Ancient Civilizations, Medieval, & Early Modern Times
Students in world history learn about the earliest humans, the development of tools, the foraging way of life, agriculture, and the emergence of civilizations in Mesopotamia, Egypt, ancient Israel, the Indus River valley, China, Mesoamerica, and the Mediterranean basin. The medieval and early modern periods provide students with opportunities to study the rise and fall of empires, the diffusion of religions and languages, and significant movements of people, ideas, and products. During these periods the regions of the world became more and more interconnected. Although the focus remains on ancient events and problems, this course gives students the opportunity to grapple with geography, environmental issues, political systems and power structures, and civic engagement with fundamental ideas about citizenship, freedom, morality, and law, which also exist in the modern world. -California Department of Education
Week 1: Human Origins in Africa
What were the earliest humans like? Many people have asked this question. Because there are no written records of prehistoric peoples, scientists have to piece together information about the past. Teams of scientists use a variety of research methods to learn more about how, where, and when early humans developed. Interestingly, recent discoveries provide the most knowledge about human origins and the way prehistoric people lived. Yet, the picture of prehistory is still far from complete. - World History: Patterns of Interaction
Student Learning Objectives:
Week 2: Humans Try to Control Nature
By about 40,000 years ago, human beings had become fully modern in their physical appearance. With a share, a haircut, and a suit, a Cro-Magnon man would have looked like a modern business executive. However, over the following thousands of years, the way of life of early humans underwent incredible changes. People developed new technology, artistic skills, and most importantly, agriculture. Agriculture marked a dramatic change in how people lived together. They began dwelling in larger, more organized communities, such as farming villages and towns. From some of these settlements, cities gradually emerged, forming the backdrop of a more complex way of life – civilization. - World History: Patterns of Interaction
Student Learning Objectives:
Week 3: Civilization
Agriculture marked a dramatic change in how people lived together. They began dwelling in larger, more organized communities, such as farming villages and towns. From some of these settlements, cities gradually emerged, forming the backdrop of a more complex way of life – civilization. - World History: Patterns of Interaction
Student Learning Objectives:
Week 4: Sumerian STEM Challenges
Ur, one of the earliest cities in Sumer, stood on the banks of the Euphrates River in what is now southern Iraq. Some 30,000 people once lived in this ancient city. Ur was the site of a highly sophisticated civilization... An early city, such as Ur, represents a model of civilizations that continued to arise throughout history. While the Sumerians were advancing their culture, civilizations were developing in Egypt, China, and elsewhere in Asia. -World History: Patterns of Interaction
Student Learning Objectives:
Week 5: City-States in Mesopotamia
Two rivers flow from the mountains of what is now Turkey, down through Syria and Iraq, and finally to the Persian Gulf. Over six thousand years ago, the waters of these rivers provided the lifeblood that allowed the formation of farming settlements. These grew into villages and then cities. The development of this civilization reflects a settlement pattern that has occurred repeatedly throughout history. -World History: Patterns of Interaction
Student Learning Objectives:
Week 6: Early River Valley Civilizations - Mesopotamia
Two rivers flow form the mountains of what is now Turkey, down through Syria and Iraq, and finally to the Persian Gulf. Over six thousand years ago, the waters of these rivers provided the lifeblood that allowed the formation of farming settlements. These grew into villages and then cities. -World History: Patterns of Interaction
Student Learning Objectives:
Week 7: Early River Valley Civilizations - Ancient Egypt
To the west of the Fertile Crescent in Africa, another river makes its way to the sea. While Sumerian civilization was on the rise, a similar process took place along the banks of this river, the Nile in Egypt. Yet the Egyptian civilization turned out to be very different from the collection of city-states in Mesopotamia. Early on, Egypt was united into a single kingdom, which allowed it to enjoy a high degree of unity, stability, and cultural continuity over a period of 3,000 years. -World History: Patterns of Interaction
Student Learning Objectives:
Week 8: Early River Valley Civilizations - Planned Cities on the Indus
The great civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt rose and fell. They left behind much physical evidence about their ways of life. This is the case in what today is the area known as Pakistan and part of India where another civilization arose about 2500 B.C. However, historians know less about its origins and the reasons for its eventual decline than they do about the origins and decline of Mesopotamia and Egypt, because the language of the culture has not been translated. -World History: Patterns of Interaction
Student Learning Objectives:
Week 9: Early River Valley Civilizations - River Dynasties in China
The walls of China’s first cities were built 4,000 years ago. This was at least 1,000 years after the walls of Ur, the great pyramids of Egypt, and the planned cities of the Indus Valley were built. Unlike the other three river valley civilizations, the civilization that began along one of China’s river systems continues to thrive today. -World History: Patterns of Interaction
Student Learning Objectives:
Week 10 - Quarter 1 Final Exam Week
Week 11 - The Indo-Europeans, 1700-1200 B.C.E.
