World War I
Social Studies Standards Covered: GA Information Processing Skill 13, GA Information Processing Skill 17, SS5H2a
Vocabulary
troops - members of an army (noun)
protect - to stop something bad from happening to someone or something (verb)
senators - people who were elected by voters to represent them in a state or federal senate (noun) branch - a division or office of a large business or organization, operating locally or having a particular function (noun)
Renaissance - a period in time when there was a rebirth in art and literature (noun) Literature Links
Lusitania: An Epic Tragedy by Diana Preston A Brave Soldier by Nicholas Debon
Village Green to No-Mans-Land by Michael Foreman The War to End All Wars: World War I by Russell Freedman
Day 1 (40 minutes)
World War I Explodes in Europe The Sinking of the Lusitania
Social Studies Standards Covered: GA Information Processing Skill 13, SS5H2a Vocabulary: protect, troops
Lesson Tasks
World War I Explodes in Europe
Possible Sentences - Vocabulary development activity where students, given a number of words from a text, create sentences they think make sense using the words. Sentences are shared and discussed before and after reading.
Before reading “World War I Explodes in Europe,” provide the students with a list of the following words and phrases: world war, alliance, entente, annex, and heir. As a class, brainstorm possible definitions, and create sentences using the vocabulary. While reading, the students should refine their definitions using the text and context. After reading, the students should rewrite their sentences, and then share their revised sentences with the class.
English Language Learner: Provide students with clear, simple example sentences using the vocabulary.
For example, “A prince is a king’s heir.” Have the students elaborate on the vocabulary and then create their own sentences.
Teacher Questions/Discussion Prompts, Cognitive Complexity Levels World War I Explodes in Europe
Q: Do you think the United States made the right decision to join World War I?
A: Answers will vary and most will likely support the U.S. joining the war due to the Lusitania and
assisting some of our most important allies in Europe.
moderate high/4
World War I Explodes in Europe
Q: What role did technology play during World War I?
A: New advances in warfare made World War I the deadliest conflict in history in its time.
moderate high/2 Lesson Tasks
The Sinking of the Lusitania
Question Formulation Technique - Step-by-step process including: a focus question (using a stimulus), rules for students for producing questions, formulation of many questions, categorizing questions (open or closed-ended), prioritizing questions (based on what you want to address), next steps (using the most important questions for research or projects) and reflection.
After reading the text, introduce the Question Focus to the class: “The sinking of a large ship was a major event that convinced Americans to join World War I.” The students will collaborate with partners to formulate as many questions as possible regarding this Question Focus in five minutes. The students will present their questions, and as a class, determine which are open-ended and which are close-ended.
Have the class vote on the five most important questions, and discuss ways in which those questions could be further explored. (For example, if the students ask, “How did Americans feel about the sinking of the Lusitania?”, they might suggests reading letters sent at the time by Americans to newspapers and politicians regarding the event.) Finally, ask the students what they learned and how they learned it.
Gifted and Talented Learner: Ask how various people with different interests would approach these questions. For example, what questions would an archaeologist ask, and what further steps would an archaeologist take after asking those questions? Have the students compare different perspectives, and analyze the way those perspectives influence question-making.
Teacher Questions/Discussion Prompts, Cognitive Complexity Levels The Sinking of the Lusitania
Q: Why do you think so many people were outraged by Germany’s actions in torpedoing the Lusitania?
A: The ship was a civilian ship that did nothing to provoke the German U-boats to attack it, and many innocent lives were lost as a result.
moderate high/3
Day 2 (30 minutes)
America Helps Win World War I
Social Studies Standards Covered: GA Information Processing Skill 13, SS5H2a Vocabulary: troops
Lesson Tasks
America Helps Win World War I
Graphic Organizers - Visual displays of facts, concepts or ideas. Used to guide students’ thinking as they fill it in and build upon it. Can be a chart, graph, diagram or web.
Week 9
Georgia Studies WeeklyTeacher Supplement
Organize the students into groups. Each group will create a concept map to depict the events which led to America’s victory in WWI. The main node should state: “Victory.” Supporting nodes should detail - in reverse chronological order, from the end of the war to the beginning of the war - important events and contributing factors to victory along the way. Important events and contributing factors to victory include dates of surrender, the draft, the sinking of the Lusitania, the Zimmermann Telegram, American industry, and so forth. Each group will present their concept map to the class.
Below Level/Developing: Help students visualize the text with accompanying pictures of the Lusitania, u-boats, no-man’s land, soldier’s uniforms and gear, and other relevant artifacts.
Teacher Questions/Discussion Prompts, Cognitive Complexity Levels America Helps Win World War I
Q: What were some of the conditions of the Treaty of Versailles?
