Who Started WWI Outline
Who Started WWI Notes and Graphic Organizer Page
Who Started World War I?
To understand the rise of America as a world leader, we must understand the causes and effects of the “Great War” -- World War I.
World War I had a tremendous impact on world history. The war caused a shift in power away from the colonial empires of Europe and towards the growing power of the United States of America.
These origins of World War I have always been under debate. Who started it? Why? In trying to answer these questions, we must become witnesses to changes that were going on in the world at the time. Many people point the finger at Serbia for starting World War I, due to its role in the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand. This assassination is widely believed to be the spark that started the war. But further investigation leads to more questions about the role that other nations played in the outbreak of the war…
Once the war was finally over, the President of the United States of America, Woodrow Wilson, played a large role in designing and negotiating the Paris Peace Conference. The conference was supposed to work out the peace treaties between the allies and the defeated Central Powers. In order to decide how land was awarded, one of the jobs of the conference was to assign war guilt: to decide who was responsible for the outbreak of the war.
Your role is to research the origins of World War I and the findings of the Paris Peace Conference. You will be assigned a role in the conference: You will either be assigned to represent a nation and make a case for yourself at the conference; or you will be assigned the role of the U.S. President Wilson and will present your plan for peace; or, you will be assigned the role of the Peace Conference itself -- to research origins and prepare a statement of guilt.
DURING THIS ACTIVITY…
· You will use online learning resources to learn about the origins of World War I.
· You will use online sources and documents to learn about the responsibility that the key players in the War had in entangling the world into what became known as World War I.
· You will use online sources to learn about the Paris Peace Conference and the role that U.S. President Wilson played in it.
· You will use your research to prepare an argument for debate.
· You will reenact a debate from the Paris Peace Conference about which power was responsible for the outbreak of World War I.
Online Sources
The causes of WWI, including excellent primary sources
http://www.firstworldwar.com/origins/causes.htm
Brief overview of origins of WWI
http://www.flandersfieldsmusic.com/first-worldwar.html
Causes of WWI
http://www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/civil_n2/histscript6_n2/wwcause.html
Primary source documents
http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/index.htm
War guilt document from the Paris Peace conference
http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/commissionwarguilt.htm
DAY ONE AND TWO
1. You will be divided into eight groups, each representing one of the following:
· Germany
· Austria-Hungary
· Ottoman Empire
· Russia
· Britain
· India
· U.S. (President Wilson)
· Overseers of the Peace Conference
You will research your group’s role in World War I using online sources and documents, as well as the mini-simulation packets I supplied you. Use either a keyword search or a subject/topic search that includes World War I.
You should research and take notes about everything you can find out about your entity’s role in the origins of the War.
You should then begin to build a case against the other nations for your debate through research and note-taking. Questions to consider:
Which countries and/or colonies should be allowed to attend the conference?
What do you think your country’s goals would be for this conference?
How has the death and destruction of the war affected your country’s attitude and goals before the start of the peace conference? How might that affect the negotiations?
2. If you are researching U.S. President Wilson, you should use the same search path listed above to research Wilson’s role in the Peace Process. You should find out about the “Fourteen Points” that he presented as a plan for the conference.
3. If you are researching the Peace Conference itself, you should research the results of the Paris Peace Conference, including primary source documents like conditions of the Versailles Treaty as well as the War Guilt document (assigning guilt for the war). Good sources for you will be: http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/index.htm for primary source documents, plus http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/commissionwarguilt.htm for specific information about war guilt.
DAY THREE
4. Use your notes from your research to build an argument for debate. Those of you representing different nations at the conference should prepare presentations that show that you know the argument against your nation. You should also prepare presentations that argue against another nation’s responsibility. Your job is to convince the Peace Conference of your innocence -- despite any other claims -- as well as to convince the conference of another nation’s guilt.
5. If you are representing President Wilson, you should prepare an argument for the acceptance of his “Fourteen Points.”
6. If you are representing the overseers of the conference, you should be prepared to judge guilt based on the persuasiveness of your classmates’ arguments. You should also be ready to present the actual findings of the Paris Peace Conference on “War Guilt.”
DAY FOUR
7. You will present your arguments at a reenactment of the Paris Peace Conference.
DAY 5- EXTENSION ACTIVITY
After the debate you are to write a response in which you answer the following questions based on your knowledge of WWI. Make sure you use evidence from your notes and your classmates’ presentation. You may ask your classmates to clarify information about their country's involvement/issues during and after WWI.
A total of 150 points can be earned based on your research, evidence, presentation, and extension activity.
Research 30 ots.
Who Started WWI Notes and Graphic Organizer Page
Who Started World War I?
To understand the rise of America as a world leader, we must understand the causes and effects of the “Great War” -- World War I.
World War I had a tremendous impact on world history. The war caused a shift in power away from the colonial empires of Europe and towards the growing power of the United States of America.
