Jonathan McCabe

Lesson Plan 4

Theme: World War I

Grade: 10th Grade Global Studies
Goal: Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of
major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in world history and examine the
broad sweep of history from a variety of perspectives.
Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the
geography of the interdependent world in which we live- local, national, and global-including
the distribution of people, places, and environments over Earth's surface.
Objectives:
1. Students will enhance their discussion skills further as well as their note-taking and listening
skills
2. Students will be able to learn how to use the library and improve upon their research skills
3. Students will be able to have a better understanding of how World War I changed the world
forever, by using the Russian Revolution and weapons as a medium
4. Students will begin to understand the basic workings of a library, and develop their research
skills further
5. Students will be able to locate Russia on the map
6. Students will explain how World War I helped lead to the Bolshevik Revolution
Materials Needed: Computer, PowerPoint, projector, whiteboard and markers, note sheet,
library research sheet,

Lesson:
Warm Up

Students will pair up when they get to the classroom

Once ready, students will work together to remember the main themes and ideas from
yesterday's class, they may use their notebooks for this

After students have worked for about five minutes, the discussion will open up to the
whole class to see what each pair came up with, and to cover any important themes they
may have forgotten

Quick Review of Bolshevik Revolution

World War I was a direct cause of the Bolshevik revolution

Czar Nicholas was so focused on the war, he was ignoring problems on the home front:
starvation, debt

Lenin pushed for an overthrow of the government: Peace, Land and Bread promise

Lenin was able to push Czar Nicholas out, and they were killed and unceremoniously
dumped in a well, not to be found for years until 1991

Lenin was able to lead the Reds to victory in their civil war and took over Russia under a
communist regime

Show video of Romanov Execution from YouTube

New Technology

World War I was filled with new technology that had never been see before on a
battlefield

Old School war was filled with single shot rifles and cannons that couldn't shoot more

than a few hundred yards

New weapons such as machine guns, long-range artillery, and poison gas are one of the
few new weapons that had been employed on a battle field in World War I

These new weapons caused more damage and casualties in single battles than whole wars
that took place before World War I

No one realized how bad a modern war could be until people were shown first hand by
the war

Library Activity

Students will get into small groups (3-5) and use library sources, such as textbooks and
online journals to find information about different weapons that were used

They will make a small presentation about those weapons, either through a poster,
PowerPoint, etc.

Give hand out to students on the layout of the project

Allow students to have rest of class period in the library to ensure project gets finished

Wrap Up

Gather students with about 5 minutes left of class

Have them write a few sentences on what they found most/least shocking about the new
weapons from World War I

World War I Weapons Project

During World War I, new weapons were introduced into the battlefield. These weapons,
like machine guns and artillery, had never been seen before. The modern war was able to take
all of these weapons and utilize them to turn them into the most efficient killing machines the
world had ever seen up until that point. No one before realized what would happen when those
weapons were used and once they had, there was no going back. Your job is to research the
different weapons to find out more on how they were destructive and how they changed the
battlefield. The posters will then hung up inside of the classroom. Afterwards, there will be an
in-class discussion on why the weapons were so deadly compared to older warfare techniques.
Checklist for project
Research at the new weapons that were given to you
Explain why they were so deadly
Show examples of each weapon
Tell what side used each weapon
Be creative
New Weapons of World War I
Machine gun

Hand Grenade

Tank

Long-range Artillery

Poison Gas

Flamethrower

Airplane

Blimps/Zeppelins

Submarines

Lecture for Lesson 4

Warm Up
Review of Bolshevik Revolution
The Bolshevik Revolution was caused by World War I
When Czar Nicholas entered the war, he completely forgot about the rest of his countrymen and
focused solely on winning the war
Not only was Russia in extreme debt from fighting the war, people were also starving and there
was no social equality that people wanted. The wealthy were doing fine while the poor peasants
in the countryside couldn't make a living
This allowed Vladimir Lenin to talk to the masses, by promising a better life than they have and
making sure all of the classes are equal, the key idea of communism
Before the war was over, Nicholas abdicated his throne, and a provisional government took
over
Lenin was able to have joint power with the provisional government before he fully took power
in the October Revolution
In 1918, Lenin and the Bolsheviks signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk to end Russia's
involvement in the war, only to plunge themselves into a civil war for power between those who
wanted democracy, the Whites, and those who wanted communism, the Reds
The Bolsheviks then ordered Czar Nicholas and his family killed; he had been living under
house arrest at various places throughout Russia
The Czar was told they were going to be leaving so he and his family were woken up in the
middle of the night and brought into the basement

They were then murdered and the bodies were dumped into a well, not to be found until the fall
of the Soviet Union
The Czar's son, the heir to the throne and one of his daughters weren't found until the 2000's,
but no proof has been connected to the Romanov family
Lenin helped free Russia from its debt and brought land equality to the peasants and got Russia
its citizens food
Show video clip of Romanov family
New Weapons
During World War I, new weapons were introduced to the battlefield that had never been seen
before
Things such as machine guns, artillery, and tanks were introduced first in the War
Armies and soldiers weren't prepared for the kind of massacre that they were witnessing
War before the 20th century was about showmanship and being a gentleman on the battlefield.
When modern war arrived, the old ways of war still applied, but new technology was used to kill
at an efficient rate
Machine guns were able to kill soldiers at an astonishing rate; artillery was able to shoot shells
miles from the front lines; poison gas, tanks, planes, and hand grenades all contributed to the
destruction of the front line troops
No one was sure what would happen with the new weapons on the battlefield, but once they
were shown to be deadly, they couldn't believe what war had become