World War I
Causes for European
and American Involvement
Daniel Hernandez
Brawley Union High School
10th and 11th Grade
California Content Standards:
10.5 Students analyze the causes and course of the First World War.
.1 - Analyze the arguments for entering into war presented by leaders from
all sides of the Great War and the role of political and economic rivalries,
ethnic and ideological conflicts, domestic discontent and disorder, and
propaganda and nationalism in mobilizing the civilian population in support of
“total war.”
.3 - Explain how the Russian Revolution and the entry of the United States
affected the course and outcome of the war.
11.4 Students trace the rise of the United States to its role
as a world power in the twentieth century.
.5 - Analyze the political, economic, and social ramifications of
World War I on the home front.
Objective:
Students will be able to identify the causes that led both
the European countries and the United States to enter this
global conflict. By the end of the lesson, students will
create a brochure in which they restate in their own words
the major causes of World War I.
Key Vocabulary
Militarism
Triple Entente
Triple Alliance
Nationalism
Imperialism
Franz Ferdinand
Lusitania
Zimmerman Note
By 1914, WAR had
broken out in
Europe…Why?
Because of War
‘MANIA’
Militarism
Alliances
Nationalism
Imperialism
Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
MILITARISM
ALLIANCES
Triple Alliance
vs
Triple Entente
NATIONALISM
IMPERIALISM
ASSASSINATION OF
FRANZ FERDINAND!!!!
By 1917 the United States
shifted out of Neutrality
and into a full-scale global
war….Why?
Sinking of the Lusitania
Zimmerman Note
Quick Summary: (Guided Practice)
Answer the following questions…use your notes as needed.
1. What does MANIA stand for?
2. What event triggered World War I?
3. List the countries that make up the Triple Alliance.
4. List the countries that make up the Triple Entente.
5. What was the United States’ policy towards World War I
before 1917.
6. Why did the United States enter World War I siding with
the Triple Entente?
Once your are completed with the “Quick
Summary” you are ready to begin creating a
BROCHURE 
Place an 8.5 by 11 sheet of paper in ‘landscape format’ and fold it into thirds. You should
have 5 ‘flaps’ with the one in the back that will be used to paste into your notebooks (that
isn’t counted as one flap).
Your first flap should be your cover page and should contain an appropriate title (i.e.
Causes of World War I), a picture and your name.
The rest of the flaps should contain the following information; the way you embed it into
your brochure is up to you, be creative and be sure to include all components:
• Map of Europe displaying the countries of both the Triple Alliance and the Triple
Entente. (make sure each alliance is a different color)
• Causes of why a World War broke out in Europe
• Images that represent such causes as well as a brief explanation of each cause
• Reasons why the United States Joined the War
• Images that represent such causes as well as a brief explanation of each cause
AND
•3 quotes relating to the causes of World War I by any of the major leaders as
well as a picture of each leader of the major countries involved.
Closure - TOD
Match the cause to its definition.
(handout provide in class)
Answer the following question.
In your opinion, which cause
had the greatest impact to
the beginning of the war?
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