On April 6, 2017, the United States commemorated the centennial of its entry into World War I at the National WWI Museum and Memorial. Explore the education materials from this event, for a unique teaching and learning opportunity.
The nation's official observance was organized by The U.S. World War One Centennial Commission and held at the National WWI Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Mo. Dedicated shortly after the war, the Memorial was the first national monument dedicated to the 4.5 million U.S. World War I veterans and to the over 110,000 Americans who lost their lives in the conflict.
This once-in-a-century event included a world-class multimedia production and live presentation, featuring speakers from around the globe.
Learn more about the ceremony
Watch the Ceremony Livestream
Recommended Grade Levels: All levels
Format: YouTube video
Discussion Guide: Why did the U.S. go to War?
This short resource includes an excerpt of President Wilson's Address to Congress and a quick discussion on why the United States became involved in the World War.
Recommended Grade Levels: All levels
Format: Downloadable PDF
Host Your Own Commemoration
Create your own mini-ceremony with this resource, which includes scripts, links to period music, and more. Click above to download the ceremony guide.
Recommended Grade Levels: All levels
Format: Downloadable PDF
Watch the Colloquiums
Two in-depth panel discussions from April 6. The first, Why the US entered WWI was moderated by Robert Dalessandro, and the second, How do we build peace after a great conflict? was moderated by David Ignatius.
Recommended Grade Levels: High School and above
Format: Live YouTube video
U.S. Enters the War
Learn about the events that led the U.S. to enter World War I in 1917 with this collection of online articles and videos.
Recommended Grade Levels: All levels
Format: Website, Digital Video
Analyze Propaganda Posters
This lesson plan asks students to examine their understanding of "patriotism" by analyzing propaganda posters that called America to action during World War I.
Recommended Grade Levels: Middle School, but adaptable for all grade levels
Format: Downloadable PDF
Why did the United States enter World War I in 1917?
In this lesson plan created by teacher Matt Moore for National History Day, students investigate primary sources to discover why the U.S. joined World War I. This module is a part of the larger curriculum for Middle and High Schoolers, Teaching World War I.
Recommended Grade Levels: High School
Format: Lesson Plan (PDF)
U.S. Entry into WWI
Students are asked to read like a historian in this lesson plan from the Stanford History Education Group. Students will analyze Woodrow Wilson's speeches as well as other documents to gain a broader understanding of why the U.S. joined the Great War in 1917, three years after fighting began in 1914. Click the link above to view and download the lesson plan (website requires free registration to download.)
Recommended Grade Levels: High School
Format: Lesson Plan (PDFs)
Poppies for Remembrance and Commemoration
Examine the importance of remembrance and commemoration through the symbolism of the poppy, engage your younger students with poppy crafts, and learn how to get your class involved in the fundraising effort to build a national WWI memorial in Washington, D.C.
Recommended Grade Levels: All levels
Format: Website, Downloadable PDFs
President Wilson's Declaration of War Message to Congress, April 2, 1917
On April 2, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson addressed a joint session of Congress requesting a declaration of war against Germany. The National Archives uses from its collection parts of the original address, a full transcript of Wilson's message, and the joint resolution from Congress formally declaring war on Germany for this resource.
Recommended Grade Levels: Middle School and Above
Format: Digital Images, PDF, Text Transcript
Topics in Chronicling America - World War I Declarations
The Library of Congress provides a sampling of historic newspaper articles on the U.S. declaration of war from the Chronicling America: American Historic Newspapers digital collection.
Recommended Grade Levels: All Levels
Format: Digital Images, OCR Text, and PDFs of Historic Newspapers
Need more resources on the history of the U.S. entry to the war?
Check out the full education resource archive, full of resources from the National Archives, Library of Congress, Stanford History Education Group, Smithsonian magazine and others.
