The Long Term Causes of World War One: Alliances and Militarism

The Long Term Causes of World War One: Alliances and Militarism

This is a thoroughly resourced lesson, covering the alliance systems and the arms race.

• War montage starter: music plays as different images of the trenches are presented. A good introduction to the topic that promotes discussion and provides an understanding of initial knowledge.
• In depth information and match up activity on the 4 ‘MAIN’ causes of World War One: Militarism, Alliances, Nationalism and Imperialism. (This lesson focuses on the first 2 of these causes).
• European map activity for understanding the alliances and which countries were in each one
• Alliances source activity (domino chain)
• Militarism activity, examining the strength of the different powers in Europe
• A concluding activity examining the aims and ambitions of each country in detail - this develops a good understanding of how tension kept increasing and then leads in well to the next lesson on Nationalism and Imperialism.