Name:______

Due date: Week commencing 5th September, first week back

You must complete all sections in this Transition project booklet.

Everything completed in here will be referred to in the first lesson in September. We will also be having a debate about the information you have learnt.

It is vital you complete all tasks!

Introduction Lesson: Was Bismarck responsible for the unification of Germany in 1871?

Learning Objective: To explain the causes of an event in history

Today we will be: Evaluating whether Bismarck was the only cause for the unification of Germany by 1871

Key words:

Confederation = group of states having separate internal governments with control over domestic policies but working together in matters of common interest

Bund = type of confederation

Diet = an assembly or parliament

Bundesrat = ruling body of Germany at Frankfurt

Prussia = the largest of the German states

Zollverein = aninternal German customs union created in 1834 that agreed to abandon customs barriers and to create a free trade zone for their goods between the states

Liberals = a more forward and free-thinker; usually an individual that is concerned with human rights i.e. equality

Nationalists = an individual who loves their country or their nation i.e. their cultural identity

Vorparlament = German parliament

Grossdeutschland = big Germany

Kleindeutschland = small Germany

Junker = the class of landowning aristocrats in Prussia; usually a civil servant

Constitution = the laws/rules of how a country is governed

Unification = bringing together of something i.e. the bringing together of a nation or peoples

Section 1: Germany before 1871

Read pages 1-3 of the handout.

Write 2-3 sentences explaining why each of the dates and eventsbelow were significant in German history.

The first one has been completed for you. Copy this example to get you started.

  • 1815, terms of the Vienna settlement
  • 1815, Federal Act creating the Bund
  • 1834, Zollverein
  • 1815-1848, Vormarz years
  • 1848-49, German revolution
  • 1849 Grossdeutchsland and Kleindeutschland debate

Section 2: Bismarck – the man and his aims

Read pages 4-7 of the handout.

Find a picture of Bismarck, cut it out and stick him down in the middle of your page.

i)On the left-hand side of the picture write down what happenedin Bismarck’s life for each of the key dates below:

1815

1839

1847

1848

1858

1862

ii)On the right-hand side of the picture write down want Bismarck’s aims were in the 1850s and 1860s.

Section 3: Factors helping Bismarck achieve German unification

Read pages 8-10 of the handout.

This part of the handout focuses on how Bismarck and other factors helped to unify Germany before 1870. (Note: Germany became a unified country by 1871).

You must create a spider-diagram like the one below.

Make bullet point notes around each factor that shows how it helped Germany to become a unified country.

Section 4: Summary of the learning

Use your completed spider-diagram to help you answer the question below in 2-3 PEEL paragraphs:

Use the success criteria below to help you write your answer.

You must complete the Grade C box first, before you move on to the Grade B and A boxes.

Success Criteria:

Learning Outcome / Grade C / Grade B / Grade A
I can explain different causes for the unification of Germany / Explain one reason why Bismarck caused German unification / Explain another cause for German unification, that was not because of Bismarck / Come to an overall conclusion by making a judgement. Was Bismarck the cause of German unification or was it something else?
Sentence starters / One reason why Germany became a more unified nation was because of Bismarck.
This was because…
For example…
Therefore, Bismarck was one main reason why Germany became a more unified country because… / On the other hand, Bismarck was not the only reason for Germany becoming more unified. A second cause was…
This was because…
For example…
Therefore,..was also a cause for Germany becoming more unified because… / To a large extent, Bismarck was/was not the main reason why Germany became a more unified country. This was because…
However, to a lesser extent, Germany would not have become a unified nation if it had not been for the cause of…
This was because…

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