What primary sources work for teaching WWI causes?

Short excerpts from the Treaty of Versailles, propaganda posters, alliance documents, and newspaper coverage of the assassination work well. Keep excerpts under 200 words for accessibility.

Can this lesson be adapted for AP World History?

Yes. Add a fifth station with economic competition sources and require a full DBQ body paragraph instead of just a thesis statement.

How do I manage a classroom debate with 30 students?

Form 4 groups (one per cause), give each group a shared prep document, and use a structured round-robin format with a class vote at the end.

LessonCraft

Social Studies / History10th Grade55 minutes

High School World War 1 Causes Lesson Plan

Students analyze primary sources related to the causes of World War 1, participate in a structured mini-debate, and draft a thesis statement for a DBQ-style response.

Learning Objectives

Analyze primary sources to identify contributing causes of WWI.
Argue which cause was most significant using evidence.
Draft a thesis statement that takes a clear position with evidence preview.

Warm-Up: Anticipation Guide

5 min

Students respond agree/disagree to 3 statements about war causation.
Brief pair-share on the most controversial statement.
Transition: 'Let's see what the evidence says about what really caused WWI.'

Source Analysis: Stations

18 min

4 stations with short primary source excerpts: alliance system, imperialism, nationalism, assassination.
Each station has a guiding question and vocabulary glosses.
Students spend 4 minutes per station recording key evidence on their graphic organizer.

Mini-Debate: Most Significant Cause

15 min

Students choose a cause and form groups. Each group prepares a 1-minute argument.
Round-robin: each group presents. Class votes on most convincing argument.
Debrief: 'What made the winning argument convincing? Was it the evidence or the reasoning?'

Thesis Drafting

12 min

Model a strong thesis statement: position + 2 evidence previews.
Students draft their own thesis for: 'What was the most significant cause of WWI?'
Peer check: partner reads and confirms the thesis has a clear position and evidence preview.

Closure

5 min

Exit ticket: Submit thesis statement on a notecard.
Preview: 'Tomorrow we draft the full DBQ body paragraph.'
Collect graphic organizers and thesis cards.

Differentiation Notes

Scaffold: Simplified source excerpts with bolded key phrases and vocabulary glossary.
Extension: Analyze a fifth source that complicates the narrative (economic competition).
ELL support: Sentence frames for thesis statements and debate arguments.

Assessment

Student product: Completed graphic organizer and thesis statement.
Criteria: Thesis takes a clear position, previews 2 pieces of evidence, uses academic language.
Success indicator: 75% of students produce a thesis with a clear claim and evidence preview.

Teacher Tips

Print source excerpts on different colored paper for each station to help students organize notes.
During the debate, assign a timekeeper to keep each group to 1 minute.
If students struggle with thesis writing, let them start with a verbal statement to a partner before writing.

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