A: Germany had to scale back its military and also forced them to pay for damages related to the war.
Germany had to surrender most of its military equipment. They also had to give up most of their colonies around the world.
moderate/2
America Helps Win World War I
Q: What action by the Germans in 1918 attempted to shift the balance of the war in their favor?
A: They launched five massive offensives that allowed them to reach Paris and the English Channel.
moderate/2
Day 3 (30 minutes)
Woodrow Wilson and the League of Nations WWI Political Cartoon
Social Studies Standards Covered: GA Information Processing Skill 13, GA Information Processing Skill 17, SS5H2a
Vocabulary: senators, branch Lesson Tasks
Woodrow Wilson and the League of Nations
Graphic Organizers - Visual displays of facts, concepts or ideas. Used to guide students’ thinking as they fill it in and build upon it. Can be a chart, graph, diagram or web.
Before reading “Woodrow Wilson and the League of Nations,” have students create a graphic organizer with the following categories: “Person,” “Place,” and “Thing.” While reading the text, students should list the proper nouns in the appropriate categories in the graphic organizer. Once the students have completed the organizers, ask the students to identify relationships between the proper nouns by drawing lines between them. (For example, students may draw a line between Georges Clemenceau and France, and multiple lines between the Treaty of Versailles and the nations of Europe.) Lead the class in a discussion about the major players and organizations and their interactions in WWI.
English Language Learner: Review the characteristics of proper nouns with students. Provide examples of proper nouns outside of the text (such as “John,” or “Superman,” or “Georgia”), and then model
identifying one or two proper nouns in the text.
Teacher Questions/Discussion Prompts, Cognitive Complexity Levels Woodrow Wilson and the League of Nations
Q: If you were a member of Congress, would you have supported the League of Nations? Why or why not?
A: Supporting League - peaceful resolutions, cooperation between countries. Opposing League - getting involved in conflicts that the U.S. may not be a part of, losing control of diplomacy and military decisions.
moderate high/2
Woodrow Wilson and the League of Nations
Q: Who were the main countries involved in the negotiation of the Treat of Versailles?
A: England, France and Germany were the main parties but Germany had to agree to some unfair conditions.
moderate/2 Lesson Tasks
WWI Political Cartoon
See-Think-Wonder - Three-part organizer used to observe a stimulus, usually an image, and tell what you see in it, what it makes you think, and what you still wonder about it.
Organize the students into small groups to create “See-Think-Wonder” graphic organizers and study the cartoon in “WWI Political Cartoon.” The students should create three sections in the organizer, labeled:
“See - What Do I See?” “Think - What’s Going On?” and “Wonder - What Do I Wonder?” Have the groups answer the first two questions using supporting evidence from the cartoon. The third question should contain at least one statement from each group member. Last, as a class, compare and contrast the groups’ organizers, and ask the students if they would change their observations after hearing their classmates’ perspectives.
Gifted and Talented Learner: Lead a discussion on the role of symbolism in political criticism. Some questions for conversation may include: Why do cartoonists choose to use symbols in their cartoons? How do readers respond to symbols? Can symbols be too obscure or too obvious?
Day 4 (30 minutes)
Post-WWI America
Social Studies Standards Covered: GA Information Processing Skill 13, SS5H2a Vocabulary: Renaissance
Lesson Tasks Post-WWI America
Reciprocal Teaching Method - Students take on the role of teacher. Teachers model, then students guide discussions. Students use summarizing, question generating, clarifying and predicting.
First, explain the four strategies of reciprocal teaching: summarizing, questioning, clarifying, and predicting. Next, organize the students into four groups: the summarizers, the questioners, the clarifiers, and the predictors. Read the first paragraph as a class. Have the questioners create questions which the text may answer, and have the predictors offer their predictions. Read the rest of the article. Have the clarifiers answer the following question: “How did WWI lead to the passage of the 19th Amendment?”, and then
Week 9
Georgia Studies WeeklyTeacher Supplement
have the clarifiers answer the questioners’ questions. Have the summarizers summarize the article in one paragraph or less. Ask the predictors if their predictions were accurate or inaccurate. Model each activity for the four groups.
Below Level/Developing: Provide clear, simple examples of summaries, questions, clarifications, and predictions. At each stage of the task, remind the students of their roles as summarizes, questioners, clarifiers, or predictors. Use visual aids on the whiteboard to show the relationships between the different strategies. For example: show how predictions can lead to more questions, or how summaries can provide clarification.
Teacher Questions/Discussion Prompts, Cognitive Complexity Levels Post-WWI America
Q: How was Henry Ford able to produce enough automobiles to make them available to all Americans?
A: The assembly line process that Ford created allowed his company to produce automobiles quickly, efficiently and at a lower cost.
moderate/2
Post-WWI America
Q: Why would there have been an increase in establishments like restaurants and hotels following World War I?
