Turkish Republic · 1919-1938

Atatürk and the new Turkish Republic

Out of the defeated Ottoman Empire, Mustafa Kemal built a new state. After a war of independence the Republic of Turkey was proclaimed in 1923, with Ankara as its capital. Students follow the war on the map and weigh his sweeping reforms.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
45 minutes
Ages
12–15
On the map
3 steps, AD 1938
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

Out of the defeated Ottoman Empire, Mustafa Kemal built a new state. After a war of independence the Republic of Turkey was proclaimed in 1923, with Ankara as its capital. Students follow the war on the map and weigh his sweeping reforms.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Describe how the Turkish national movement won the war of 1919-1922.
  • Locate Ankara and explain why it became the capital instead of Istanbul.
  • Evaluate Atatürk's reforms from different points of view.
2

Explore the map

12 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1938

A new state

Compare 1920 and 1938 with the time slider. Watch the Ottoman Sultanate become Turkey. Which lands did the new republic keep?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1938

A new capital

Zoom in on Ankara in the middle of Anatolia. Then find Istanbul on the Bosporus. Why might Atatürk prefer a capital in the heart of the country?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1938

A city renamed

Turn on the Cities layer and compare 1914 and 1938 at the Bosporus. Ask the atlas: "When did Constantinople officially become Istanbul?"

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

14 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Why did many Turks reject the Treaty of Sèvres of 1920?
  2. Atatürk replaced the Arabic script with a Latin alphabet in 1928. What would change for a child learning to read?
  3. Turkish women got the vote in national elections in 1934, earlier than in France or Italy. Why would a new republic want that?
  4. In 1923 Greece and Turkey exchanged their minorities: about 1.2 million Orthodox Christians and about 400,000 Muslims had to move. What did that cost ordinary families?
  5. Not everyone agreed with the reforms: religious leaders and Kurdish groups rose in revolt. How should we judge a reformer who ruled with a firm hand?
4

Game round

9 min

Play one round of Rule History as Peter the Great, who also forced fast Western-style reforms on his country and built a new capital. Then compare his choices with those of Atatürk.

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.