First World War · 1914-1918

A world war: Africa, Asia and the Middle East

The First World War was not only fought in Europe. African soldiers and carriers fought in East Africa, Japan seized a German port in China and Arab forces rose against Ottoman rule. Students follow the war across the 1914 map of empires.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
12–15
On the map
3 steps, AD 1914
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

The First World War was not only fought in Europe. African soldiers and carriers fought in East Africa, Japan seized a German port in China and Arab forces rose against Ottoman rule. Students follow the war across the 1914 map of empires.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Name three places outside Europe where the First World War was fought.
  • Explain why colonial empires turned a European war into a world war.
  • Describe the role of soldiers and carriers from Africa and Asia.
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 1914

Empires in 1914

Open the map in 1914 and zoom out over Africa. Find the colonies of Britain, France and Germany. Where do German and Allied colonies share a border?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1914

German East Africa

Zoom in on German East Africa (later Tanganyika). Find Tanga on the coast. Ask the atlas: "Who was Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck?" How long did his campaign last?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1914

The Arab Revolt

Travel to the Red Sea coast of Arabia. Find Mecca, then follow the coast north to Aqaba. Why would Red Sea ports matter so much in a desert war?

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 a war that started in the Balkans spread to Africa, Asia and the Pacific?
  2. In East Africa most of the fighting and carrying was done by Africans. What did they gain from this war, and what did they lose?
  3. Japan joined the Allies in 1914. What did Japan gain in China and the Pacific?
  4. The Arab Revolt began in 1916. What did Arab leaders hope to win, and were those hopes met after the war?
  5. Should the First World War be called a world war? Give two arguments.
4

Game round

10 min

Play one round of Rule History as Mansa Musa, ruler of the great West African empire of Mali. Then discuss: by 1914 almost all of Africa was ruled by European empires. Who made the decisions for Africans in the First World War?

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.