Download Seventh Grade - Renaissance Public School Academy

Renaissance PSA
7th Grade
Social Studies
Curriculum Guide
2013
Year at a Glance
1st 9 Week Unit
Geography of the Eastern Hemisphere
2nd 9 Week Unit
Africa: People, Places, and Issues
3rd 9 Week Unit
West Asia: People, Places, and Issues
4th 9 Week Unit
East Asia: People, Places, and Issues
Using this Guide:
This curriculum guide is to be used as just that, a guide. While using this guide you are
encouraged to take notes on what activities were successful, which ones were not, and what
suggested ideas to add. The sequence was planned in theory and once in practice, does it make
sense? This guide should be used as a living document that should be adjusted throughout the
year and changed from year to year in order to best meet the needs of our students. Each 6week unit has multiple science standards. Science processes and inquiry skills are
incorporated into each unit. Please note that you can work on more skills than the ones listed if
the teachable moments occur. This guide strives to keep each teacher focused on the same
standards and skills while using their own teaching styles and approaches. If a concept is not
the focus until later in the year, you may introduce the students to it if it works with earlier
lessons.
Within each unit are samples of activities and assessments. Please note teachers are not limited
to these examples. Additional lessons, activities, and assessments are expected and
encouraged. The sample activities are not exclusive to the particular unit in which it is listed. If
you like an activity and want to tweak it for a future unit please do so. When using this guide, you
will notice that there is not a sample activity for every standard or essential skill listed. It is the
teacher’s responsibility to know the skills to be focused on for each unit. This guide provides
ideas; gives a framework; and educates the teacher on areas in which she/he requires guidance.
This guide is a planning tool used to align the standards and the school. The teacher is the
determining factor in how effectively this guide is to be used.
Grade levels should use this guide to create more in-depth lesson plans while not limiting their
creative process to the resources listed. During each unit, it is crucial to monitor all standards
being taught. By the end of each unit, the teacher should have a strong knowledge of where
each child is performing in each area. This data will be used to determine which skills need to
be re-taught and which students need remediation. A chart at the end of this guide shows the
specific standards covered during each unit.
Note: if there are students who have not mastered a skill and that skill is not represented in
future units, the teacher will need to determine a plan on how she or he will revisit that
skill/standard and at what level of instruction (whole class, small group or one on one) students
will receive.
Notes, Tips, and Pointers
Writing Across the Curriculum
Three Text Types
Argument
Arguments are used for many purposes—to change the reader’s point of view, to bring about some action
on the reader’s part, or to ask the reader to accept the writer’s explanation or evaluation of a concept,
issue, or problem. An argument is a reasoned, logical way of demonstrating that the writer’s position,
belief, or conclusion is valid. In English language arts, students make claims about the worth or meaning
of a literary work or works. They defend their interpretations or judgments with evidence from the text(s)
they are writing about. In history/social studies, students analyze evidence from multiple primary and
secondary sources to advance a claim that is best supported by the evidence, and they argue for a
historically or empirically situated interpretation. In science, students make claims in the form of
statements or conclusions that answer questions or address problems. Using data in a scientifically
acceptable form, students marshal evidence and draw on their understanding of scientific concepts to
argue in support of their claims.
Informational/Explanatory Writing
Informational/explanatory writing conveys information accurately. This kind of writing serves one or more
closely related purposes: to increase readers’ knowledge of a subject, to help readers better understand a
procedure or process, or to provide readers with an enhanced comprehension of a concept.
Informational/explanatory writing addresses matters such as types (What are the different types of
poetry?) and components (What are the parts of a motor?); size, function, or behavior (How big is the
United States? What is an X-ray used for? How do penguins find food?); how things work (How does the
legislative branch of government function?); and why things happen (Why do some authors blend
genres?). To produce this kind of writing, students draw from what they already know and from primary
and secondary sources. With practice, students become better able to develop a controlling idea and a
coherent focus on a topic and more skilled at selecting and incorporating relevant examples, facts, and
details into their writing. They are also able to use a variety of techniques to convey information, such as
naming, defining, describing, or differentiating different types or parts; comparing or contrasting ideas or
concepts; and citing an anecdote or a scenario to illustrate a point. Informational/explanatory writing
includes a wide array of genres, including academic genres such as literary analyses, scientific and
historical reports, summaries, and précis writing as well as forms of workplace and functional writing such
as instructions, manuals, memos, reports, applications, and résumés. As students advance through the
grades, they expand their repertoire of informational/explanatory genres and use them effectively in a
variety of disciplines and domains.
Although information is provided in both arguments and explanations, the two types of writing have
different aims. Arguments seek to make people believe that something is true or to persuade people to
change their beliefs or behavior. Explanations, on the other hand, start with the assumption of
truthfulness and answer questions about why or how. Their aim is to make the reader understand rather
than to persuade him or her to accept a certain point of view. In short, arguments are used for persuasion
and explanations for clarification.
Like arguments, explanations provide information about causes, contexts, and consequences of
processes, phenomena, states of affairs, objects, terminology, and so on. However, in an argument, the
writer not only gives information but also presents a case with the “pros” (supporting ideas) and “cons”
(opposing ideas) on a debatable issue. Because an argument deals with whether the main claim is true, it
demands empirical descriptive evidence, statistics, or definitions for support. When writing an argument,
the writer supports his or her claim(s) with sound reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
Narrative Writing
Narrative writing conveys experience, either real or imaginary, and uses time as its deep structure. It can
be used for many purposes, such as to inform, instruct, persuade, or entertain. In English language arts,
students produce narratives that take the form of creative fictional stories, memoirs, anecdotes, and
autobiographies. Over time, they learn to provide visual details of scenes, objects, or people; to depict
specific actions (for example, movements, gestures, postures, and expressions); to use dialogue and
interior monologue that provide insight into the narrator’s and characters’ personalities and motives; and
to manipulate pace to highlight the significance of events and create tension and suspense. In
history/social studies, students write narrative accounts about individuals. They also construct event
models of what happened, selecting from their sources only the most relevant information. In science,
students write narrative descriptions of the step-by-step procedures they follow in their investigations so
that others can replicate their procedures and (perhaps) reach the same results. With practice, students
expand their repertoire and control of different narrative strategies.
Additional Examples
Writing is integrated into all of our subject areas. Students need to write in many different ways and for
many different purposes to understand the importance of writing. The writing process should be taught
explicitly on a daily basis. The steps of the writing process need to be followed in all grades from the
prewriting to publishing. However, that is not the only time writing should take place in a classroom.
Students in kindergarten up to eighth grade should be writing five to ten times a day. Each grade will
manifest the processes differently, but many of the ideas are the same. And remember, it is not just the
students who should be writing throughout the day, it is the teachers too. Shared writing, model writing,
recording student-generated ideas, and creating classroom-generated charts and graphs are great ways
to model the importance of writing and create a classroom brimming with literacy.
Quick Writes: When you are in the middle of an activity/ lesson, watching an educational film, or reading
a passage in any content area, a Quick Write is a great process to work on with your students. The idea
is to stop at designated points during your instruction to check for understanding, make predictions,
hypothesis or inference, make a connection, summarize, etc. The students write their thoughts down
quickly and share with designated students. This activity should only take about 5-10 minutes,
depending if your students share their Quick Writes with the whole class, a partner, or small group.
Many teachers who use this method keep scratch paper near the desks or use notebooks or Quick Write
journals.
Reports/ Research papers: Students can create a research paper or report at every grade level. Get
the students involved in their science or social studies topics through exploration and creating a research
paper that they can publish.
Journaling: There are so many ways to get students journaling. All they need is a notebook and pencil.
Students can write about their ideas, personal experiences, and opinions. The teacher can provide a
prompt, story starter, or let the student select a topic. Interactive journals are a great way to use
journaling for communication. In this process students write to the teacher and the teacher writes back.
This is also a creative way to work on letter writing, using writing as a communication tool, building
relationships with students, and teaching mini lessons to a particular child.
Note Taking: Note taking is an important skill and one that needs to be taught. A student should not be
copying word for word off of the board. Students should be creating their own words to capture what
they have learned and this should be explicitly taught. In the younger grades, students can draw
pictures of what they have learned and use labels as an early version of note taking.
Grouping Practices:
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Varying the way students are grouped for instruction is an important component of
planning and teaching. There is a place for whole group, small group, partner work, and
1-on-1 instruction throughout the day. Determining an instructional method is part of the
lesson planning process along with planning what the students will be doing with or
without the direct instruction from the teacher.
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Students need to truly understand the teacher’s expectations and procedures when
working with partners, in centers/ stations, or independently. These expectations should
be modeled and practiced at the beginning of the year. When working in small groups,
the teacher needs to make sure the other students are working on high-quality,
independent work, or academic centers.
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Small group instruction is great for working with a few students with similar areas of
weakness and at similar levels or to facilitate a small group of students at different levels
learning from one another.
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When pairing students, be thoughtful of which students should be paired together.
Typically the highest performer in the classroom should not be paired with the lowest
performer in the classroom because both may feel frustrated. Also, many times students
with specific personality traits do not work well together. For example, two shy students
or a student who struggles with behavior and a student who is very quiet.
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Every teacher also needs to plan for what she/he will be doing when students are
working in pairs or independently. Will the teacher be walking around and checking for
understanding with groups or students, or calling students over to a table to do some 1on-1 instruction or assessing? Avoid the mistake of using this time to catch up on e-mails
or finish paperwork. Each and every moment the students are in the classroom is an
opportunity to learn more about the students and make a larger impact on their learning.
Assessments:
Data should drive the teacher’s instruction. Teachers need to use formative and summative
assessments such as: performance tasks, observations, writing samples, interim assessments,
pre/mid/post unit assessments to determine which students are at mastery and which students
need more assistance/ remediation. Using frequent student data provides informed decision
making in order to determine the pace of the classroom and the need for additional activities to
strengthen a concept in the class.
Comprehension Strategies:
Research shows that skilled readers use a set of learning strategies that help them make
meaning from text. Teachers need to expose students to these strategies starting in
kindergarten and going through 8th grade by modeling, conducting think-alouds, and facilitating
class discussions.
Making Connections: Children make personal connections with the text by using their schema
(prior knowledge). There are three main types of connections that can be made: Text to Text,
Text to Self, and Text to World. It is important to model/ teach students how to activate their
prior knowledge and make connections before, during, and after reading.
Questioning: Questions help students clarify and deepen their understanding of the text they are
reading. Using stickies, journals or recording forms for students to jot down questions before,
during, and after reading is an effective technique for students to record their ideas.
Visualizing: Mental pictures are the cinema-like unfolding of imagery in your mind that makes
reading three-dimensional. Visualizing helps readers engage with text in ways that make it
personal and memorable.
Inferring: Inferring is usually described as “reading between the lines.” Readers form best
guesses using evidence such as context clues, picture clues, and their own personal knowledge.
Students predict, draw conclusions, and find meaning in unknown words.
Evaluating: Readers judge, justify, and/or defend understandings to determine importance
based on stated criteria. The reader makes judgments about what they read and can explain
their way through evidence in the text.
Synthesizing: Readers’ thinking changes as they gather more information. New information
makes readers re-evaluate their schema to form new schema. In a more child friendly term,
synthesizing is putting the pieces together to see them in a new way.
Michigan’s Grade Level Content Expectations for Social Studies
The purpose of social studies instruction is to develop social understanding and civic
efficacy.The Grade Level Content Expectations (GLCE) balance disciplinary content and
processes and skills that contribute to responsible citizenship and form a foundation for
high school social studies coursework.
The disciplinary knowledge found in this document can be used by students to
construct meaning through understanding of powerful ideas drawn from the
disciplines of history, geography, civics and government, and economics.These ideas
can be best supported by assessment and instruction that focuses on the Standards
for Assessment and the Standards for Teaching and Learning found in the Michigan
Curriculum Framework.
Effective social studies instruction and assessment incorporate methods of inquiry, involve
public discourse and decision making, and provide opportunities for citizen involvement.
Each year, students should receive instruction that allows them to think and act as
historians, geographers, political scientists, and economists. For this type of thinking to
occur, teachers should utilize the following disciplinary processes with their students:
• acquiring, organizing, and presenting social studies information
• conducting investigations on social studies questions
• analyzing public issues in our various communities
• engaging in constructive conversation around social studies topics
• composing cohesive essays expressing a position on public issues
• participating constructively as community members
Respect for the underlying values of a democratic society is developed through effective
social studies education. Rigorous standards provide a framework for designing
curriculum, assessment, and effective classroom instruction, that result in relevant
learning experiences.
These content expectations provide the necessary framework for deliberate
professional development. Working collaboratively, teachers, administrators, university
personnel, government officials, parents, community organizations, and businesses will
prepare Michigan students to become productive 21st century citizens.
The K-8 Social Studies GLCE were developed to meet the following criteria:
Rigor
• challenging enough to equip students to succeed at the next grade level
• represent the essential core content of a discipline – its key concepts and how they relate to each other
Clarity
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more than just plain and jargon-free prose
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provide guidance for university faculties who will prepare teachers to convey the expectations, and who later receive
those teachers’ students
widely understood and accepted by teachers, parents, school boards, and others who have a stake in the quality of
schooling
Specificity
• enough detail to guide districts in developing curricula and teachers in planning instruction
• addressavailabletimeforinstruction
Focus
• prioritize facts, concepts, and
Progression
skills that should be emphasized at each grade level
• move from simple to complex, from concrete to abstract
• delineate a progression of knowledge and skills, rather than repetition from grade to grade
Coherence
• reflect a coherent structure of the discipline and/or reveal significant relationships among the strands, and
how the study of one complements the study of another
• represent a “back-mapping” from the high school expectations to a progression of benchmarks that middle and
elementary school students would need to reach in order to be “on track” for success in college and work
The Challenges of Developing Content Expectations in Social Studies
At the national level and in just about every state, establishing standards and benchmarks in the social studies has been a challenging
endeavor, filled with political and pedagogical controversy. Three enduring educational issues have challenged the creation of
standards/content expectations to guide instruction and assessment in Michigan: (1) The challenge of integrating separate disciplines,
(2)The challenge of representing both thinking and substance, and (3) The challenge of determining an effective K-12 scope and
sequence.
First, while everyone recognizes that social studies is an amalgam of four or more disciplines including history, civics, economics
and geography, there is no consensus concerning the appropriate mix of these or the appropriate place of each in the curriculum.
Critical questions about the relationship among the content areas or even the relative amount of each area in the standards and
eventually in the curriculum have not been resolved. Therefore, one critical challenge is to find ways to make connections within
and across content areas.
Second, social studies educators face a problem in trying to reflect both disciplinary “thinking” and “substance” in standards
documents. This is particularly true in history and civics where people want students to develop more sophisticated ways to think
about contemporary issues and to draw upon specific knowledge of the past and the present in their thinking. So, standards and
content expectations must include both thinking and knowledge expectations in such a combination that can effectively guide
teachers, curriculum designers, and, of course, assessors.
When standards documents stress “thinking” at the expense of “substance,” teachers and educational critics often argue these
appear vague and offer little guidance for deciding what content should be taught and tested. Teachers often complain that the
mandated tests assess content not specified in standards or benchmarks.
On the other hand, standards that specify more substantive detail face their own critics who argue that such detail is too prescriptive
and gives too much content to be effectively assessed in large-scale, multiple-choice dominated exams. A second challenge, therefore,
is to provide more substance to meet the criticism that Michigan’s standards were too vague without losing sight of the central
purposes for offering social studies to our students.
Finally, there is the challenge of creating a sensible and educationally sound K-12 scope and sequence. For many years, states required
the full run of U.S. history in grades 5, 8 and 11. Critics argued this privileged breadth over depth, and urged dividing historical
content into three sections for students to study in more depth in 5th, 8th and 11th grades. Still others argued that this arrangement
was asking very young students(e.g., 5th graders) to study, remember, and be able to use very sophisticated concepts and events five
or six years later when they were studying U.S. history in high school. Most advanced courses rely upon earlier grades to develop
foundational skills and knowledge, but do not expect earlier grades to help students achieve the sophisticated study possible in
high school. Thus they begin their studies of U.S. history at the “beginning.” In short, social studies educators have developed three
different and compelling patterns for structuring the scope and sequence in social studies.
The standards and expectations that follow represent the best efforts of the various writing and review committees to provide
the integration, coherence, and the scope and sequence that will guide instruction and assessment in Michigan.
ACTIVE RESPONSIBLE CITIZENS
Our constitutional democracyrequires active citizens.Responsible citizenshiprequires students to participate actively
while learning in the classroom.Instruction should provide activities that actively engage students so that they
simultaneously learn about civic participation while involved in the civic life of their communities, our state, and our
nation.The social studies curriculum prepares students to participate in political activities, to serve their communities,
and to regulate themselves responsibly.
