Did the Alliance System make war more likely or less likely?
How far did colonial problems create tensions between the Great Powers?
Why were problems in the Balkans so difficult for the Great Powers to solve?
How did the assassination of Franz Ferdinand lead to war?
Although this topic is being tested in Paper 2 this year, it will also be tested in Paper 1. So it is a good idea to have a look at some of the past paper questions on World War One as well.
1. Fling the Teacher Challenge: The Causes of World War One
Start your revision by playing this game until you successfully "fling the teacher"! If you are working with a class of students, why not award 20 points to the person who finishes first, 18 points to the person who finishes second, and so on. Play a "Fling" quiz for each of the key topics during the revision period and build up a leaderboard of the top scorers over the course of several lessons!
3. Causes of World War One: Summary Sheet
This one-sided handout provides an overview of the main causes of World War One for consideration.
1. Paper 1 Markscheme with sample answers relating to the Causes of World War One
Although the Causes of World War One will be tested in Paper 2, it will also be tested in Paper 1. Reading through this markscheme and the sample answers will be good way to start your revision process.
2. Past Exam Questions with structured research task
This handout provides a breakdown of the most recent questions from the examination focusing on the Causes of World War One. It then provides advice about how to prepare revision notes for each area using this template.
4. Causes of World War One: Connecting the Factors
A diagram which helps students to connect the various causes together rather than simply list them.
5. Sourcework Exercise: The Causes of World War One
Six important sources, each one looking at a different cause of the war, with questions and suggested approaches.
Worksheets and activities: Causes of World War One
The main section on the ActiveHistory site, with comprehensive lesson materials.
How to do sourcework: animation | article
Sourcework Markschemes and Sample Answers (sample answers focus on Causes of WW2)
20th Century Cartoonists: David Low, Bernard Partridge
The University of Kent Cartoon Hub: Fantastic Database of Cartoons to search through
Classtools.net "PostIt" Tool: Import a cartoon into the template, then annotate it