Diamond 9: Why did Germany hate the Treaty of Versailles, 1919?

This critical thinking skills activity has been designed to provide stretch and challenge for students studying why did Germany hate the Treaty of Versailles . The key theory underpinning this strategy is that when we rank items, either statements, objects or images, we are required to make explicit the over- arching relationships by which we organise our knowledge and connect our learning. If you are looking for a more traditional exercise then please check out my card sort matching exercise on this topic, which can be downloaded from my TES shop. This resource will easily work alongside any main steam textbook or resource on this topic.

The resource includes nine diamond shaped cards which include a range of factors which describe the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, 1919. The document is provided in Microsoft Word so you can edit the resource if you wish to customise it further by changing any of the key factors that I have included. Once students have cut out the cards out they are set three tasks including:

1. Remove any reasons that you don’t think are important. Record and explain why you have removed them.
2. Arrange the remaining diamonds to show any links that you can find between the different reasons. Record and explain your reasons.
3. Make a smaller diamond shape using the four most important reasons why Germany hated the Treaty of Versailles. Record and explain the reasons for your choices.

At each stage students should be feeding back to their group or the class and explaining their choices. The discussion and explanation around the choices that they have made are critical in helping them develop their understanding of the topic.

The aims and objectives of this lesson are:

Theme: The Treaty of Versailles
Know: What were the terms of the Treaty of Versailles?
Understand: What were the economic, political, territorial and military consequences for Germany?
Evaluate: which of the terms would most Germans have found the most humiliating?

WILF - What Am I Looking For?
Identify and describe: the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, 1919?
Explain: The economic, political, territorial and military consequences of the treaty for Germany?
Analyse: Which consequences or terms were the most humiliating for Germany?

If you like this resource then why not check out my other resources on this topic in my TES shop, where many have been bundled together to provide you with further savings. You can also follow ‘The History Academy’ on Twitter, Google Plus, YouTube and Facebook for the latest updates or even to get in touch and chat about how you have used this resource or to ask questions. We aim to produce cheap and affordable resources for either the price of a good cup of coffee or a happy meal so that you can spend more time doing the things that you want.

Anyway, have fun and stay in touch via social media for the latest updates.

Kind Regards

Roy