World History
The World Wars
(1914-1945)
Unit Compelling Questions
Instructions: Choose one or more Compelling Questions (CQ) for the unit based on your available time. Each Supporting Question (SQ) is sequenced and scaffolded for the Compelling Question.
Note: Starred (*) Compelling Questions are in the H.S. World History example Planning & Pacing Guide.
CQ: Does war win peace?
Student Workbook
Student Slides:
Staging the Compelling Question
SQ 1: What Were the Underlying Causes of World War I? (DBQ World History V3)
SQ 2: How did the Great War trigger the Communist Revolution?
SQ 3: What were attitudes toward the armistice ending World War I? (DIG)
SQ 4: How well did the peace treaties of the Great War address the causes of the war?
SQ 5: How Did the Versailles Treaty Help Cause World War II? (DBQ World History V3)
District Assessment: Summative Performance Task
Take Action (Optional)
CQ: Can peace lead to war? (C3 Teachers)
Teacher Guide
Student Workbook
Student Slides:
Staging the Compelling Question
SQ 1: What did President Woodrow Wilson mean by "peace without victory"?
SQ 2: What did Germany lose by signing the Treaty of Versailles?
SQ 3: Why was Germany blamed for World War I?
SQ 4: Did the German reparations payments stipulated in the Treaty of Versailles set the stage for World War II?
District Assessment: Summative Performance Task
Take Action (Optional)
CQ: How is inequity experienced?
Teacher Guide
Student Workbook
Student Slides:
Staging the Compelling Question
SQ 1: How did Global Depression create inequalities around the world?
SQ 2: Did Atatürk’s reforms actually improve the status of women in Turkey? (SHEG)
SQ 3: What happened at the start of the Women’s War of 1929? (SHEG)
District Assessment: Summative Performance Task
Take Action (Optional)
CQ: How does totalitarianism change over time?
Teacher Guide
Student Workbook
Student Slides:
Staging the Compelling Question
SQ 1: How did the rise of totalitarian government oppress individuals and groups?
SQ 2: What happened during the Japanese invasion of Nanking? (SHEG)
SQ 3: Was appeasement the right policy for England in 1938? (SHEG)
SQ 4: How did the Nazi party convince 99% of Germans to vote in favor of the annexation of Austria? (SHEG)
SQ 5: How did the Sino-Japanese rivalry influence Asia’s role in global conflict?
District Assessment: Summative Performance Task
Take Action (Optional)
CQ: How does World War II change over time?
Teacher Guide
Student Workbook
Student Slides:
Staging the Compelling Question
SQ 1: What caused World War II?
SQ 2: Why Did Japan Attack Pearl Harbor? (DBQ American History V2)
SQ 3: How did the Allied Powers achieve victory in World War II?
SQ 4: How did the world wars lead to challenges to Western power?
SQ 5: How did the end of World War II create new global problems?
District Assessment: Summative Performance Task
Take Action (Optional)
CQ: How can power be dangerous?
Teacher Guide
Student Workbook
Student Slides:
Staging the Compelling Question
SQ 1: What conditions and ideas made the Holocaust possible?
SQ 2: How did Jewish people resist during the Holocaust?
SQ 3: How does the Armenian genocide compare to the Holocaust?
SQ 4: How does the use of technology in World War I and World War II compare?
SQ 5: How should we remember the dropping of the atomic bomb? (SHEG)
District Assessment: Summative Performance Task
Take Action (Optional)