A mistake leads to World War I

ESL Lessons: True Stories

A printable worksheet for story-based English conversation classes.

Difficulty: Intermediate B1

PDF: A mistake leads to World War I

Warm-up

What do you know about World War I?

Vocabulary Match

attempt •• patriots
alliances •• try
nationalists •• onlookers
bystanders •• friends
avoided •• saying
declaring •• stopped

Vocabulary Answers

attempttry
alliancesfriends
nationalistspatriots
bystandersonlookers
avoidedstopped
declaringsaying

True Story

Listen and fill in the blanks with words from above.

On June 28, 1914, a group of Serbian ________ planned to kill Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo. Their first ________ failed—a man threw a bomb at his car, but it bounced off and hurt ________ instead. Later, the Archduke decided to visit the injured people. However, his driver took a wrong turn and stopped in front of Gavrilo Princip, one of the attackers. Princip took the chance to shoot and kill the Archduke and his wife.

This mistake led to Austria-Hungary ________ war on Serbia. Because of ________, more countries joined, and soon, World War I began. A war that could have been ________ started because of small but deadly errors.

On June 28, 1914, a group of Serbian nationalists planned to kill Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo. Their first attempt failed—a man threw a bomb at his car, but it bounced off and hurt bystanders instead. Later, the Archduke decided to visit the injured people. However, his driver took a wrong turn and stopped in front of Gavrilo Princip, one of the attackers. Princip took the chance to shoot and kill the Archduke and his wife.

This mistake led to Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia. Because of alliances, more countries joined, and soon, World War I began. A war that could have been avoided started because of small but deadly errors.

Quiz

  1. Who did the Serbian nationalists plan to kill?
  2. What happened when the bomb was thrown at the car?
  3. Why did the Archduke's driver stop in front of Gavrilo Princip?
  4. What was the result of the Archduke's assassination?

Quiz Answers (examples)

  1. Archduke Franz Ferdinand
  2. It bounced off and hurt bystanders.
  3. The driver took a wrong turn.
  4. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, leading to World War I.

True or False

  1. The Archduke wanted to see the injured bystanders. T F
  2. Gavrilo Princip was one of the attackers. T F
  3. The assassination of Gavrilo Princip led to the start of World War I. T F

True or False Answers

  1. True
  2. True
  3. False

Conversation

A:I can't believe the bomb didn't work!
B:Yeah, it just bounced off! What are the odds?
A:Well, at least we have another chance.
B:Look, there's the Archduke's car again!
A:Quick, take the shot before they drive away!
B:Got it! This time, we won't miss.

Discussion

  1. Have you ever made a small mistake that caused a big problem?
  2. Do you like learning about history? Why or why not?
  3. Do you think countries should have alliances? Why?
  4. If you could go back in time, what event would you like to see?
  5. Can small mistakes change history? Why do you think so?

Further Reading

https://www.history.com/news/the-assassination-of-archduke-franz-ferdinand

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