World History Foundations
Course Overview
World History Foundations is a one-semester course that
traces the development of global civilization from its origins in Mesopotamia
through the rise of
Greece
,
Rome
, the Early Middle Ages, and Islam. It
is a foundational course for the study of history at
Immaculate
Heart
Academy
, introducing students to historical thinking, reading and interpreting primary
sources, critical reading of secondary materials, developing a social studies
vocabulary, and learning the skills of making an argument in expository
paragraphs. The class is a balance of content and skills whose goal is to
prepare students for success in social studies classes.
GOALS:
- Explore
the impact of geography and the environment on history
- Trace
the early development of world civilizations
- Develop
social studies vocabulary
- Develop
critical reading skills for social studies, learning to read as historians
do
- Develop
higher-order critical thinking skills
- Master
the skills needed for writing effective expository paragraphs
Skills
for World History Foundations
1. Critical
Reading
in the Social Studies
-
Developing a social studies vocabulary
-
Practicing effective note-taking
-
Stating the main idea of a historical text
-
Identifying supporting ideas
-
Identifying organizational patterns:
6. Reading primary sources, weighing issues of
-
Sourcing
-
Context
-
Corroboration
2. Critical Thinking
-
Analyzing causes
-
Evaluating effects
-
Summarizing
-
Completing assignments that require higher-order
thinking:
-
Application
-
Analysis
-
Synthesis
-
Evaluation
3. Expository Paragraph Writing
: Mastering the structure of paragraphs and the organization of ideas in the
body
Structure:
-
Topic sentence
-
Context sentence
-
Body
-
Summary sentence
Organization:
CONTENT OF
COURSE:
First
Quarter
Introduction: History and Geography
- Reading
for sourcing, context, and corroboration
- Primary
sources and secondary materials
- Five
themes of geography
Proficiencies: students will be able to…
- Explain
the terms “sourcing, context, and corroboration” and apply these ideas
to reading historical materials; explain the difference between a primary
source and secondary materials.
- Explain
the impacts of geography on history and articulate the five themes of
geography.
- Identify
on the map the locations of the cultures that are the focus of study in
World History Foundations:
Mesopotamia
,
Egypt
,
India
,
China
,
Greece
,
Rome
, Early Medieval Europe, Islam (its rise in
Arabia
and its geographic spread)
UNIT 1: Rise of Civilization: Mesopotamia
and
Egypt
-
Geography of the Fertile Crescent and
Egypt
-
The
Agricultural Revolution
-
Characteristics of civilization
-
Civilization in
Mesopotamia
-
Role of the pharaoh
-
Egyptian
religion and social structure
-
Technology
Proficiencies: students will be able to…
- Explain
the importance of the Agricultural Revolution to the development of
civilization and compare and contrast hunter gatherer societies with
agricultural societies.
- List
the characteristics of civilization, provide specific examples, and identify
when and where civilization first arose.
- Explain
the importance of written language and technology to the development of
civilization.
- Explain
how geography and environment affected cultural development in the
Fertile Crescent
.
- Explain
significant advances of
Sumer
in the areas of technology, science, and law.
- Summarize
how geography affected the development of Egyptian culture.
- Describe
ancient Egyptian religion, social structure, and technology.
UNIT 2: Indian Civilization
- Geography and environment
- Indo-Europeans and their
impact
- Aryan cultural
transformation
- The caste system
Proficiencies: students will be able to…
- Explain
who the Indo-Europeans were and their impact on world languages.
- Describe
the cultural impact of the Aryans on
India
.
- Describe
the emergence and significance of the caste system.
- Know
key terms; Indo-Europeans, migration, caste, Brahmins.
- Describe
the origins, beliefs, and development of Hinduism.
- Understand
how Hinduism strengthened the caste system.
- Explain
the origin, beliefs, and practices of Buddhism.
UNIT 3: Chinese Civilization
- Impact
of geography
- Dynasties
and dynastic cycles
- Confucian
social order
- Chinese
technology
Proficiencies: Students will be
able to…
- Explain
the significance of geography and environment to the development of early
Chinese civilization.
- Discuss
the importance to early Chinese culture of family, social class, religion
- Describe
the concepts of “mandate of heaven” and “dynastic cycles” in
understanding Chinese culture and history.
- Explain
the key teachings of Confucius and discuss how a civil service grew out of
the teaching of Confucius.
- Explain
how the Qin dynasty contributed to the creation of a strong
China
.
- Describe
the achievements in technology and commerce during the Han dynasty.
CONTENT OF COURSE: Second
Quarter
UNIT 4:
Greece
- Development
of the Greeks city-states
-
Athens
and the ideal of democracy
- Greek
philosophers
- Art,
and architecture
Proficiencies: students will be able to…
- Explain
the concepts of natural law and the humanistic vision and give examples of
their influence on Athenian culture.
- Assess
the impact of geography on the politics, economic life, and culture of the
Greek city-states.
- Trace
the rise of the city-states to the
high point
of the Golden Age; assess the impact of the Greek civil war; evaluate the
influence of Alexander to Great on the spread of Greek culture.
- Contrast
direct vs. representative democracy, assess the strengths and weaknesses of
the Athenian system, and contrast it with modern American democracy.
- Identify
the characteristics of classicism and romanticism in the arts; illustrate
these concepts through specific works of sculpture and architecture.
UNIT 5:
Rome
-
Roman
Republic
- Roman
Law
- From
Republic to Empire
- Rise
of Christianity
- Fall
of the
Roman Empire
Proficiencies: students will be able to…
- Describe
the organization of the
Roman
Republic
, evaluate its characteristics as both a representative democracy and an
oligarchy, and evaluate it as a model for later republican governments.
- Analyze
the factors that led to the decline of the
Roman
Republic
and the establishment of the Empire under Augustus.
- Assess
the importance of Roman Law to Rome’s ability to govern a large empire;
explain the impact of Roman Civil Law and the Law of the Nations on later
Western law systems; and identify principles of Roman law that are
fundamental features of modern legal systems.
- Summarize
the cultural contributions of
Rome
to Western civilization in the areas of the arts, language, and religion.
- Analyze
the multiple factors that contributed to the decline and “fall” of
Rome
in the West.
UNIT 6: The Early
Middle Ages and the Rise of Islam
- From Germanic kingdoms to
feudalism
- Manorialism
- Role of the Church
- Muhammad
- Beliefs and practices of
Islam
- Spread of Islam
- Islamic
cultural achievements
Proficiencies: Students will be
able to…
- Describe
the origins and development feudalism and manorialism and evaluate how well
these systems met basic political, social, and economic needs of the Early
Middle Ages.
- Describe
the growth of the Church as an institution and assess its political,
cultural, and spiritual impact on
Europe
in the Early Middle Ages.
- Explain
how Muhammad became the Prophet and how he unified the
Arabian Peninsula
under Islam.
- Identify
the basic beliefs and practices of Islam.
- Describe
how Muhammad’s successors spread Islam and trace its spread on a map.
- Discuss
the Sunni-Shia split and its significance
- Give
examples of Muslim advances in mathematics and science.
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