Oklahoma Social Studies TOT.C.6.3
The Standard
Identify Hitler’s motivations for the annexations of Austria and the Sudetenland, as well as the invasion of Poland.
Oklahoma Academic Standards for Social Studies (2026)
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 expanding Nazi control.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students use a map and a source detail to explain the motives behind each move. They explain how taking the Sudetenland weakened Czechoslovakia, and why the invasion of Poland went beyond claims about Danzig.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may treat all three moves as attempts to unite German speakers. Some accept Nazi claims that Poland attacked Germany, rather than recognizing those claims as a pretext for invasion.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: For Austria, the Sudetenland, and Poland, write one reason Hitler gave and one wider goal. Support one answer with a detail from a map or source.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give students a 1937 Europe map and tracing paper; have them mark each territorial change and label what Germany gained.
Ask: How did Hitler's public claims differ from his goals in Poland? Write two sentences using a source excerpt.
Give pairs nine motive cards to sort under Austria, the Sudetenland, or Poland; have them defend one choice with a map clue.
Show a recent news headline about a territorial claim; students mark who made the claim, the stated reason, and what evidence is missing.
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Printable TOT.C.6.3 Worksheet
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