Indiana Social Studies WH.6.1
The Standard
Identify and explain the impact of nationalism, imperialism, militarism, and alliances on relationships between countries.
2026 Indiana Academic Standards: K-12 Social Studies
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students identify demands for national self-rule, disputes over colonies, military buildup, and defense pacts in events from the early 1900s. They explain how each changed relations between named countries.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can explain why Serbian support for Slavs in Austria-Hungary raised tensions between the two countries. They can connect the Morocco dispute to French-German rivalry and battleship building to British-German distrust. They can explain how the France-Russia pact gave each country a partner against Germany.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think nationalism means only pride in one's country, missing demands for self-rule. They may confuse military buildup with imperialism. Some assume a defense pact meant every ally had to fight in every dispute.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: Explain how British-German battleship building and the France-Russia pact each changed relations between countries before World War I.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
On a 1914 map, pairs place cards for Serbian nationalism, Morocco, British-German battleships, and the France-Russia pact, then draw tension or support arrows.
Ask students which raised tensions more in 1914, British-German battleship building or the France-Russia pact, and require one specific consequence.
Read four cards on Morocco, battleship building, Serbian nationalism, and the France-Russia pact; students race to hold up the matching factor label.
Show a NATO member map and ask how a mutual defense promise might change a member's response to an attack.
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Printable WH.6.1 Worksheet
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