NY State Curriculum Notes 

World War I

1. Europe: the physical setting

2. Causes

   1. Assassination of the Arch Duke

3. Impacts

4. Effects of scientific/technological advances on warfare

5. Armenian Massacre

6. Collapse of the Ottoman Empire

7. The war as reflected in literature, art, and propaganda

8. Treaty of Versailles

Students analyze documents and artifacts related to the study of World War I. They should be asked to consider which events of the first half of the 20th century were turning points.

• What role did nationalism and imperialism play in World War I?

• What role did technology play?

• To what extent were the issues that caused World War I resolved?

• In what ways did World War I raise fundamental questions regarding justice and human rights? 

• To what extent were World War I and the Russian Revolution turning points?

• What role did women play in the war?

• To what extent was the collapse of the Ottoman Empire like the fall of the Han and Roman empires and the collapse of the Soviet Union?

• Why might the Germans, French, and British view the causes of World War I differently?

Suggested Documents: Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front

Mustafa Kemal, Proclamation of the Young Turks

WWI General Sites

• World War I: Trenches on the Web. It is best to start at the Library Page 
  Covers many aspects of the war, with efforts at interactive presentation.
• BBC- World War One Homepage
• First World War.com
• Encyclopedia of the First World War
• History Wiz World War One Site
• The World War I Document Archive has hundreds of documents.
• Documents of World War I 
• Balkan History Documents, 1456-1997
• Hague Conventions
• The Great War: A Multimedia Exhibit 
• World War I Political Cartoons
• World War One Movies