Topic: Is this a war? European political crises in the early twentieth century

Target group

7th‑grade students of elementary school

Core curriculum

7th‑grade students of elementary school

XXV. First World War. Pupil:

1. discusses the most important conflicts between the European powers at the turn of the crisis

XIX and XX century.

General aim of education

Students learn the most important conflicts between the European powers at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Criteria for success
The student will learn:

• to characterize the causes, course and consequences of the most important conflicts between the European powers at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries;

• to indicate on the map the most important military blocks and outbreaks of conflicts;

• to describe the content of agreements between the great powers.

Methods/techniques

• expository

  • talk.

• activating

  • discussion.

• programmed

  • with computer;

  • with e‑textbook.

• practical

  • exercices concerned.

Forms of work

• individual activity;

• activity in pairs;

• activity in groups;

• collective activity.

Teaching aids

• e‑textbook;

• notebook and crayons/felt‑tip pens;

• interactive whiteboard, tablets/computers.

Lesson plan overview

Before classes

1. The teacher asks to recall the information about the formation of the military block of the Triple Alliance and the French‑Russian dual‑understanding, as well as doing Task 1 from the e‑textbook.

Introduction

1. The teacher explains the students the purpose of the lesson and the criteria for success.

2. The teacher, referring to the students' homework, explains briefly the situation of Great Britain in the early twentieth century and how was manifested the rise of German superpowers (fleet development, colonial ambitions).

3. Students do Exercise 1 - they write to positive and negative aspects of the situation in which was Britain at the end of the 19th century.

Realization

1. The teacher creates 3 groups. All groups do Task 1 to learn about the events on the timeline . While working on this task, each group looks for information needed to implement the assigned issues for the study: Group I - Explain how the military bloc of the Triple Entente was formed . This exercise is supplemented by Exercise 2. Group II - Why and how did the Germans try to join the race for colonies? This exercise is complemented by Exercise 3. Group III - Why the situation in the Balkans has once again become more acute - this task is supplemented by Task 2.

2. Each group creates a short resume of their work (in a computer or on a sheet of paper) in the form of a mind map.

3. While working on exercises and instructions, the teacher uses a method or a set of cards in three colors: green, yellow and red. Thanks to the cards, the students signal to the teacher if they have difficulties with carrying out orders (green - I'm doing great, yellow - I have doubts, red - please help).

4. Then each of the groups, using the maps of Europe and the world posted in the e‑textbook and prepared maps of thoughts, presents them to other students. Students photograph mind maps, make additional conclusions with the teacher's help, make short notes in the notebooks. The teacher makes sure that the task has been correctly completed and gives feedback.

Summary

1. Students individually or in pairs do Exercise 4 and Exercise 5 (combine dates, events and their effects), and then - based on a map showing military alliances in 1914 - Exercise 6.

2. The teacher assesses the students' work during the lesson, taking into account their input and commitment. For this purpose, he may prepare an evaluation questionnaire for self‑assessment and evaluation of the teacher's work and other students.

Homework

1. The teacher sets homework (it is not an obligatory part of the scenario): Explain in a short essay the meaning of the phrase Balkan cauldron.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

Is this a war? European political crises in the early twentieth century

In early 20th century, the British realized that the Germans had started an intensive enlargement of their war fleet. An even greater problem for them was the growing political importance and economic power of the United States. Yet another issue was Russia’s expansion in Asia and the resulting conflict of interest in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf region. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, Europe was divided into two opposing political and military blocs. The Triple Alliance created in 1882 was composed of: Germany, Austria‑Hungary, and Italy, whereas the Triple Entente) comprised: France, Russia, and the United Kingdom. The most unstable region of Europe were the Balkans where, after the weakening of the Ottoman Empire, new states began to strive for independence. Soon, two subsequent Balkan wars broke out.