In India and in Mesopotamia, civilizations first developed along lush river valleys. Even as large cities such as Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa declined, agriculture and small urban communities flourished. These wealthy river valleys attracted nomadic tribes. These peoples may have left their own homelands because of warfare or changes in the environment. -World History: Patterns of Interaction
Student Learning Objectives:
Week 12 - Hinduism and Buddhism Develop
At first, the Aryans and non-Aryans followed their own forms of religion. Then as the two groups intermingled, the gods and forms of their religions also tended to blend together. This blending resulted in the worship of thousands of gods. Different ways of living and different beliefs made life more complex for both groups. This complexity led some people to question the world and their place in it. They even questioned the enormous wealth and power held by the Brahmin priests. Out of this turmoil, new religious ideas arose that have continued to influence millions of people today. -World History: Patterns of Interaction
Student Learning Outcomes:
Weeks 13 & 15 - Seafaring Traders and the Origins of Judaism
Buddhism spread to Southeast Asia and to East Asia mainly through Buddhist traders. In the Mediterranean, the same process took place: Traders in the region carried many new ideas from one society to another. They carried new ways of writing, of governing, and of worshiping their gods. The Phoenicians lived in a region at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea that was later called Palestine. The Phoenicians were not the only ancient people to live in Palestine. The Romans had given the area that name after the Philistines, another people who lived in the region. Canaan was the ancient home of the Hebrews, later called the Jews, in this area. Their history, legends, and moral laws are a major influence on Western culture and they began a tradition also shared by Christianity and Islam. -World History: Patterns of Interaction
Student Learning Objectives:
Week 14 - Thanksgiving Break, No School
Weeks 16-17: Classical Greece
In ancient times, Greece was not a united country. It was a collection of separate lands where Greek-speaking people lived. By 3000 B.C., the Minoans lived on the large Greek island of Crete. The Minoans created an elegant civilization that had great power in the Mediterranean world. At the same time, people from the plains along the Black Sea and Anatolia migrated and settled in mainland Greece. On the ruins of the ancient empires, new patterns of civilization began to take shape...(World History: Patterns of Interaction). The Greek city-states of Sparta and Athens illustrate forms of Western government, while the Greek philosophers established the foundations of Western philosophy. The polis created a model for active citizenship, while the Athenian polis laid the foundations for democracy. Greek thinkers left an important legacy to the West in their commitment to rational inquiry. -Glencoe World History: Modern Times
Student Learning Objectives:
Weeks 19 & 20: Winter Break, No School
Week 21: Alexander's Empire
The Peloponnesian War severely weakened several Greek city-states. This caused a rapid decline in their military and economic power. In the nearby kingdom of Macedonia, King Philip II took note. Philip dreamed of taking control of Greece and then moving against Persia to seize its vast wealth. Philip also hoped to avenge the Persian invasion of Greece in 480 B.C . Alexander’s ambitions were cultural as well as military and political. During his wars of conquest, he actively sought to meld the conquered culture with that of the Greeks. He started new cities as administrative centers and outposts of Greek culture. These cities, from Egyptian Alexandria in the south to the Asian Alexandrias in the east, adopted many Greek patterns and customs. After Alexander’s death, trade, a shared Greek culture, and a common language continued to link the cities together. But each region had its own traditional ways of life, religion, and government that no ruler could afford to overlook. -World History: Patterns of Interaction
Student Learning Objectives:
Week 22: Quarter 2 Finals Week
Weeks 23-24: Roman Republic
