Sessions

 

Session 1: Expansion

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will define century, civilization, culture, develop, dynasty, exchange, historian, information, network, population, society and world zones. 

Students will identify and explain the pros and cons associated with the development of agrarian civilizations.

Students will review the vocabulary for this unit.

Students will complete and discuss their answers on the Vocabulary: Part 1 worksheet.

Students will watch and discuss "Why Did Civilization Expand?"

HOMEWORK:

Bring dice to the next session.

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Session 2: The Modern Revolution

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will watch and discuss "Crash Course: The Modern Revolution" 

Students will examine the importance of living in a world zone with ample resources by playing the World Zone game.

Students will read, analyze and discuss "The Four World Zones" using the Three Close Reads method.

HOMEWORK:

Finish the Three Close Reads of "The Four World Zones".

 

Session 3: The Four World Zones

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will examine the Driving Question Notebook and Discussion Guide.

Students will examine the the causes and consequences that led to the Modern Revolution.

Students will review the timeline of expansion and interconnection. 

HOMEWORK:

No Homework. 

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Session 4: Exploration and Interconnection 

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will use their critical thinking skills to try to figure out what Marco Polo was describing in each of the excerpts from his book.

Students will watch and discuss "Crash Course: Why Early Globalization Matters".

Students will read, analyze and discuss "China: The First Great Divergence" using the Three Close Reads method. 

HOMEWORK:

No Homework

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Session 5: An Age of Adventure

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will read, analyze and discuss "An Age of Adventure" using the Three Close Reads method. 

Students will examine the lives of Ibn Battuta, Marco Polo and Zheng He. 

HOMEWORK:

Continue researching your assigned explorer. Create a 5 minute presentation about your explorer. The presentation should include visuals, including, at a minimum, a map of your explorer’s route and a portrait of your explorer. 

 

Session 6: My Explorer

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will present their homework

Students will choose one of the following explorers to research their contributions to the world: Christopher Columbus, da Gama, Magellan, Cartier, Ibn Battuta, Captain Cook, Zheng He, Cortes and Pizarro, Sir Francis Drake, Champlain, Eriksson, Vespucci and Balboa.

HOMEWORK:

Be prepared to dress as your explorer in the next class session. We are going to have meeting of the 'Royal Society of Explorers' where you will discuss with the class the major contributions you (the explorer) have made to the world. 

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Session 7: Royal Society of Explorers

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will participate in the Royal Society of Explorers as the explorer they have chosen to research. 

Students will watch and discuss "Brain Boost".

HOMEWORK:

Students will read for information (clues) and for understanding in order to a visual representation of how humans have migrated over time, up until today.

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Session 8: Issues of Colonization

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will present their migration projects.

Students will identify and explain where different nations colonized. 

Students will analyze the impact that colonization still has on us today around the world. 

Students will chose from one of the colonizing nations to research:

United Kingdom, France, Portugal, Spain, Netherlands, United States, Russian Empire, Ottoman Empire, Roman Empire, Germany, Belgium, Austro-Hungarian Empire, Denmark, Sweden-Norway, Italy and Persia.

Students will research the following questions concerning the country they have chosen:

1) Where did that country/empire colonize? (Note: Many of these countries colonized in multiple places. Students need to pick one place to explore in more depth).
2) How did they accomplish this colonization? Was it forced? Was there resistance?
3) When did colonization end?
4) What influence of colonization can be seen or found in that country (or area) today? (Note: This can include food, languages, the culture, customs, architecture, industry, and so on!)
5) A list of all the resources that they used to gather this information.

HOMEWORK:

Create a presentation to share your findings with the class in the next session. You cannot use a lecture format. You can act it out, write a poem to recite, make a podcast, sing a song, create a PowerPoint or Prezi, put together a poster, make an infographic….the list goes on. You must let your teacher know how you plan to present the information to the class before you create your project. 

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Session 9: Columbian Exchange

Students will present their homework.

Students will identify Old World versus New World goods

Students will watch and discuss "Crash Course: The Colombian Exchange".

