Growing international tension in the early 1900s
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain how increased tension in Europe towards the end of the nineteenth century led to the formation of military alliances.
Key learning points
- The increasing influence of Germany in the early twentieth century caused anxiety in Britain.
- Germany signed a military alliance with Italy and Austria-Hungary in 1882, known as the Triple Alliance.
- By 1907, Britain had formed a military alliance with Russia and France, known as the Triple Entente.
- In the early twentieth century powers in Europe began building up their militaries, known as the 'arms race'.
Keywords
Alliance - an alliance is a relationship between two (or more) countries for a particular purpose
Arms race - an arms race is a competition between nations for military superiority and the development of weapons
Military - the military is anything related to the armed forces of a country
Kaiser - Kaiser is the German word for emperor
Empire - an empire is a group of states or countries ruled over by a single country or monarch
Common misconception
Everyone knew what was agreed by countries which had made alliances before the start of the war.
Explain that important parts of the alliance agreements were not made public so other countries did not know about them.
Teacher tip
For the discussion activity on slide 14, encourage pupils to think about 'place in the sun' literally and metaphorically.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Put these events in chronological order, starting with the earliest.
Q2.What is an empire?
Q3.Which of these nations was believed to have the largest empire in the late 1800s?
Q4.Match the words with the correct definitions.
Q5.Which two of the following had made Britain wealthy by the 1800s?
Q6.Who ruled Britain in the late 1800s?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.When was Germany unified?
Q2.Who ruled Germany at the start of the 20th century?
Q3.Match each country to the correct alliance.
Q4.Starting with the earliest, sort the following events into the order in which they happened
Q5.Which of the following was a cause of tension in Europe from 1871-1914?
Q6.Which the following best explains why growing tensions in Europe led to alliances?
To help you plan your 9 history lesson on: Growing international tension in the early 1900s, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 9 history lesson on: Growing international tension in the early 1900s, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 history lessons from the World War One: how 'total' was it for people in the British Empire? unit, dive into the full secondary history curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.