The Responsible Citizen
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Uses knowledge of the past to construct meaningful understanding of our diverse cultural heritage and inform his/her civic judgments (Historical
Perspective)
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Uses knowledge of spatial patterns on earth to understand processes that shape both the natural environments and the diverse societies that
inhabit them (Geographic Perspective)
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Uses knowledge of American government and politics to make decisions about governing his/her community (Civic Perspective)
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Uses knowledge of the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services to make personal, career and societal decisions
about the use of scarce resources (Economic Perspective)
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Uses methods of social science investigation to answer questions about society (Inquiry)
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Knows how, when, and where to construct and express reasoned positions on public issues (Public Discourse and Decision Making)
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Acts constructively to further the public good (Citizen Involvement)
USING SOCIAL STUDIES TO DEVELOP DIGITAL-AGE PROFICIENCIES
The use of technology is critical for responsible citizenship. Citizens must know how to read and comprehend narratives from a variety of sources,
understand and use data effectively, as well as know how to compile and present valid and reliable data.The development of vocabulary, critical to
understanding and communication, is an important component of the social studies curriculum. Finally writing, especially expository, informational
and persuasive writing, is an empowering skill needed by all citizens.The ability to clearly communicate one’s ideas and reasoned viewpoints is the
hallmark of a responsible citizen.
“The current and future health ofAmerica’s 21st Century Economy depends directly on how broadly and deeplyAmericans
reach a new level of literacy—21st Century Literacy—that includes strong academic skills, thinking, reasoning, teamwork skills,
and proficiency in using technology.” —21st Century Workforce Commission National Alliance of Business
In order to thrive in a digital economy, students will need digital-age proficiencies.These proficiencies include:
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Basic,scientific,technological, financial, economic,and civic literacy
Visual and information literacy
Cultural literacy and global awareness
Adaptability, ability to manage complexity, and self-direction
Curiosity, creativity, and risk-taking
Higher order thinking and sound reasoning
Teaming and collaboration
Personal and social responsibility
Interactive communication
Prioritizing, planning, and managing for results
Effective use of real-world tools
High quality results with real-world application
K-5 Overview
K-5 Grade-Specific Contexts
Kindergarten
First
Second
Third
Fourth
Fifth
Myself and Others
Using a familiar context for five and six year olds, kindergartners learn about
the social studies disciplines (history,geography,civics and government,and
economics) through the lens of “Myself and Others.” Accordingly, each discipline
focuses on developing rudimentary understandings through an integrated
approach to the field.
Families and
Schools
In first grade, students continue to explore the social studies disciplines of
history, geography, civics and government, and economics through an integrated
approach using the context of school and families. This is the students’ first
introduction to social institutions as they draw upon knowledge learned in
kindergarten to develop more sophisticated understandings of each discipline.
The Local
Community
In second grade, students continue the integrative approach to social studies
through the context of the local community. This the first time students are
introduced to a social environment larger than their immediate surroundings
and they draw upon knowledge learned in previous grades to develop more
sophisticated understandings to explore the social studies disciplines of history,
geography, civics and government, and economics.
Michigan Studies
United States
Studies
Integrated
American
History
Third grade students explore the social studies disciplines of history, geography,
civics and government, and economics through the context of Michigan studies.
Building on prior social studies knowledge and applying new concepts of each
social studies discipline to the increasingly complex social environment of their
state, the third grade content expectations help prepare students for more
sophisticated studies of their country and world in later grades.
Using the context of the United States, fourth grade students learn significant
social studies concepts within an increasingly complex social environment.
They examine fundamental concepts in geography,civics and government,and
economics through the lens of Michigan history and the United States.
The fifth grade social studies content expectations mark a departure from the
social studies approach taken in previous grades. Building upon the geography,
civics and government, and economics concepts of the United States mastered
in fourth grade and historical inquiry from earlier grades, the fifth grade
expectations begin a more disciplinary-centered approach concentrating on
the early history of the United States. Students begin their study of American
history with American Indian peoples before the arrival of European explorers
and conclude with the adoption of the Bill of Rights in 1791. Although the
content expectations are organized by historical era, they build upon students’
understandings of the other social studies disciplines from earlier grades and
require students to apply these concepts within the context of American history.
Eastern Hemisphere Studies
Grade 7
Seventh grade students will review the tools and mental constructs used by historians and geographers.They will
develop an understanding of Ancient World History, Eras 1 – 3, of the Eastern Hemisphere and will study
contemporary geography of the Eastern Hemisphere. Contemporary civics/government and economics content
is integrated throughout the year. As a capstone, the students will conduct investigations about past and present
global issues. Using significant content knowledge, research, and inquiry, they will analyze the issue and propose a
plan for the future. As part of the inquiry, they compose civic, persuasive essays using reasoned argument.
HISTORY
H1 TheWorld inTemporalTerms:Historical Habits of Mind (Foundational Expectations Addressed in Grade 6)
1.1 Temporal Thinking
1.2 Historical Inquiry and Analysis
1.4 Historical Understanding
W1 WHG Era 1 – The Beginnings of Human Society
1.1 Peopling of the Earth
1.2 Agricultural Revolution
W2 WHG Era 2 – Early Civilizations and Cultures and the Emergence of Pastoral Peoples
2.1 Early Civilizations and Early Pastoral Societies
W3 WHG Era 3 – Classical Traditions,World Religions, and Major Empires
3.1 Classical Traditions in Regions of the Eastern Hemisphere
3.2 Growth and Development of World Religions
GEOGRAPHY
G1 The World in Spatial Terms: Geographical Habits of Mind (Foundational Expectations Addressed in Grade 6)
1.1 Spatial Thinking
1.2 Geographical Inquiry and Analysis
1.3 Geographical Understanding
G2 Places and Regions
2.1 Physical Characteristics of Place
2.2 Human Characteristics of Place
G3 Physical Systems
3.1 Physical Processes
3.2 Ecosystems
G4 Human Systems
4.1 Cultural Mosaic
4.2 Technology Patterns and Networks
4.3 Patterns of Human Settlement
4.4 Forces of Cooperation and Conflict
G5 Environment and Society
5.1 Humans and the Environment
5.2 Physical and Human Systems
G6 Global Issues Past and Present
6.1 Global Topic Investigation and Issue Analysis
CIVICS AND GOVERNMENT
C1 Purposes of Government
1.1 Nature of Civic Life, Politics, and Government
C3 Structure and Functions of Government
3.6 Characteristics of Nation-States
C4 Relationship of United States to Other Nations and World Affairs
4.3 Conflict and Cooperation Between and Among Nations
ECONOMICS
E1 The Market Economy
1.1 Individual, Business, and Government Choices
E2 The National Economy
2.3 Role of Government
E3 International Economy
3.1 Economic Systems
3.3 Economic Interdependence
PUBLIC DISCOURSE, DECISION MAKING,AND CITIZEN INVOLVEMENT
Unit 1: Geography of the Eastern Hemisphere
In this unit students use the fundamental themes of geography to explore the Eastern Hemisphere.
Throughout the unit students connect back to sixth grade by comparing the geography of the Eastern
Hemisphere and Western Hemisphere. The unit begins with the students analyzing a wide variety of maps of
the Eastern Hemisphere using the themes of location, place, and region to understand the similarities and
differences between the two hemispheres. They continue to explore different ways the Eastern Hemisphere
can be divided into regions including both physical and cultural regions. Working in small groups, students
gather information about significant physical features of the Eastern Hemisphere including landforms, bodies
of water, and vegetation. A series of maps and graphic data describing the climate regions are used by pairs
of students to construct climate graphs comparing two different places. The graphs and other data are used
to make generalizations about the impact of climate on the people and culture of the regions. Building on the
concept of human characteristics, students make additional generalizations regarding population and
settlement patterns through an analysis of historical and modern maps as well as satellite images. Students
then synthesize what they have learned in the unit during a lesson on human/environment interaction in
which they explore various ways people have modified different environments in the Eastern Hemisphere as
well as ways in which people have adapted to physical changes in the environment. Finally, students
combine what they have learned about the geography of the Eastern and Western Hemispheres as they take
a global look at the geography of Earth.
This unit lays the foundation for the subsequent seventh grade world history units as well as the high school
world history course. It begins with an introduction to historical inquiry in which students explore approaches
used in the study of history relating to time and space, followed by an examination of the processes and
goals of historical inquiry. A brief artifact-based inquiry activity completes this introduction. Next, students
look at cultural adaptations including technological advances and the development of language and
investigate how these adaptations may have resulted in the migration of people to new regions of the world.
Building on this knowledge they study the characteristics of early hunter-gatherer societies and explore how
social scientists such as archeologists gather evidence from the distant past. Students then explore the
causes of the Agricultural Revolution and the characteristics of early agrarian societies. To illustrate the
importance of comparison in understanding world history they compare hunter-gatherer societies and early
farming societies. Finally, students investigate the consequences of the Agricultural Revolution and gather
evidence to develop an argument for or against the claim that the Agricultural Revolution was a major turning
point in world history.
BENCHMARKS COVERED:
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7 – G1.1.1 Explain and use a variety of maps, globes, and web based geography technology
to study the world, including global, interregional, regional, and local scales.
7 – G1.1.2 Draw an accurate sketch map from memory of the Eastern Hemisphere showing
the major regions (Africa, Asia, Europe, Australia/Oceania, Antarctica).
7 – G1.2.1 Locate the major landforms, rivers and climate regions of the Eastern Hemisphere.
7 – G1.2.3 Use observations from air photos, photographs (print and CD), films (VCR and
DVD) as the basis for answering geographic questions about the human and physical
characteristics of places and regions.
7 – G1.2.4 Draw the general population distribution of the Eastern Hemisphere on a map,
analyze the patterns, and propose two generalizations about the location and density of the
population.
7 – G1.2.5 Use information from modern technology such as Geographic Positioning System
(GPS), Geographic Information System (GIS), and satellite remote sensing to locate
information and process maps and data to analyze spatial patterns of the Eastern
Hemisphere to answer geographic questions.
7 – G1.3.1 Use the fundamental themes of geography (location, place, human environment
interaction, movement, region) to describe regions or places on earth.
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7 – G1.3.2 Explain the locations and distributions of physical and human characteristics of
Earth by using knowledge of spatial patterns.
7 – G2.1.1 Describe the landform features and the climate of the region (within the Western or
Eastern Hemispheres) under study.
7 – G2.1.2 Use information from GIS, remote sensing and the World Wide Web to compare
and contrast the surface features and vegetation of the continents of the Eastern Hemisphere.
7 – G2.2.1 Describe the human characteristics of the region under study (including
languages, religion, economic system, governmental system, cultural traditions).
7 – G3.1.1 Construct and analyze climate graphs for locations at different latitudes and
elevations in the region to answer geographic questions and make predictions based on
patterns (e.g., compare and contrast Norway and France; Nairobi and Kilimanjaro; Mumbai
and New Delhi).
7 – G4.3.1 Identify places in the Eastern Hemisphere that have been modified to be suitable
for settlement by describing the modifications that were necessary (e.g., Nile River irrigation,
reclamation of land along the North Sea, planting trees in areas that have become desertified
in Africa).
7 – G4.3.2 Describe patterns of settlement by using historical and modern maps (e.g., the
location of the world’s mega cities, other cities located near coasts and navigable rivers,
regions under environmental stress such as the Sahel).
7 – G5.2.1 Describe the effects that a change in the physical environment could have on
human activities and the choices people would have to make in adjusting to the change (e.g.,
drought in Africa, pollution from volcanic eruptions in Indonesia, earthquakes in Turkey, and
flooding in Bangladesh).
7 – G1.2.2 Explain why maps of the same place may vary as a result of the cultural or historical
background of the cartographer.
7 – G2.2.2 Explain that communities are affected positively or negatively by changes in technology
(e.g. increased manufacturing resulting in rural to urban migration in China, increased farming of fish,
hydroelectric power generation at Three Gorges, pollution resulting from increased manufacturingand
automobiles).
7 – G2.2.3 Analyze how culture and experience influence people’s perception of places and regions
(e.g., that beaches are places where tourists travel, cities have historic buildings, northern places are
cold, equatorial places are very warm).
7 – G3.2.1 Explain how and why ecosystems differ as a consequence of differences in latitude, elevation,
and human activities (e.g., effects of latitude on types of vegetation in Africa, proximity to bodies of
water in Europe, and effects of annual river flooding in Southeast Asia and China)
7 – G3.2.2 Identify ecosystems of a continent and explain why some provide greater opportunities
(fertile soil, precipitation) for humans to use than do other ecosystems and how that changes with
technology (e.g., China’s humid east and arid west and the effects of irrigation technology).
7 – G4.2.1 List and describe the advantages and disadvantages of different technologies used to
move people, products, and ideas throughout the world (e.g., opportunities for employment,
entrepreneurial and educational opportunities using the Internet; the effects of technology on
reducing the time necessary for communications and travel; the uses and effects of wireless
technology in developing countries;and the spread of group and individual’s ideas as voice and image
messages on electronic networks such as the Internet).
7 – W3.1.4 Assess the importance of Greek ideas about democracy and citizenship in the
development of Western political thought and institutions.
7 – W3.1.5 Describe major achievements from Indian, Chinese, Mediterranean, African, and
Southwest and Central Asian civilizations in the areas of art, architecture and culture; science,
technology and mathematics; political life and ideas; philosophy and ethical beliefs; and
military strategy.
7 – W3.1.7 Use a case study to describe how trade integrated cultures and influenced the
economy within empires (e.g., Assyrian and Persian trade networks or networks of Egypt and
Nubia/Kush; or Phoenician and Greek networks).
7 – W3.1.8 Describe the role of state authority, military power, taxation systems, and
institutions of coerced labor, including slavery, in building and maintaining empires (e.g., Han
17
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Empire, Mauryan Empire, Egypt, Greek city-states and the Roman Empire).
7 – W3.2.1 Identify and describe the beliefs of the five major world religions.
7 – W3.2.2 Locate the geographical center of major religions and map the spread through the
3rd century C.E./A.D.
7 – W3.2.3 Identify and describe the ways that religions unified people’s perceptions of the
world and contributed to cultural integration of large regions of Afro-Eurasia.
7 – C1.1.1 Explain how the purposes served by government affect relationships between the
individual, government, and society as a whole and the differences that occur in monarchies,
theocracies, dictatorships, and representative governments.
7 – H1.1.1 Explain why and how historians use eras and periods as constructs to organize
and explain human activities over time.
7 – H1.1.2 Compare and contrast several different calendar systems used in the past and
present and their cultural significance (e.g., Sun Dial, Gregorian calendar – B.C./A.D.;
contemporary secular – B.C.E./C.E.; Chinese, Hebrew, and Islamic/Hijri calendars).
7 – H1.2.1 Explain how historians use a variety of sources to explore the past (e.g., artifacts,
primary and secondary sources including narratives, technology, historical maps,
visual/mathematical quantitative data, radiocarbon dating, DNA analysis).
7 – H1.2.5 Describe how historians use methods of inquiry to identify cause effect
relationships in history noting that many have multiple causes.
7 – H1.4.2 Describe and use themes of history to study patterns of change and continuity.
7 – W1.1.2 Explain what archaeologists have learned about Paleolithic and Neolithic patterns
of living in Africa, Western Europe, and Asia.
7 – W1.2.1 Explain the importance of the natural environment in the development of
agricultural settlements in different locations (e.g., available water for irrigation, adequate
precipitation, and suitable growth season).
7 – W1.2.2 Explain the impact of the Agricultural Revolution (stable food supply, surplus,
population growth, trade, division of labor, development of settlements).
7 – W2.1.1 Describe the importance of the development of human language, oral and written,
and its relationship to the development of culture
• verbal vocalizations
• standardization of physical (rock, bird) and abstract (love, fear) words
• pictographs to abstract writing (governmental administration, laws, codes, history and artistic
expressions)
7 – H1.2.2 Read and comprehend a historical passage to identify basic factual knowledge and the
literal meaning by indicating who was involved, what happened, where it happened, what events led
to the development, and what consequences or outcomes followed.
7 – H1.2.3 Identify the point of view (perspective of the author) and context when reading and
discussing primary and secondary sources.
7 – W1.1.1 Explain how and when human communities populated major regions of the Eastern
Hemisphere (Africa, Australia, Europe, Asia) and adapted to a variety of environments.
7 – W1.2.3 Compare and contrast the environmental, economic, and social institutions of two
early civilizations from different world regions (e.g., Yangtse, Indus River Valley,
Tigris/Euphrates, and Nile).
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:
1. How did early humans adapt to a wide variety of environments?
2. How can the fundamental themes of geography be used to describe the Eastern Hemisphere?
ESSENTIAL CONTENT/ UNDERSTANDINGS:
The students will understand how to:
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Analyze the Eastern Hemisphere in terms of landforms, bodies of water and vegetation
18
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Explain how human/environment interaction shows us the ways in which people use and interact
with the Earth
Understand that although the physical features of the six inhabited continents are similar, people
have created a variety of human features to make each continent unique
Compare and contrast climates of various locations in order to answer geographic questions,
including patterns of the region based on knowledge of a region’s climate
THINKING QUESTIONS:
1. What are the significant physical and human characteristics of the Eastern Hemisphere?
2. How is the geography of the Eastern Hemisphere different from the geography of the
Western Hemisphere? How is it alike?
