Through an analysis of primary and secondary sources, students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain the Munich Accords of 1938, what issues were inherent with the “Czechoslovakian Question” and how Chamberlain’s policy of appeasing Hitler at Munich ultimately emboldened the German chancellor to go after even more territory.

Through an in-depth analysis of various primary and secondary sources, students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain the story behind the Prague Spring of 1968, what reforms Dubcek and his comrades tried to implement, how the people took to the new reforms, and ultimately how the Soviets and other Warsaw Pact countries responded to what was going on in Czechoslovakia.

Through the investigation of primary and secondary sources, students here will identify, understand and be able to explain the details of how Figueres came to power in Costa Rica in 1948, what changes to Costa Rican domestic society he instituted by executive decree or supervised through overseeing the writing of a new constitution, how he positioned Costa Rica as a powerbroker in international circles, and how the legacy of Don Pepe is seen by the people of Costa Ricans today as they move forward into the twenty-first century. For American students using this lesson in Spanish classes, there will be specific primary and secondary sources in Spanish, although most of the lesson plan will be in English.

Through an analysis of primary and secondary sources, including a full text reading of the Austrian Ultimatum to Serbia 1914 and the official Serbian response, students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain the main provisions of the Austrian ultimatum, the major points of Serbia’s response, and how Austria’s hardline stance against Serbia during the July Crisis of 1914 set in motion the series of events that led to the opening of the Great War.

Through an in-depth analysis of various primary and secondary sources, students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain Enlightened Despotism in the Hapsburg Lands under the reign of Joseph II, in particular the decision to abolish serfdom, the legalizing of different religious denominations, and how the emperor strove to unite his divided, multinational empire under an equal system of laws.