WORLD WAR I
RATING THE CAUSES ACTIVITY
INDIVIDUAL READING ACTIVITY:
1. Open your text to the chapter that addresses World War I. Please take 5 to 10
minutes and read over the section that addresses the events that led to World War I.
For example, you should be reading about the following: (1) imperialism,
(2) secret alliances, (3) militarism, (4) nationalism, and (5) The assassination of
Archduke Francis Ferdinand.
STEP 1
Your job is to rate the causes. 1 is for the event that you believe is MOST responsible
for World War I and 5 is for the event that you think is LEAST responsible for the war.
Once you have read in your text make a selection and develop an explanation of why you
feel your selected cause is the most important event that led to World War I. Once you
have done this, write your selection and explanation on your paper. Be prepared to
explain what you selected with the class orally.
______Imperialism—there was a scramble for colonies in the late 1800’s,
this created bitter rivals and a need to outdo other nations.
______Militarism-this was aggressive building up of nations military.
Of course, this meant preparation for war. Austria-Hungary,
France, Germany, Russia and Great Britain were the major world
Powers of the time and they were all competing militarily.
______Secret Alliances—nations wanted to bolster their security and they
enter numerous entangling alliances which led to war.
______Nationalism—2 kinds: (1) countries were prideful and acted in their
own self interest, and (2) in countries with diverse populations—many
Ethnic minorities declared independence.
______June 28, 1914, Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife
Sophie, were gunned down in the streets of Sarajevo, Bosnia.
Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Nationalist was responsible. He believed
that Austria-Hungary had no right to rule over Bosnia.
After you have completed reading the first section of your chapter on World
War I and ranked the causes, complete the following activity. Be ready to
share your response orally with the class. Also, be ready to defend/justify
tour selection.
STEP 2
In your opinion, what was the main cause of World War I? Why do you feel this
is the MAIN cause? How did this event start the war?_______________________
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STEP 3
GROUP ACTIVITY
Your teacher will place you in groups of 4 to 5 members. As a group, you
are to discuss what each member selected as being the most important cause
to the least important cause. As a group, you are instructed to agree on the
ranking of events that led to World War I and the main causes. Start your
discussion.
GROUP RANKING
______Imperialism—there was a scramble for colonies in the late 1800’s
which created bitter rivals and a need to outdo other nations.
______Militarism-this was aggressive building up of a nations military.
Of course, this meant preparation for war. Austria-Hungary,
France, Germany, Russia and Great Britain were the major world
Powers of the time and they were all competing militarily.
______Secret Alliances—nations wanted to bolster their security and they
enter numerous entangling alliances which led to war.
______Nationalism—2 kinds: (1) countries were prideful and acted in their
own self interest, and (2) In countries with diverse populations—many
ethnic minorities declared independence.
______June 28, 1914, Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife
Sophie, were gunned down in the streets of Sarajevo, Bosnia.
Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Nationalist was responsible. He believed
that Austria-Hungary had no right to rule over Bosnia.
STEP 4 TEACHER LED DISCUSSION
Upon completing your group activity, your teacher will lead a class
discussion on the causes of World War I. The class will agree on the
ranking of events that led to the start of the war. As class members, you
should discuss and debate the events to explore the effects of the events and
how other nations were effected. The class should agree on one set ranking
of the events. Start your discussion.
Class Ranking
______Imperialism—there was a scramble for colonies in the late 1800’s
which created bitter rivals and a need to outdo other nations.
______Militarism-this was aggressive building up of a nations military.
Of course, this meant preparation for war. Austria-Hungary,
France, Germany, Russia and Great Britain were the major world
Powers of the time and they were all competing militarily.
______Secret Alliances—nations wanted to bolster their security and they
enter numerous entangling alliances which led to war.
______Nationalism—2 kinds: (1) countries were prideful and acted in their
own self interest, and (2) In countries with diverse populations—many
ethnic minorities declared independence.
______June 28, 1914, Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife
Sophie, were gunned down in the streets of Sarajevo, Bosnia.
Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Nationalist was responsible. He believed
that Austria-Hungary had no right to rule over Bosnia