Island School History
  • Home
  • Y7/8 MYP
  • Y9 History
    • 1. Innovation & Industry >
      • 1. Causes
      • 2. Innovations
      • 3. Conditions
      • 4. Changes
      • 5. Sources
      • 6-7. Assessment 1 >
        • The USA
      • 8. Reflection
    • 2. Empire and Expansion >
      • 1. What is an Empire?
      • 2. Benefits of an Empire
      • 3. Negatives of Empire expansion
      • 4. Perspectives on Empires
      • 5. Assessment
    • 3. Rebellion and Revolution >
      • 1. Why do people protest?
      • 2. What are the causes of revolutions?
      • 3. What are the methods of protest?
      • 4. What are the consequences of protests?
      • 5. Assessment
      • Student Work
    • 4. War and Conflict >
      • 1. Causes of WW2
      • 2. Did that really happen here? WW2 in Hong Kong
      • 3. Why did the War extend to Hong Kong?
      • 4. How did the War affect Hong Kong?
      • 5. Assessment
    • Old History >
      • 1. Hong Kong Story >
        • Further Reading
      • 2. The Slave Trade
      • 3. The First World War
      • 4. The Changing Role of Women
  • Elements
    • Big History Project >
      • 1. What is Big History? >
        • 1.0 - Welcome to Big History
        • 1.1 - Scale
        • 1.2 - Origin Stories
        • 1.3 - What are Disciplines?
        • 1.4 - My Big History
        • Glossary
      • 2. The Big Bang >
        • 2.0 - Changing Understandings
        • 2.1 - The Big Bang
        • 2.2 - Claim Testing
        • Glossary
        • Links & Resources
      • 3. Stars and Elements >
        • 3.0 - How were stars formed?
        • 3.1 - Creation of Complex Elements
        • 3.2 - Ways of Knowing: Stars & Elements
        • Glossary
      • 4. Our Solar System & Earth >
        • 4.0 - Formation of Earth & Our Solar System
        • 4.1 - What was young Earth like?
        • 4.2 - Why is Plate Tectonics important?
        • 4.3 - Ways of Knowing: Our Solar System and Earth
        • Glossary
      • 5. Life >
        • 5.0 - What is Life?
        • 5.1 - How did Life Begin and Change?
        • 5.2 - How do Earth and Life Interact?
        • 5.3 - Ways of Knowing: Life
        • Glossary
      • 6. Early Humans >
        • 6.0 - How Our Ancesters Evolved
        • 6.1 - Ways of Knowing: Early Humans
        • 6.2 - Collective Learning
        • 6.3 - How did the First Humans live?
        • Glossary
      • 7. Agriculture & Civilisation >
        • 7.0 - The Rise of Agriculture
        • 7.1 - The First Cities and States
        • 7.2 - Ways of Knowing: Agriculture & Civilisation
        • Glossary
      • 8. Expansion & Interconnection >
        • 8.0 - Expansion
        • 8.1 - Exploration & Interconnection
        • 8.2 - The Columbian Exchange
        • 8.3 - Commerce & Collective Learning
        • Glossary
      • 9. Acceleration >
        • 9.0 - Transitions, Thresholds & Turning Points in Human History
        • 9.1 - Acceleration
        • 9.2 - The Anthropocene
        • 9.3 - Changing Economies
        • 9.4 - Industrialism
        • 9.5 - Modern States and Identities
        • 9.6 - Crisis and Conflict
        • 9.7 - Acceleration: Demographic, Political, and Technological
        • Glossary
      • 10. The Future >
        • 10.0 - Looking Back
        • 10.1 - The Biosphere
        • 10.2 - Looking Forward
        • Glossary
      • Assessment Rubrics
      • Key Texts
      • Little Big History
      • Further Reading
      • Further Watching
      • Thresholds of Increasing Complexity
      • Student Work
    • Social History
  • IGCSE
    • Germany 1918-45 >
      • 1. The Establishment of the Weimar Republic & Its Early Problems
      • 2. The Recovery of Germany 1924-1929
      • 3. The Rise of Hitler and the Nazis 1919-1933
      • 4. Life in Nazi Germany 1933-1939
      • 5. Germany during the Second World War
      • Old Exam Questions
      • Further Reading
      • Further Watching
    • China 1900-89 >
      • 1. China 1900-1934
      • 2. Mao & the CCP 1934-1949
      • 3. Change under Mao 1949-1963
      • 4. The Impact of the Cultural Revolution
      • 5. China after Mao 1976-1989
      • Old Exam Questions
      • Further Reading
      • Further Watching
    • US Civil Rights 1945-74 >
      • 1. McCarthyism and the Red Scare
      • 2. Civil Rights in the 1950s
      • 3. The Impact of MLK & Black Power
      • 4. Protest Movements
      • 5. Nixon & Watergate
      • Old Exam Questions
      • Further Reading
      • Further Watching
    • Russia & the USSR 1905-24 >
      • Old Exam Questions
    • Past Papers
  • IBDP
    • Paper 1 >
      • Rights and Protest >
        • Exam Questions
      • The Move to Global War >
        • 1. Japanese Expansion >
          • 1. Impact of the Meiji Restoration
          • 2. Foreign Policy in the 1920s
          • 3. The Invasion of Manchuria
          • 4. The Sino-Japanese War
          • 5. The Road to War
        • 2. German and Italian Expansion >
          • 1. Causes of Italian Expansion
          • 2. Responses to Italian Expansion
          • 3. Causes of German Expansion
          • 4. Responses to German Expansion
          • 5. The Road to War in Europe
        • Exam Questions
    • Paper 2 >
      • Paper 2: The Cold War >
        • 1. Why did the Grand Alliance breakdown? >