3. How have humans used, adapted to, and modified different environments in the Eastern
Hemisphere?
4. Why did people migrate and settle throughout the world?
5. How were the first hunter-gatherer societies and the first farming societies similar and how
were they different?
6. What were the major causes and consequences of the Agricultural Revolution?
TERMINOLOGY
climate
fundamental themes of geography
geographic tools and technologies
human characteristics
human/environment interaction
physical characteristics
population patterns
region
agrarian societies
Agricultural Revolution
archeology
cause and effect
cultural adaptation
culture
historical inquiry
hunter-gatherer societies
migration
turning point
world history
TARGETED OUTCOMES:
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7 – G1.1.1 Explain and use a variety of maps, globes, and web based geography technology
to study the world, including global, interregional, regional, and local scales.
7 – G1.1.2 Draw an accurate sketch map from memory of the Eastern Hemisphere showing
the major regions (Africa, Asia, Europe, Australia/Oceania, Antarctica).
7 – G1.2.1 Locate the major landforms, rivers and climate regions of the Eastern Hemisphere.
7 – G1.2.3 Use observations from air photos, photographs (print and CD), films (VCR and
DVD) as the basis for answering geographic questions about the human and physical
characteristics of places and regions.
7 – G1.2.4 Draw the general population distribution of the Eastern Hemisphere on a map,
analyze the patterns, and propose two generalizations about the location and density of the
population.
7 – G1.2.5 Use information from modern technology such as Geographic Positioning System
(GPS), Geographic Information System (GIS), and satellite remote sensing to locate
information and process maps and data to analyze spatial patterns of the Eastern
Hemisphere to answer geographic questions.
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7 – G1.3.1 Use the fundamental themes of geography (location, place, human environment
interaction, movement, region) to describe regions or places on earth.
7 – G1.3.2 Explain the locations and distributions of physical and human characteristics of
Earth by using knowledge of spatial patterns.
7 – G2.1.1 Describe the landform features and the climate of the region (within the Western or
Eastern Hemispheres) under study.
7 – G2.1.2 Use information from GIS, remote sensing and the World Wide Web to compare
and contrast the surface features and vegetation of the continents of the Eastern Hemisphere.
7 – G2.2.1 Describe the human characteristics of the region under study (including
languages, religion, economic system, governmental system, cultural traditions).
7 – G3.1.1 Construct and analyze climate graphs for locations at different latitudes and
elevations in the region to answer geographic questions and make predictions based on
patterns (e.g., compare and contrast Norway and France; Nairobi and Kilimanjaro; Mumbai
and New Delhi).
7 – G4.3.1 Identify places in the Eastern Hemisphere that have been modified to be suitable
for settlement by describing the modifications that were necessary (e.g., Nile River irrigation,
reclamation of land along the North Sea, planting trees in areas that have become desertified
in Africa).
7 – G4.3.2 Describe patterns of settlement by using historical and modern maps (e.g., the
location of the world’s mega cities, other cities located near coasts and navigable rivers,
regions under environmental stress such as the Sahel).
7 – G5.2.1 Describe the effects that a change in the physical environment could have on
human activities and the choices people would have to make in adjusting to the change (e.g.,
drought in Africa, pollution from volcanic eruptions in Indonesia, earthquakes in Turkey, and
flooding in Bangladesh).
7 – G1.2.2 Explain why maps of the same place may vary as a result of the cultural or historical
background of the cartographer.
7 – G2.2.2 Explain that communities are affected positively or negatively by changes in technology
(e.g. increased manufacturing resulting in rural to urban migration in China, increased farming of fish,
hydroelectric power generation at Three Gorges, pollution resulting from increased manufacturingand
automobiles).
7 – G2.2.3 Analyze how culture and experience influence people’s perception of places and regions
(e.g., that beaches are places where tourists travel, cities have historic buildings, northern places are
cold, equatorial places are very warm).
7 – G3.2.1 Explain how and why ecosystems differ as a consequence of differences in latitude, elevation,
and human activities (e.g., effects of latitude on types of vegetation in Africa, proximity to bodies of
water in Europe, and effects of annual river flooding in Southeast Asia and China)
7 – G3.2.2 Identify ecosystems of a continent and explain why some provide greater opportunities
(fertile soil, precipitation) for humans to use than do other ecosystems and how that changes with
technology (e.g., China’s humid east and arid west and the effects of irrigation technology).
7 – G4.2.1 List and describe the advantages and disadvantages of different technologies used to
move people, products, and ideas throughout the world (e.g., opportunities for employment,
entrepreneurial and educational opportunities using the Internet; the effects of technology on
reducing the time necessary for communications and travel; the uses and effects of wireless
technology in developing countries;and the spread of group and individual’s ideas as voice and image
messages on electronic networks such as the Internet).
7 – W3.1.4 Assess the importance of Greek ideas about democracy and citizenship in the
development of Western political thought and institutions.
7 – W3.1.5 Describe major achievements from Indian, Chinese, Mediterranean, African, and
Southwest and Central Asian civilizations in the areas of art, architecture and culture; science,
technology and mathematics; political life and ideas; philosophy and ethical beliefs; and
military strategy.
7 – W3.1.7 Use a case study to describe how trade integrated cultures and influenced the
economy within empires (e.g., Assyrian and Persian trade networks or networks of Egypt and
Nubia/Kush; or Phoenician and Greek networks).
20
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7 – W3.1.8 Describe the role of state authority, military power, taxation systems, and
institutions of coerced labor, including slavery, in building and maintaining empires (e.g., Han
Empire, Mauryan Empire, Egypt, Greek city-states and the Roman Empire).
7 – W3.2.1 Identify and describe the beliefs of the five major world religions.
7 – W3.2.2 Locate the geographical center of major religions and map the spread through the
3rd century C.E./A.D.
7 – W3.2.3 Identify and describe the ways that religions unified people’s perceptions of the
world and contributed to cultural integration of large regions of Afro-Eurasia.
7 – C1.1.1 Explain how the purposes served by government affect relationships between the
individual, government, and society as a whole and the differences that occur in monarchies,
theocracies, dictatorships, and representative governments.
7 – H1.1.1 Explain why and how historians use eras and periods as constructs to organize
and explain human activities over time.
7 – H1.1.2 Compare and contrast several different calendar systems used in the past and
present and their cultural significance (e.g., Sun Dial, Gregorian calendar – B.C./A.D.;
contemporary secular – B.C.E./C.E.; Chinese, Hebrew, and Islamic/Hijri calendars).
7 – H1.2.1 Explain how historians use a variety of sources to explore the past (e.g., artifacts,
primary and secondary sources including narratives, technology, historical maps,
visual/mathematical quantitative data, radiocarbon dating, DNA analysis).
7 – H1.2.5 Describe how historians use methods of inquiry to identify cause effect
relationships in history noting that many have multiple causes.
7 – H1.4.2 Describe and use themes of history to study patterns of change and continuity.
7 – W1.1.2 Explain what archaeologists have learned about Paleolithic and Neolithic patterns
of living in Africa, Western Europe, and Asia.
7 – W1.2.1 Explain the importance of the natural environment in the development of
agricultural settlements in different locations (e.g., available water for irrigation, adequate
precipitation, and suitable growth season).
7 – W1.2.2 Explain the impact of the Agricultural Revolution (stable food supply, surplus,
population growth, trade, division of labor, development of settlements).
7 – W2.1.1 Describe the importance of the development of human language, oral and written,
and its relationship to the development of culture
• verbal vocalizations
• standardization of physical (rock, bird) and abstract (love, fear) words
• pictographs to abstract writing (governmental administration, laws, codes, history and artistic
expressions)
7 – H1.2.2 Read and comprehend a historical passage to identify basic factual knowledge and the
literal meaning by indicating who was involved, what happened, where it happened, what events led
to the development, and what consequences or outcomes followed.
7 – H1.2.3 Identify the point of view (perspective of the author) and context when reading and
discussing primary and secondary sources.
7 – W1.1.1 Explain how and when human communities populated major regions of the Eastern
Hemisphere (Africa, Australia, Europe, Asia) and adapted to a variety of environments.
7 – W1.2.3 Compare and contrast the environmental, economic, and social institutions of two
early civilizations from different world regions (e.g., Yangtse, Indus River Valley,
Tigris/Euphrates, and Nile).
SAMPLE ACTIVITIES AND ASSESSMENTS
Sample Activities1.
After discussing the terms feature and characteristic have students use textbooks and maps
to find various examples of landforms, vegetation, and bodies of water. Then use a program
such as Google Earth to zoom in on any part of Michigan. Discuss ways that this electronic
map might be different than a textbook map. Explain that they are looking at a photograph
21
2.
3.
4.
5.
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and discuss how surface features might look different. Use a similar program to access
photographs of Asia, Africa, Europe, and Australia. Drawing on their knowledge of physical
features, have students write three sentences comparing and contrasting the four continents.
Remind students that as people interact with the environment they make adaptations in their
behavior and modify their surroundings. This is called human/environment interaction and is
one of the five themes of geography. Choose a picture book that shows examples of
human/environment interaction. Ask students to find examples of human/environment
interaction (i.e. wearing clothing, traveling by boat or train, farming, building homes or cities,
destroying cities during war, etc.). Keep a list on the board and have the class label as either
M (modification) or A (adaptation). Have students answer the following question: How have
humans used, adapted to, and modified different environments in the Eastern Hemisphere?
Ask students to cite specific examples as they define human/environment interaction.
Review the definitions of weather and climate and discuss the difference between these two
terms. Present the idea that a particular climate generally covers quite a large area and the
main physical factors that affect climate are bodies of water, mountains, and latitude. Ask
students to speculate which other factors affect a country or region’s climate. Have students
study a political map of the Eastern Hemisphere and choose a country in Africa or Asia for
which they will construct a climate graph. They will need to find climate data for a weather
recording station in their chosen country which is usually found in a large city
(www.worldclimate.com). Construct a climograph and then write several sentences that
describe and compare the climate of the city they chose. Compare the location they graphed
with their own location in the United States. Guide a discussion in which students consider
the relationships between climatic conditions and economic activities, including physical,
cultural, and regional characteristics. Instruct students to choose one category to study in
greater deal and pose a question to be answered about the economic activities that take
place in the region they graphed. Write a paragraph explaining the relationship between
climate and an economic activity.
Compare what people are doing with these influences.
Act out a play sharing events from a famous person’s life where they have exhibited good
character or positive influence in history (i.e., Ghandi, Challenger, Dalai Lama, religious
figures, etc. Socrates, Aristotle, Alexander the Great).
Group Research Activity
Each person chooses a person of the year to promote for the cover of a magazine.
Students choose from a list of candidates, form a campaign, a presentation, and then an
election to select a person of the year.
Each group is given a choice of 5 candidates to research as a group and then collectively
they pick one based on their research.
Assessments:
1.
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Create a thematic map which includes two focuses:
economic/natural resources
natural resources/culture
culture/political
Objective Assessments: True/False questions, Cloze questioning to determine a quick check of
understanding.
Writing Portfolio: As students are growing as writers, keep a selection of writing samples throughout the
year to determine misconceptions, phonics that need attention, knowledge of sentence structure and monitor
growth as writers.
Writing Assessments: With a given prompt, have students demonstrate their understanding through writing
their thoughts.
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Observations: While asking students questions or while students are performing tasks, observe them and
their thought process, and enter these observations into written form for each child observed.
Rubrics:
When designing an assessment/ activity, think about what you want to learn from the assessment/ activity
about your students. Use what you want to learn about the child and what you want the child to be able to
do as guidelines to create a rubric to use as an assessing tool. Students can be assessed anytime during
any activity throughout the day to see if they are learning what you want them to learn.
Summative Assessments:
Create a pre and post assessment that covers the literary standards covered in the unit and determine
growth and areas of weakness. This assessment can be made up of multiple choice, missing information,
and open ended questions.
After completing the activity regarding climate, the students can pose a question about Eastern Hemisphere
climates and use evidence from the lesson to construct and support an answer. The written information and
analysis of the climatic data may be used to assess the students’ knowledge of how places are assigned
specific types of climates.
INTERDISCIPLINARY CONNECTIONS
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary
sources.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source;
provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.3 Identify key steps in a text’s description of a process related to history/social
studies (e.g., how a bill becomes law, how interest rates are raised or lowered).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text,
including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.5 Describe how a text presents information (e.g., sequentially, comparatively,
causally).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.6 Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author’s point of view or purpose (e.g.,
loaded language, inclusion or avoidance of particular facts).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.7 Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or
maps) with other information in print and digital texts.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.8 Distinguish among fact, opinion, and reasoned judgment in a text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.9 Analyze the relationship between a primary and secondary source on the
same topic.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.10 By the end of grade 8, read and comprehend history/social studies texts in
the grades 6–8 text complexity band independently and proficiently. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.1 Write
arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.1a Introduce claim(s) about a topic or issue, acknowledge and distinguish the
claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.1b Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant, accurate data and
evidence that demonstrate an understanding of the topic or text, using credible sources.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.1c Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the
relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.1d Establish and maintain a formal style.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.1e Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports
the argument presented.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.2 Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical
events, scientific procedures/ experiments, or technical processes.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.2a Introduce a topic clearly, previewing what is to follow; organize ideas,
concepts, and information into broader categories as appropriate to achieving purpose; include formatting
(e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.2b Develop the topic with relevant, well-chosen facts, definitions, concrete
details, quotations, or other information and examples.
23
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.2c Use appropriate and varied transitions to create cohesion and clarify the
relationships among ideas and concepts.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.2d Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or
explain the topic.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.2e Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.2f Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports
the information or explanation presented. (See note; not applicable as a separate requirement)
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization,
and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.5 With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and
strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on
how well purpose and audience have been addressed.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and
present the relationships between information and ideas clearly and efficiently.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.7 Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a selfgenerated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that
allow for multiple avenues of exploration.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.8 Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using
search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the
data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.9 Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis reflection, and
research.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for reflection and
revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks,
purposes, and audiences.
INTEGRATING CHARACTER EDUCATION
Teamwork/ Safety
Throughout instruction we want our students to construct knowledge of positive character traits that we
believe are important for our students to possess. Listed are a few ideas to integrate friendship and
responsibility into literacy instruction.
o
o
o
o
o
o
Explicitly teach the meaning of teamwork and safety. Have a class discussion why these traits are
important to possess.
Read-a-loud texts or have students read independently passages and decide if characters are being
safe and if not, what is the effect of the lack of safety?
Create a teamwork promise in the classroom. Discuss the traits a good teammate has and decide
as a class that everyone will be a team player in the class. Have the whole class sign the promise.
Use read- a-louds to show examples of both traits and have students make connections to their own
lives.
Have students talk about times they have exhibited teamwork. Write about their experiences.
As the students work in stations or cooperative groups, remind them of the importance of teamwork.
Walk around and give the students feedback on their ability to work cooperatively.
Resources
Texts
Social Studies Annotated Bibliography
Writing Across the Curriculum Guides
Social Studies Writing Across the Curriculum
Online Resources
Discovery Education Streaming
MDE Social Studies Resources
Equipment/Manipulative
Atlases and textbooks
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Computers with Internet and geographic technology loaded
Document camera or overhead projector
Examples of climographs that appear in textbooks, travel books, newspapers, or on Web sites
Examples of maps
Large wall map of the world
Eastern Hemisphere
Africa and Asia
Physical maps of the continents from books or atlases
Floor plan of the school or hallway
Geography journal
Markers for completing maps (optional)
Newspapers or news magazines with photos (borrow from the library)
Outline maps of Africa and Asia downloaded from
About.com. 24 March 2009
http://geography.about.com/library/blank/blxindex.htm
Paper and markers for world maps
Student handouts copied from Supplemental Materials
Pictures of life in the Eastern Hemisphere
Pictures of the students’ city or town, both old and new
Student Resource
Altapedia Online. 24 March 2009
http://www.atlapedia.com/.
