A World Remade
Driving Question: How were different groups of people affected by the First World War?
World War I left behind more than wreckage. From fragile peace talks to sweeping revolutions, it pushed people to imagine new ways to organize on global, national, and local scales.
Learning Objectives:
- Evaluate how different nations approached the peace process after World War I.
- Use the historical thinking practice of comparison to analyze the causes and outcomes of the Mexican and Russian Revolutions in the context of World War I.
Vocab Terms:
How did people cope with the end of the First World War? While many hoped this would be the first and last total war, the uneasy peace that ended the war didn’t hold for long.
This activity is designed for a teacher-led, whole-class environment. Be sure to check out the Lesson Guide ahead of time for preparation instructions and teaching tips.
Note that you’ll need to download and print several documents before you begin this activity, including national flags, a data chart, peace cards, and a reflection worksheet. Don’t forget scissors and tape!
If you’d like to conserve paper or printing allowance, check out how one OER Project teacher combined several cards into one, on which students circle options. She even provides a downloadable file in this Community Forum thread: “War I Peace Talks Cards—Less Paper.”
After World War I, world leaders faced the challenge of creating lasting peace, while individuals grappled with trauma and disillusionment. This activity explores both the political negotiations at Versailles and the cultural impact of the treaty on a generation shaped by war.
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Guiding Questions
Musical chairs: Have students work as a team to complete a graphic organizer/worksheet or parts of the assignment. As students rotate, they can pick up where the last person left off.
As empires crumbled after World War I, revolutionaries in places like Mexico and Russia seized the moment to push for change. These materials will guide you through an investigation of how war accelerated calls for justice and reform.
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Guiding Questions
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Guiding Questions
It’s often easy to see how those closest to the battlefield were impacted by war. But even those who were hundreds of miles away felt the impacts of this global and total war.
Set the stage: Set context prior to watching a video with students: Why are we watching this video? What do we hope to learn from it? How does the information in this video align with or go against what we’ve learned in class thus far? Make sure students have enough background knowledge for these questions to make sense.
World War I brought devastation not only to armies, but to entire communities. The Armenian Genocide shows how the war intensified violence against civilians and altered the social fabric of empires.
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Guiding Questions