These origins of World War I have always been under debate. Who started it? Why? In trying to answer these questions, we must become witnesses to changes that were going on in the world at the time. Many people point the finger at Serbia for starting World War I, due to its role in the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand. This assassination is widely believed to be the spark that started the war. But further investigation leads to more questions about the role that other nations played in the outbreak of the war…
Once the war was finally over, the President of the United States of America, Woodrow Wilson, played a large role in designing and negotiating the Paris Peace Conference. The conference was supposed to work out the peace treaties between the allies and the defeated Central Powers. In order to decide how land was awarded, one of the jobs of the conference was to assign war guilt: to decide who was responsible for the outbreak of the war.
Your role is to research the origins of World War I and the findings of the Paris Peace Conference. You will be assigned a role in the conference: You will either be assigned to represent a nation and make a case for yourself at the conference; or you will be assigned the role of the U.S. President Wilson and will present your plan for peace; or, you will be assigned the role of the Peace Conference itself -- to research origins and prepare a statement of guilt.
DURING THIS ACTIVITY…
· You will use online learning resources to learn about the origins of World War I.
· You will use online sources and documents to learn about the responsibility that the key players in the War had in entangling the world into what became known as World War I.
· You will use online sources to learn about the Paris Peace Conference and the role that U.S. President Wilson played in it.
· You will use your research to prepare an argument for debate.
· You will reenact a debate from the Paris Peace Conference about which power was responsible for the outbreak of World War I.
Online Sources
The causes of WWI, including excellent primary sources
http://www.firstworldwar.com/origins/causes.htm
Brief overview of origins of WWI
http://www.flandersfieldsmusic.com/first-worldwar.html
Causes of WWI
http://www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/civil_n2/histscript6_n2/wwcause.html
Primary source documents
http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/index.htm
War guilt document from the Paris Peace conference
http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/commissionwarguilt.htm
DAY ONE AND TWO
1. You will be divided into eight groups, each representing one of the following:
· Germany
· Austria-Hungary
· Ottoman Empire
· Russia
· Britain
· India
· U.S. (President Wilson)
· Overseers of the Peace Conference
You will research your group’s role in World War I using online sources and documents, as well as the mini-simulation packets I supplied you. Use either a keyword search or a subject/topic search that includes World War I.
You should research and take notes about everything you can find out about your entity’s role in the origins of the War.
You should then begin to build a case against the other nations for your debate through research and note-taking. Questions to consider:
Which countries and/or colonies should be allowed to attend the conference?
What do you think your country’s goals would be for this conference?
How has the death and destruction of the war affected your country’s attitude and goals before the start of the peace conference? How might that affect the negotiations?
2. If you are researching U.S. President Wilson, you should use the same search path listed above to research Wilson’s role in the Peace Process. You should find out about the “Fourteen Points” that he presented as a plan for the conference.
3. If you are researching the Peace Conference itself, you should research the results of the Paris Peace Conference, including primary source documents like conditions of the Versailles Treaty as well as the War Guilt document (assigning guilt for the war). Good sources for you will be: http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/index.htm for primary source documents, plus http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/commissionwarguilt.htm for specific information about war guilt.
DAY THREE
4. Use your notes from your research to build an argument for debate. Those of you representing different nations at the conference should prepare presentations that show that you know the argument against your nation. You should also prepare presentations that argue against another nation’s responsibility. Your job is to convince the Peace Conference of your innocence -- despite any other claims -- as well as to convince the conference of another nation’s guilt.
5. If you are representing President Wilson, you should prepare an argument for the acceptance of his “Fourteen Points.”
6. If you are representing the overseers of the conference, you should be prepared to judge guilt based on the persuasiveness of your classmates’ arguments. You should also be ready to present the actual findings of the Paris Peace Conference on “War Guilt.”
DAY FOUR
7. You will present your arguments at a reenactment of the Paris Peace Conference.
DAY 5- EXTENSION ACTIVITY
After the debate you are to write a response in which you answer the following questions based on your knowledge of WWI. Make sure you use evidence from your notes and your classmates’ presentation. You may ask your classmates to clarify information about their country's involvement/issues during and after WWI.
- Which country(s) do you think should be held responsible for the war and why?
- Do you agree with or disagree with the actual outcome of the Paris Peace Conference and why?
ASSESSMENT
A total of 150 points can be earned based on your research, evidence, presentation, and extension activity.
Research 30 ots.
- Did you find resources using the internet? 15 pts
- Did you locate primary and secondary sources on the internet to help create an argument? 15 pts.
- Did you complete the note sheet with information and evidence from your research to support your arguments? 30 pts.
- Did you use your research to create an argument? 10 pts
- Did you develop an argument for debate? 15 pts
- Did you use evidence from primary and secondary sources to support an argument? 10 pts.
- Were you familiar with arguments both for and against your own case? 5 pts.
- Did you write a response in which you explain who you think should be held responsible for the war and why? 15 pts.
- Did you agree with or disagree with the actual outcome of the Paris Peace Conference and why? 15 pts.
- Did you use evidence from your classmates arguments and your research to support your position for both questions. 20 pts.
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