Five Themes of Geography Links. 24 March 2009
The Geography Guide. 24 March 2009
Geography Network. 26 March 2009
http://geography.mrdonn.org/5themes.html
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/99geography1.html
http://www.geographynetwork.com/
Google Earth. 24 March 2009
http://earth.google.com/
Goralewski, Sharon. Supplemental Materials for Unit 1.Teacher-made material. Michigan Citizenship
Collaborative, 2008-09. Separate files for each lesson available at
http://www.micitizenshipcurriculum.org
Local weather reports and climate information from newspapers, the Internet and television
National Geographic Map Machine. 24 March 2009
http://plasma.nationalgeographic.com/mapmachine/
Terrafly. 24 March 2009
Terraserver. 24 March 2009
http://www.terrafly.com/
http://www.terraserver.com/
United Nations Cartographic Section. 24 March 2009
http://www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/english/htmain.htm
What is Drought? 2006. National Drought Mitigation Center. 24 March 2009
http://www.drought.unl.edu/whatis/climographs.htm
World Climate. 2005. Buttle and Tuttle Ltd. 24 March 2009
World Geography. 24 March 2009
Teacher Resource
Africa. 26 March 2009
http://www.worldclimate.com/
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0873835.html
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/africa/
GeoImages Project. 24 March 2009
http://geoimages.berkeley.edu/
Geographic Information Systems. 24 March 2009
http://erg.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/gis_poster/
Grandfather’s Journey. 24 March 2009
http://faculty.salisbury.edu/~elbond/grand.htm (Or any picture
book that shows human/environment interaction.) Available at the library.
Introduction to GIS. 24 March 2009
Maps. 24 March 2009
http://www.geom.unimelb.edu.au/gisweb/GISModule/GISModule.htm
http://geography.about.com/library/blank/blxindex.htm
National Geographic. 24 March 2009
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/
National Geographic Educational Network. 24 March 2009
25
http://www.ngsednet.org/
Outline Maps. 24 March 2009
http://www.eduplace.com/ss/maps/
Peace Corps. 24 March 2009
http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm
Physical Geography.net. 24 March 2009
http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/8r.html
*Resources for Geography Teachers. 24 March 2009
The World Quiz. 24 March 2009
http://www.cnr.vt.edu/geography/vga/resource.html
http://www.lizardpoint.com/fun/geoquiz/worldquiz.html
World Wise Schools. 24 March 2009
http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/
Xpeditions@National Geographic. 24 March 2009
Student Resource
Archaeology for Students. 13 March 2008
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/
http://www.archaeologystudent.com/
The Field Museum, “Evolving Planet: Tour through Time”. 13 March 2008
http://www.fieldmuseum.org/evolvingplanet/hominids_10.asp
Image gallery and information on hominid artifacts
Jacobs, Heidi Hayes and Le Vasseur, Michal. The Ancient World. Boston, Massachusetts: Prentice Hall,
2008.
The Journey of Mankind: the Peopling of the World. Bradshaw Foundation. 13 March 2008
http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/journey/
Map of Human Migration. 13 March 2008
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/indepth_coverage/science/dna/timeline_flash.html
Student’s Friend. 13 March 2008
Teacher Resource
http://www.studentsfriend.com/sf/part1see/unit1-1.html
The Agricultural Revolution. Washington State University. 13 March 2008
http://www.wsu.edu/gened/learn-modules/top_agrev/agrev-index.html
Archaeology Magazine. 13 March 2008
http://www.archaeology.org/
Artlex.com. 13 March 2008
http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/s/stoneage.html
Best of History Websites, “Prehistory” 13 March 2008
http://www.besthistorysites.net
Warehouse of links to websites for this time period
The Origins of Language. Language in Use. 13 March 2008
http://www.putlearningfirst.com/language/01origin/01origin.html
Traditions & Encounters: A Global Perspective on the Past. Volume I: From the Beginning to 1500 McGrawHill: Boston, 2006.
World History: Connection for Today. 13 March 2008
http://www.stegen.k12.mo.us/tchrpges/sghs/rschelp/documents/StoneAge.ppt
PowerPoint for Era 1
World History for Us All. 13 March 2008
http://worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu/dev/default.htm
26
Unit 2: Africa, People, Places, and Issues
The unit begins with a “TWL” (Think, Want to Know, Learn) anticipatory set quick write activity to identify
students’ knowledge of Africa. Over the course of the unit the students check the accuracy of their entries.
Using the geographic themes of location and place, they explore significant African landforms, bodies of
water, vegetation zones, and climate zones and discuss various ways Africa can be divided into regions. The
next two lessons provide an overview of African history with a specific focus on colonialism and how it
impacted the people and cultures of Africa. They continue to explore this concept in subsequent lessons as
they study the colonial legacy and its effects on current political systems and economies. Students examine
cultural diversity in Africa through an analysis of images, languages, and religions and then expand their
knowledge of culture by looking at changing gender roles, urbanization and ethnic conflict. In order to
address economics, students compare several African countries with regard to foreign debt, monoeconomies, reliance on foreign goods, and the links between these issues and colonialism. In a civics
lesson, students compare pre-colonial political systems in Africa with post-colonial political systems. They
also read a series of short newspaper articles describing democratic movements in Africa. Through the lens
of conflict and cooperation students explore border disputes, religious intolerance, and ethnic conflicts,
examining ways the nations of Africa are working to resolve them. These ideas are expanded in the next
lesson in which students explore the history, goals, and projects of the African Union. Students research
environmental issues in Africa including deforestation, soil erosion, toxic waste trade, decline of fisheries,
and wildlife management. This leads to a lesson in which they explore an environmental issue in depth.
Students apply what they have learned by exploring ways in which Africa is connected to other areas of the
world beginning with the United States. Connections studied include historical links, cultural connections,
trade, foreign aid, debt, and environmental issues. In a final lesson, students analyze a public issue such as
whether or not the United States should increase its foreign aid to African nation. They compose a
persuasive essay taking a position on the issue and justifying their position with a reasoned argument.
This unit explores the characteristics of major world religions and belief systems that developed and
expanded during Era III as well as how they influenced the region of Afroeurasia. Islam has been included
even though this religion originated in the next era. The unit begins with a discussion seeking to answer the
question: “What is religion?” After exploring the term ‘world religion’ students investigate factors that led
some religions to develop into world religions. Common to lessons two through seven is the use of a primary
source and a connection to literature through a religious tale such as those featured in the Traditional
Religious Tales Series by Anita Ganeri. Students identify the geographic center of the religion and its spread
through the 3rd Century C.E. While taking virtual tours of places of worship and reading different versions of
the ‘Golden Rule’, students gather information and complete a chart describing characteristics of each
religion. In the culminating lesson, students use the information gathered to write a short essay comparing
and contrasting the religions studied. This lesson includes a summary discussion in which students describe
specific ways the religions unified people’s perceptions of the world and contributed to the cultural integration
of Afroeurasia during Era III. The teacher shares a list of questions relating to world religions that will be
answered in high school such as: How and where did these religions continue to spread? How did these
religions change in subsequent eras? How and why did some of these religions come into conflict? In
addition, connections are made to the present through an exploration of current data relating to these
religions as well as current issues relating to religious conflict.
BENCHMARKS COVERED:



7 – H1.4.2 Describe and use themes of history to study patterns of change and continuity.
7 – G1.1.1 Explain and use a variety of maps, globes, and web based geography
technology to study the world, including global, interregional, regional, and local scales.
7 – G1.2.6 Apply the skills of geographic inquiry (asking geographic questions, acquiring
27
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












geographic information, organizing geographic information, analyzing geographic
information, and answering geographic questions) to analyze a problem or issue of
importance to a region of the Eastern Hemisphere.
7 – G1.3.1 Use the fundamental themes of geography (location, place, human environment
interaction, movement, region) to describe regions or places on earth.
7 – G1.3.3 Explain the different ways in which places are connected and how those
connections demonstrate interdependence and accessibility.
7 – G2.1.1 Describe the landform features and the climate of the region (within the
Western or Eastern Hemispheres) under study.
7 – G2.2.1 Describe the human characteristics of the region under study (including
languages, religion, economic system, governmental system, cultural traditions).
7 – G4.1.1 Identify and explain examples of cultural diffusion within the Eastern
Hemisphere (e.g., the spread of sports, music, architecture, television, Internet, Bantu
languages in Africa, Islam in Western Europe).
7 – G4.1.2 Compare roles of women in traditional African societies in the past with roles of
women as modern micro-entrepreneurs in current economies.
7 – G4.4.1 Identify and explain factors that contribute to conflict and cooperation between
and among cultural groups (e.g., natural resources, power, culture, wealth).
7 – G5.1.1 Describe the environmental effects of human action on the atmosphere (air),
biosphere (people, animals, and plants), lithosphere (soil), and hydrosphere (water) (e.g.,
desertification in the Sahel Region of North Africa, deforestation in the Congo Basin, air
pollution in urban center, and chemical spills in European Rivers).
7 – G5.1.2 Describe how variations in technology affect human modifications of the
landscape (e.g., clearing of agricultural land in Southeast Asia, fish factories in North
Atlantic and Western Pacific Ocean, and damming rivers to meet needs for electricity).
7 – C1.1.1 Explain how the purposes served by government affect relationships between
the individual, government, and society as a whole and the differences that occur in
monarchies, theocracies, dictatorships, and representative governments.
7 – C4.3.2 Explain the challenges to governments and the cooperation needed to address
international issues (e.g., migration and human rights).
7 – C4.3.3 Explain why governments belong to different types of international and regional
organizations (e.g., United Nations (UN), North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO),
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), European Union (EU), and
African Union (AU), G-8 countries (leading economic/political)).
7 – E3.1.1 Explain the importance of trade (imports and exports) on national economies in
the Eastern Hemisphere (e.g., natural gas in North Africa, petroleum Africa, mineral
resources in Asia).
7 – E3.3.1 Explain and compare how economic systems (traditional, command, and
market) answer four basic questions: What should be produced? How will it be produced?
How will it be distributed? Who will receive the benefits of production? (e.g., market
economies in Africa, Europe; command economy in North Korea; and the transition to
market economies in Vietnam and China).
7 – P3.1.1 Clearly state an issue as a question or public policy, trace the origins of an
issue, analyze and synthesize various perspectives, and generate and evaluate alternative
resolutions. Deeply examine policy issues in group discussions and debates to make
reasoned and informed decisions. Write persuasive/ argumentative essays expressing and
justifying decisions on public policy issues. Plan and conduct activities intended to advance
views on matters of public policy, report the results, and evaluate effectiveness.
• Identify public policy issues related to global topics and issues studied.
• Clearly state the issue as a question of public policy orally or in written form.
• Use inquiry methods to acquire content knowledge and appropriate data about the issue.
• Identify the causes and consequences and analyze the impact, both positive and
negative.
• Share and discuss findings of research and issue analysis in group discussions and
debates.
• Compose a persuasive essay justifying the position with a reasoned argument.
• Develop an action plan to address or inform others about the issue at the local to global
28












scales.
7 – P4.2.1 Demonstrate knowledge of how, when, and where individuals would plan and
conduct activities intended to advance views in matters of public policy, report the results,
and evaluate effectiveness.
7 – P4.2.2 Engage in activities intended to contribute to solving a national or international
problem studied.
7 – P4.2.3 Participate in projects to help or inform others (e.g., service learning projects).
7 – H1.2.6 Identify the role of the individual in history and the significance of one person’s
ideas.
7 – H1.4.1 Describe and use cultural institutions to study an era and a region (political,
economic, religion/ belief, science/technology, written language, education, family).
7 – W1.2.3 Compare and contrast the environmental, economic, and social institutions of
two early civilizations from different world regions (e.g., Yangtse, Indus River Valley,
Tigris/Euphrates, and Nile).
7 – W2.1.2 Use historical and modern maps and other sources to locate, describe, and
analyze major river systems and discuss the ways these physical settings supported
permanent settlements, and development of early civilizations (Tigris and Euphrates
Rivers, Yangtze River, Nile River, Indus River).
7 – W3.1.5 Describe major achievements from Indian, Chinese, Mediterranean, African,
and Southwest and Central Asian civilizations in the areas of art, architecture and culture;
science, technology and mathematics; political life and ideas; philosophy and ethical
beliefs; and military strategy.
7 – W3.1.7 Use a case study to describe how trade integrated cultures and influenced the
economy within empires (e.g., Assyrian and Persian trade networks or networks of Egypt
and Nubia/Kush; or Phoenician and Greek networks).
7 – W3.2.1 Identify and describe the beliefs of the five major world religions.
7 – W3.2.2 Locate the geographical center of major religions and map the spread through
the 3rd century C.E./A.D.
7 – W3.2.3 Identify and describe the ways that religions unified people’s perceptions of the
world and contributed to cultural integration of large regions of Afro-Eurasia.
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:
1. What are some social, economic, political, and environmental issues affecting the people of
Africa?
2. How did major religions and belief systems grow and how have they impacted people, regions,
and history?
ESSENTIAL CONTENT/ UNDERSTANDINGS:
The students will understand how to:
 Construct a timeline with major events in African history
 Explain interdependence and the connections African countries have to the United States
including history, culture, trade, foreign aid, debt, and environmental issues
 Explain cultural diffusion and how it affects Africa which is made up of 53 countries, varying in
human characteristics
 Compare and contrast the major social issues of the countries of Africa including changing
roles for men and women, urbanization, ethnic conflict, and health care
 Compare and contrast the political systems in Africa, including monarchy, theocracy,
dictatorship, representative government or a republic, and parliamentary democracy
THINKING QUESTIONS:
1.
2.
3.
4.
In what ways are the countries and cultures of Africa alike and different?
What are some important connections between the past and the present in Africa?
In what ways are the countries of Africa connected to each other and to the world?
How and where did each of the world religions and belief systems originate and
29
grow?
5. What are the primary beliefs and practices of the world religions and belief systems?
6. How did world religions and belief systems contribute to the cultural integration of
Afro-Eurasia?
TERMINOLOGY
colonialism
conflict
cooperation
cultural diffusion
culture
desertification
economy
foreign aid
fundamental themes of geography
history
human/environment interaction
interdependence
international/regional organizations
political system
public issues
social issues
trade
cultural diffusion
cultural integration
culture
ethical system
monotheism
polytheism
religion
religious beliefs
world religion
TARGETED OUTCOMES:











7 – H1.4.2 Describe and use themes of history to study patterns of change and continuity.
7 – G1.1.1 Explain and use a variety of maps, globes, and web based geography
technology to study the world, including global, interregional, regional, and local scales.
7 – G1.2.6 Apply the skills of geographic inquiry (asking geographic questions, acquiring
geographic information, organizing geographic information, analyzing geographic
information, and answering geographic questions) to analyze a problem or issue of
importance to a region of the Eastern Hemisphere.
7 – G1.3.1 Use the fundamental themes of geography (location, place, human environment
interaction, movement, region) to describe regions or places on earth.
7 – G1.3.3 Explain the different ways in which places are connected and how those
connections demonstrate interdependence and accessibility.
7 – G2.1.1 Describe the landform features and the climate of the region (within the
Western or Eastern Hemispheres) under study.
7 – G2.2.1 Describe the human characteristics of the region under study (including
languages, religion, economic system, governmental system, cultural traditions).
7 – G4.1.1 Identify and explain examples of cultural diffusion within the Eastern
Hemisphere (e.g., the spread of sports, music, architecture, television, Internet, Bantu
languages in Africa, Islam in Western Europe).
7 – G4.1.2 Compare roles of women in traditional African societies in the past with roles of
women as modern micro-entrepreneurs in current economies.
7 – G4.4.1 Identify and explain factors that contribute to conflict and cooperation between
and among cultural groups (e.g., natural resources, power, culture, wealth).
7 – G5.1.1 Describe the environmental effects of human action on the atmosphere (air),
30















biosphere (people, animals, and plants), lithosphere (soil), and hydrosphere (water) (e.g.,
desertification in the Sahel Region of North Africa, deforestation in the Congo Basin, air
pollution in urban center, and chemical spills in European Rivers).
7 – G5.1.2 Describe how variations in technology affect human modifications of the
landscape (e.g., clearing of agricultural land in Southeast Asia, fish factories in North
Atlantic and Western Pacific Ocean, and damming rivers to meet needs for electricity).
7 – C1.1.1 Explain how the purposes served by government affect relationships between
the individual, government, and society as a whole and the differences that occur in
monarchies, theocracies, dictatorships, and representative governments.
7 – C4.3.2 Explain the challenges to governments and the cooperation needed to address
international issues (e.g., migration and human rights).
7 – C4.3.3 Explain why governments belong to different types of international and regional
organizations (e.g., United Nations (UN), North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO),
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), European Union (EU), and
African Union (AU), G-8 countries (leading economic/political)).
7 – E3.1.1 Explain the importance of trade (imports and exports) on national economies in
the Eastern Hemisphere (e.g., natural gas in North Africa, petroleum Africa, mineral
resources in Asia).
7 – E3.3.1 Explain and compare how economic systems (traditional, command, and
market) answer four basic questions: What should be produced? How will it be produced?
How will it be distributed? Who will receive the benefits of production? (e.g., market
economies in Africa, Europe; command economy in North Korea; and the transition to
market economies in Vietnam and China).
