Notes: These are the 20th Century History plans updated in 2024. To see the old lesson plans, please see our Archived Lesson Plans page.
Level 4 20th Century History Lesson Plans
Introduction This year’s history study focuses on the twentieth century. Studying modern history has certain difficulties that do not apply to earlier periods: (1) Most history texts stop either at the beginning or in the middle of the twentieth century. (2) Those books that cover the whole century are more suitable for high school or adult reading, rather than younger teenagers. (3) The nature of twentieth century history means that secular books with material sufficiently challenging for this age group will almost always have problematic sections or images. (4) Books covering the entire century from a Catholic perspective simply aren’t available. Due to the lack of a narrative text suitable for this level to provide an overview of world history for this level we have selected texts for the West, the East, World War I, and World War II. These texts are scheduled for lessons three days a week. An optional fourth day can be added to address special topics: the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Iraq War, and apartheid in South Africa. A family may choose to cover all or none of these optional topics. These units rely heavily on primary source material (original documents from the period being studied). Where possible we have used books from the Witness to History series. These short books on a number of twentieth century history topics consist of double page spreads, with a brief introduction to an aspect of the topic complemented by an extract from an original document. They include sources from different perspectives, ranging from eyewitness accounts to newspaper reports and extracts from speeches and official documents. We have supplemented these with other accounts and documents that can be found online, including Catholic sources where possible. Time requirement: Three lessons weekly, of approximately 45 minutes each, plus supplementary reading. One additional lesson weekly is optional. Teacher involvement: While students can study the material alone, it is important to remember that twentieth century history is a heavy subject that includes distressing and emotive topics. Please make time to follow up your child’s history lessons with some discussion about what they are learning. This does not need to be formal discussion: conversation while doing dishes would be fine!
Stream 1 – The West REQUIRED: Note on Witness to History books: Sometimes these can be difficult to find. We have tried to provide online articles or resources to use instead of Witness to History. Note: The page numbers in the lesson plans below are for the 2011 edition. We hope to update with page numbers for the revised edition (2020/2021) in the near future. Witness to History: World War I by Sean Connolly Witness to History: World War II by Sean Connolly Stream 2 – The East Note on Witness to History books: Sometimes these can be difficult to find. We have tried to provide online articles or resources to use instead of Witness to History. Kingfisher History Encyclopedia Witness to History: The War in Vietnam by Michael Burgan Witness to History: Afghanistan by David Downing Twentieth Century Perspectives: Rise of Modern China by Tony Allan Twentieth Century Perspectives: The Cold War by David Taylor Witness to History: The Collapse of Communism by Stewart Ross Joseph Stalin: Dictator of the Soviet Union by Brenda Haugen – Note: This book is out of print and may be hard to find. Feel free to substitute any short biography of Stalin from your local library or to omit. Twentieth Century Perspectives: The Russian Revolution by Tony Allen Stream 3 – Optional Note on Witness to History books: Sometimes these can be difficult to find. We have tried to provide online articles or resources to use instead of Witness to History. Witness to History: The Arab-Israeli Conflict by Stewart Ross Witness to History: The War in Iraq by David Downing Witness to History: Apartheid in