While the great civilization of Greece was in decline, a new city to the west was developing and increasing its power. Rome grew from a small settlement to a might civilization that eventually conquered the Mediterranean world. In time, the Romans would build one of the most famous and influential empires in history. As Rome enlarged its territory, its republican form of government grew increasingly unstable. Eventually, the Roman Republic gave way to the formation of a might dictator-ruled empire that continued to spread Rome’s influence far and wide. -World History: Patterns of Interaction
Student Learning Objectives:
Weeks 25-26: The Pax Romana
Rome was at the peak of its power from the beginning of Augustus’s rule in 27 BC to AD 180. For 207 years, peace reigned throughout the empire, except for some fighting with tribes along the borders. This period of peace and prosperity is known as the Pax Romana – “Roman peace." Students will role-play as gladiators during the Roman Empire. Students will begin as a Gaul Warrior being taken prisoner leading them to the life of a gladiator. Following gladiatorial training school, students will experience the training, lifestyle, and fighting techniques used during the gladiatorial games of the Roman Empire.
Student Learning Objectives:
Weeks 27: Fall of the Roman Empire
In the third century AD, Rome faced many problems. They came both from within the empire and from outside. Only drastic economic, military, and political reforms, it seemed, could hold off collapse.
Student Learning Centers:
Week 29: The Russian Empire
In addition to sending its missionaries to the land of the Slavs during the ninth century, Byzantium actively traded with its neighbors to the north. Because of this increased interaction, the Slavs began absorbing many greek Byzantine ways. It was this blending of Slavic and Greek traditions that eventually produced Russian culture.
READ: The Russian Empire
Week 31: Final Exam Review
Week 32: Quarter 3 Final Exams
Week 33: The Middle Ages
In western Europe, the Roman Empire had broken into many small kingdoms. During the Middle Ages, Charlemagne and Otto the Great tried to revive the idea of empire. Both allied with the Church. Weak rulers and the decline of central authority led to a feudal system in which lords with large estates assumed power. This led to struggles over power with the Church. During the Middle Ages, the Church was a unifying force. It shaped people's beliefs and guided their daily lives. Most Europeans at the time shared a common bond of faith.
Student Learning Outcomes:
Week 34: The Formation of Western Europe
In Western Europe the time period from 800 to 1500 is known as the Age of Faith. Christian beliefs inspired the Crusades and the building of great cathedrals, and guided the development of universities. Although destructive in many ways, the Crusades resulted in a great deal of cultural exchange. Medieval Christian Europe learned and adopted much from the Muslim World.
Student Learning Outcomes:
Week 35: Spring Break - No School
Weeks 36-37: European Renaissance and Reformation, 1300-1600
Trade with the East and the rediscovery of ancient manuscripts caused Europeans to develop new ideas about culture and art. This period was called the "Renaissance," which mean rebirth. Martin Luther began a movement to reform practices in the Catholic Church that he believed were wrong. That movement, the Reformation, led to the founding of non-Catholic churches. The invention of the printing press allowed books and pamphlets to be made faster and more cheaply. This new technology helped spread the revolutionary ideas of the Renaissance and Reformation.
Student Learning Outcomes:
What were the earliest humans like? Many people have asked this question. Because there are no written records of prehistoric peoples, scientists have to piece together information about the past. Teams of scientists use a variety of research methods to learn more about how, where, and when early humans developed. Interestingly, recent discoveries provide the most knowledge about human origins and the way prehistoric people lived. Yet, the picture of prehistory is still far from complete. - World History: Patterns of Interaction
Student Learning Objectives:
- Students will explore what clues bones and artifacts give about early peoples.
- Students will identify the major achievements in human history during the Old Stone Age.
- Students will assess how Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons differ from earlier peoples.
