The Causes of WWI (the Schlieffen Plan)

Date: 04/04/2023

Grade: Year 10

Time: 2 hours

Objectives: by the end of the session students will

 Understand and be able to discuss the major causes of World War I.

 Be able to describe the opening moves of the war in Europe.
 Be able to describe the Schlieffen Plan and its modifications prior to August 1914.
 Begin to understand why the opening moves of the war did not go as anyone planned.

Lesson plan
Notes

Resources

Starter Write down the acronym MAIN and ask students to write what each letter stands for
idea(s) (on their white boards)

Activity 1

Play a PPT about the Causes

Students answer the worksheet “causes”

Activity 2

Students will answer these questions on their whiteboards

 What dangers did Germany face from the “two-front” war?

 What should Germany do?
Activity 3

Give students the Schlieffen Plan worksheet (they read until assumption and answer
Content from Q1 to Q 5)
idea(s)
Play PPT (stop before failures

Activity 4

Ask students why did the Schlieffen Plan fail?

Play video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9WsVIT0AD0

Give students the Schlieffen plan failure worksheet

Go back to the Schlieffen plan worksheet to read reality and then answer Q 6 + Q 7

Resume PPT : failures

Wrap up The Schlieffen Plan Board Game

Follow up Plenary