Students will read, analyze and discuss "Investigating the Consequences of the Columbian Exchange" using the Three Close Reads method. 

HOMEWORK:

Finish your Three Close Read of "Investigating the Consequences of the Columbian Exchange".

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Session 10: Analyzing the Columbian Exchange

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will discuss "Investigating the Consequences of the Columbian Exchange"

Students will read, analyze and discuss "When Humans Became Inhumane: The Atlantic Slave Trade" using the Three Close Reads method. 

Students will create timelines as another way of examining the Columbian Exchange. 

HOMEWORK:

Create an infographic that explains the Columbian Exchange. Your infographic should include the following: 

1) Topic: The topic of the infographic is specific in nature and is intended to inform or convince the viewer.
2) Type: The type of infographic chosen (for example, timeline or informational) highly supports the content being presented.
3) Objects: The objects included in the infographic are relevant and support the topic of the infographic.
4) Data visualizations: The data visualizations present accurate data and are easy to understand.
5) Style: Fonts, colors, and organization are aesthetically pleasing, appropriate to the content, and enhance the viewer’s understanding of the information in the infographic.
6) Citations: Full bibliographic citations for all sources used are included.
In addition, provide an explanation and demonstration of your knowledge of the following:

1) Goods of the Columbian Exchange. This includes plants, animals, people, and diseases.
2) How these goods are interconnected.
3) New World versus Old World.
4) The Columbian Exchange’s impact on the world today.

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Session 11: Age of Enlightenment and the Scientific Revolution

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will explain about how interconnectedness influences the spread of ideas, and how this brought about the Age of Enlightenment and the Scientific Revolution.

Students will review the vocabulary for this unit.

Students will complete and discuss their answers on the Vocabulary: Part 2 worksheet.

Students will examine the Driving Question Notebook and Discussion Guide.

HOMEWORK:

No Homework 

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Session 12: Money and Global Economy 

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will watch and discuss "Jacqueline Howard Presents: The History of Money" and "Systems of Exchange and Trade".

Students will read, analyze and discuss "One Lump or Two? The Development of Global Economy" using the Three Close Reads method. 

HOMEWORK:

Read and  analyze "Benjamin Banneker: Science in Adversity" using the Three Close Reads method

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Session 13: The Silk Road - Part A

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will discuss "Benjamin Banneker: Science in Adversity" using the Three Close Reads method

Students will read, analyze and discuss "The First Silk Road" using the Three Close Reads method. 

Students will watch and discuss "The Silk Road: Connecting the ancient world through trade".

HOMEWORK:

No Homework

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Session 14: The Silk Road - Part B

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will experience what trade was like on the Silk Road through a Silk Road trading game. 

Students will read, analyze and discuss "Lost on the Silk Road" using the Three Close Reads method. 

HOMEWORK:

Students will read and analyze  "A Curious Case: African Agrarianism" using the Three Close Reads method.

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Session 15: Consumerism 

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will discuss "A Curious Case: African Agrarianism" using the Three Close Reads method.

Students will research an item they use every day in order to understand how this item is made, how long it takes to travel to the area where they live, and how much energy is needed in this process.

Students will chose to complete the World Without project, the service project, or both for their Little Big History Final Project.

HOMEWORK:

Develop a plan that will allow you the opportunity to finish your Little Big History Project outside of class. 

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Session 16: Collective Learning and Modernism

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will discuss their plans to complete their Little Big History Project. 

Students will read, analyze and discuss "She Blinded Me With Science" using the Three Close Reads method. 

Students will debate whether or not the Scientific Revolution is dead or alive.

Students will revise a classmate's Investigation 7 essay.

HOMEWORK:

Read the articles for Investigation 8.

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Session 17: Investigation 8

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will write a five- to six-paragraph essay (about 2 pages) comparing two outbreaks of bubonic plague. They will use the information to explain how and why our responses to disease has or hasn't changed over time.

HOMEWORK:

No Homework

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