A: More people were buying automobiles and traveling to new places all over the country. Freeways and highways connected Americans like never before.
moderate/2 Let’s Write
* indicates that prompt is featured in this week’s Student Edition
Opinion: *What was the most significant impact of the end of World War I on American society? Cite text evidence to support your opinion.
Informative Explanatory: How did World War I impact music? Cite text evidence from the article.
Narrative: After World War I, many new and exciting things were happening in the U.S. Write a narrative about how your life changed since the end of the war. Be sure to include what you have learned from the text.
Day 5 (30 minutes)
Think and Review Questions
1. Why do you think immigration was a major factor in America regarding World War I?
2. What were some parts of the Treaty of Versailles that were unfair to Germany following World War I?
3. What acted as a major boost in the personal liberties in the lives of American women during the early 20th century?
4. Many events led to World War I, but which one was the key trigger to starting the conflict?
5. Why do you think Congress drafted 4 million men to serve in the military?
Week 9
Georgia Studies WeeklyTeacher Supplement
Activities
WWI Political Cartoon
1. An olive branch that symbolizes the League of Nations.
2. At the time, it seemed unlikely that the League would do much good. It was a tough task to carry, hence why it is so large for the Dove of Peace to carry around.
3. President Wilson believed in the League of Nations and what it could accomplish for the world. He was confident that it would succeed.
4. Answers will vary. Check for accuracy.
Worksheets
Week 9 Worksheet 1 What’s the Story
Answers may vary, but may include: USA sent money to allies, passenger ship Lusitania brought down in 1915, 1917 Zimmermann telegram, two American ships sunk in February by Germany.
Week 9 Worksheet 2 Decoding Zimmermann Germany’s Foreign Minister
Their hope was that the U.S. would remain neutral and not get involved, even after the submarine warfare.
The telegram states that they would hope to endeavor, meaning that they want it to happen, but if it doesn’t they have another plan.
Zimmermann was promising to help Mexico gain the land back that Mexico had lost to the United States. They promised this if they joined their side in the war and helped get Japan on board with the Central Powers.
This was one of the reasons the U.S. joined the war. They felt that the telegram was sneaky and was going behind their backs. They were neutral,
but the telegram made the final push they needed to enter the war on the opposing side.
Week 9 Worksheet 3
Cause and Effect- World War I
Effect 1: Many countries formed alliances with each other, meaning if one country one was attacked, the others would join the fight.
Countries began strengthening their borders with troops and supplies.
Cause 2: In 1908, Austria took over two small sections of the Balkans: Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Serbs living there did not want to be part of Austria.
Cause 3: Russia mobilized against Austria.
Germany
declared war on Russia. England declared war on Germany. Japan ordered German ships out of nearby waters and declared war on Germany.
Effect 4: This eventually brought America into the war in 1917.
Week 9 Worksheet 4 After The War- WWI
Answers may vary, but may include:
Enough attention had been given to world issues;
it was time to focus on matters at home! Cultural development and economic growth accelerated after WWI.
Much progress was fueled by the mass production of cars during the 1920s, thanks to Henry Ford.
Owning a car became commonplace.
Gas stations, motels and restaurants increased.
The Federal Highway Act of 1921 oversaw the expansion of U.S. freeways. Americans experienced new independence.
African Americans led the way in an artistic post-
Answer Keys
Assessment
To check for understanding, distribute the weekly assessment for students to complete independently. If time allows, you may choose to assign an extension activity to conclude the lesson.
war evolution. Jazz was an African American musical art form and the backbone of the post- WWI Jazz Age.
The West Side of New York City in Harlem led a rebirth in African American culture. Much of white America was taking notice, for better or worse, leading to organized hate groups, such as the KKK.
Flappers (white, American women who were part of the urban middle-class) fl ourished during this era—after getting the right to vote in 1920, they wanted to have fun! They cut their long hair, put on high heels and wore above-the-knee dresses.
They drove cars to popular nightclubs, like Harlem’s Cotton Club, to dance to the rhythmic sounds of “new” jazz.
Assessment
1. France was acting out of revenge, and several countries agreed that Germany was to blame for starting the war. Germany was also prevented from doing many different things like rebuild their military.
2. B 3. 116,000 4. A, C, D 5. New Orleans 6. C
7. Woodrow Wilson 8. D
9. A, B, D
10. New technology like machine guns, tanks, bombs from planes and the use of trench warfare made World War I a dangerous and deadly confl ict.
Think and Review
1. Since there were so many different people from so many backgrounds that had come to America, it made it hard to determine a clear public opinion. Some immigrants had divided loyalties.