          • 1. What role did ideology play in the Grand Alliance?
          • 2. How did wartime disagreements affect the alliance?
          • 3. Did Soviet expansionism end the alliance?
          • 4. Was US exceptionalism to blame?
          • 5. Did events in Asia exacerbate tensions?
          • 6. Were tensions over Germany the final straw?
          • 7. Assessment: Who was to blame for the Cold War?
        • 2. How did superpower competition unfold? >
          • 1. How did competition unfold in Asia?
          • 2. What conflicts emerged in Europe?
          • 3. How did the Cold War shape the Middle East?
          • 4. Were tensions in the Americas unexpected?
          • 5. Why did the Cold War spread to Africa?
          • 6. How did scientific change drive the conflict?
          • 7. Assessment: Who won the global struggle?
        • 3. Were attempts at detente a failure? >
          • 1. Did peaceful coexistence work?
          • 2. What did detente achieve?
          • 3. Why did detente fail?
          • 4. Were other forms of cooperation effective?
          • 5. Assessment: Was detente a failure?
        • 4. What role did China play in the Cold War?
        • 5. How did the Cold War end? >
          • 1. Did the USSR decay from within?
          • 2. Did Ronald Reagan win the war?
          • 3. Was Mikhail Gorbachev to blame?
          • 4. What role did people power play?
          • 5. Why did the USSR finally collapse?
          • 6. Assessment: Who, or what, ended the Cold War?
        • 6. What role did leaders, crises and nations play?
        • Exam Questions
        • Further Reading
        • Glossary
        • Historiography
        • Primary Sources
      • Paper 2: Authoritarian States >
        • 1. Emergence of Authoritarian States >
          • 1. Why do Authoritarian States emerge?
          • 2. Rise of Hitler
          • 3. Rise of Mao
          • 4. Rise of Castro
          • 5. Rise of Stalin
          • 6. Comparing the Emergence of Authoritarian States
        • 2. Consolidation & Maintenance of Power >
          • 1. Hitler's Germany 1933-45
          • 2. Mao's China 1949-1976
          • 3. Castro's Cuba 1959-Present
          • 4. Comparing the Rule of Authoritarian States
        • 3. Aims and Results of Domestic Policies >
          • 4. Comparing Domestic Policies
        • Exam Questions
    • Paper 3: Asia and Oceania >
      • Topic 9: Imperial Decline in East Asia 1860-1912 >
        • 1. The Tongzhi Restoration
        • 2. Effects of the Sino-Japanese War
        • 3. Impact of the Boxer Rebellion
        • 4. The 1911 Xinhai Revolution
        • 5. The Meiji Restoration
        • 6. Early Japanese Imperialism
        • 7. The Opening of Korea
        • Exam Questions
      • Topic 11: Japan 1912-1990 >
        • 1. Taisho Japan
        • 2. The Rise of Militarism
        • 3. The Move to Global War
        • 4. The Pacific War
        • 5. The US Occupation
        • 6. The 'Economic Miracle'
        • Exam Questions
      • Topic 12: China and Korea 1910-1950 >
        • 1. What accounts for the rise of nationalism? >
          • 1. Was Yuan Shikai a national hero or villain?
          • 2. What did Sun Yixian do to promote nationalism?
          • 3. What was the impact of WW1 on nationalism?
          • 4. How significant was the New Culture Movement?
          • 5. Did the May 4th Movement achieve anything?
          • 6. How did nationalism survive the warlords?
          • 7. Assessment: What accounts for the rise of nationalism?
        • 2. Did Guomindang rule achieve anything? >
          • 1. How did Chiang Kai-shek emerge as leader of the GMD?
          • 2. Why was the Northern Expedition successful?
          • 3. Was the Nanjing Decade a success?
          • 4. Assessment: Was GMD rule a success or failure?
        • 3. Was the rise of communism inevitable? >
          • 1. What were conditions like for peasants in China?
          • 2. How did the CCP benefit from the First United Front?
          • 3. Why did the First United Front fail?
          • 4. How did Mao become leader of the Jiangxi Soviet?
          • 5. To what extent was the Long March a turning point?
          • 6. How did Mao consolidate his position at Yan'an?
          • 7. Assessment: Was Communism inevitable?
        • 4. How did war and conflict benefit the CPC? >
          • 1. What were the turning points of the Sino-Japanese War?
          • 2. What accounts for GMD failures during the war?
          • 3. What were the turning points of the Civil War?
          • 4. Did the CPC win or GMD lose the civil war?
          • 5. Assessment: Where did the CPC win the civil war?
        • 5. What was the impact of Japanese occupation on Korea?
        • 6. Was martial law in Taiwan justified?
        • Exam Questions
      • Topic 14: The People's Republic of China 1949-2005 >
        • 1. How did the CPC consolidate power? >
          • 1. What form of government did the CPC take?
          • 2. What policies did Mao use to consolidate power?
          • 3. What methods of repression did Mao use?
          • 4. What does the Hundred Flowers Campaign reveal?
          • 5. Assessment: How successful was Mao's consolidation of power?