7 – P3.1.1 Clearly state an issue as a question or public policy, trace the origins of an
issue, analyze and synthesize various perspectives, and generate and evaluate alternative
resolutions. Deeply examine policy issues in group discussions and debates to make
reasoned and informed decisions. Write persuasive/ argumentative essays expressing and
justifying decisions on public policy issues. Plan and conduct activities intended to advance
views on matters of public policy, report the results, and evaluate effectiveness.
• Identify public policy issues related to global topics and issues studied.
• Clearly state the issue as a question of public policy orally or in written form.
• Use inquiry methods to acquire content knowledge and appropriate data about the issue.
• Identify the causes and consequences and analyze the impact, both positive and
negative.
• Share and discuss findings of research and issue analysis in group discussions and
debates.
• Compose a persuasive essay justifying the position with a reasoned argument.
• Develop an action plan to address or inform others about the issue at the local to global
scales.
7 – P4.2.1 Demonstrate knowledge of how, when, and where individuals would plan and
conduct activities intended to advance views in matters of public policy, report the results,
and evaluate effectiveness.
7 – P4.2.2 Engage in activities intended to contribute to solving a national or international
problem studied.
7 – P4.2.3 Participate in projects to help or inform others (e.g., service learning projects).
7 – H1.2.6 Identify the role of the individual in history and the significance of one person’s
ideas.
7 – H1.4.1 Describe and use cultural institutions to study an era and a region (political,
economic, religion/ belief, science/technology, written language, education, family).
7 – W1.2.3 Compare and contrast the environmental, economic, and social institutions of
two early civilizations from different world regions (e.g., Yangtse, Indus River Valley,
Tigris/Euphrates, and Nile).
7 – W2.1.2 Use historical and modern maps and other sources to locate, describe, and
analyze major river systems and discuss the ways these physical settings supported
permanent settlements, and development of early civilizations (Tigris and Euphrates
Rivers, Yangtze River, Nile River, Indus River).
7 – W3.1.5 Describe major achievements from Indian, Chinese, Mediterranean, African,
31




and Southwest and Central Asian civilizations in the areas of art, architecture and culture;
science, technology and mathematics; political life and ideas; philosophy and ethical
beliefs; and military strategy.
7 – W3.1.7 Use a case study to describe how trade integrated cultures and influenced the
economy within empires (e.g., Assyrian and Persian trade networks or networks of Egypt
and Nubia/Kush; or Phoenician and Greek networks).
7 – W3.2.1 Identify and describe the beliefs of the five major world religions.
7 – W3.2.2 Locate the geographical center of major religions and map the spread through
the 3rd century C.E./A.D.
7 – W3.2.3 Identify and describe the ways that religions unified people’s perceptions of the
world and contributed to cultural integration of large regions of Afro-Eurasia.
SAMPLE ACTIVITIES AND ASSESSMENTS
Sample Activities1. Remind students that one way we organize history to better understand the past is to put
information into a timeline. Ask students to think of five major events from their own lives.
With the year it happened, put these events in chronological order or sequence on a
timeline they have drawn. Explain how a timeline is beneficial because it is a way to
organize a large amount of information, can show connections between events that
happened around the same time, and can help to answer the questions historians ask.
Explain to the students that years are counted in both C.E. or Common Era and B.C.E. or
Before the Common Era. After providing background knowledge on African history,
provide each student with copies of major events in African history
(http://www.mnh.si.edu/africanuoices). Working in teams, have the students use their
textbooks and the Internet to determine the correct order. Divide the class into groups,
one for each event on the timeline. Assign each group one event and provide them a
poster board. Allow the students time to research their assigned event or era in detail.
Each group is to illustrate their event on the poster and write a paragraph describing it by
answering the five questions of history. The paragraph is attached to the poster and the
time period is also written under the title of the poster. Review the research by asking the
students if there were other events not on the timeline that they have discovered while
doing their research. Discuss why they made the choices they did and why it is not
possible to add all events to a timeline.
2. Lead a class discussion on the definition of a social issue. Have the students brainstorm a
list of social issues that are global in scope. These might include education, health care,
urbanization, and women’s roles among others. Then narrow the focus to regional or
country issues and then bring it down to the local level. Discuss how levels thinking assists
in understanding the issue and how not all social issues are found at all levels. The
students then identify some of the major social issues of the countries of Africa. Have
students choose two social issues that are present in Africa today. Students begin at the
global level and describe the issue at each level. They examine a local problem or issue
and research where else in the region and in the world this issue exists. On the back of
each page have students write a reflective paragraph about what they have learned.
Assessments:
Objective Assessments: True/False questions, Cloze questioning to determine a quick check of
understanding.
Writing Portfolio: As students are growing as writers, keep a selection of writing samples throughout
the year to determine misconceptions, phonics that need attention, knowledge of sentence structure
and monitor growth as writers.
Writing Assessments: With a given prompt, have students demonstrate their understanding through
writing their thoughts.
Observations: While asking students questions or while students are performing tasks, observe them
32
and their thought process, and enter these observations into written form for each child observed.
Rubrics:
When designing an assessment/ activity, think about what you want to learn from the assessment/
activity about your students. Use what you want to learn about the child and what you want the child to
be able to do as guidelines to create a rubric to use as an assessing tool. Students can be assessed
anytime during any activity throughout the day to see if they are learning what you want them to learn.
Summative Assessments:
Create a pre and post assessment that covers the literary standards covered in the unit and determine
growth and areas of weakness. This assessment can be made up of multiple choice, missing
information, and open ended questions.
INTERDISCIPLINARY CONNECTIONS
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and
secondary sources.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary
source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.3 Identify key steps in a text’s description of a process related to
history/social studies (e.g., how a bill becomes law, how interest rates are raised or lowered).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text,
including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.5 Describe how a text presents information (e.g., sequentially,
comparatively, causally).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.6 Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author’s point of view or purpose
(e.g., loaded language, inclusion or avoidance of particular facts).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.7 Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos,
or maps) with other information in print and digital texts.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.8 Distinguish among fact, opinion, and reasoned judgment in a text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.9 Analyze the relationship between a primary and secondary source on the
same topic.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.10 By the end of grade 8, read and comprehend history/social studies texts
in the grades 6–8 text complexity band independently and proficiently. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.68.1 Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.1a Introduce claim(s) about a topic or issue, acknowledge and
distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence
logically.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.1b Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant, accurate data
and evidence that demonstrate an understanding of the topic or text, using credible sources.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.1c Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the
relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.1d Establish and maintain a formal style.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.1e Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and
supports the argument presented.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.2 Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of
historical events, scientific procedures/ experiments, or technical processes.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.2a Introduce a topic clearly, previewing what is to follow; organize
ideas, concepts, and information into broader categories as appropriate to achieving purpose; include
formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding
comprehension.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.2b Develop the topic with relevant, well-chosen facts, definitions,
concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.2c Use appropriate and varied transitions to create cohesion and clarify
the relationships among ideas and concepts.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.2d Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform
about or explain the topic.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.2e Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.2f Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and
33
supports the information or explanation presented. (See note; not applicable as a separate
requirement)
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development,
organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.5 With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and
strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach,
focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing
and present the relationships between information and ideas clearly and efficiently.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.7 Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a
self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused
questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.8 Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources,
using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or
paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard
format for citation.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.9 Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis reflection,
and research.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for reflection and
revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific
tasks, purposes, and audiences.
INTEGRATING CHARACTER EDUCATION
Tolerance
Throughout instruction we want our students to construct knowledge of positive character traits that we
believe are important for our students to possess. Listed are a few ideas to integrate respect into
literacy instruction.
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Explicitly teach the meaning of tolerance. Have a class discussion about why the trait is
important to possess.
Use books read aloud, in small groups or independently to decide if characters are tolerant of
one another and their differences.
In literature analyze if a character in the book is being tolerant and if not, how tolerance could
help the character.
When examining animals and plants in nature, discuss how they need to be tolerant and how
tolerance can help them live.
Use literature to show examples of this trait and have students make connections to their own
lives.
Have students identify which character from a variety of text is the most tolerant and give
evidence from the text to back their opinions.
Use as many teachable moments as possible throughout the day to complement students for
showing tolerance and use their real life examples as a learning experience.
RESOURCES:
Texts
Social Studies Annotated Bibliography
Writing Across the Curriculum Guides
Social Studies Writing Across the Curriculum
Online Resources
Discovery Education Streaming
MDE Social Studies Resources
Equipment/Manipulative
Atlases and textbooks, classroom set
Construction paper, 12” by 18” sheets of various colors for mounting maps
34
Food coloring, one color
Geography journal
Glue, glue sticks
Internet access or information printed from the Internet
Large clear glass jar or vase
Letter writing materials
Maps
Large wall map of Africa
Large wall map of Southern Africa
Large map of Africa and Angola
Various examples of special purpose maps of Africa (These may include vegetation, precipitation,
language, religion, and physical feature maps.)
Markers and colored pencils
Overhead projector or document camera
Paper, large pieces
Poster boards, large and small
Reference books such as dictionaries and almanacs
Rulers
Sand, a pail full, dry
Scissors
Self-stick notes (Post-It notes) or index cards and tape
Small battery operated fan or blow dryer
Small box or large envelope
Small plastic trees or flowers, 3 or 4
String or yarn, six yard-long pieces
Student handouts (from Supplemental Materials)
Tape
Student Resource
Africa. 2 June 2009
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa
Africa: From the Sahara to the Serengeti. PBS Website. 2 June 2009
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/africa/
The Africa Guide. 2 June 2009
http://www.africaguide.com/afmap.htm
Africa Timelines. 2 June 2009
http://web.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/hum211/timelines/htimelinetoc.htm
African Union. 2 June 2009
http://www.africa-union.org/
African Voices. Smithsonian Website. 2 June 2009
http://www.mnh.si.edu/africanvoices/
Africa’s Kingdoms and Empires Map. Exploring Africa Website. 2 June 2009
http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/students/curriculum/m7a/activity3.php
*African Languages Map. Exploring Africa website. 2 June 2009
http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/students/curriculum/m8/map1.php
Angola. The World Factbook. 2 June 2009
world-factbook/geos/ao.html#Intro
Angola Civil War. 2 June 2009
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-
http://web.mit.edu/cascon/cases/case_acw.html
Angola Diamond Mining and War. Trade and Environment Data Base. 2 June 2009
http://www.american.edu/projects/mandala/TED/ice/ANGOLA.HTM
At a Glance: Angola. UNICEF. 2 June 2009
Beverley Naidoo. 2 June 2009
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/angola_25988.html
http://www.beverleynaidoo.com/index2.html
35
Colonialism in Africa (1914) Map. Exploring Africa Website. 2 June 2009
http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/students/curriculum/m9/activity4.php
Colonial Languages Map. Exploring Africa Website. 2 June 2009
http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/students/curriculum/m8/map2.php Combating ‘
Desertification in Africa. 2 June 2009
http://www.unccd.int/publicinfo/factsheets/showFS.php?number=11>.Congo, Democratic
Republic of the. The CIA Factbook. 2 June 2009
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cg.html
Countries. 2 June 2009
http://www.state.gov/countries/
Countries of the World. 2 June 2009
Country Studies. 2 June 2009
http://www.infoplease.com/countries.html
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/
Culture and Society in Africa. Exploring Africa website. 2 June 2009
http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/students/curriculum/m8/
Desertification. 2 June 2009
Desertification. FAO. 2 June 2009
Desertification. USGS. 2 June 2009
http://www.bcb.uwc.ac.za/Envfacts/facts/desertification.htm
http://www.fao.org/desertification/default.asp?lang=en
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/deserts/desertification/
Desertification – threat to the Sahel. Eden Foundation. 2 June 2009
foundation.org/project/desertif.html
http://www.eden-
*Economic Commission on Africa. United Nations Website. 2 June 2009
http://www.uneca.org/
Exploring Africa. 2 June 2009
http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/students/curriculum/
*Examining Africa’s History and Global Connections with Maps. Exploring Africa Website. 2
June 2009
http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/students/curriculum/m4/activity1.php
Facts about African Countries. 2 June 2009
http://www.library.northwestern.edu/africana/map/
Field Listing – Government Type. CIA Factbook. 2 June 2009
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2128.html
Foreign Trade Statistics. 2 June 2009
http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/www/
*The Geography Guide. 2 June 2009
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/99geography1.html
*Geography Network. 2 June 2009
http://www.geographynetwork.com/
Naidoo, Beverley. Journey to Jo’burg. New York: HarperCollins, 1986. (One or more copies to read
aloud, available from the library.)
Profile. The African Union. 2 June 2009
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/country_profiles/3870303.stm
Religions in Africa. Exploring Africa website. 2 June 2009
http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/students/curriculum/m14/activity2.php
Striking at the Root of Civil War. Magazine Africa. 2 June 2009
http://www.time.com/time/europe/magazine/2000/0327/angola.html
USAID Africa. 2 June 2009
http://www.usaid.gov/locations/sub-saharan_africa/
The World Factbook. CIA. 2 June 2009
factbook/
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-
36
Teacher Resource
2008 World Population Data Sheet. Population Reference Bureau. 2 June 2009
http://www.prb.org/pdf08/08WPDS_Eng.pdf
About.com: Geography. 2 June 2009
ACCION International. 2 June 2009
http://geography.about.com/library/maps/blindex.htm
http://www.accion.org/Page.aspx?pid=670
Africa. National Geographic DVD. Washington DC. 2004.
Africa. Outline Map About.com 2 June 2009
http://geography.about.com/library/blank/blxafrica.htm
Africa. Worldwise Schools. 2 June 2009
http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/educators/lessonplans/section.cfm?rid=afric
Africa Focus: Sights and Sounds of a Continent. 2 June 2009
http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/AfricaFocus/
Africa in the Classroom. 2 June 2009
http://www.africa.upenn.edu/K-12/chill.html
Africa News. BBC website. 2 June 2009 <
Africa: Teacher Tools. 2 June 2009
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/default.stm
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/africa/tools/index.html
Africa Trek. Inkwater Press DVD. Portland, OR. 2008.
African History, the Era of Global Encroachment Unit. Exploring Africa Website. 29 2 June 2009
http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/students/curriculum/m7b/
African Lives2 June 2009 <
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpsrv/inatl/longterm/africanlives/front.htm
Bush Has Quietly Tripled Aid to Africa. Washington Post. 2 June 2009
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/30/AR2006123000941.html
*Celebrating Our Connections Through Water. Middle School Unit. Water in Africa Website of the
Peace Corps. 2 June 2009
http://peacecore.gov/wws/educators/enrichment/africa/lessons/ESlang01/index.html
Collection of pictures of human characteristics found in African countries. Many can be found on the
Internet sites listed here.
Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. Spark Notes: Barnes & Noble. 2 June 2009
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/heart
Contemporary African Photographs. 2 June 2009
http://library.stanford.edu/depts/ssrg/africa/photographs.html
Culture and Society in Africa. Exploring Africa website. 2 June 2009
http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/students/curriculum/m8/
*Early African History Unit. Exploring Africa Website. 2 June 2009
http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/students/curriculum/m7a/
Economic Commission on Africa. United Nations Website. 2 June 2009
http://www.uneca.org/
Examining Africa’s History and Global Connections with Maps. Exploring Africa Website. 2
June 2009
http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/students/curriculum/m4/activity1.php>.
Exploring Africa. 2 June 2009
http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/students/curriculum/
Fighting Soil Erosion. Worldwise Schools. 2 June 2009
http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/multimedia/slideshows/gna_jacobs.cfm
Goralewski, Sharon. Supplemental Materials (Unit 2).Teacher-made material. Michigan Citizenship
37
Collaborative, 2009.
*How Big is Africa? Curriculum Guide. 2 June 2009
http://www.bu.edu/africa/outreach/materials/handouts/howbig.html
Lake Michigan. Power Point. 2 June 2009
http://www.epa.gov/solec/solec_2004/presentations/Lake_Michigan_(Grannemann).pdf
Lake Michigan Sand Dune Protection Reform. 2 June 2009
http://mott.org/sitecore/content/Globals/Grants/2000/200000081_Lake%20Michigan%20Sand%20Dune
%20Protection%20Reform.aspx
Learning Africa. 2 June 2009
http://www.learningafrica.org.uk/governance_resources.htm
Lost Boys of Sudan. 2 June 2009
http://lostboysfilm.com/
*The National Council for Geographic Education. 2 June 2009
National Geographic Website. 2 June 2009
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/
National Geographic Educational Network. 2 June 2009
Nothing but Nets. 2 June 2009
http://www.ncge.org
http://www.ngsednet.org/
http://www.nothingbutnets.net/
“On Native Ground.” Conde Nast Traveler. 2 June 2009
http://www.concierge.com
*Resources for Geography Teachers. 2 June 2009
http://www.cnr.vt.edu/geography/vga/resource.html>.
