DSE History | The Middle East conflict: lesson-prep guide for tutors

2026-11-02

Tutor lesson-prep guides · Secondary History

Students can recite the years but cannot say why two peoples call the same ground home. This lesson turns a list of dates into three causal lines: land, refugees, security.

Objectives — Students can: (1) trace how territory changed at 1947, 1948 and 1967; (2) separate the position of the Arab states from that of the Palestinians; (3) use the land-refugees-security triangle to explain why every round of talks stalls at the same point.

01 Prerequisites (3-minute check)

If any of these fails, fix it before the lesson starts.

Skill	Quick check	Pass mark
Post-1918 settlement	Who held the mandate over Palestine after the Ottoman Empire fell?	Britain, under a League of Nations mandate
Nationalism	What did Zionism and Arab nationalism each demand?	A Jewish state in the historic homeland; Arab self-rule
Cold War	Which superpower backed which side?	The US backed Israel and pro-Western states; the USSR backed Egypt and Syria

02 Lesson flow (60 minutes)

Time	Stage	Tutor does	Student does
0–5 min	Opening question	Show the 1947 partition map beside the 1949 armistice line and ask what disappeared	Answer by show of hands and name the change
5–15 min	Prerequisite check	Hand out three quick checks (the mandate, the two nationalisms, Cold War alignments)	Written answers, marked on the spot
15–37 min	Three-part script	Teach partition and statehood, the 1967 war, and Oslo	Recap each part in one sentence
37–49 min	Question walk-through	Model four questions, keeping three columns on the board: year, event, consequence	Copy and add their own consequence
49–55 min	Independent practice	Circulate; ask only what happened that year and which land changed	Do three items and self-mark
55–60 min	Exit check	Collect answers and count the misses aloud	Written, no talking

03 Teaching script (read it out)

Scene 1: Part 1: partition and 1948

In 1947 UN Resolution 181 split Palestine three ways: a Jewish state of about 56 per cent, an Arab state of about 43 per cent, and Jerusalem under international control. Those three numbers add to 100, and that is the whole map at the time. Israel declared statehood in 1948; after the first Arab-Israeli war it held about 77 per cent of the land, and around 700,000 Palestinians had become refugees. Land and refugees appear together from day one.

What share did the partition give the Jewish state, and what share did Israel hold after the war?

Scene 2: Part 2: 1956 to 1973, war and land for peace

In 1956 Britain, France and Israel intervened over the Suez Canal, then withdrew under US and Soviet pressure: the Cold War now outranked the old colonial game. In 1967 Israel took the West Bank, Gaza, Sinai and the Golan Heights in six days, which is where the term occupied territories enters the story. The 1973 war lasted nineteen days; Egypt lost militarily but gained political leverage, and the 1979 peace treaty returned Sinai in exchange for recognition. That is the only complete land-for-peace deal, so use it as the benchmark every time you discuss later talks.

What did returning Sinai buy in 1979, and why has it not been repeated?

Scene 3: Part 3: 1987 to 1993, intifada and Oslo

The first intifada from 1987 made the occupation a daily news item and shifted the claim from Arab states acting on behalf of Palestinians to Palestinians negotiating themselves. In 1993 Oslo, the PLO recognised Israel and Israel recognised the PLO as the representative, with self-rule first in Gaza and Jericho. Jerusalem, refugees, borders and settlements were deferred to final-status talks. Notice the design: the four hardest issues were postponed, so the agreement carried its own breakdown inside it.

Which four issues were deferred, and was that pragmatism or a trap?

04 Question types and worked steps

Type	Example	Steps	Answer
Year and consequence	A year is given; write the event and its consequence.	(1) Fix the year; (2) one sentence on the event; (3) the territorial or human result; (4) one link to the next war.	Example: 1967 -> Israel takes the West Bank, Gaza, Sinai and the Golan; settlements and occupation follow.
Comparing positions	Compare the Arab states with the Palestinians.	(1) Separate the actors; (2) one aim and one red line each; (3) name the split, such as who may represent whom.	Example: the 1967 Khartoum resolutions versus the PLO accepting partition in 1988.
Source question	A cartoon or poster is supplied.	(1) Describe the visible symbols; (2) link each to a year or policy; (3) say what the author wants readers to believe.	Example: a map drawn as a leaking tap points to water and occupation.
Essay: why talks failed	Weigh several factors.	(1) Choose three factors; (2) give one event for each; (3) rank them and state the criterion.	Example: the 2000 Camp David talks broke on sovereignty over Jerusalem.

Sanity check (teach this): Sanity check: the timeline needs at least 1947, 1948, 1956, 1967, 1973, 1979, 1987 and 1993; fewer than six is not enough. The partition shares 56 + 43 + 1 = 100, so an answer of “half each” is wrong. Nineteen years separate 1948 and 1967, six years separate 1967 and 1973, and that gap is what you use to explain why another war came so soon.

05 Independent practice (3 questions)

Question	Answer	What to watch
State the three parts of the 1947 partition and their approximate shares.	A Jewish state of about 56 per cent, an Arab state of about 43 per cent, Jerusalem internationalised; the three total 100 per cent.	Check that the shares total 100 and that Jerusalem is not omitted.
Explain how the 1967 war changed Israel’s strategic position.	It gained Sinai, Gaza, the West Bank and the Golan, giving depth and bargaining chips, and creating occupation and settlement problems.	Check that both the gain and the cost are named; one side alone is incomplete.
Evaluate whether Oslo succeeded.	It succeeded in mutual recognition and a self-rule framework; it failed because final status was deferred and settlements expanded, collapsing in 2000.	Check that a specific clause supports the judgement, not just a verdict.

06 Common mistakes and what to say

Mistake	Student writes	Say this
Dates without causes	Writes “1967 was the Six-Day War” and stops.	Years earn nothing on their own. Add which land changed hands and which word entered the news.
Treating Arab states and Palestinians as one actor	Writes that Arabs rejected partition, so Palestinians reject peace.	Two actors, two dates, two positions. Do 1948 for the states first, then 1988 for the PLO.
Leaving out refugees	Writes only about territory.	Where did 700,000 people go? No refugee line means you cannot explain why return is on the table at every talk.
Reducing it to religion	Answers “they fight because the religions differ”.	Religion is background, not explanation. Use land, refugees and security, and say which mattered most in that war.

07 Homework (paper, section and question numbers)

Secondary History index: finish the three exercises, then compare proxy wars with the Cold War in Asia chapter — Exercises 1–3 on this page

08 Exit check (last 5 minutes)

Question	Answer	Decision
What were the three parts of the 1947 partition?	A Jewish state, an Arab state, and international Jerusalem	Cannot answer: reteach part 1
In which year did Israel take the West Bank and Gaza?	1967, the Six-Day War	Cannot answer: reteach part 2
Which four issues did Oslo defer?	Jerusalem, refugees, borders, settlements	Cannot answer: reteach part 3

09 Tutor FAQ

Which year is this for?

S5 elective History; S4 classes already covering twentieth-century international relations can use it earlier.

Do students need every war?

No. Lock 1948, 1967 and 1973 first; the rest come up in questions.

Is there a matching paper?

The homework link goes to the secondary History index, which pairs with the origins of the Cold War chapter.

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A TutorZone lesson-prep guide. Written by the TutorZone team; questions and lesson flow are original and are not taken from any school or publisher material.