        • 2. Was the transition to socialism successful? >
          • 1. Did the First Five Year Plan achieve its goals?
          • 2. What happened during the Great Leap Forward?
          • 3. Who was responsible for the Great Famine?
          • 4. How did the economy change in the 1960s?
          • 5. Assessment: How successful was the socialist economy?
        • 3. Who benefited from CPC rule under Mao? >
          • 1. How did CPC rule change society?
          • 2. Assessment: Did CPC rule benefit society?
        • 4. What was the cultural revolution? >
          • 1. What caused the cultural revolution?
          • 2. How did the cultural revolution evolve?
          • 3. What was the impact of the cultural revolution?
          • 4. Assessment: How can we explain the cultural revolution?
        • 5. Did China become a global power under Mao? >
          • 1. How did the CPC change China's foreign policy?
          • 2. Why were Sino-Soviet relations so turbulent?
          • 3. How did Sino-American relations change?
          • 4. What other relations did China cultivate?
          • 5. Assessment: When did China become a global power?
        • 6. How did Deng Xiaoping win power? >
          • 1. How did the Gang of Four rise to power?
          • 2. Why did Hua Guofeng become leader?
          • 3. Assessment: How did Deng Xiaoping win power?
        • 7. What accounts for China's modern success? >
          • 1. How successful were Deng Xiaoping's reforms?
          • 2. Why wasn't there a fifth modernisation in China?
          • 3. What was the significance of Tiananmen Square?
          • 4. How did China develop under Jiang Zemin?
          • 5. Assessment: What accounts for China's modern success?
        • Exam Questions
        • Further Reading
        • Historiography
        • Primary Sources
      • Topic 15: Cold War Conflicts in Asia >
        • 1. How was Communism defeated in Malaya? >
          • 1. What triggered conflict in Malaya?
          • 2. How did the Emergency evolve?
          • 3. Why was the insurgency defeated?
          • 4. What was the impact of the Emergency?
          • 5. Assessment: Why was Communism defeated?
        • 2. Why was the Korean War a turning point? >
          • 1. What caused the Korean War?
          • 2. How did the Korean War evolve?
          • 3. How was the Korean War resolved?
          • 4. What was the impact of the war?
          • 5. Assessment: Was the war a turning point?
        • 3. Why did the French fail to defeat the Vietminh? >
          • 1. What caused the Indochina War?
          • 2. How did the Indochina War evolve?
          • 3. How was the war in Indochina resolved?
          • 4. What was the impact of the French Indochina War?
          • 5. Assessment: What accounts for the French defeat?
        • 4. Could the Vietnam War have been avoided? >
          • 1. What caused the Vietnam War?
          • 2. How did the Vietnam War evolve?
          • 3. How was the Vietnam War resolved?
          • 4. What was the impact of the Vietnam War?
          • 5. Assessment: Was the Vietnam War inevitable?
        • 5. How was Cambodia shaped by the Cold War? >
          • 1. What caused the Cambodian Civil War?
          • 2. How did the Cambodian Civil War evolve?
          • 3. How was the Cambodian Civil War resolved?
          • 4. What was the impact of the Cambodian Civil War?
          • 5. Assessment: Who can be blamed for events in Cambodia?
        • 6. How were the Soviets defeated in Afghanistan?
        • Exam Questions
    • Internal Assessment >
      • Forming Questions
      • Researching Primary Sources >
        • New York Times Digital Archive
        • SCMP Digital Archive
      • Researching Secondary Sources >
        • Google Scholar
        • History Today
        • HK Public Library e-resources
        • jstor
        • questia
        • Worldcat
      • Source Evaluation
      • Chicago Citation Format
      • IA Help Guide
    • Extended Essay >
      • 1. Title Page
      • 2. Abstract & Contents Page
      • 3. Introduction
      • 4. Body of the Essay
      • 5. Conclusion
      • 6. References, Bibliography & Appendices
    • Mark Schemes
    • Revision
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  • More
    • History Help >
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      • Historical Content
      • Historical Concepts
      • Historical Skills >
        • Essay Planning >
          • 1. Forming Questions
          • 2. Command Words
          • 3. Topic Analysis
          • 4. Essay Structure
        • Essay Writing >
          • 1. Introductions
          • 2. Conclusions
          • 3. Words and Phrases
          • 4. Quotations
          • 5. Sentences
          • 6. Width and Depth
          • 7. Citing Sources
          • 8. Spelling and Grammar
    • Resources >
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      • 5 C's - Skills Framework >
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      • questiaschool.com
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    • TOK
    • Links >
      • Island School Explorations
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      • Island School Humanities
      • Island Educators
      • Mr Budd History

