Historians inherit names from the people who lived through events — and create new names later. A name can reveal a viewpoint, a hope, or hindsight.
A common English-language name during and soon after 1914–18. Before another world war, people did not need to call it “the first”.
Think: what might the word great have meant at the time — scale, importance, glory, horror, or all of these?
The standard historical name used today. Numbering the war makes later history visible: a second world war followed.
Think: does this name encourage us to see 1914–18 as the beginning of a longer story?
A phrase associated with the hope that such destruction would never be repeated. It should be treated as a claim or aspiration, not a neutral official title.
Think: when we reach Versailles, test whether this phrase survived contact with the peace.
A recognised Māori term for the First World War. Te Aka also records Pakanga Nui o te Ao Tuatahi for First World War / Great War.
Think: language changes the voice through which history is encountered; it does not automatically change the evidence.
Return after the Treaty of Versailles and again at the end of the unit. You are allowed — expected — to change your ranking when the evidence changes your thinking.