Tag Archives: First World War
The Reinsurance Treaty between Germany and Russia: a brief overview
Germany and Russia signed the secret Reinsurance Treaty that ensured they would each remain neutral if the other went to war with a third European power.
Why did Otto von Bismarck resign in 1890?
On the 20th March 1890, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany formally accepted Otto von Bismarck’s resignation.
Awkward dinner party: WW1 alliances seating plan
This activity works well as a plenary or as an energising starter to the next lesson. Having studied the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente, students are faced with the problem of seating the six countries at a dinner table. They need to keep disagreements to a minimum by positioning the biggest rivals away from each other.
Students enjoy the debate involved in this activity, and often need to re-draw their plans as the discussion progresses. Having decided the seating plan, they write the name of each country on the appropriate chair and give a short explanation of their placement in the blank box.
The activity can be easily adapted for other situations – I know of colleagues using seating plans to get students to show the differing internal alliances in the early years of Stalin’s Soviet Union, and a Philosophy & Ethics teacher using it for arguments about the existence of God.
Why was there a Second Moroccan Crisis in 1911?
The German gunboat SMS Panther was sent to the Moroccan port of Agadir, sparking the Second Moroccan Crisis.
The Austro-Hungarian ultimatum to Serbia, 23rd July 1914
On the 23rd July 1914, Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum to Serbia specifically designed to be rejected and lead to war between the two countries.
The Treaty of London: Belgian independence and the First World War
The Treaty of London recognised and guaranteed the independence and neutrality of Belgium.
The German naval bombardment of Scarborough in WW1
Shortly after 8am on the 16th December 1914, the German Imperial Navy attacked the British seaside towns of Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby.
Why did British people volunteer for the Great War? (video clip)
A short video featuring interviews with British people who volunteered to fight in the First World War in 1914-15.
Objectivity in the classroom, 1914. Is this #WW1 clipping still relevant?
This American news clipping was published in November 1914. Quoting from a Department of Education circular, it says:
One of the most vital problems confronting school administrators at this time is the educational problem of how to teach about the current European war and the teacher’s attitude in the discussions in respect to this conflict.
Teachers should not express any personal opinions in regard to the war that will give a reason for resentment from the parents or offend the sensibilities of the children.
Below the fifth grade no time at all should be devoted to this war subject. Beginning with the fifth grade Current Events should be used in the class discussions and as a guide in the map study of the war zone.