3.0 - HOW WERE STARS FORMED?

Lesson Purpose


In the years following the Big Bang, hydrogen atoms floated freely around the Universe. These atoms were slightly more packed together in some places than in others. In the more crowded areas, the hydrogen atoms were close enough to each other to let gravity do its work. In these little pockets of hydrogen, stars lit up across our Universe.

The outcomes of this lesson are: 1.) To describe how stars form; 2.) To explain what happens in the life of a star and explain what happens when a star dies.

Activity 1 - The Life of a Star


Activity Objectives
This activity invites you to put what you already know about stars to work. At this stage, you won’t know a lot about the life cycle of a star, but you can probably make some good guesses. The goal here is not to help you to get the right answer. Instead, the goal is to set the stage for the videos that follow, which will answer the questions that will naturally form during this activity. Following up with the Star Comic activity later in the lesson will then provide you with a chance to formalize your understanding of the life cycle of a star.

Activity Tasks
  1. Download and complete this worksheet. Arrange the images from the beginning to the end of the life of a star.
  2. Log-in to your Big History accounts and visit the Lesson 3.0 page. Open and browse the two infographics: 'Life Cycles of the Stars' and 'Timeline: Stars'.​
Picture

Activity 2 - How were stars formed?


The expansion of the Universe enabled atoms and energy to spread out. This created small pockets of activity across an otherwise empty space. In these little areas, gravity pulled together atoms, and then more and more atoms, until the first stars came to life. Stars attracted other stars to form galaxies. Galaxies attracted other galaxies to form clusters, and then clusters came together to form superclusters.
Activity Objectives
Everything around us is made up of atoms. To understand how atoms are formed, we have to understand how stars die. To understand how stars die, we have to understand how they are formed. This video explains how stars formed out of the increasingly cold and empty early Universe.

Activity Tasks
  1. Watch the video and try to answer the following questions:
    1. 2:45 What Goldilocks Conditions were necessary for the formation of stars?
    2. 3:48 How does gravity work?
    3. 4:02 What conditions trigger the process of star formation?
    4. 8:55 Why do stars get together as galaxies? Why do galaxies get together as clusters, and so on?
    5. Does the process of new stars forming continue today?
    6. Is our star one of the first stars formed or did it form later?​​

Activity 3 - My Threshold Card


Picture
Activity Objectives
Thresholds are a key part of the Big History story, organizing time around a series of discrete moments where the Universe became irreversibly more complex. For each of these thresholds, there are a set of ingredients and a set of Goldilocks Conditions that result in new complexities. In this activity, you will explore the concept of thresholds in greater depth. First, you should start by looking at the threshold card for Threshold 2. Next, you will create a threshold card of your own, illustrating a moment in your lives where things became more complex. You may draw upon the timeline you created in the opening activity from Lesson 1.4, My Timeline.