Week 2: Humans Try to Control Nature
By about 40,000 years ago, human beings had become fully modern in their physical appearance. With a share, a haircut, and a suit, a Cro-Magnon man would have looked like a modern business executive. However, over the following thousands of years, the way of life of early humans underwent incredible changes. People developed new technology, artistic skills, and most importantly, agriculture. Agriculture marked a dramatic change in how people lived together. They began dwelling in larger, more organized communities, such as farming villages and towns. From some of these settlements, cities gradually emerged, forming the backdrop of a more complex way of life – civilization. - World History: Patterns of Interaction
Student Learning Objectives:
- Students will identify the factors which influenced the origins of agriculture.
- Students will define nomad, hunter-gatherer, and domestication.
- Students will summarize ways in which Neolithic peoples improved their lives.
- Students will evaluate the consequences of the Agricultural Revolution on society.
Week 3: Civilization
Agriculture marked a dramatic change in how people lived together. They began dwelling in larger, more organized communities, such as farming villages and towns. From some of these settlements, cities gradually emerged, forming the backdrop of a more complex way of life – civilization. - World History: Patterns of Interaction
Student Learning Objectives:
- Students will identify the key characteristics of a civilization.
- Students will explore how writing was a key invention for the Sumerians.
- Students will evaluate how the social structure of village life changed as the economy became more complex.
Week 4: Sumerian STEM Challenges
Ur, one of the earliest cities in Sumer, stood on the banks of the Euphrates River in what is now southern Iraq. Some 30,000 people once lived in this ancient city. Ur was the site of a highly sophisticated civilization... An early city, such as Ur, represents a model of civilizations that continued to arise throughout history. While the Sumerians were advancing their culture, civilizations were developing in Egypt, China, and elsewhere in Asia. -World History: Patterns of Interaction
Student Learning Objectives:
- Students will evaluate a case-study on Ur in Sumer identifying the five characteristics of civilization
- Students will work in group to complete Sumerian STEM Challenges: Ziggurat Marble Run & Cuneiform Coding
Week 5: City-States in Mesopotamia
Two rivers flow from the mountains of what is now Turkey, down through Syria and Iraq, and finally to the Persian Gulf. Over six thousand years ago, the waters of these rivers provided the lifeblood that allowed the formation of farming settlements. These grew into villages and then cities. The development of this civilization reflects a settlement pattern that has occurred repeatedly throughout history. -World History: Patterns of Interaction
Student Learning Objectives:
- Students will be able to describe the significance of the following terms: Fertile Crescent, Mesopotamia, city-state, dynasty, cultural diffusion, polytheism, empire, and Hammurabi.
- Students will determine how Sumerian culture spread throughout Mesopotamia.
Week 6: Early River Valley Civilizations - Mesopotamia
Two rivers flow form the mountains of what is now Turkey, down through Syria and Iraq, and finally to the Persian Gulf. Over six thousand years ago, the waters of these rivers provided the lifeblood that allowed the formation of farming settlements. These grew into villages and then cities. -World History: Patterns of Interaction
Student Learning Objectives:
- Students will identify key Sumerian environmental challenges and solutions
- Students will compare and contrast ancient Sumerian and modern-day Sacramentan characteristics
- Students will explore ancient Mesopotamian religious and cultural beliefs
Week 7: Early River Valley Civilizations - Ancient Egypt
To the west of the Fertile Crescent in Africa, another river makes its way to the sea. While Sumerian civilization was on the rise, a similar process took place along the banks of this river, the Nile in Egypt. Yet the Egyptian civilization turned out to be very different from the collection of city-states in Mesopotamia. Early on, Egypt was united into a single kingdom, which allowed it to enjoy a high degree of unity, stability, and cultural continuity over a period of 3,000 years. -World History: Patterns of Interaction
Student Learning Objectives:
- Identify delta, pyramid, pharaoh, mummification, hieroglyphic, and papyrus
- Describe Egyptian achievements
- Understand the impact Egyptian religious beliefs had on the lives of Egyptians
- Compare and contrast Sumerian and Egyptian civilization
Week 8: Early River Valley Civilizations - Planned Cities on the Indus
The great civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt rose and fell. They left behind much physical evidence about their ways of life. This is the case in what today is the area known as Pakistan and part of India where another civilization arose about 2500 B.C. However, historians know less about its origins and the reasons for its eventual decline than they do about the origins and decline of Mesopotamia and Egypt, because the language of the culture has not been translated. -World History: Patterns of Interaction
Student Learning Objectives:
- Students will draw conclusions about the Indus Valley civilization
- Students will identify problems monsoons can cause
