Subject: Social Studies
Lesson Length: 55 - 60 mins
Topic: The Interwar Years and the Events Leading to WWII
Brief Description: Students will investigate key events during the interwar years that indirectly or directly lead to World War II.
Know Before You Start:
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It helps for students to have an understanding of the effects of WWI.
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Remind students that the “interwar years” means the period of time between WWI and WWII.
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Vocabulary e.g., League of Nations, Treaty of Versailles, Great Depression, reparations.
Hook:
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Ask students to remember and discuss a significant event in their lives.
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Introduce the expression “hindsight is 20/20” and discuss with students how they might change the course of that event after looking back at what happened.
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Lead this into a discussion of how historians view the interwar years.
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Read and discuss the sample comic.
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What might have prevented an evil leader such as Hitler from coming to power?
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Could anything have been done during the interwar years to prevent his rise to power?
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Activity: It’s time to describe historical events in a comic.
Assign each student a significant event from the interwar years (1920-1939). Events may include:
- Benito Mussolini becoming Premier.
- The Beer Hall Putsch.
- The Munich Pact.
- Stalin takes control of the Soviet government.
- The Locarno Pacts.
Using the sample comic as a guide, have them create a two-to-three-panel comic describing this event. Comics should include:
- The significance of the event and its connection to WWII.
- The date of the occurrence.
- The important people and/or places that played a role.
Closure:
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Have students create a class timeline using their printed comics or simply write the name of the event on a timeline on the board.
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You may choose to have students present their finished comics to the class.
Differentiation:
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Students can work independently or in groups.
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Display comic expectations for independent work.
Resources: Comic to print or display: Comic.
Suggested Content Pack(s):
World War II