Activity Tasks
  1. In groups, download and read this 'threshold card' for Threshold 2: Stars Light Up. Define what each of the following mean:​
    1. Ingredients
    2. Goldilocks Conditions
    3. New Complexities
  2. Now think of some key 'thresholds' in your life like significant moments related to you, your family or community. On your own, download and complete this blank threshold card for one particularly significant threshold in your life. Think about what ingredients, goldilocks conditions and new complexity were involved in that threshold.

Activity 4 - A Big History of Everything H2


Before stars, the Universe was cold and dark. With gravity pulling at areas where there were just a few more atoms, clouds of atoms soon formed. These clouds got denser and denser until finally, the temperature got really, really hot – over 10 million degrees. At this point, atoms started fusing together and bam! A star is born.
Activity Objectives
This clip from the H2 program Big History explains the formation of stars. It is a short clip that provides a highly visual explanation, reinforcing the explanation from David Christian in the earlier video.

Activity Tasks
  1. Watch the video and try to answer the following questions:​
    1. 1:57 What draws atoms of hydrogen and helium together into clouds?
    2. 2:54 What happens as these clouds get larger?
    3. 4:11 What was different about the Universe once stars arrived?

Activity 5 - Star Comic


Activity Objectives
The opening activity for this lesson provided an opportunity for you to hypothesize on the life of a star, based on what they already knew. The main lecture video provided a lot of detailed information on the life of a star. This activity will provide you with the opportunity to formalize your understanding. Using your own words and drawings, you should document at least five details from the life of a star. The drawings need not be comprehensive in terms of the different paths stars might take. The key is that you understand the basics.

Activity Tasks
  1. Create a comic strip detailing the formation of a star. It should have at least 5 panels, but can be more. Refer back to Activity 1 as a basis for your comic strip. Each panel of the comic strip should include explanatory text in your own words to describe what is happening. ​​
  2. Download this blank comic strip panel to help you construct your comic strips.
Picture

Activity 6 - DQ Notebook


Picture
Activity Objectives
This activity will help you stay focused on the driving question for the unit, and allow you to see how your thinking has grown and changed based on new evidence and a new understanding of claim testing.

Activity Tasks
  1. ​DQ - How can looking at the same information from different perspectives pave the way for progress? - Complete the Lesson 3.0 column of the DQ Notebook worksheet given to you in class, writing down your initial thoughts on the driving question for the unit.​​

Activity 7 - This Threshold Today


Activity Objectives
This Threshold Today activity asks you to make connections between today’s world and the events of each threshold. In Threshold 3, it is important and interesting for you to know that not only are we learning more and more about stars today, but stars are forming and dying today.

Activity Tasks
  1. Download and complete this worksheet. Using the internet, look for news stories discussing the birth of stars. Go to this page for links to online news websites.​
  2. Remember to document the title of the article, the source and date, and give a brief description of the article and its connection to Threshold 2.
  3. Finish by downloading and reading the 'Threshold 3 Information Card' to see how Threshold 2 and 3 connect.
Picture

Challenge Yourself! - Optional Activities


1. Scientists at MIT use supercomputers to simulate how stars formed and the Universe evolved.
2. Check out the stunning pictures of a newborn star. ​
TAKE THE QUIZ!