South Africa by David Downing Note on Websites This course makes use of a number of articles and primary source documents available through websites. You may wish to print these at the beginning of a unit ready for your student to use. Some of the sites may have ads that are distracting, at best. (History.com in particular has a lot of ads.) Also, websites can disappear or change their organization so articles can become hard to find. If you print at the beginning of the year, you don’t have to worry about them, and you can use the same articles for all your children, even as the internet changes. You could choose to approach a week’s work in one of two ways (or a mixture of both): (1) For each lesson spend 30 minutes reading, followed by a short written narration and / or map and timeline work (2) Spend two lessons reading, then use the entire third lesson for a longer written narration and map/timeline work For some units specific lesson breakdowns are given together with suggestions for narration and notebook work. These are only ideas: feel free to use them or ignore them as you choose. Note: All readings and videos should be narrated, either in writing or orally. Week 1 Day 1 – China 1, The East: Boxer Rebellion 1 Day 2 – National 1, United States: Seeds of Change 1 Day 3 – National 2, United States: Seeds of Change 2 Day 4 – Optional: South Africa 1: Boer War Week 2 Day 5 – China 2, The East: Boxer Rebellion 2 Day 6 – WWI 1, The West: The Beginning: Background Day 7 – WWI 2, The West: The Beginning: Causes Day 8 – Optional: Asia 1: India 1 Week 3 Day 9 – China 3, The East: Boxer Rebellion 3 Day 10 – WW1 3, The West: The Beginning: The Early Stages Day 11 – WW1 4, The West: Trench Warfare 1 Day 12 – Optional: South Africa 2: Boer War Week 4 Day 13 – WW1 5, The West: Trench Warfare 2 Day 14 – WW1 6, West: Trench Warfare 3 Day 15 – Russia 1, The East: Russian Revolution 1 Day 16 – Optional: South Africa 3: Boer War Week 5 Day 17 – WW1 7, The West: Eastern and Southern Fronts Day 18 – WW1 8, The West: Air War Day 19 – Russia 2, The East: Russian Revolution 2 Day 20 – Optional: South Africa 4: Boer War Week 6 Day 21 – WW1 9, The West: Sea War Day 22 – WW1 10, The West: The Later Stages: Uprising and Revolution Day 23 – Russia 3, The East: Russian Revolution 3 Day 24 – Optional: Catch-up / Review Week 7 Day 25 – WW1 11, The West: The Later Stages: America and the War Day 26 – WW1 12, The West: The Later Stages: War Poets Day 27 – Russia 4, The East: Communist Russia and the Church 1 Day 28 – Optional: Catch-up / Review Week 8 Day 29 – WW1 13, The West: The Church: Pope Benedict XV Day 30 – WW1 14, The West: The Church: An Emperor and a Chaplain Day 31 – WW1 15, The West: Fatima Day 32 – Optional: Middle East 1: The British Mandate in Palestine Week 9 Day 33 – WW1 16, The West: The End of the War: The Armistice Day 34 – WW1 17, The West: Treaty of Versailles Day 35 – WW1 18, The West: The Aftermath Day 36 – Optional: China 4: Chinese Republic 1 Week 10 Day 37 – National 3, United States: Boom to Bust 1 Day 38 – National 4, United States: Boom to Bust 2 Day 39 – National 5, United States: Boom to Bust 3 Day 40 – Optional: China 5, Chinese Republic 2 Week 11 Day 41 – National 6, United States: Stormy Weather Day 42 – WWII 1, The West: Fascism Day 42 – WWII 2, The West: Hitler and Life in Germany Day 43 – Optional: China 6: Chinese Republic 3 Week 12 Exam Week – example exam questions. Choose one question for each of two days. Week 13 Day 46 – Russia 5, The East: Communist Russia and the Church 2 Day 47 – WWII 3, The West: Beginning of the War Day 48 – WWII 4, The West: Britain and the Blitz: Dunkirk Day 49 – Optional: China 7, China at War I Week 14 Day 50 – Russia 6, The East: Communist Russia and the Church 3 Day 51 – WWII 5, The West: Britain and the Blitz: The Battle of Britain Day 52 – WWII 6, The West: Britain and the Blitz: The Blitz Day 53 – Optional: China 8: China at War 2 Week 15 Day 54- WWII 7, The West: World War: Pearl Harbor Day 55 – WWII 8, The West: The War Continues: War in Asia Day 56 – WWII 9, The West: Russia Day 57 – Optional: China 9: China at War 2 Week 16 Day 58 – WWII 10, The West: Africa Day 59 – WWII 11, The West: War at Sea Day 60 – WWII 12, The West: War-Time Life Day 61 – Optional: South Africa 5: Apartheid Week 17 Day 62 – WWII 13, The West: The Holocaust Day 63 – Middle East 2, The East: The Birth of Israel Day 64 – WWII 14, The West: The Church, the War and the Jews Day 65 – Optional: South Africa 6: Apartheid Week 18 Day 66 – Russia 7, The East: Stalinist Russia 1 Day 67 – WWII 15, The West: D-Day and the War in Europe Day 68 – WWII 16, The West: The End of the War and the Aftermath: The Final Stages Day 69 – Optional: Middle East 3: Early Years Week 19 Day 70 – Russia 8, The East: Stalinist Russia 2 Day 71 – WWII 17, The West: Hiroshima and Nagasaki Day 72 – WWII 18, The West: After the War Day 73 – Optional: Middle East 4: The Six-Day War Week 20 Day 74 – Russia 9, The East: Stalinist Russia 3 Day 75 – Asia 2, The East: India 2 Day 76 – China 10, The East: Post-War China 1 Day 77 – Optional: Middle East 5: Yom Kippur War Week 21 Day 78 – Asia 3, The East: Korea Day 79 – Asia 4, The East: Korea Day 80 – Asia 5, The East: Korea Day 81 – Optional: Middle East 6: The Intifada Week 22 Day 82 – Optional: South Africa 7: Nelson Mandela and the End of Apartheid Day 83 – National 7, United States: Mass Markets 1 Day 84 – National 8, United States: Mass Markets 2 Day 85 – Optional: Middle East 7: Terror and Counter-Terror Week 23 Day 86 – National 9, United States: Into the Streets 1 Day 87 – Russia 10, The East: The Cold War 1 Day 88 – National 10, United States: Into the Streets 2 Day 89 – Optional: Middle East 8: Conclusion Week 24 Exam Week – example exam questions. Choose one question for each of two days. Week 25 Day 91 – Asia 6, The East: Vietnam 1 Day 92 – Asia 7, The East: Vietnam 2 Day 93 – Asia 8, The East: Vietnam 3 Day 94 – Optional: China 11: Post-War China 2 Week 26 Day 95 – Asia 9, The East: Vietnam 4 Day 96 – Asia 10, The East: Vietnam 5 Day 97 – Asia 11, The East: Vietnam 6 Day 98 – Optional: China 12: Post-War China 3 Week 27 Day 99 – National 11, United States: Years of Doubt 1 Day 100 – National 12, United States: Years of Doubt 2 Day 101 – Russia 11, The East: The Cold War 2 Day 102 – Optional: China 13, Post-War China 4 Week 28 Day 103 – Russia 12, The East: The Cold War 3 Day 104 – National 13, United States: New Morning 1 Day 105 – Russia 13, The East: Fall of Communism 1 Day 106 – Optional: China 14, Post-War China 5 Week 29 Day 107 – National 14, United States: New Morning 2 Day 108 – Russia 14, The East: Fall of Communism 2 Day 109 – National 15, United States: New Morning 3 Day 110 – Optional: China 15, Post-War China 6 Week 30 Day 111 – Russia 15, The East: Fall of Communism 3 Day 112 – Russia 16, The East: John Paul II and the Fall of Communism 1 Day 113 – Russia 17, The East: John Paul II and the Fall of Communism 2 Day 114 – Optional: Asia 12: Afghanistan Week 31 Day 115 – Russia 18, The East: John Paul II and the Fall of Communism 3 Day 116 – National 16, United States: Machine Dreams 1 Day 117 – National 17, United States: Machine Dreams 2 Day 118 – Optional: Asia 13: Afghanistan Week 32 Day 119 – Middle East 9, The East: Iraq War: Introduction Day 120 – Middle East 10, The East: Iraq War: Saddam’s Wars Day 121 – National 18, United States: Machine Dreams 3 Day 122 – Optional: Asia 14: Afghanistan Week 33 Day 123 – Middle East 11, The East: Iraq War: The Case for War Day 124 – Middle East 12, The East: Iraq War: The Case Against War Day 125 – Middle East 13, The East: Iraq War: Fighting the War Day 126 – Optional: Asia 15: Afghanistan Week 34 Day 127 – Middle East 14, The East: Iraq War: Effects of the War Day 128 – Middle East 15, The East: Iraq War: End of the War Day 129 – Middle East 16, The East: Iraq War: After the War Day 130 – Optional: Asia 16: Afghanistan Week 35 Day 131 – Middle East 17, The East: Iraq War: Outlook Day 132 – Optional: Asia 17: Afghanistan Days 133-134 – Catch-up / Review Week 36 Exam Week – example exam questions. Choose one question for each of two days.Key Texts
Lesson Format
