Cookie Policy

Our website uses cookies to understand content and feature usage to drive site improvements over time. To learn more, review our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Skip Navigation
OER Logo

Lesson 6.3 Vocab

  • a
  • b
  • c
  • d
  • e
  • f
  • g
  • h
  • i
  • j
  • k
  • l
  • m
  • n
  • o
  • p
  • q
  • r
  • s
  • t
  • u
  • v
  • w
  • x
  • y
  • z
colony
Jump To Navigation
Definition

a territory governed by a distant country, often occupied by numbers of citizens of that country

Use In A Sentence

Before declaring independence, America consisted of 13 British colonies.

conscription
Jump To Navigation
Definition

compulsory enrollment in military service

Use In A Sentence

The men became soldiers through conscription.

mobilization
Jump To Navigation
Definition

the act of assembling, organizing, or adapting (industries, supplies, facilities, or the like) for immediate use or service in times of war or states of emergency; the act of assembling and preparing (troops or the like) for active military duty or service to a country

Use In A Sentence

The nation ordered troop mobilization to prepare for the upcoming battle.

propaganda
Jump To Navigation
Definition

information or statements of opinion that are deliberately circulated among the public in order to persuade the population to accept a particular point of view, especially one in favor of or opposed to a particular movement, cause, or doctrine

Use In A Sentence

The government spread propaganda to convince people of the threat from foreign enemies.

total war
Jump To Navigation
Definition

global war in which all warring nations’ mobilize for the war effort including soldier and civilian populations, who are both participants and targets; usually defined as meeting four criteria: mobilization, blurring of lines between citizen and civilian, total control of society, and rejection of a compromise peace

Use In A Sentence

World War I was an example of total war.

trench
Jump To Navigation
Definition

a deep, narrow excavation or furrow

Use In A Sentence

The deep sea trench ran along the center of the ocean.

Total War

Teacher Resources

Course Guide icon

Lesson Guide

Find everything you need to know about lesson timing, sample answers, and teacher instructions in the Lesson Guide.

Driving Question: How was the First World War different from previous conflicts?

World War I was more than a battlefield—it was a global experience. It blurred the line between home and front. It was a brutal conflict that forever changed the nature of war.

Learning Objectives:

  1. Define and evaluate the impacts of the concept of total war that emerged after 1914.
  2. Understand the impacts of the First World War on those who experienced it—both combatants and civilians.
  3. Assess how the experience of trench warfare and new technologies made World War I different from previous conflicts.

Vocab Terms:

STEP 1

Opener: Total War

Teaching Tools

Sentences starters are a great scaffold for helping your students support claims with evidence. Use the BHP Sentence Starters External link with your World History students to give them a reminder or a leg up in their writing.

What is a total war? You’ll use your sourcing skills to decide on a definition.

Opener

Defining Total War External link

Was World War I the first total war? Search for evidence by reading what people living through the war had to say, then decide how you would answer this question.
STEP 2

What Is Total War?

Teaching Tools

To help students visualize the scale of this total war, show them our world map of alliances and casualties in the First World War External link . Be sure they look at countries outside of Europe and note that civilian casualties are provided under military casualties. Ask them to consider which regions and people paid the highest price in this total war.

Beyond the battlefields, World War I reached deep into people’s homes, jobs, and daily lives. These resources will help you understand what made this war “total” and why its impact was truly global.

Article

World War I: A Total War? External link

In many ways, World War I was a total war. Entire societies were mobilized to support the war effort. There had never been a war that was so devastating.

Writing Tools

Why Did So Many Underage Soldiers Fight in Great Britain’s Army? External link

Expand on what you learned in the article “World War I: A Total War” and head to Quill.org to read and write about how and why young boys were encouraged to join the British Army during World War I.

Activity

The First World War as a Global War External link

How does a war become a world war? It’s a tough question to answer, but asking who fought, what they fought for, and where they fought should give you a fighting chance.

Activity

Making Claims: World War I External link

You’ve identified claims and found evidence to support them. Now it’s time to create claims and counterclaims about World War I.
STEP 3

Life in the Trenches

Teaching Tools

Did you know: Britain leveraged its entertainment industry to win the war. The Special Works Park External link was a secret British Army unit that hired artists, sculptors, architects, and theater set painters to craft battlefield deception. They made fake trees with observation posts inside. They sent dummy heads to the front to confuse snipers. They even put sniper nests inside fake horse corpses.

Total war wasn’t just about nations; it was about people. These videos and activity explore how new technology and brutal conditions shaped the experiences of soldiers and civilians in the First World War.

Britain and World War I External link

The First World War transformed British society. Nick Dennis explores why Britain entered the conflict and how people in Britain experienced the war.

British Gas Hoods External link

This short video highlights one of the most haunting technologies. Learn how soldiers tried to protect themselves and what that reveals about the brutal new reality of total war.

Trench Fighting Tools External link

World War I wasn’t just fought with big machines and long-range guns. This short video shows the brutal hand-to-hand weapons used in trench combat on the front lines.

Activity

A Different War—Or More of the Same External link

Use evidence from the videos to determine if World War I was a fight like no other or if people’s wartime experiences resembled those who lived through wars that came before this one.
STEP 4

Closer: Total War

Time to reconsider your definition of total war from the beginning of this lesson.

Closer

Redefining Total War External link

Gather evidence from the lesson to figure out what you would add and what you would change about your original definition of total war.
Extension Materials
Checkmark Alert Banner
Explore how governments tried to encourage people to support the war effort with these image analysis materials.
...

World War Propaganda

Governments used propaganda posters to convey all sorts of wartime messages.

Closer

World War I Poster Analysis External link

Analyzing propaganda posters from the First World War will help you understand how governments were attempting to influence both citizens and soldiers.

World War I Poster Analysis

Slide 1 of 10