Set Your Sites on Africa Internet Resources for Teachers. 2 June 2009
http://africa.wisc.edu/outreach/units/annotate.html
*Teaching Resources on Africa. 2 June 2009
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/indiv/africa/cuvl/teaching.html
Urbanization and Global Change. 2 June 2009
http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange2/current/lectures/urban_gc/
Worldwise Schools. Peace Corps. 2 June 2009
http://peacecore.gov/wws/educators/
Student Resource
The Beatitudes. 28 October 2008
http://www.shrinesf.org/faith.htm#beatitudes
The Big Religion Chart. 28 October 2008
http://www.religionfacts.com/big_religion_chart.htm
A Bow of the Head: Religions of the World. 28 October 2008
http://library.thinkquest.org/28505/
Buddhism. Calliope: Exploring World History. Peterborough, NH: Carus, March/April 1995.
Buddhist Art and Architecture. 28 October 2008
http://www.buddhanet.net/gallery.htm
Chodzin, Sherab. The Wisdom of the Crows and Other Buddhist Tales. New York: Tricycle Press,
1998.
Confucianism. 28 October 2008
http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/china/philosophy/confucius.htm
Confucianism. 28 October 2008
http://www.religioustolerance.org/confuciu.htm
Confucius. 28 October 2008
http://www.leaderu.com/orgs/probe/docs/confucius.html
Confucius: The Analects. 28 October 2008
http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/CHPHIL/ANALECTS.HTM
Definitions of the Word Religion. 28 October 2008
http://www.religioustolerance.org/rel_defn.htm
Early Christianity. Calliope: Exploring World History. Peterborough, NH: Carus, January 2005.
Evolution of Religions Timeline and Web. 28 October 2008
38
http://www.krysstal.com/wgods.html
Freedman, Russell. Confucius: The Golden Rule. New York: Arthur A. Levine Books, 2002.
Ganeri. Anita. Christian Stories. Traditional Religious Tales Series. New York: Picture Window Books,
2006.
Ganeri. Anita. Buddhist Stories. Traditional Religious Tales Series. New York: Picture Window Books,
2006.
Ganeri. Anita. Hindu Stories. Traditional Religious Tales Series. New York: Picture Window Books,
2006.
Ganeri. Anita. Islamic Tales. Traditional Religious Tales Series. New York: Picture Window Books,
2006.
Ganeri. Anita. Jewish Tales. Traditional Religious Tales Series. New York: Picture Window Books,
2006.
Hindu Proverbs. 28 October 2008
http://www.worldofquotes.com/proverb/Hindu/1/index.html
Hindu Temple Virtual Tour. 28 October 2008
http://www.logosre.net/ks3/worldreligions/hinduismtour.htm
Hindu Temples. 28 October 2008
Hinduism. 28 October 2008
http://www.hindunet.org/hindu_pictures/temples/temples.shtml
http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/india/religion/hinduism.htm
Hinduism. Calliope: Exploring World History. Peterborough, NH: Carus, March/April 1993.
History of Buddhism. 28 October 2008
http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/india/religion/buddhism.htm
Interfaith Calendar. 28 October 2008
http://www.interfaithcalendar.org/
Islam. Calliope: Exploring World History. Peterborough, NH: Carus, January/February 1997.
Islam: Empire of Faith. 28 October 2008
http://www.pbs.org/empires/islam/featuresjewels.html
Judaism. Calliope: Exploring World History. Peterborough, NH: Carus, March/April 1994.
Major Christian Denominations: How Do They Differ? 28 October 2008
http://www.worldalmanacforkids.com/WAKI-ViewArticle.aspx?pin=wrlg00700&article_id=512&chapter_id=11&chapter_title=Religion&article_title=Adherents_of_All_Religio
ns
Major World Religions. 28 October 2008
Mosque Virtual Tour. 28 October 2008
http://www.omsakthi.org/religions.html
http://www.mosque.org.sg/pano/index.asp
Quotes from the Talmud. 28 October 2008
http://www.giga-usa.com/quotes/authors/talmud_a001.htm
Quotes from the Talmud. 28 October 2008
http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/The_Talmud/
The Qur’an. Calliope: Exploring World History. Peterborough, NH: Carus, December 2003.
Religion Facts. 28 October 2008
http://www.religionfacts.com/
Religion. World Almanac for Kids Website. 28 October 2008
http://www.worldalmanacforkids.com/WAKI-Chapter.aspx?chapter_id=11&chapter_title=Religion
Religions of the World. 28 October 2008
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/
Religions of the World. 28 October 2008
http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/cultural/religion/
Religious Diversity Resources. 28 October 2008
http://www.awesomelibrary.org/Classroom/Social_Studies/Multicultural/Religious_Diversity.html
Religious Tolerance. 28 October 2008
http://www.religioustolerance.org/worldrel.htm
39
Sacred Sites: Places of Peace and Power. 28 October 2008
http://sacredsites.com/pages/explore.html
A Virtual Tour of a Synagogue. 28 October 2008
http://www.wellesley.mec.edu/wms/hamilton/Virtual_Synagogue/pages/Synagogue.htm
Virtual Tour of the National Cathedral. 28 October 2008
http://www.nationalcathedral.org/visit/onlineTours.shtml
Virtual Tours: Buddhist Temple. 28 October 2008
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cumbria/faith/virtual_tours/worldpeacetemple_tour.shtml
World Religions and Philosophies. 28 October 2008
World Religions Photo Library. 28 October 2008
http://www.mrdonn.org/religions.html
http://www.worldreligions.co.uk/
Teacher Resource
Confucianism: Practical Values for Political Systems. 28 October 2008
http://asia.msu.edu/region%20eastasia-teaching%20ideas.htm
Five Major World Religions Lesson Plan. 28 October 2008
http://www.create.cett.msstate.edu/create/classroom/lplan_view.asp?articleID=168#handout1
The Golden Rule. 28 October 2008
http://www.virtuescience.com/golden-rule.html
History of Religion Guide for Teachers and Parents. 28 October 2008
http://www.historyforkids.org/teachers/guides/religion.htm
Islam 101 Online Course. 28 October 2008
Judaism 101. 28 October 2008
http://www.jewfaq.org/shul.htm
Lessons for Teaching about Buddhism. 28 October 2008
http://www.clevelandart.org/educef/asianodyssey/html/Buddhism.html
Map and Timeline of World Religions Poster. Poster Education, 1997. (Available at Social Studies
School Service)
The Pluralism Project. Resources by Religious Tradition. 28 October 2008
http://www.pluralism.org/resources/tradition/index.php
Religions Around the World Map and Timeline. Knowledge Unlimited, 2002. (Available at Social
Studies School Service)
Religions of the World Poster Set. Jaguar Educational: 2005. (Available at Social Studies School
Service)
Shared Belief in the Golden Rule. 28 October 2008
http://www.religioustolerance.org/reciproc.htm
Thematic Teaching: World Religions. PBS Teachers Website. 28 October 2008
http://www.pbs.org/teachers/thismonth/worldreligion/index.html
Understanding World Religions DVD set. Understanding World Religions Video Set. Wynnewood, PA:
Schlessinger Media, 2003.
What is Religion? Definitions and Quotes. 28 October 2008
http://www.religionfacts.com/religion/quotes.htm
What is Religion? (DVD) from the Understanding World Religions Video Set. Wynnewood, PA:
Schlessinger Media, 2003.
World Religions Lesson Plans. 28 October 2008
http://www.archaeolink.com/world_religions_lesson_plans.htm
World Religions: Islam. 28 October 2008
http://www.library.wwu.edu/ref/subjguides/religions/specific/islam.htm
40
World Religions PowerPoint Presentations. 28 October 2008
41
http://www.pppst.com/religions.html
Unit 3: West Asia: People, Places, and Issues
In this unit students explore the social, economic, political, and environmental issues of West Asia. Building
on Unit 1, students use the geographic themes of location, place, and region to explore significant physical
features of West Asia focusing on sub-regions of Southwest Asia, Central Asia, and South Asia. Students
assess the impact of physical changes such as drought, earthquakes, and flooding and how people have
adapted to these changes. Students use timelines, maps, and other resources to review the history of this
region. Emphasis is placed on the importance of this area in ancient history and its location as the birthplace
of several world religions. Both these ideas will be studied in depth in later world history units of seventh
grade. In a culture-based lesson students compare and contrast photographs and histories of significant
architectural structures of this region including the Taj Mahal in India, the Ka’aba in Mecca, and the Hagia
Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey. Students read a selection of short folktales from various cultures of West Asia
and make inferences about cultural beliefs and values based on the tales. Focus is then placed on important
economic activities of India including cotton production, the manufacturing of computer software, and its film
industry. They identify the economic relationships between the U.S. and India, describing the importance of
trade to these national economies. Gathering information about the economies of a variety of countries in
West Asia including Kuwait, Israel, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, they compare and contrast the
characteristics. Then they apply what was learned in a brief analysis of trade and trade networks which
connect this region with other regions of the world. In a civics lesson, students first compare the government
of India with the government of the United States, both of which are democratic republic. Next, they compare
the government of India, the monarchy of Saudi Arabia, and the theocratic republic of Iran. They explore
attempts to create a new democratic government in Iraq and make reasoned predictions about its future. In a
lesson with both cultural and political implications, students explore conflict in this region, by first Identifying
common causes of conflict which they have learned about in previous units from sixth grade and in the
seventh grade unit on Africa. Working in small groups they research a specific conflict in this region including
the Arab/Israeli conflict, the Sri Lanka Civil War, the conflict over Kashmir, the Iraq War, the conflict between
Turks and Kurds, and the conflict in Afghanistan. After groups share the causes and effects of their assigned
topic, the class identifies patterns and themes among the conflicts of this region. In a culminating activity,
students return to their small groups and design a plan for the resolution of a current conflict in West Asia.
Students synthesize what they have learned in the unit by exploring environmental issues in this region and
the subsequent connections to history, economic activities, population growth, and political issues.
This unit explores the development of early civilizations and pastoral societies. It begins with a review of the
Agricultural Revolution and the creation of a simple timeline that is used throughout the unit. By analyzing
photographs of an ancient city and making inferences based on them, students explore how the
development of agriculture had multiple effects including surplus food and complex societies. Students then
examine the characteristics of a civilization and apply this knowledge to a brief study of four early river valley
civilizations. After researching Mesopotamia and Egypt in depth, the students create a Venn diagram to
compare the two civilizations. Using maps, photographs and informational text they switch their focus to a
study of the growth of pastoral societies in Central Asia. They apply what they have learned about these
pastoral nomads by comparing them to the settled peoples they studied earlier in the unit. This leads to an
analysis of the causes and effects of the migrations of pastoral peoples into the settled areas during the
second millennium B.C.E. Students then focus on the Americas as they explore the Olmec civilization and
compare it to the civilizations they have previously studied. Concrete examples of cultural diffusion and the
ways goods, ideas, and technology were exchanged are identified and reviewed. Finally, connections are
made between history and geography as students explore ways in which the people of the various
civilizations and pastoral societies adapted to and modified their respective environments.
BENCHMARKS COVERED:
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7 – H1.4.2 Describe and use themes of history to study patterns of change and continuity.
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7 – G1.1.1 Explain and use a variety of maps, globes, and web based geography technology to
study the world, including global, interregional, regional, and local scales.
7 – G1.2.6 Apply the skills of geographic inquiry (asking geographic questions, acquiring
geographic information, organizing geographic information, analyzing geographic information,
and answering geographic questions) to analyze a problem or issue of importance to a region of
the Eastern Hemisphere.
7 – G1.3.1 Use the fundamental themes of geography (location, place, human environment
interaction, movement, region) to describe regions or places on earth.
7 – G2.1.1 Describe the landform features and the climate of the region (within the Western or
Eastern Hemispheres) under study.
7 – G2.2.1 Describe the human characteristics of the region under study (including languages,
religion, economic system, governmental system, cultural traditions).
7 – G4.3.1 Identify places in the Eastern Hemisphere that have been modified to be suitable for
settlement by describing the modifications that were necessary (e.g., Nile River irrigation,
reclamation of land along the North Sea, planting trees in areas that have become desertified in
Africa).
7 – G4.4.1 Identify and explain factors that contribute to conflict and cooperation between and
among cultural groups (e.g., natural resources, power, culture, wealth).
7 – G5.1.1 Describe the environmental effects of human action on the atmosphere (air),
biosphere (people, animals, and plants), lithosphere (soil), and hydrosphere (water) (e.g.,
desertification in the Sahel Region of North Africa, deforestation in the Congo Basin, air pollution
in urban center, and chemical spills in European Rivers).
7 – G5.1.3 Identify the ways in which human-induced changes in the physical environment in
one place can cause changes in other places (e.g., cutting forests in one region may result in
river basin flooding elsewhere as has happened historically in China; building dams floods land
upstream and permits irrigation downstream as in Southern Africa, the Aswan Dam flooded the
upper Nile Valley and permitted irrigation downstream).
7 – G5.2.1 Describe the effects that a change in the physical environment could have on human
activities and the choices people would have to make in adjusting to the change (e.g., drought in
Africa, pollution from volcanic eruptions in Indonesia, earthquakes in Turkey, and flooding in
Bangladesh).
7 – C1.1.1 Explain how the purposes served by government affect relationships between the
individual, government, and society as a whole and the differences that occur in monarchies,
theocracies, dictatorships, and representative governments.
7 – C3.6.1 Define the characteristics of a nation-state (a specific territory, clearly defined
boundaries, citizens, and jurisdiction over people who reside there, laws, and government) and
how Eastern Hemisphere nations interact.
7 – C4.3.2 Explain the challenges to governments and the cooperation needed to address
international issues (e.g., migration and human rights).
7 – E3.1.1 Explain the importance of trade (imports and exports) on national economies in the
Eastern Hemisphere (e.g., natural gas in North Africa, petroleum Africa, mineral resources in
Asia).
7 – E3.3.1 Explain and compare how economic systems (traditional, command, and market)
answer four basic questions: What should be produced? How will it be produced? How will it be
distributed? Who will receive the benefits of production? (e.g., market economies in Africa,
Europe; command economy in North Korea; and the transition to market economies in Vietnam
and China).
7 – G4.4.2 Describe examples of cooperation and conflict within the European Union (e.g.,European
Parliament, Euro as currency in some countries but not others, open migration within the European Union, free
trade,and cultural impacts such as a multi-lingual population).
7 – C4.3.1 Explain how governments address national issues and form policies, and how the policies
may not be consistent with those of other countries (e.g., population pressures in China compared to
Sweden; international immigration quotas, international aid, energy needs for natural gas and oil and
military aid).
7 – W2.1.2 Use historical and modern maps and other sources to locate, describe, and analyze
major river systems and discuss the ways these physical settings supported permanent
settlements, and development of early civilizations (Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, Yangtze River,
43
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Nile River, Indus River).
7 – W2.1.5 Describe pastoralism and explain how the climate and geography of Central Asia
were linked to the rise of pastoral societies on the steppes.
7 – W3.1.5 Describe major achievements from Indian, Chinese, Mediterranean, African, and
Southwest and Central Asian civilizations in the areas of art, architecture and culture; science,
technology and mathematics; political life and ideas; philosophy and ethical beliefs; and military
strategy.
7 – W3.2.1 Identify and describe the beliefs of the five major world religions.
7 – W3.2.2 Locate the geographical center of major religions and map the spread through the
3rd century C.E./A.D.
7 – W3.2.3 Identify and describe the ways that religions unified people’s perceptions of the world
and contributed to cultural integration of large regions of Afro-Eurasia.
7 – H1.2.4 Compare and evaluate competing historical perspectives about the past based on
proof.
7 – H1.4.1 Describe and use cultural institutions to study an era and a region (political,
economic, religion/ belief, science/technology, written language, education, family).
7 – H1.4.3 Use historical perspectives to analyze global issues faced by humans long ago and
today
7 – W2.1.3 Examine early civilizations to describe their common features (ways of governing,
stable food supply, economic and social structures, use of resources and technology, division of
labor and forms of communication).
7 – W2.1.4 Define the concept of cultural diffusion and how it resulted in the spread of ideas and
technology from one region to another (e.g., plants, crops, plow, wheel, bronze metallurgy).
7 – G6.1.2 Investigations Designed for Ancient World History Eras – Conduct research on global
topics and issues, compose persuasive essays, and develop a plan for action.
7 – G6.1.1 Contemporary Investigations – Conduct research on contemporary global topics and
issues, compose persuasive essays, and develop a plan for action. (H1.4.3, G1.2.6, See P3 and P4)
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:
1. What are some social, economic, political, and environmental issues affecting the people of West
Asia?
2. What were the causes and effects of the development of early agriculture-based civilizations and
large pastoral societies?
ESSENTIAL CONTENT/ UNDERSTANDINGS:
The students will understand how to:
 Give a brief overview of the early history and religions of the West Asia region
 Describe the human characteristics unique to the West Asia region, including cities, art, language,
literature, religion, and architecture
 Describe the geography of West Asia in terms of location, place, region, movement, and
human/environment interaction.