2. It changed Germany’s borders, limited their military and forced them to pay large fi nes.
They also had no say in negotiating the terms of the treaty.
3. The 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote, and along with that, came a new role in
society.
4. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand outraged the powerful Austria-Hungarian Empire and it allies, leading many other nations to mobilize their armies.
5. The military did not have enough men before war was declared on Germany. Many soldiers were needed.
World War I
Week 9 Assessment
1. In what ways was the Treaty of Versailles unfair to Germany? SS5H2a GA Information Processing Skill 13
2. What was a major factor concerning America’s eventual entr y into World War I after the sinking of the Lusitania? SS5H2a
A. There were no Americans on board the ship.
B. At least 100 American lives were lost as a result of the attack.
C. The ship had provoked the U-boats to attack.
D. The U.S. did not get involved in World War I.
3. Nearly 4,000,000 Americans par ticipated in World I and ________ would lose their lives f ighting in the war. SS5H2a
blank 1 A. 120 B. 1,100 C. 2,000 D. 116,000
4. In what ways did Germany tr y to work against the U.S. in America before the U.S.
entered the war? Select all that apply. SS5H2a GA Information Processing Skill 13
A. derailed train cars with shipments to U.S. allies B. Germany set up a blockade on the U.S.
C. spies got workers to go on strike at factories
D. sabotaging ammunition factories by causing explosions
5. Jazz was considered to have been born in the American city of ________. SS5H2a, GA Information Processing Skill 13
blank 1
A. New York City B. New Orleans C. Chicago D. Boston
Name: Date:
Georgia Studies Weekly
Citation
standstill? SS5H2a
A. raft
B. aircraft carrier C. U-boat
D. passenger ship
7. Of all the leaders involved in the Treaty of Versailles, ________ had the most commitment to the idea of world peace. SS5H2a
blank 1
A. Vladimir Lenin
B. David Lloyd George C. Georges Clemenceau D. Woodrow Wilson
8. All of the following were new militar y technologies that were introduced during World War I EXCEPT: SS5H2a GA Information Processing Skill 13
A. tanks B. planes C. submarines D. rif les
9. Mark all the factors that contributed to the cultural development and economic grow th of the U.S. in the 1920s. GA Information Processing Skill 13
A. the expansion of the freeway system B. the grow th and acceptance of jazz music C. the grow th of social media
D. the mass production of cars
10. In what ways did World War I quickly become the deadliest conf lict in human histor y (until World War II)? SS5H2a GA Information Processing Skill 13
Citation
Name: Date:
Georgia Studies Weekly Worksheet 1 Week 9
What’s the Story?
Use this week’s newspaper to identify the main events that led to the United States joining World War I. Summarize those events in comic form below. Be sure to place in sequential order.
Decoding Zimmermann
Using the decoded Zimmermann Telegram message, infer meanings based on the information and details given.
We intend to begin on the first of February unrestricted submarine warfare. We shall endeavor in spite of this to keep the United States of America neutral. In the event of this not succeeding, we make Mexico a proposal or alliance on the following basis: make war together, make peace together, generous financial support and an understanding on
our part that Mexico is to reconquer the lost territory in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. The settlement in detail is left to you. You will inform the President (of Mexico) of the above most secretly as soon as the outbreak of war
with the United States of America is certain and add the suggestion that he should, on his own initiative, invite Japan to immediate adherence and at the same time mediate between Japan and ourselves. Please call the President’s
attention to the fact that the ruthless employment of our submarines now offers the prospect of compelling England in a few months to make peace.
Signed, ZIMMERMANN - telegram from Arthur Zimmermann, German foreign minister to the German ambassador to Mexico (January 16, 1917)
1. What country is this telegram coming from?
2. What did they mean by “...in spite of this to keep the United States of America neutral.”?
3. How do you know?
4. What was Zimmermann promising the German ambassador to Mexico?
Why? Explain.
5. Why was this the reason the U.S. joined the war?
Name: Date:
Georgia Studies Weekly Worksheet 3 Week 9
Cause and Effect: World War I
Look at the cause and eff ect graphic organizer. Fill in the missing boxes.
CAUSE
In 1914, Archduke Francis Ferdinand, of Austria, and his wife, visited Bosnia, and were assassinated. The Austrian government
accused Serbian government of having knowledge of the attack and declared war against Serbia. Alliances jumped in to help Serbia. Other nations began to declare war.
The British passenger ship, the Lusitania, was sunk.
The Triple Entente was bitterly fighting the Central Powers of Germany, Austria,
Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire.
In the 1800s and early 1900s, European nations were competing against each other for business opportunities. Countries became
jealous and fearful.
EFFECT
After the War: WWI
There were many eff ects of the war. Fill in various eff ects of WWI on the United States.
