war changed how many people understood the Enlightenment values and the idea of industrialization as progress. Do World War I and the Lost Generation also challenge any of the frame narratives you’ve learned thus far in the course?

The daughter of an impoverished Jewish Polish family, Dr. Rosa Luxemburg (1871-1919) was one of the few people who opposed the rush to war in 1914. She was a socialist economist and philosopher who was imprisoned in Germany for her opposition to the war and then murdered in its aftermath for seeking to create a socialist republic.

In this unit we see the First World War not only as a result of great global trends, but also an experience shared by millions, if not always in precisely the same way. As we ask why people willingly went to war, or in fewer cases, refused to support their nation’s participation, it is important to explore the stories of some individuals. Luxemburg’s story is one such piece of evidence for you to consider.

Read 1: Observe

As you read this graphic biography for the first time, review the Read 1: Observe section of your Three Close Reads for Graphic Bios Tool. Be sure to record one question in the thought bubble on the top-right. You don’t need to write anything else down. However, if you’d like to record your observations, feel free to do so on scrap paper.

Read 2: Understand

On the tool, summarize the main idea of the comic and provide two pieces of evidence that helped you understand the creator’s main idea. You can do this only in writing or you can get creative with some art. Some of the evidence you find may come in the form of text (words). But other evidence will come in the form of art (images). You should read the text looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the main idea, and key supporting details. You should also spend some time looking at the images and the way in which the page is designed. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. Where was Dr. Rosa Luxemburg born, and what was her social position, at first?
2. What did Luxemburg achieve in her life?
3. How did Luxemburg feel about the war? What does the quote used in this biography tell us about her feelings?
4. How does the artist represent Luxemburg’s feelings about the war?
5. Look at the design of the of central panel. What shape does it make? Why do you think the artist chose that design?

Read 3: Connect

In this read, you should use the graphic biography as evidence to support, extend, or challenge claims made in this unit of the course. On the bottom of the tool, record what you learned about this person’s life and how it relates to what you’re learning.

1. How does this biography of Rosa Luxemburg support, extend, or challenge what you have learned about how people thought and felt about the First World War?
2. Compare and contrast Rosa Luxemburg’s opposition to the war to Helen Fairchild’s decision to volunteer. With whose decision are you more sympathetic? Why?

To Be Continued…

On the second page of the tool, your teacher might ask you to extend the graphic biography to a second page. This is where you can draw and write what you think might come next. Here, you can become a co-creator of this graphic biography!

In this activity, you will look at various plans for peace after the First World War and weigh the merits (advantages) of each according to diverse international interests. The simulation approach allows for deeper reflection on the human and material costs of “total war,” and helps you see firsthand how countries’ different wartime experiences played into the peace talks of 1919 that followed Germany’s surrender. Ultimately, this will lay the groundwork for considering how treaties, although written in the name of peace and prosperity, can contribute to future problems.

Causation, contextualization
During this simulation, you will practice causal reasoning as you explore the effects of the First World War from primary and secondary sources, and as you consider the implications of the actual peace process of 1919. You will also use historical empathy as you try to draft treaty terms from one country’s postwar point of view.

In this activity, you’re going to take part in a simulation that mimics the peace talks that occurred at the end of World War I.

Step 1 – Simulation Prep

First, complete the information sheet about the costs of the First World War by country. Once you have completed this sheet, your teacher will assign you to one of the following country groups: Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Japan, South Africa, and the United States. You will be taking on the role of one of the delegates for that country as you deliberate possible terms to include in the World War Peace Treaty.

Once you are in your group, take some time to compare the data you found on your assigned country, and analyze the social, political, and economic effects of those numbers on your country.

Step 2 – Simulation

Your teacher will moderate this world summit, which is of utmost importance. Over the course of the simulation, the delegates (you!) will examine five different issues and determine which terms best address each issue. You will be given one issue at a time for deliberation as well as three possible terms to be included in the treaty regarding that issue.

Take out the World War I Terms Worksheet and pick one student in your group to record notes. You are about to take part in five rounds of deciding the terms for each issue brought on by the war. At the end of the five rounds, you will have the terms for your peace treaty.

Your teacher will read the issues to you one by one, and once you’ve had a chance to discuss the terms with your group, you will have to make a choice as to which is best. Then, you’ll record your reasoning on your worksheet, and take turns posting your country’s choice on the front board with a brief explanation/defense of your reasoning.

After all the countries have posted, the winning choice (the term that appears the most) gets to stay up on the board, and the others get taken down. Do this for each of the five rounds, leaving the “winning” terms on the board after each round. What will emerge is a list of terms that sound a lot like the actual World War I peace treaty.

Step 3 – Responses to the Treaty’s Terms

To wrap up the simulation, draft a brief statement (one or two paragraphs) from your assigned country’s perspective, in response to the Treaty’s terms. Then, your teacher will debrief you about the actual peace conference and the terms that came out of it. Are you surprised by any of the terms?

To wrap up, discuss the following questions with your class.

• The preparation worksheet you filled out included more nations than those included in the simulation. How might the end result have changed had these nations been included in the peace talks?
• What are the advantages of punishment versus reconciliation and how do you balance these two things during conflict resolution?
• How do you think Germany responded to the treaty?