District 11 Educational Support Services
Social Studies

World History 1450 to Present: Age of Discovery, Exploration, and Colonization  

Course Numbers: SS.WDHST1 and SS.WDHST2

                                                                                                           
Overview

View the Video Introduction. (3:53) The Renaissance culminated with the era of exploration and colonization. In 1492, the Spanish expedition led by Christopher Columbus reached the Americas. European exploration and colonization grew rapidly including the Caribbean Sea region and parts of the mainland of North and South America. In this unit you will discover the economic, social and religious factors that motivated Discovery, Exploration and Colonization, leading to profound changes to landscape, population, and wealth.

For Teachers
Quarter 1  2
Quarter 3  4
Next Course
Course Overview

Enduring Understandings - important ideas that students should carry with them years beyond the instruction received this year.

  • Chronology organizes history and increases understanding of historical relationships.
  • Human and physical systems interact and impact one another.
  • Societies are diverse and change over time.
  • Scientific and technological developments impact human interactions.
  • Religious and philosophical ideas have been powerful societal forces.
  • Using historical data, events in history can be analyzed from multiple perspectives.
  • Human and physical characteristics define regions

Essential Questions - most important “big picture” questions students should be able to answer after completing learning activities.

  • What were the major causes and effects of the Renaissance in Europe?
  • How does the environment shape human society in the Renaissance?
  • How did societal structure during the Renaissance compare to that of today?
  • How did scientific and technological developments impact society during the Reformation?
  • How did religious and philosophical ideas impact Renaissance society?
  • What are the major events of the Reformation and how can they be organized chronologically? What cause/effect relationships exist among these events?
  • How were the cultural achievements of the Europeans during the Renaissance comparable to those of the Ottomans and Mughals/Moguls at the same time?
  • How do maps increase understanding of the Ottomans and Safavids? How are cultural regions defined over time?
  • What economic, social and religious factors motivated Discovery, Exploration and Colonization?
  • How do maps and charts increase understanding of Exploration and Colonization?
  • What human and physical systems interacted during the Age of discovery, exploration and colonization
  • How were Africans, American Indians, Asians, and Europeans impacted by contacts/ migration during the era of exploration and colonization?

Standards and Benchmarks

History 1: Students understand the chronological organization of history and know how to organize events and people into major eras to identify and explain historical relationships.    
Benchmark B: Students use chronology to organize historical events and people.

History
  2: Students know how to use the processes and resources of historical inquiry.
Benchmark 2ormation (e.g., letters, diaries, literature, text, newspaper, art, music, technology, oral history, interviews).

History 3
: Students understand that societies are diverse and change over time.
Benchmark  B: Students understand the history of social organization in various societies.
History 4
: Students understand how science, technology, and economic activity have developed, changed, and affected societies throughout history.
Benchmark  A: Students understand the impact of scientific and technological developments on individuals and societies.
History
 5: Students understand political institutions and theories that developed and changed over time.
Benchmark C: Students know how political power has been acquired, maintained, used and/or lost throughout history.

History
6: Students know that religious and philosophical ideas have been powerful forces throughout history.
Benchmark  C: Students know how various forms of expression reflect religious beliefs and philosophical ideas.
Geography
1: Students know how to use and construct maps, globes, and other geographic tools to locate and derive information about people, places, and environments.
Benchmark  A: Students know how to use maps, globes, and other geographic tools to acquire, process and report information from a spatial perspective.

Geography
 2:  Students know the physical and human characteristics of places, and used knowledge to
Benchmark B:  Students know how and why people define regions.
Geography
 4:  Students understand how economic, political cultural, and social processes interact to shape patterns of human populations, interdependence, cooperation and conflict.
Benchmark E: Students know how cooperation and conflict among people influence the division and control of the earth's surface.

Geography
5: Students understand the effects of interactions between human and physical systems and changes in meaning, use, distribution, and importance of resources.
Benchmark  B: Students know how physical systems affect human systems.

D-11 Social Studies Indicators 

History

  1. Chronology/Cause & Effect: Determine cause and effect relationships based on organizing major historical and/or current events chronologically.
  1. Historical Inquiry: Utilizing multiple perspectives, analyze and question historical data from primary and secondary sources during major historical eras.
  1. Diverse and Changing Societies: Evaluate the impact of interactions and contributions of diverse peoples and cultures on past and current societies.
  1. Science, Technology, and Economic Activity:  Evaluate the impact of economic, scientific and technological developments on human interactions.
  1. Political Institutions and Theories: Analyze how political power has been acquired, maintained, used and/or lost among various cultures throughout history. 
  1. Religious and Philosophical Ideas: Determine how societies have been affected by religious and philosophical ideas.

Geography

  1. Use and Construction of Geographic Tools: Analyze maps, globes, charts, graphs, and databases to acquire, process and report information about people, places and environments. [G1]
  1. Characteristics of Place and Region: Use physical and human characteristics to define regions important in human history.[G2]
  1. Patterns of Human Population and Interaction: Analyze the physical and cultural impact of human migration.[G4]
  1. Human and Physical Systems:  Evaluate how human and physical systems interact and impact one another.[G5]

Sample Lessons

District 11 Diamond Units/Lessons Overview - includes information about the purpose, goals and structure of these sample instructional units:

Recommended Resources

Parent Resources

 

Teacher Resources

 


Comments: