Alabama Social Studies SS24.HOS.11a
The Standard
- SS24.HOS.11
- Summarize the events leading to the outbreak of World War II and how Germany’s actions violated the Treaty of Versailles.*
Analyze Hitler’s motivations for the annexations of Austria and the Sudetenland and the invasion of Poland.
2024 Alabama Course of Study: Social Studies · The War in Europe
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students explain why Hitler targeted Austria, the Sudetenland, and Poland. They separate his public claims about German speakers and lost territory from his goals of gaining land and control.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can explain how claims about German speakers helped justify taking Austria and the Sudetenland. They can explain why the invasion of Poland went beyond a border dispute, using a map or speech excerpt as evidence.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think all three moves were only about uniting German speakers. They may mistake the Sudetenland for a country or confuse the Munich Agreement with the invasion of Poland.
How to Assess It
- Give students a three-row chart labeled Austria, Sudetenland, and Poland. Ask them to write one public claim and one broader goal for each move.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give students a 1937 Europe map and three sticky notes; have them mark each target and write one reason Hitler wanted it.
Read short excerpts from Hitler's 1938 and 1939 speeches; ask which claims leave out his plans for expansion.
Run a nine-card match: pair each target with a public claim and a broader goal, then defend one match.
Compare a current map of Europe with a 1939 map; mark the borders Hitler tried to change and the countries there today.
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