- Students will infer how the people of the Indus Valley were connected to Mesopotamia
- Students will identify reasons historians suggest for the disappearance of the Indus Valley civilization
Week 9: Early River Valley Civilizations - River Dynasties in China
The walls of China’s first cities were built 4,000 years ago. This was at least 1,000 years after the walls of Ur, the great pyramids of Egypt, and the planned cities of the Indus Valley were built. Unlike the other three river valley civilizations, the civilization that began along one of China’s river systems continues to thrive today. -World History: Patterns of Interaction
Student Learning Objectives:
- Students will understand how the dynastic cycle connected to the Mandate of Heaven
- Students will identify the benefits and drawbacks of the belief that the group was more important than the individual
- Students will compare social classes in Shang society from those in Egyptian society
- Students will recognize family obligations for a person living in ancient China
Week 10 - Quarter 1 Final Exam Week
Week 11 - The Indo-Europeans, 1700-1200 B.C.E.
In India and in Mesopotamia, civilizations first developed along lush river valleys. Even as large cities such as Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa declined, agriculture and small urban communities flourished. These wealthy river valleys attracted nomadic tribes. These peoples may have left their own homelands because of warfare or changes in the environment. -World History: Patterns of Interaction
Student Learning Objectives:
- Students will identify the Indo-Europeans, Hittites, and Aryans
- Students will correctly label geographical features on a map involving Indo-European migrations in the 1600’s BC
- Students will evaluate the achievements of the Hittites
- Students will discuss the important contributions the Aryans made to the culture and way of life in India in terms of religion, literature, and roles in society
Week 12 - Hinduism and Buddhism Develop
At first, the Aryans and non-Aryans followed their own forms of religion. Then as the two groups intermingled, the gods and forms of their religions also tended to blend together. This blending resulted in the worship of thousands of gods. Different ways of living and different beliefs made life more complex for both groups. This complexity led some people to question the world and their place in it. They even questioned the enormous wealth and power held by the Brahmin priests. Out of this turmoil, new religious ideas arose that have continued to influence millions of people today. -World History: Patterns of Interaction
Student Learning Outcomes:
- Students will understand how the beliefs of the Vedic Age developed into Hinduism and Buddhism
- Students will identify the terms for Enlightenment in each religion
- Students will analyze how Hinduism influenced the social structure in India
- Students will work in small collaborative learning groups to research and present information on Hinduism and Buddhism to the class
Weeks 13 & 15 - Seafaring Traders and the Origins of Judaism
Buddhism spread to Southeast Asia and to East Asia mainly through Buddhist traders. In the Mediterranean, the same process took place: Traders in the region carried many new ideas from one society to another. They carried new ways of writing, of governing, and of worshiping their gods. The Phoenicians lived in a region at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea that was later called Palestine. The Phoenicians were not the only ancient people to live in Palestine. The Romans had given the area that name after the Philistines, another people who lived in the region. Canaan was the ancient home of the Hebrews, later called the Jews, in this area. Their history, legends, and moral laws are a major influence on Western culture and they began a tradition also shared by Christianity and Islam. -World History: Patterns of Interaction
Student Learning Objectives:
- Students will evaluate Minoan and Phoenician accomplishments
- Students will explore what the excavations at Knossos reveal about Minoan culture
- Students will identify where the Phoenicians settled and traded
- Students will discuss the main problems faced by the Hebrews between 2000 BC and 700 BC
- Students will use a timeline to track major Hebrew leaders throughout history
Week 14 - Thanksgiving Break, No School
Weeks 16-17: Classical Greece
In ancient times, Greece was not a united country. It was a collection of separate lands where Greek-speaking people lived. By 3000 B.C., the Minoans lived on the large Greek island of Crete. The Minoans created an elegant civilization that had great power in the Mediterranean world. At the same time, people from the plains along the Black Sea and Anatolia migrated and settled in mainland Greece. On the ruins of the ancient empires, new patterns of civilization began to take shape...(World History: Patterns of Interaction). The Greek city-states of Sparta and Athens illustrate forms of Western government, while the Greek philosophers established the foundations of Western philosophy. The polis created a model for active citizenship, while the Athenian polis laid the foundations for democracy. Greek thinkers left an important legacy to the West in their commitment to rational inquiry. -Glencoe World History: Modern Times
Student Learning Objectives:
- Students will evaluate which culture – Minoan, Mycenaean, and Dorian – contributed the most to Greek culture.