Y7-9 MYP

Y7 Humanities
Y8 Humanities
Y9 History

Y10-11 IGCSE

IGCSE History
Big History
Social History

Y12-13 IBDP HISTORY

Paper 1 SL/HL
Paper 2 Cold War / Paper 2 Authoritarian States
Paper 3 HL Only
© COPYRIGHT 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
  • Y7/8 MYP
  • Y9 History
    • 1. Innovation & Industry >
      • 1. Causes
      • 2. Innovations
      • 3. Conditions
      • 4. Changes
      • 5. Sources
      • 6-7. Assessment 1 >
        • The USA
      • 8. Reflection
    • 2. Empire and Expansion >
      • 1. What is an Empire?
      • 2. Benefits of an Empire
      • 3. Negatives of Empire expansion
      • 4. Perspectives on Empires
      • 5. Assessment
    • 3. Rebellion and Revolution >
      • 1. Why do people protest?
      • 2. What are the causes of revolutions?
      • 3. What are the methods of protest?
      • 4. What are the consequences of protests?
      • 5. Assessment
      • Student Work
    • 4. War and Conflict >
      • 1. Causes of WW2
      • 2. Did that really happen here? WW2 in Hong Kong
      • 3. Why did the War extend to Hong Kong?
      • 4. How did the War affect Hong Kong?
      • 5. Assessment
    • Old History >
      • 1. Hong Kong Story >
        • Further Reading
      • 2. The Slave Trade
      • 3. The First World War
      • 4. The Changing Role of Women
  • Elements
    • Big History Project >
      • 1. What is Big History? >
        • 1.0 - Welcome to Big History
        • 1.1 - Scale
        • 1.2 - Origin Stories
        • 1.3 - What are Disciplines?
        • 1.4 - My Big History
        • Glossary
      • 2. The Big Bang >
        • 2.0 - Changing Understandings
        • 2.1 - The Big Bang
        • 2.2 - Claim Testing
        • Glossary
        • Links & Resources
      • 3. Stars and Elements >
        • 3.0 - How were stars formed?
        • 3.1 - Creation of Complex Elements
        • 3.2 - Ways of Knowing: Stars & Elements
        • Glossary
      • 4. Our Solar System & Earth >
        • 4.0 - Formation of Earth & Our Solar System
        • 4.1 - What was young Earth like?
        • 4.2 - Why is Plate Tectonics important?
        • 4.3 - Ways of Knowing: Our Solar System and Earth
        • Glossary
      • 5. Life >
        • 5.0 - What is Life?
        • 5.1 - How did Life Begin and Change?
        • 5.2 - How do Earth and Life Interact?
        • 5.3 - Ways of Knowing: Life
        • Glossary
      • 6. Early Humans >
        • 6.0 - How Our Ancesters Evolved
        • 6.1 - Ways of Knowing: Early Humans
        • 6.2 - Collective Learning
        • 6.3 - How did the First Humans live?
        • Glossary
      • 7. Agriculture & Civilisation >
        • 7.0 - The Rise of Agriculture
        • 7.1 - The First Cities and States
        • 7.2 - Ways of Knowing: Agriculture & Civilisation
        • Glossary
      • 8. Expansion & Interconnection >
        • 8.0 - Expansion
        • 8.1 - Exploration & Interconnection
        • 8.2 - The Columbian Exchange
        • 8.3 - Commerce & Collective Learning
        • Glossary
      • 9. Acceleration >
        • 9.0 - Transitions, Thresholds & Turning Points in Human History
        • 9.1 - Acceleration
        • 9.2 - The Anthropocene
        • 9.3 - Changing Economies
        • 9.4 - Industrialism
        • 9.5 - Modern States and Identities
        • 9.6 - Crisis and Conflict
        • 9.7 - Acceleration: Demographic, Political, and Technological
        • Glossary
      • 10. The Future >
        • 10.0 - Looking Back
        • 10.1 - The Biosphere
        • 10.2 - Looking Forward
        • Glossary
      • Assessment Rubrics
      • Key Texts
      • Little Big History
      • Further Reading
      • Further Watching
      • Thresholds of Increasing Complexity
      • Student Work
    • Social History
  • IGCSE
    • Germany 1918-45 >
      • 1. The Establishment of the Weimar Republic & Its Early Problems
      • 2. The Recovery of Germany 1924-1929
      • 3. The Rise of Hitler and the Nazis 1919-1933
      • 4. Life in Nazi Germany 1933-1939
      • 5. Germany during the Second World War
      • Old Exam Questions
      • Further Reading
      • Further Watching
    • China 1900-89 >
      • 1. China 1900-1934
      • 2. Mao & the CCP 1934-1949
      • 3. Change under Mao 1949-1963
      • 4. The Impact of the Cultural Revolution
      • 5. China after Mao 1976-1989
      • Old Exam Questions
      • Further Reading
      • Further Watching
    • US Civil Rights 1945-74 >
      • 1. McCarthyism and the Red Scare
      • 2. Civil Rights in the 1950s
      • 3. The Impact of MLK & Black Power
      • 4. Protest Movements
      • 5. Nixon & Watergate
      • Old Exam Questions
      • Further Reading
      • Further Watching
    • Russia & the USSR 1905-24 >
      • Old Exam Questions
    • Past Papers
