World War Two, the steps to war

A differentiated card sort exercise identifying and connecting the steps that led from the armistice to the start of WW2.

What's included

• Differentiated card sort worksheets – match dates with either 15 or 9 key historical events
• Teacher’s notes and answer key

Download the FREE printable PDF or subscribers can access the editable Word doc version.

How to use this resource

This card sort exercise identifies 15 key events leading to World War II. It suggests a relationship between the end of WW1 and the beginning of WW2.

It makes a great plenary or homework exercise.  An alternative approach would be to use it as an introduction to the topic of World War II to gain an impression of the extent of the prior knowledge of your students.  In the latter case, it might be more manageable to leave out the dates initially and simply sequence the events.

This resource currently stops in 1939.  However, later events e.g. the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour could also be added. It could be extended by asking students to explain the link between each consecutive event.