- Students will explore how the physical geography of Greece caused Greek-speaking peoples to develop separate, isolated communities.
- Students will analyze why the Greeks went to war with Troy.
- Students will infer why the Dorian period is often called Greece’s Dark Age.
- Students will understand the civilization of the ancient Greeks.
- Students will describe the influence of ancient Greek political and ethical systems on modern-day systems.
- Students will analyze the works of important Greek philosophers who contributed to the development of Western political ideals.
Weeks 19 & 20: Winter Break, No School
Week 21: Alexander's Empire
The Peloponnesian War severely weakened several Greek city-states. This caused a rapid decline in their military and economic power. In the nearby kingdom of Macedonia, King Philip II took note. Philip dreamed of taking control of Greece and then moving against Persia to seize its vast wealth. Philip also hoped to avenge the Persian invasion of Greece in 480 B.C . Alexander’s ambitions were cultural as well as military and political. During his wars of conquest, he actively sought to meld the conquered culture with that of the Greeks. He started new cities as administrative centers and outposts of Greek culture. These cities, from Egyptian Alexandria in the south to the Asian Alexandrias in the east, adopted many Greek patterns and customs. After Alexander’s death, trade, a shared Greek culture, and a common language continued to link the cities together. But each region had its own traditional ways of life, religion, and government that no ruler could afford to overlook. -World History: Patterns of Interaction
Student Learning Objectives:
- Students will analyze the consequences of the Persian Wars.
- Students will explain the significance of Macedonia, Philip II, and Alexander the Great.
- Students will discuss Pericles’ three goals for Athens.
- Students will identify three renowned philosophers of the Golden Age.
- Students will understand the four influences which blended to form Hellenistic culture
Week 22: Quarter 2 Finals Week
Weeks 23-24: Roman Republic
While the great civilization of Greece was in decline, a new city to the west was developing and increasing its power. Rome grew from a small settlement to a might civilization that eventually conquered the Mediterranean world. In time, the Romans would build one of the most famous and influential empires in history. As Rome enlarged its territory, its republican form of government grew increasingly unstable. Eventually, the Roman Republic gave way to the formation of a might dictator-ruled empire that continued to spread Rome’s influence far and wide. -World History: Patterns of Interaction
Student Learning Objectives:
- Students will evaluate key characteristics of the early Roman Republic.
- Students will explain the limits on the power of the Roman consuls.
- Students will understand the significance of the Twelve Tables.
- Students will name the three main parts of government under the Roman republic
- Students will discuss how Rome treated different sections of its conquered territory.
- Students will explain the main reasons for the Romans’ success in controlling such a large empire.
- Students will discuss the measures the government took to distract and control the masses of Rome.
- Students will analyze what role Julius Caesar played in the decline of the republic and the rise of the empire.
- Students will discuss why Caesar’s rivals felt they had to kill him.