  • IBDP
    • Paper 1 >
      • Rights and Protest >
        • Exam Questions
      • The Move to Global War >
        • 1. Japanese Expansion >
          • 1. Impact of the Meiji Restoration
          • 2. Foreign Policy in the 1920s
          • 3. The Invasion of Manchuria
          • 4. The Sino-Japanese War
          • 5. The Road to War
        • 2. German and Italian Expansion >
          • 1. Causes of Italian Expansion
          • 2. Responses to Italian Expansion
          • 3. Causes of German Expansion
          • 4. Responses to German Expansion
          • 5. The Road to War in Europe
        • Exam Questions
    • Paper 2 >
      • Paper 2: The Cold War >
        • 1. Why did the Grand Alliance breakdown? >
          • 1. What role did ideology play in the Grand Alliance?
          • 2. How did wartime disagreements affect the alliance?
          • 3. Did Soviet expansionism end the alliance?
          • 4. Was US exceptionalism to blame?
          • 5. Did events in Asia exacerbate tensions?
          • 6. Were tensions over Germany the final straw?
          • 7. Assessment: Who was to blame for the Cold War?
        • 2. How did superpower competition unfold? >
          • 1. How did competition unfold in Asia?
          • 2. What conflicts emerged in Europe?
          • 3. How did the Cold War shape the Middle East?
          • 4. Were tensions in the Americas unexpected?
          • 5. Why did the Cold War spread to Africa?
          • 6. How did scientific change drive the conflict?
          • 7. Assessment: Who won the global struggle?
        • 3. Were attempts at detente a failure? >
          • 1. Did peaceful coexistence work?
          • 2. What did detente achieve?
          • 3. Why did detente fail?
          • 4. Were other forms of cooperation effective?
          • 5. Assessment: Was detente a failure?
        • 4. What role did China play in the Cold War?
        • 5. How did the Cold War end? >
          • 1. Did the USSR decay from within?
          • 2. Did Ronald Reagan win the war?
          • 3. Was Mikhail Gorbachev to blame?
          • 4. What role did people power play?
          • 5. Why did the USSR finally collapse?
          • 6. Assessment: Who, or what, ended the Cold War?
        • 6. What role did leaders, crises and nations play?
        • Exam Questions
        • Further Reading
        • Glossary
        • Historiography
        • Primary Sources
      • Paper 2: Authoritarian States >
        • 1. Emergence of Authoritarian States >
          • 1. Why do Authoritarian States emerge?
          • 2. Rise of Hitler
          • 3. Rise of Mao
          • 4. Rise of Castro
          • 5. Rise of Stalin
          • 6. Comparing the Emergence of Authoritarian States
        • 2. Consolidation & Maintenance of Power >
          • 1. Hitler's Germany 1933-45
          • 2. Mao's China 1949-1976
          • 3. Castro's Cuba 1959-Present
          • 4. Comparing the Rule of Authoritarian States
        • 3. Aims and Results of Domestic Policies >
          • 4. Comparing Domestic Policies
        • Exam Questions
    • Paper 3: Asia and Oceania >
      • Topic 9: Imperial Decline in East Asia 1860-1912 >
        • 1. The Tongzhi Restoration
        • 2. Effects of the Sino-Japanese War
        • 3. Impact of the Boxer Rebellion
        • 4. The 1911 Xinhai Revolution
        • 5. The Meiji Restoration
        • 6. Early Japanese Imperialism
        • 7. The Opening of Korea
        • Exam Questions
      • Topic 11: Japan 1912-1990 >
        • 1. Taisho Japan
        • 2. The Rise of Militarism
        • 3. The Move to Global War
        • 4. The Pacific War
        • 5. The US Occupation
        • 6. The 'Economic Miracle'
        • Exam Questions
      • Topic 12: China and Korea 1910-1950 >
        • 1. What accounts for the rise of nationalism? >
          • 1. Was Yuan Shikai a national hero or villain?
          • 2. What did Sun Yixian do to promote nationalism?
          • 3. What was the impact of WW1 on nationalism?
          • 4. How significant was the New Culture Movement?
          • 5. Did the May 4th Movement achieve anything?
          • 6. How did nationalism survive the warlords?
          • 7. Assessment: What accounts for the rise of nationalism?
        • 2. Did Guomindang rule achieve anything? >
          • 1. How did Chiang Kai-shek emerge as leader of the GMD?
          • 2. Why was the Northern Expedition successful?
          • 3. Was the Nanjing Decade a success?
          • 4. Assessment: Was GMD rule a success or failure?
        • 3. Was the rise of communism inevitable? >
          • 1. What were conditions like for peasants in China?
          • 2. How did the CCP benefit from the First United Front?
          • 3. Why did the First United Front fail?