 Give a brief overview of the many economic indicators affecting West Asia, including Gross
Domestic Product, life expectancy, and literacy rate
THINKING QUESTIONS:
1.
2.
3.
4.
In what ways are the sub-regions, countries, and cultures of West Asia alike and different?
What are some of the causes and effects of conflict in this region?
What are some important connections between the past and the present in West Asia?
What factors influenced the development of early civilizations and the growth of pastoral
societies?
5. How were early civilizations alike and different and how did they differ from pastoral societies?
6. What types of inter-regional and regional interactions were evident during this era?
44
TERMINOLOGY:
conflict
cooperation
culture
economic activities
economy
ethnic conflict
fundamental themes of geography
history
human/environment interaction
interdependence
political system
religion
religious conflict
trade
agriculture
centralized government
civilization
cultural adaptation
cultural diffusion
interaction
pastoralism
social hierarchy
specialization
sustainable agriculture
urbanization
TARGETED OUTCOMES:
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7 – H1.4.2 Describe and use themes of history to study patterns of change and continuity.
7 – G1.1.1 Explain and use a variety of maps, globes, and web based geography technology to
study the world, including global, interregional, regional, and local scales.
7 – G1.2.6 Apply the skills of geographic inquiry (asking geographic questions, acquiring
geographic information, organizing geographic information, analyzing geographic information,
and answering geographic questions) to analyze a problem or issue of importance to a region of
the Eastern Hemisphere.
7 – G1.3.1 Use the fundamental themes of geography (location, place, human environment
interaction, movement, region) to describe regions or places on earth.
7 – G2.1.1 Describe the landform features and the climate of the region (within the Western or
Eastern Hemispheres) under study.
7 – G2.2.1 Describe the human characteristics of the region under study (including languages,
religion, economic system, governmental system, cultural traditions).
7 – G4.3.1 Identify places in the Eastern Hemisphere that have been modified to be suitable for
settlement by describing the modifications that were necessary (e.g., Nile River irrigation,
reclamation of land along the North Sea, planting trees in areas that have become desertified in
Africa).
7 – G4.4.1 Identify and explain factors that contribute to conflict and cooperation between and
among cultural groups (e.g., natural resources, power, culture, wealth).
7 – G5.1.1 Describe the environmental effects of human action on the atmosphere (air),
biosphere (people, animals, and plants), lithosphere (soil), and hydrosphere (water) (e.g.,
desertification in the Sahel Region of North Africa, deforestation in the Congo Basin, air pollution
in urban center, and chemical spills in European Rivers).
7 – G5.1.3 Identify the ways in which human-induced changes in the physical environment in
one place can cause changes in other places (e.g., cutting forests in one region may result in
river basin flooding elsewhere as has happened historically in China; building dams floods land
upstream and permits irrigation downstream as in Southern Africa, the Aswan Dam flooded the
upper Nile Valley and permitted irrigation downstream).
7 – G5.2.1 Describe the effects that a change in the physical environment could have on human
45
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activities and the choices people would have to make in adjusting to the change (e.g., drought in
Africa, pollution from volcanic eruptions in Indonesia, earthquakes in Turkey, and flooding in
Bangladesh).
7 – C1.1.1 Explain how the purposes served by government affect relationships between the
individual, government, and society as a whole and the differences that occur in monarchies,
theocracies, dictatorships, and representative governments.
7 – C3.6.1 Define the characteristics of a nation-state (a specific territory, clearly defined
boundaries, citizens, and jurisdiction over people who reside there, laws, and government) and
how Eastern Hemisphere nations interact.
7 – C4.3.2 Explain the challenges to governments and the cooperation needed to address
international issues (e.g., migration and human rights).
7 – E3.1.1 Explain the importance of trade (imports and exports) on national economies in the
Eastern Hemisphere (e.g., natural gas in North Africa, petroleum Africa, mineral resources in
Asia).
7 – E3.3.1 Explain and compare how economic systems (traditional, command, and market)
answer four basic questions: What should be produced? How will it be produced? How will it be
distributed? Who will receive the benefits of production? (e.g., market economies in Africa,
Europe; command economy in North Korea; and the transition to market economies in Vietnam
and China).
7 – G4.4.2 Describe examples of cooperation and conflict within the European Union (e.g.,European
Parliament, Euro as currency in some countries but not others, open migration within the European Union, free
trade,and cultural impacts such as a multi-lingual population).
7 – C4.3.1 Explain how governments address national issues and form policies, and how the policies
may not be consistent with those of other countries (e.g., population pressures in China compared to
Sweden; international immigration quotas, international aid, energy needs for natural gas and oil and
military aid).
7 – W2.1.2 Use historical and modern maps and other sources to locate, describe, and analyze
major river systems and discuss the ways these physical settings supported permanent
settlements, and development of early civilizations (Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, Yangtze River,
Nile River, Indus River).
7 – W2.1.5 Describe pastoralism and explain how the climate and geography of Central Asia
were linked to the rise of pastoral societies on the steppes.
7 – W3.1.5 Describe major achievements from Indian, Chinese, Mediterranean, African, and
Southwest and Central Asian civilizations in the areas of art, architecture and culture; science,
technology and mathematics; political life and ideas; philosophy and ethical beliefs; and military
strategy.
7 – W3.2.1 Identify and describe the beliefs of the five major world religions.
7 – W3.2.2 Locate the geographical center of major religions and map the spread through the
3rd century C.E./A.D.
7 – W3.2.3 Identify and describe the ways that religions unified people’s perceptions of the world
and contributed to cultural integration of large regions of Afro-Eurasia.
7 – H1.2.4 Compare and evaluate competing historical perspectives about the past based on
proof.
7 – H1.4.1 Describe and use cultural institutions to study an era and a region (political,
economic, religion/ belief, science/technology, written language, education, family).
7 – H1.4.3 Use historical perspectives to analyze global issues faced by humans long ago and
today
7 – W2.1.3 Examine early civilizations to describe their common features (ways of governing,
stable food supply, economic and social structures, use of resources and technology, division of
labor and forms of communication).
7 – W2.1.4 Define the concept of cultural diffusion and how it resulted in the spread of ideas and
technology from one region to another (e.g., plants, crops, plow, wheel, bronze metallurgy).
7 – G6.1.2 Investigations Designed for Ancient World History Eras – Conduct research on global
topics and issues, compose persuasive essays, and develop a plan for action.
7 – G6.1.1 Contemporary Investigations – Conduct research on contemporary global topics and
issues, compose persuasive essays, and develop a plan for action. (H1.4.3, G1.2.6, See P3 and P4)
46
SAMPLE ACTIVITIES AND ASSESSMENTS:
Sample Activities
1. Begin the lesson with a general class discussion of the relationship between humans and the
environment. Discuss the terms ‘depend on it,’ ‘modify it,’ and ‘adapt to it.’ Next discuss the
concept of natural disasters, relating the terms above to the discussion of the natural
disasters and their aftermath. Introduce the construct of geographic inquiry to the students.
Focus on the problem of flooding in Bangladesh. After locating this country ona map, have
students draw and label the Ganges, the Meghna, and the Brahmaputra river systems and the
Bay of Bengal. Have students locate and label the deltas formed by the three main river
systems and the surrounding countries. Ask students which areas of Bangladesh are most
likely to be affected by floods and have them circle those areas on their map. Have the
students answer the following questions: Why is Bangladesh an area of regular and
sometimes disastrous flooding? How might increased greenhouse gas emissions affect
2
Bangladesh? How are people in general contributing to CO emissions and the consequent
effects of greenhouse gasses on Earth's environment? Give students time to read about the
flooding and other situations in Bangladesh. Next, draw students’ attention to the impact any
increase in sea level may have on Bangladesh as a result of global warming. Finally, have
students write a persuasive letter to the United Nations Environment Programme or the
2
World Meteorological Organization, describing the problem of CO emissions for the world
and for Bangladesh in particular. Have students suggest a specific plan for the United States
to assist Bangladesh.
2. Begin the lesson by reviewing the concept of region as it applies to the study of geography
Copy and distribute three maps (world map, West Asia, and India). Have students list and
draw on the maps at least three different ways that the area on the map could be divided into
regions. Have students write “Global” on the world map, “Interregional and Regional” on the
map of West Asia, and “Regional and Local” on the map of India. Using Google Earth or
Google Maps in the various views (satellite, terrain, maps), have students zoom in and out
from a global view to India as a regional view. As a class discuss what changes can be
identified when zooming in and out from a global to local scale widely used. Conduct a quick
review of the five themes of geography (location, place, human, movement, regions). Place
the countries of Asia in a box, one for each student. Do the same with the five themes. Have
the students draw out slips, one with a country name and one with a theme. Allow the
students about ten minutes to research their country and theme to find an example that
typifies that theme of geography. Have the students write responses and share with the
group.
3. Describe a day in the life of a person in Asia, Africa, Europe, Oceania (Australia) using
different social classes and backgrounds.
Assessments:
Objective Assessments: True/False questions, Cloze questioning to determine a quick check of
understanding.
Writing Portfolio: As students are growing as writers, keep a selection of writing samples throughout the
year to determine misconceptions, phonics that need attention, knowledge of sentence structure and monitor
growth as writers.
Writing Assessments: With a given prompt, have students demonstrate their understanding through writing
their thoughts.
Observations: While asking students questions or while students are performing tasks, observe them and
their thought process, and enter these observations into written form for each child observed.
Rubrics:
When designing an assessment/ activity, think about what you want to learn from the assessment/ activity
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about your students. Use what you want to learn about the child and what you want the child to be able to
do as guidelines to create a rubric to use as an assessing tool. Students can be assessed anytime during
any activity throughout the day to see if they are learning what you want them to learn.
Summative Assessments:
Create a pre and post assessment that covers the literary standards covered in the unit and determine
growth and areas of weakness. This assessment can be made up of multiple choice, missing information,
and open ended questions.
After writing a letter that resembles a persuasive essay regarding flooding in Bangladesh, check for students’
understanding of how human induced changes in the physical environment cause changes in another;
student use of the geographic inquiry skills, and if their suggestions for modification make the area suitable
for living.
The students demonstrate their understanding of the five themes of geography and the concept of
geographical scales (from global, interregional, regional and local) by citing examples and discussing how
they help us better organize and understand geographic information.
INTERDISCIPLINARY CONNECTIONS:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary
sources.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source;
provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.3 Identify key steps in a text’s description of a process related to history/social
studies (e.g., how a bill becomes law, how interest rates are raised or lowered).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text,
including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.5 Describe how a text presents information (e.g., sequentially, comparatively,
causally).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.6 Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author’s point of view or purpose (e.g.,
loaded language, inclusion or avoidance of particular facts).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.7 Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or
maps) with other information in print and digital texts.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.8 Distinguish among fact, opinion, and reasoned judgment in a text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.9 Analyze the relationship between a primary and secondary source on the
same topic.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.10 By the end of grade 8, read and comprehend history/social studies texts in
the grades 6–8 text complexity band independently and proficiently. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.1 Write
arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.1a Introduce claim(s) about a topic or issue, acknowledge and distinguish the
claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.1b Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant, accurate data and
evidence that demonstrate an understanding of the topic or text, using credible sources.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.1c Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the
relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.1d Establish and maintain a formal style.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.1e Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports
the argument presented.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.2 Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical
events, scientific procedures/ experiments, or technical processes.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.2a Introduce a topic clearly, previewing what is to follow; organize ideas,
concepts, and information into broader categories as appropriate to achieving purpose; include formatting
(e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.2b Develop the topic with relevant, well-chosen facts, definitions, concrete
details, quotations, or other information and examples.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.2c Use appropriate and varied transitions to create cohesion and clarify the
relationships among ideas and concepts.
48
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.2d Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or
explain the topic.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.2e Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.2f Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports
the information or explanation presented. (See note; not applicable as a separate requirement)
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization,
and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.5 With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and
strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on
how well purpose and audience have been addressed.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and
present the relationships between information and ideas clearly and efficiently.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.7 Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a selfgenerated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that
allow for multiple avenues of exploration.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.8 Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using
search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the
data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.9 Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis reflection, and
research.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for reflection and
revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks,
purposes, and audiences.
INTEGRATING CHARACTER EDUCATION:
Compassion/ Feelings
Throughout instruction we want our students to construct knowledge of positive character traits that we
believe are important for our students to possess. Listed are a few ideas to integrate caring and self control
into literacy instruction. Teach the terms separately.
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Explicitly teach the meaning of compassion and how compassion relates to a person’s feelings.
Have a class discussion why these traits are important to possess.
Use read- a-louds and independently read passages to decide if characters are acting with
compassion and talk about why it is important to have.
Have students make connections to their own lives.
Have students talk about times they exhibited these traits. Write about it.
Write friendly letters to someone the class feels is very compassionate.
Determine how a story would change if a character showed more or less compassion.
Use as many teachable moments as possible throughout the day to complement students for
showing good character traits.
Have class discussions about feelings.
RESOURCES:
Texts
Social Studies Annotated Bibliography
Writing Across the Curriculum Guides
Social Studies Writing Across the Curriculum
Online Resources
Discovery Education Streaming
MDE Social Studies Resources
Equipment/Manipulative
Atlases and textbooks, classroom set
Butcher paper or other large paper, chart paper or chalkboard
Glue sticks, one for every two to three students
49
Graph paper
Maps
Wall map of the world
Asia
India, physical and resource
Markers and colored pencils
Masking tape
Overhead projector or other projector
Paper for storyboards
Post-it notes, one per student
Scissors, one pair for every two to three students
Student Handouts (from Supplemental Materials)
Student Resource
Aina-Kizz and the Black-Beadred Bai, A folktale of Central Asia. 2 June 2009
http://www.learningtogive.org/materials/folktales/AinaKizz.asp
The Aral Sea Tragedy. 2 June 2009
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/Socialstd/MSPAP/Dying_Aral.html
Asian History Timeline. 2 June 2009
Ask Asia. 2 June 2009
http://www.wwnorton.com/college/history/ralph/referenc/asiatime.htm
http://www.askasia.org/
Bangladesh. The World Factbook. 2 June 2009
factbook/geos/bg.html
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-
The Clothesline, A Folktale from Israel. 2 June 2009
http://www.learningtogive.org/materials/folktales/Clotheslines.asp
Cobb, Charles Jr. “Bangladesh: When the Water Comes”, National Geographic. Washington DC: National
Geographic Society, June, 1993, 118-134.
Countries. 2 June 2009
http://www.state.gov/countries/
Country Studies. 2 June 2009
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/
The Dying Aral Sea. 2 June 2009
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/Socialstd/MSPAP/Dying_Aral.html
Earthquakes in Turkey. 2 June 2009
http://www.allaboutturkey.com/deprem.htm
Flooding in Bangladesh. 2 June 2009
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/oxfam_in_action/where_we_work/bangladesh.html
A Flowering Tree, a Folktale of India. 2 June 2009
http://www.learningtogive.org/materials/folktales/FloweringTree.asp
The Geography Guide. 2 June 2009
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/99geography1.html
Geography Network. 2 June 2009
http://www.geographynetwork.com/
Government in India. 2 June 2009
http://india.gov.in/govt.php
Hagia Sophia. 2 June 2009
http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Hagia_Sophia.html
Hagia Sophia in Istanbul Photograph. Great Buildings Website. 2 June 2009
http://www.greatbuildings.com/cgi-bin/gbi.cgi/Hagia_Sophia.html/cid_1840691.gbi
India. The World Factbook. 2 June 2009
factbook/geos/in.html
India Economy. 2 June 2009
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-
http://www.economywatch.com/
50
India: A Geographic Sketch. 2 June 2009
http://www.askasia.org/teachers/essays/essay.php?no=43&era=&grade=&geo
India: History, Geography, Culture. 2 June 2009
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107629.html
India History Timeline. A Time for Kids. 2 June 2009 India and Pakistan: The Conflict over Kashmir.