Weeks 25-26: The Pax Romana
Rome was at the peak of its power from the beginning of Augustus’s rule in 27 BC to AD 180. For 207 years, peace reigned throughout the empire, except for some fighting with tribes along the borders. This period of peace and prosperity is known as the Pax Romana – “Roman peace." Students will role-play as gladiators during the Roman Empire. Students will begin as a Gaul Warrior being taken prisoner leading them to the life of a gladiator. Following gladiatorial training school, students will experience the training, lifestyle, and fighting techniques used during the gladiatorial games of the Roman Empire.
Student Learning Objectives:
- Students will evaluate which factors contributed to the fall of the Roman Republic.
- Students will explain the main reasons for the Romans’ success in controlling such a large empire.
- Students will discuss the measures the government took to distract and control the masses of Rome.
- Students will analyze what role Julius Caesar played in the decline of the republic and the rise of the empire.
- Students will discuss why Caesar’s rivals felt they had to kill him.
- Students will recognize Augustus’s greatest contribution to Roman society.
- Students will role-play as gladiators during the Roman Empire.
- Students will experience the training, lifestyle, and fighting techniques used during the gladiatorial games of the Roman Empire.
Weeks 27: Fall of the Roman Empire
In the third century AD, Rome faced many problems. They came both from within the empire and from outside. Only drastic economic, military, and political reforms, it seemed, could hold off collapse.
Student Learning Centers:
- Center 1 - A Century of Crisis
- Center 2 - Emperors Attempt Reform
- Center 3 - The Western Empire Crumbles
- Center 4 - SkillBuilder! Interpreting Maps & Charts
Week 29: The Russian Empire
In addition to sending its missionaries to the land of the Slavs during the ninth century, Byzantium actively traded with its neighbors to the north. Because of this increased interaction, the Slavs began absorbing many greek Byzantine ways. It was this blending of Slavic and Greek traditions that eventually produced Russian culture.
READ: The Russian Empire
Week 31: Final Exam Review
Week 32: Quarter 3 Final Exams
Week 33: The Middle Ages
In western Europe, the Roman Empire had broken into many small kingdoms. During the Middle Ages, Charlemagne and Otto the Great tried to revive the idea of empire. Both allied with the Church. Weak rulers and the decline of central authority led to a feudal system in which lords with large estates assumed power. This led to struggles over power with the Church. During the Middle Ages, the Church was a unifying force. It shaped people's beliefs and guided their daily lives. Most Europeans at the time shared a common bond of faith.
Student Learning Outcomes:
- Students will understand the significance of the pope's declaring Charlemagne emperor.
- Students will evaluate why Otto I was the most effective ruler of Medieval Germany.
Week 34: The Formation of Western Europe
In Western Europe the time period from 800 to 1500 is known as the Age of Faith. Christian beliefs inspired the Crusades and the building of great cathedrals, and guided the development of universities. Although destructive in many ways, the Crusades resulted in a great deal of cultural exchange. Medieval Christian Europe learned and adopted much from the Muslim World.
Student Learning Outcomes:
- Students will evaluate the effects of the Crusades.
- Students will discuss how English kings increased their power and reduced the power of the nobles.
- Students will compare the way in which England and France began developing as nations.
- Students will identify the causes and effects of major events at the end of the Middle Ages.
Week 35: Spring Break - No School
Weeks 36-37: European Renaissance and Reformation, 1300-1600
Trade with the East and the rediscovery of ancient manuscripts caused Europeans to develop new ideas about culture and art. This period was called the "Renaissance," which mean rebirth. Martin Luther began a movement to reform practices in the Catholic Church that he believed were wrong. That movement, the Reformation, led to the founding of non-Catholic churches. The invention of the printing press allowed books and pamphlets to be made faster and more cheaply. This new technology helped spread the revolutionary ideas of the Renaissance and Reformation.
Student Learning Outcomes:
- Students will discuss how the merchant class in northern Italy influenced the Renaissance.
- Students will evaluate how literature and the arts changed during the Renaissance.
- Students will identify on what three teachings Martin Luther rested his Reformation movement.
- Students will explain how John Calvin's church differed from the Lutheran Church.
- Students will understand the legacies of the Reformation.
- Students will recognize how the Renaissance and Reformation expanded cultural interaction both within Europe and outside of it.