Interwar years · 1936-1939

The Spanish Civil War

In July 1936 army officers rose against Spain's elected government. For three years Spaniards fought Spaniards, while Germany, Italy and the Soviet Union sent weapons and volunteers came from across the world. Students locate the war on the map and ask why Europe cared so much.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
13–16
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

In July 1936 army officers rose against Spain's elected government. For three years Spaniards fought Spaniards, while Germany, Italy and the Soviet Union sent weapons and volunteers came from across the world. Students locate the war on the map and ask why Europe cared so much.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Explain why Spain split into two sides in 1936.
  • Locate key places of the war: Spanish Morocco, Madrid, Barcelona and the Ebro.
  • Explain why foreign countries and volunteers took part in a Spanish war.
2

Explore the map

15 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

Spain in 1938

Open the map in 1938 and find Spain and Spanish Morocco across the Strait of Gibraltar. Why did a rebellion that began in Morocco need ships or planes?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1938

Madrid

Zoom in on Madrid in the center of Spain. Ask the atlas: "How long did Madrid hold out in the Spanish Civil War?" Why was the capital so important to both sides?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1938

Europe takes sides

Zoom out over Europe. Find Germany, Italy and the USSR. Ask the atlas: "Which countries helped each side in the Spanish Civil War?" Why did Britain and France stay out?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

15 min

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

  1. Why did army officers rise against Spain's elected government in July 1936?
  2. Volunteers came from dozens of countries to fight for the Republic in the International Brigades. Why would someone risk their life in another country's war?
  3. Hitler and Mussolini sent planes and troops to help Franco. What did they gain from it?
  4. Picasso painted "Guernica" after German planes bombed the town in 1937. Can a painting change how people see a war?
  5. Franco ruled Spain until 1975. How should a country remember a civil war in which neighbors fought neighbors?
4

Game round

10 min

Play one round of Rule History as Julius Caesar, who also fought a civil war and won sole power. Then compare: how did Franco win in 1939, and what did his victory mean for the Spaniards who had backed the Republic?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

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