OCR - AS GCE European and World History
Period Studies
F 962
Unit 1 Europe and the World: Germany, 1919-63
Teaching Activities
Try the following with your students:
- Using the two exemplar essays, discuss the importance and purpose of essay planning in successfully answering an AS essay question.
- Compare the introductions and/or conclusions of the two exemplar essays. Which is the more effective and why?
- Both essays refer to a number of reasons: The impact of the First World War and Versailles; the weaknesses of the Weimar Republic; the impact of the Depression; fear of communism; Hitler's abilities and leadership; Nazi propaganda, organisation and actions; the 'backstairs intrigue' of key Weimar politicians in 1932-33. You may identify other factors. Discuss the relative merits of each factor - perhaps using a mark out of 10 as a rough guide. Use the discussion to introduce relevant analytical language about the reasons (long term, short term, contributory, direct, indirect, etc.)
- Using the same reasons, build up a spider diagram to show the links between the reasons - this can be done by the students in groups or pairs on an A3 sheet for example, or using cards with the reasons on.
- How would the approach to the essay in the two exemplars need to change if the question was: 'The main reason for Hitler's rise to power lay in his speeches and propaganda. How far do you agree with this judgement?'?