WHAP Unit 11: The Great War

Course Description

The World History AP course goes tremendously further than traditional history courses in requiring students to interpret primary sources, draw inferences based on larger repetitive themes and, in a very real way, become historians. While this course offers an opportunity to learn how to think critically and interact with the world on new levels, it would be untrue to proclaim the course does not have series of idiosyncrasies that make it a more challenging course…like teaching 10,000 years of history, test-taking and essay-writing skills. I believe, however, that with organization and preparation, with academic transparency and a commitment to joining this truly learning community, the select few who have chosen to embark down this path this year will be forever changed by the experience.

Sherer History Blog

Unit 11: The Great War

Section 1 Slide Show: SH_WWI_1.1 Commentary: SHERER_HISTORY_WWI_1.1 [8 min]

1: Setting the Stage
- Long-Term Causes
  - The Hague Tribunal
- Collective Security: The Alliance System
  - WW1 Alliances

Section 2 Slide Show: SH_WWI_1.2 Commentary: SHERER_HISTORY_WWI_1.2 [7 min]

2: The Guns of August
- The Powder Keg
  - Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand [cool video]

Section 3 Slide Show: SH_WWI_1.3 Commentary: SHERER_HISTORY_WWI_1.3

3: Total War
- Conventional Wisdom vs. Emerging Technology = War of Attrition
  - Weapons of War: Land, Air and Sea
  - Stalemate and Attrition
  - Christmas Truce of 1914 / Song
  - Dulce Et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owens [READING: foot notes are critical]

Section 4 Slide Show: SH_WWI_1.4 COMMENTARY: SHERER_HISTORY WWI_1.4

4. Winning A Total War
- Propaganda

Friday
Section 5 Slide Show: SH_WWI_1.5 COMMENTARY: SHERER_HISTORY_WWI_1.5

5. Looking Back; Looking Forward
- Armistice and Paris Peace Conference =Treaty of Versailles
  - Woodrow Wilson a racist? Read more about it here
  - League of Nations Senate Debate - Awesome primary source video
- Consequences Home and Abroad
  - The Rise and Fall of the Ottoman Empire [animated video]
  - Want to see what a trillion dollars look like? VIDEO
  - Armenian Genocide - Why is this still a controversy?
  - The Great War: Causes and Effects
- Flu Pandemic Lesson: COMMENTARY
  - Pre-DBQ Lesson:
    - 1918 Flu Pandemic Question Sheet
    - Alfred Crosby's Article (He write the book on the Great Dying we referenced during the Columbian Exchange)
    - Primary Source Charts & Graphs
    - Primary Source Headlines and Photos
    - Primary Source Excerpt: Atlanta, Marseilles, India, San Francisco and Frankfurt
  - DBQ
  - Additional Links:
    - Stanford University article
AP Skillz
- SAQ: What would be some great SAQ prompts related to this WWI unit?
- LEQ: What would be some possible essay prompts regarding this subject?
- DBQ:
  - 2015 AP DBQ - would be great if you gave this a shot an email it to me by Sunday
- DBQ Follow-Up
  - SLIDE SHOW
  - Link to Student Samples
  - Link to College Board Commentary
  - Additional Sample Link

Looking for a great film: All Quiet on the Western Front
- originally a book, obviously much better
- despite the movie being "old," I believe it captures the PURPOSE of the book in a powerful way without modern hig-budget film post production

Additional Avenues of Interest:

Peter Jackson's They Shall Not Grow Old - famous director/producer that colorized surviving WWI footage; breathtaking and powerful (no hobbits)
Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcast, The Great War
- Other Episodes of Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcast that I recommend
  - Painfotainment - History of Capital Punishment, bite-sized and amazing
  - Celtic Holocaust - Roman destruction of Celtic peoples under Caesar’s era
  - King of Kings - The history of the origins of Classical Persia

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Unit 11: The Great War

Crash Courses

Course Description