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7th grade · Social Studies · Unit 5 of 10

World War I

Causes, trenches and the peace

What your child practices

The causes of World War I, why the United States entered in 1917, trench warfare, limits on civil liberties at home, and the debate over the peace and the League of Nations.

Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards benchmark: 7.4.21.2; 7.2.7.1 · the changing role of the United States in the world, and the costs of decisions made in wartime

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Causes: alliances, militarism, empires and nationalism. The United States entered in April 1917.
  2. Trench warfare left “no man’s land” between trenches; new weapons included machine guns, gas, tanks and planes.
  3. At home, farms grew more wheat and some civil liberties were limited. Afterward, the US turned to isolationism.

Example: What was “no man’s land”? Armies dug trenches facing each other. The open ground between them belonged to no one. Answer: the open ground between enemy trenches

World War I in Minnesota

In the Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards, this is unit 5 of 10 in 7th grade Social Studies, after Rights & Amendments and before Depression & New Deal.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Minnesota Department of Education (MDE)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    When the war began in 1914, the United States…

    • invaded Europe
    • joined Russia
    • declared neutrality
    • joined Germany

  2. Question 2

    Russia left World War I in 1918 after…

    • being conquered by the US
    • joining the Central Powers
    • winning the war
    • a revolution brought communists to power

  3. Question 3

    Americans on the home front supported the war by…

    • refusing to work
    • closing all factories
    • moving to Germany
    • buying Liberty Bonds and saving food

  4. Question 4

    The Espionage Act (1917) and Sedition Act (1918)…

    • protected all speech
    • ended the draft
    • limited speech and actions against the war
    • gave women the vote

  5. Question 5

    In trench warfare,…

    • battles lasted an hour
    • soldiers fought only at sea
    • soldiers fought from long ditches, and neither side could easily advance
    • armies marched in open fields

  6. Question 6

    Why did women's work during World War I help the suffrage movement?

    • it showed their contributions and strengthened the case for voting rights
    • women were banned from work
    • it ended the movement
    • it had no connection

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