          • 4. How did Mao become leader of the Jiangxi Soviet?
          • 5. To what extent was the Long March a turning point?
          • 6. How did Mao consolidate his position at Yan'an?
          • 7. Assessment: Was Communism inevitable?
        • 4. How did war and conflict benefit the CPC? >
          • 1. What were the turning points of the Sino-Japanese War?
          • 2. What accounts for GMD failures during the war?
          • 3. What were the turning points of the Civil War?
          • 4. Did the CPC win or GMD lose the civil war?
          • 5. Assessment: Where did the CPC win the civil war?
        • 5. What was the impact of Japanese occupation on Korea?
        • 6. Was martial law in Taiwan justified?
        • Exam Questions
      • Topic 14: The People's Republic of China 1949-2005 >
        • 1. How did the CPC consolidate power? >
          • 1. What form of government did the CPC take?
          • 2. What policies did Mao use to consolidate power?
          • 3. What methods of repression did Mao use?
          • 4. What does the Hundred Flowers Campaign reveal?
          • 5. Assessment: How successful was Mao's consolidation of power?
        • 2. Was the transition to socialism successful? >
          • 1. Did the First Five Year Plan achieve its goals?
          • 2. What happened during the Great Leap Forward?
          • 3. Who was responsible for the Great Famine?
          • 4. How did the economy change in the 1960s?
          • 5. Assessment: How successful was the socialist economy?
        • 3. Who benefited from CPC rule under Mao? >
          • 1. How did CPC rule change society?
          • 2. Assessment: Did CPC rule benefit society?
        • 4. What was the cultural revolution? >
          • 1. What caused the cultural revolution?
          • 2. How did the cultural revolution evolve?
          • 3. What was the impact of the cultural revolution?
          • 4. Assessment: How can we explain the cultural revolution?
        • 5. Did China become a global power under Mao? >
          • 1. How did the CPC change China's foreign policy?
          • 2. Why were Sino-Soviet relations so turbulent?
          • 3. How did Sino-American relations change?
          • 4. What other relations did China cultivate?
          • 5. Assessment: When did China become a global power?
        • 6. How did Deng Xiaoping win power? >
          • 1. How did the Gang of Four rise to power?
          • 2. Why did Hua Guofeng become leader?
          • 3. Assessment: How did Deng Xiaoping win power?
        • 7. What accounts for China's modern success? >
          • 1. How successful were Deng Xiaoping's reforms?
          • 2. Why wasn't there a fifth modernisation in China?
          • 3. What was the significance of Tiananmen Square?
          • 4. How did China develop under Jiang Zemin?
          • 5. Assessment: What accounts for China's modern success?
        • Exam Questions
        • Further Reading
        • Historiography
        • Primary Sources
      • Topic 15: Cold War Conflicts in Asia >
        • 1. How was Communism defeated in Malaya? >
          • 1. What triggered conflict in Malaya?
          • 2. How did the Emergency evolve?
          • 3. Why was the insurgency defeated?
          • 4. What was the impact of the Emergency?
          • 5. Assessment: Why was Communism defeated?
        • 2. Why was the Korean War a turning point? >
          • 1. What caused the Korean War?
          • 2. How did the Korean War evolve?
          • 3. How was the Korean War resolved?
          • 4. What was the impact of the war?
          • 5. Assessment: Was the war a turning point?
        • 3. Why did the French fail to defeat the Vietminh? >
          • 1. What caused the Indochina War?
          • 2. How did the Indochina War evolve?
          • 3. How was the war in Indochina resolved?
          • 4. What was the impact of the French Indochina War?
          • 5. Assessment: What accounts for the French defeat?
        • 4. Could the Vietnam War have been avoided? >
          • 1. What caused the Vietnam War?
          • 2. How did the Vietnam War evolve?
          • 3. How was the Vietnam War resolved?
          • 4. What was the impact of the Vietnam War?
          • 5. Assessment: Was the Vietnam War inevitable?
        • 5. How was Cambodia shaped by the Cold War? >
          • 1. What caused the Cambodian Civil War?
          • 2. How did the Cambodian Civil War evolve?
          • 3. How was the Cambodian Civil War resolved?
          • 4. What was the impact of the Cambodian Civil War?
          • 5. Assessment: Who can be blamed for events in Cambodia?
        • 6. How were the Soviets defeated in Afghanistan?
        • Exam Questions
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