MAIN Causes of WW1 - Alliances - Battles
This starter map helps display key locations on the LEARN Document Collection #14 on
MAIN Causes of WW1
Close this window to zoom in and out to specific locations and zones!
Below are some discussion questions and activities.
Tools and documents are provided in the above-mentioned document collection:
Questions to consider:
Consider overarching Essential Questions like:
How does government use its power?
And specific Sub-Questions like:
How could war have been avoided?
What was the single most significant cause that resulted in WW1?
How did political alliances and geographic and cultural factors influence the start and continuation of WW1?
Task 1 suggestion- Paraphrase MAIN causes
As a class:
Watch an overview video to introduce the concepts. Here are a few you can choose from:
The MAIN causes of the First World War
-
The 4 M-A-I-N Causes of World War One in 6 Minutes
-
M.A.I.N. Causes of WWI.
In groups
Write simple 1 to 2 sentence summaries of the four main causes described in the video. Note that there are extra spaces in an organizer for students to come back and add other “causes” if they feel it is necessary
- Each group is distributed a website/article from the list of “M-A-I-N causes - Articles and overviews” provided.
- Each student in the group takes a few minutes to scan through the site, articles and photos on their own.
- As a group, write a summary statement in simple language to describe the meaning of each of the 4 MAIN causes. Discuss and do the another if students feel there should be another MAIN cause listed.
Task 2: Establish Facts and Explain Causes
Sub-question- How could war have been avoided, or what was the single most significant cause that resulted in WW1?
Divide the group into partners or as trios. In the smaller team exam the documents included in this package. Come to an agreement on a “cause” of the war that you both agree is more important than another. Or, in other words, if that cause or situation didn’t exist or wasn’t a factor, could that have allowed the war to be avoided?
Discuss, share and debate with your class.
Task 3 : Investigate, then describe and situate Alliances and Key Events
Sub-question - How did political alliances and geographic and cultural factors influence the start and continuation of WW1?
Examine documents and online sources, to establish facts and events related to the formation of alliances leading up to World War One. Then on a blank map (use Cartograf or Google My Maps) outline, describe and situate the Alliances that led up to WW1. Also, when appropriate, map and describe key events and people to locations, explaining their significance. For example, students can indicate and describe two or three key Alliances that formed before world war one:
Use Zones (polygon shapes and lines) to trace countries and/or alliances. In Cartograf there is then a place within each of these items to write descriptions and even to attach images.
Using Points of Interest to locate, then include descriptions and even appropriate images: Students could identify 5 to 10 key locations, what “significant” event occurred there, and/or who was involved. For each location, students could also explain why they chose to locate their point in that exact spot.