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The World Remade

Teacher Resources

Course Guide icon

Lesson Guide

Hey teachers! The Lesson Guide has all the essential information for this lesson.

Driving Question: How did World War I remake society?

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:

  1. Evaluate how different nations approached the peace process after World War I.
  2. 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:

  • Bolsheviks
  • casualty
  • diplomacy
  • disillusion
  • ethnic
  • genocide
  • persecution
STEP 1

Opener: The World Remade

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.

Activity

Planning for Peace External link

If you could travel back in time and talk to the world leaders negotiating the peace treaty that ended World War I, what advice would you give them?
STEP 2

An Uncertain Peace

Teaching Tools

This activity is designed for a teacher-led, whole-class environment. Be sure to check out the Lesson Guide External link 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 External link , a data chart External link , peace cards External link , and a reflection worksheet External link . Don’t forget scissors and tape!

If you’d like to conserve paper or your printing allowance, check out how one OER Project teacher combined the several cards into one, on which students can circle options. She even provides a downloadable file: World War I Peace Talks Cards—Less Paper External link .

The end of World War I didn’t mean the end of conflict. The peace process created new tensions and raised big questions about justice, power, and responsibility.

Activity

World War I Peace Talks External link

This activity asks you to look at various peace terms for World War I and weigh the merits of each according to diverse international interests.
STEP 3

Atrocity in the Ottoman Empire

Teaching Tools

Our guide on Teaching Sensitive Topics in Social Studies External link can help you navigate tough topics like the Armenian Genocide. For example, here’s one strategy you can use:

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 have learned in class thus far? Make sure students have enough background knowledge for the video for these questions to make sense.

World War I brought devastation not only to armies, but also to entire communities. The Armenian Genocide shows how the war intensified violence against civilians and altered the social fabric of empires.

Armenian Genocide External link

Amid the chaos of World War I, the Ottoman Empire turned against its Armenian citizens. Learn how war created the conditions for one of history’s first modern genocides.
STEP 4

Social Revolutions

Teaching Tools

Did you know: Lenin’s brain got sliced into more than 30,000 pieces. After his death in 1924, Soviet doctors removed and dissected his brain in an attempt to identify physical anomalies to prove his genius. Results were mixed. Today, 30,953 slices of Lenin’s brain are stored in the Moscow Brain Institute, under high security. But you can still check out his body, which has been embalmed and on display in Red Square for more than a century.

In the tumult of global conflict, revolutionaries in 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.

Activity

Comparison: Mexican and Russian Revolutions External link

Two countries. Two revolutions. In this activity, you’ll figure out how the Mexican and Russian uprisings were alike, how they weren’t, and why it matters.

Article

The Mexican Revolution External link

The Mexican Revolution began with a swift overthrow of a dictator. However, the real struggle lasted a decade as competing revolutionaries fought to shape the nation’s future.

Article

The Power of One: The Russian Revolution External link

The Russian Revolution in 1917 transformed Russia and set the stage for a rapidly changing world over the next century.
STEP 5

Closer: The World Remade

In this unit, you explored how the First World War remade societies, sparked revolutions, and shifted global power. Now, reflect on these transformations and how they continue to shape our world today.

Closer

Unit 6 Notebook: Part 2 External link

How has your understanding changed since the beginning of this unit? Time to revisit the Unit 6 Notebook!
Extension Materials
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These materials broaden the story of World War I’s legacy. Examine revolutions, resistance, and shifting borders to evaluate how deeply the war transformed the world.
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Continuity and Change in a World at War

Teaching Tools

These two videos are important extensions to illustrate the long-lasting impacts of the First World War outside of Europe. The Middle East video in particular is relevant to our world today, as it explains the Sykes-Picot Agreement, which laid the foundations for many of today’s regional conflicts.

How much did World War I really change the world? Use your knowledge of imperialism and total war to track big shifts across time, seeing what changed and what didn’t.

Activity

CCOT: Industrial Empires to World War I External link

Practice your CCOT skills by evaluating whether a historical event like World War I represents a significant change in history or if it was simply the result of a series of continuities.
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Ripples of War

World War I set off upheaval across the globe. These stories from Southeast Asia and the Middle East show how the war’s impact reached societies far from the front lines.

The Middle East and World War I External link

Imperialism, religious identity, and nationalism collided during World War I, laying the groundwork for the political and social landscape of the modern Middle East.

Southeast Asia and World War I External link

Southeast Asia was a complicated place in 1914. Competing empires, religious ties, and shifting loyalties all played a role in sparking an uprising in Singapore.