EduSolution. 2 June 2009
http://www.edusolution.com/ourworld/kasmir/kashmir2.htm
Indian Society and Ways of Living. 2 June 2009
http://www.askasia.org/teachers/essays/essay.php?no=106&era=&grade=&geo
India/Pakistan Relations: A Fifty Year History. 2 June 2009
http://www.askasia.org/teachers/essays/essay.php?no=72&era=&grade=&geo
Information on World Religion. World Religion for Kids. 2 June 2009
junior.kent.sch.uk/Homework/Religion.html
Israel. The World Factbook. 2 June 2009
factbook/geos/is.html
http://www.woodlands-
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-
The Luck of a Child, a Tale from Kurdistan. 2 June 2009
http://www.learningtogive.org/materials/folktales/LuckChild.asp
Maps of Asia. Ask Asia website. 2 June 2009
http://www.askasia.org/teachers/maps/
Mu’ruf the Shoemaker, a Tale from Palestine. 2 June 2009
http://www.learningtogive.org/materials/folktales/MarufShoemaker.asp
Photographs of the Kaaba. 6 February 2009
http://www.toursaudiarabia.com/kaaba.html
Religion. The World Almanac for Kids. 2 June 2009
http://www.worldalmanacforkids.com/WAKIChapter.aspx?chapter_id=11#Facts_About_World_Religions
Sayed’s Boots, a tale from Iran. 2 June 2009
http://www.learningtogive.org/materials/folktales/SayedsBoots.asp
Sea Change: Flooding in Bangladesh. 2 June 2009
http://www.wdm.org.uk/resources/briefings/climate/bangladeshflooding13112006.pdf
The Story of the Two Old Women, a Tale from Bangladesh.2 June 2009
http://www.learningtogive.org/materials/folktales/TwoWomen.asp
The Student’s Friend. 2 June 2009
Timelines of Asia. 2 June 2009
http://www.studentsfriend.com/sf/sf.html>.
http://web.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/hum210/tml/asiantml.htm>.
Understanding Modern India: Five Things to Consider. 2 June 2009
http://www.askasia.org/teachers/essays/essay.php?no=47&era=&grade=&geo
United Nations Environment Programme. 2 June 2009
Virtual Tour of the Taj Mahal. 2 June 2009
The World Factbook. CIA. 2 June 2009
http://www.unep.org/
http://www.taj-mahal.net/blackLarge.htm
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/>.
World Meterorological Organization. 2 June 2009
http://www.wmo.ch/index-en.html
Teacher Resource
AAS Resources for Teaching about Asia. 2 June 2009
The Asia Center. 2 June 2009
BBC News. 2 June 2009
http://www.aasianst.org/publications/RTA.htm
http://www.uky.edu/Centers/Asia/k12/NCTA.php
http://news.bbc.co.uk/nolpda/ukfs_news/hi/newsid_6742000/6742541.stm
51
Birth of Civilization: The Rise of Man DVD. Washington DC: National Geographic Society. 2008.
Carter, Jimmy. We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2009.
Climate Change. EPA. 2 June 2009
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/basicinfo.html
Foreign Trade Statistics. U.S. Census Bureau. 2 June 2009
trade/statistics/country/index.html
http://www.census.gov/foreign-
Freedom House. 2 June 2009
http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=351&ana_page=342&year=2008
Geopolitics: Central Asia as an Example. A Middle School Lesson. 2 June 2009
http://www.askasia.org/teachers/lessons/plan.php?no=56&era=10&grade=03&geo
Global Warming/Climate Change Resources. 2 June 2009
http://www.cln.org/themes/global_warming.html>.
Goralewski, Sharon. Supplemental Materials (Unit 3). Teacher-made material. Michigan Citizenship
Collaborative, 2009.
Grassroots. 2 June 2009
http://ykalaska.wordpress.com/2007/07/26/
The Holy Land in Crisis. Scholastic News. 2 June 2009
http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/holy_land/news.htm>.
Images of Asia. 2 June 2009
http://www.askasia.org/teachers/images/
The Impact of Climate Change on Global Freshwater Resources. The Open University. 2 June 2009
http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/file.php/3557/SDK125_1_006i.jpg>.
Iraq. Infoplease. 2 June 2009
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107644.html
Iraq. The World Factbook. 2 June 2009
factbook/geos/iz.html>.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-
Main Events in the History of Jerusalem Timeline. 2 June 2009
National Consortium for Teaching About Asia. 2 June 2009
http://www.nctasia.org/
The National Council for Geographic Education. 2 June 2009
National Geographic website. 2 June 2009
http://www.centuryone.com/hstjrslm.html
http://www.ncge.org/geography/2005bill/
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/
National Geographic Educational Network. 2 June 2009
National Geographic Xpeditions. 2 June 2009
http://www.ngsednet.org/
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/
New Wonders of the World. About.com: Architecture. 2 June 2009
http://architecture.about.com/od/greatbuildings/ig/New-Wonders/
Resources for Geography Teachers.2 June 2009
http://www.cnr.vt.edu/geography/vga/resource.html
Tales from Asia. 2 June 2009
http://www.learningtogive.org/materials/folktales/geography.asp?region=Asia
Teacher Resources on Asia. Ask Asia Website. 2 June 2009
United Nations Environment Programme. 2 June 2009
World Meteorological Organization. 2 June 2009
http://www.askasia.org/teachers/
http://www.unep.org/
http://www.wmo.int/pages/index_en.html
Student Resource
Ancient China: The Shang. 13 March 2008
http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/ANCCHINA/SHANG.HTM
Ancient Civilizations: China. Cyber Sleuth Kids Website. 13 March 2008
kids.com/sleuth/History/Ancient_Civilizations/China/index.htm
52
http://cybersleuth-
Ancient Egypt. 13 March 2008
http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/menu.html
The Ancient Indus Civilization. 13 March 2008
http://www.harappa.com/har/har0.html
Harappa and the Indus Civilization. 13 March 2008
http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/ANCINDIA/HARAPPA.HTM
Jacobs, Heidi Hayes and Le Vasseur, Michal. The Ancient World. Boston: Prentice Hall, 2008.
Mesopotamia. 13 March 2008
http://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/menu.html
Mohenjo-Daro.13 March 2008
http://www.mohenjodaro.net/
Olmec Civilization. 13 March 2008
http://www.crystalinks.com/olmec.html
The Pyramids and Egypt’s Old Kingdom. Calliope: Exploring World History. Peterborough, NH: Carus,
September 2001.
Sumer and Its City-States. Calliope: Exploring World History. Peterborough, NH: Carus, September 2003.
Teacher Resource
Ancient Mesopotamia: A Teaching Unit. 13 March 2008
http://hypermedia.educ.psu.edu/k12/edpgs/su96/meso/mesopotamia.html
Archaeological Explorations of Bronze Age Pastoral Societies in the Mountains of Eastern Eurasia. 13 March
2008
http://www.silk-road.com/newsletter/2004vol2num1/bronzeage.htm
Archaeology Magazine. 13 March 2008
http://www.archaeology.org/
Frayer Model. 13 March 2008
http://www.longwood.edu/staff/jonescd/projects/educ530/aboxley/graphicorg/fraym.htm
The Great Transition: Emergence of Agriculture and City Life. 13 March 2008
http://www.mc.maricopa.edu/dept/d10/asb/anthro2003/lifeways/hg_ag/index.html
Nomadic Challenges and Civilized Responses. 13 March 2008
http://history-world.org/nomads.htm
Traditions & Encounters: A Global Perspective on the Past. Volume I: From the Beginning to 1500. Boston:
McGraw-Hill, 2006.
World History for Us All. 13 March 2008
http://worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu/dev/default.htm
53
Unit 4: East Asia: People, Places, and Issues
In this unit students explore the social, economic, political, and environmental issues of East Asia. The unit
begins with a review of the geography of Asia which was covered in a previous unit. Students use the
geographic themes of location, place, and region to explore significant physical features of East Asia. Using
a variety of resources including maps, satellite images, graphs, and charts, they apply their geographic
knowledge in a lesson on population patterns and issues. Using timelines, maps, and other resources,
students acquire an overview of the history of this region. Emphasis is placed on the concept of cultural
diffusion over time and in particular, the influence of China. Students explore art and music as cultural
components by comparing art traditions such as Korean true view painting, Hmong story cloth, Japanese
painting, and Chinese porcelain. Students then compare traditional music of Japan with Japanese rock
music. Students make inferences about cultural beliefs and values based on the art and music traditions.
Focus is then placed on the primary economic activities of China. They make inferences as to how these
activities impact China’s main trading partners including the United States. Students gather and compare
information about the economies of a variety of countries in East Asia including Malaysia, Japan, North
Korea, and Singapore. Then they apply the information in a brief analysis of trade and trade networks which
connect this region with other regions of the world. In a civics lesson, students compare the governments of
the United States, China, Myanmar, and Japan and identify major differences. In a lesson with both cultural
and political implications students explore both past and present conflicts in this region including the Vietnam
War, the current North/South Korea tension, political/religious conflicts in Indonesia, and the China/Tibet
conflict. Students then work as a class to identify patterns and themes among the conflicts. Working in small
groups, students design a plan for the resolution of a current conflict in East Asia. Students synthesize what
they have learned in the unit by exploring environmental issues in this region and the subsequent
connections to history, economics, population growth, and political issues. They explore the building of the
Three Gorges Dam in China and analyze the positive and negative consequences of this project. In the final
lesson, students compare various definitions of globalization and then analyze its impact on international
economic and political relationships. Using the information they have gathered, students individually
compose a persuasive essay addressing the advantages or disadvantages of globalization.
This unit explores the development of classical civilizations and the emergence of empires during the era
from 1000 B.C.E. to 300 C.E. A focus is placed on the concept of empire and factors influencing the rise and
fall of empires. The unit begins with connections back to the previous era and a review of the growth of
civilization in Mesopotamia. Using this region as an example, students grapple with the characteristics of an
empire by exploring the land takeovers. Students expand their understanding in a series of lessons on major
empires including Persia, India, China, Greece, Rome, Egypt, Kush, Axum, and Bantu. As students proceed
through the lessons a timeline is constructed and relevant information is summarized on a series of graphic
organizers. Students explore the differences between the empires in Afroeurasia. A global viewpoint is
established once again as students explore trade networks and the diffusion of technology, ideas and goods.
Students investigate the connections of how civics and geography influenced the growth of empires. In a
culminating lesson, students use their timelines, graphic organizers, notes and other resources to compare
and contrast the empires and classical civilizations they have studied.
BENCHMARKS COVERED:




7 – H1.4.2 Describe and use themes of history to study patterns of change and continuity.
7 – G1.1.1 Explain and use a variety of maps, globes, and web based geography technology to
study the world, including global, interregional, regional, and local scales.
7 – G1.2.4 Draw the general population distribution of the Eastern Hemisphere on a map, analyze
the patterns, and propose two generalizations about the location and density of the population.
7 – G1.2.6 Apply the skills of geographic inquiry (asking geographic questions, acquiring geographic
information, organizing geographic information, analyzing geographic information, and answering
geographic questions) to analyze a problem or issue of importance to a region of the Eastern
54
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
Hemisphere.
7 – G1.3.2 Explain the locations and distributions of physical and human characteristics of Earth by
using knowledge of spatial patterns.
7 – G2.1.1 Describe the landform features and the climate of the region (within the Western or
Eastern Hemispheres) under study.
7 – G4.1.1 Identify and explain examples of cultural diffusion within the Eastern Hemisphere (e.g.,
the spread of sports, music, architecture, television, Internet, Bantu languages in Africa, Islam in
Western Europe).
7 – G4.3.1 Identify places in the Eastern Hemisphere that have been modified to be suitable for
settlement by describing the modifications that were necessary (e.g., Nile River irrigation,
reclamation of land along the North Sea, planting trees in areas that have become desertified in
Africa).
7 – G4.3.2 Describe patterns of settlement by using historical and modern maps (e.g., the location of
the world’s mega cities, other cities located near coasts and navigable rivers, regions under
environmental stress such as the Sahel).
7 – G4.4.1 Identify and explain factors that contribute to conflict and cooperation between and
among cultural groups (e.g., natural resources, power, culture, wealth).
7 – G5.1.1 Describe the environmental effects of human action on the atmosphere (air), biosphere
(people, animals, and plants), lithosphere (soil), and hydrosphere (water) (e.g., desertification in the
Sahel Region of North Africa, deforestation in the Congo Basin, air pollution in urban center, and
chemical spills in European Rivers).
7 – G5.1.3 Identify the ways in which human-induced changes in the physical environment in one
place can cause changes in other places (e.g., cutting forests in one region may result in river basin
flooding elsewhere as has happened historically in China; building dams floods land upstream and
permits irrigation downstream as in Southern Africa, the Aswan Dam flooded the upper Nile Valley
and permitted irrigation downstream).
7 – C1.1.1 Explain how the purposes served by government affect relationships between the
individual, government, and society as a whole and the differences that occur in monarchies,
theocracies, dictatorships, and representative governments.
7 – C3.6.1 Define the characteristics of a nation-state (a specific territory, clearly defined boundaries,
citizens, and jurisdiction over people who reside there, laws, and government) and how Eastern
Hemisphere nations interact.
7 – C4.3.2 Explain the challenges to governments and the cooperation needed to address
international issues (e.g., migration and human rights).
7 – E2.3.1 Explain how national governments make decisions that impact both that country and
other countries that use its resources (e.g., sanctions and tariffs enacted by a national government
to prevent imports, most favored trade agreements, the impact China is having on the global
economy and the U.S. economy in particular).
7 – E3.1.1 Explain the importance of trade (imports and exports) on national economies in the
Eastern Hemisphere (e.g., natural gas in North Africa, petroleum Africa, mineral resources in Asia).
7 – E3.1.4 Explain how communications innovations have affected economic interactions and where
and how people work (e.g., internet home offices, international work teams, international
companies).
7 – E3.3.1 Explain and compare how economic systems (traditional, command, and market) answer
four basic questions: What should be produced? How will it be produced? How will it be distributed?
Who will receive the benefits of production? (e.g., market economies in Africa, Europe; command
economy in North Korea; and the transition to market economies in Vietnam and China).
7 – E1.1.1 Explain the role of incentives in different economic systems (acquiring money, profit, goods,
wanting to avoid loss, position in society, job placement).
7 – E1.1.2 Describe the circular flow model (that businesses get money from households in exchange
for goods and services and return that money to households by paying for the factors of production that
households have to sell) and apply it to a public service (e.g., education, health care, military protection).
7 – E3.1.2 Diagram or map the movement of a consumer product from where it is manufactured to where
it is sold to demonstrate the flow of materials, labor, and capital (e.g., global supply chain for computers,
athletic shoes, and clothing).
7 – E3.1.3 Determine the impact of trade on a region of the Eastern Hemisphere by graphing and analyzing
the gross Domestic Product of the region for the past decade and comparing the data with trend data on
the total value of imports and exports over the same period.
55
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










7 – W3.1.5 Describe major achievements from Indian, Chinese, Mediterranean, African, and
Southwest and Central Asian civilizations in the areas of art, architecture and culture; science,
technology and mathematics; political life and ideas; philosophy and ethical beliefs; and military
strategy.
7 – W3.2.1 Identify and describe the beliefs of the five major world religions.
7 – W3.2.2 Locate the geographical center of major religions and map the spread through the 3rd
century C.E./A.D.
7 – W3.2.3 Identify and describe the ways that religions unified people’s perceptions of the world
and contributed to cultural integration of large regions of Afro-Eurasia.
7 – C1.1.1 Explain how the purposes served by government affect relationships between the
individual, government, and society as a whole and the differences that occur in monarchies,
theocracies, dictatorships, and representative governments.
7 – H1.2.6 Identify the role of the individual in history and the significance of one person’s ideas.
7 – W3.1.1 Describe the characteristics that classical civilizations share (institutions, cultural styles,
systems of thought that influenced neighboring peoples and have endured for several centuries).
7 – W3.1.2 Using historic and modern maps, locate three major empires of this era, describe their
geographic characteristics including physical features and climates, and propose a generalization
about the relationship between geographic characteristics and the development of early empires.
7– W3.1.3 Compare and contrast the defining characteristics of a city-state, civilization, and empire.
7 – W3.1.6 Use historic and modern maps to locate and describe trade networks among empires in
the classical era.
7 – W3.1.9 Describe the significance of legal codes, belief systems, written languages and
communications in the development of large regional empires.
7 – W3.1.10 Create a time line that illustrates the rise and fall of classical empires during the
classical period.
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:
1. What are some social, economic, political, and environmental issues affecting the people of East
Asia?
2. How did the important characteristics of classical civilizations and empires during this era have a
lasting impact on other places and times?
ESSENTIAL CONTENT/ UNDERSTANDINGS:
The students will understand how to:
 Describe the various population patterns of the East Asian regions
 Describe The Silk Road with particular attention to cultural diffusion
 Describe the art and musical culture components of East Asia with regard to human characteristic
 Examine how the rules and actions of one country affect another nation as the various political
systems in East Asia are explored
 Compare the four areas of past or present conflict in East Asia, including both the cultural and
political implications of issues as well as the historical backgrounds
THINKING QUESTIONS:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
In what ways are the sub-regions, countries, and cultures of East Asia alike and different?
What are some important connections between the past and the present in East Asia?
How does globalization impact international economic and political relationships?
How did several factors lead to the rise and fall of empires during this era?
How did classical civilizations and empires during this era interact with each other and the
environment?
6. How did classical civilizations and empires during this era impact future eras up to the present
time?
TERMINOLOGY
conflict
cooperation
56
cultural diffusion
culture
economy
fundamental themes of geography
globalization
history
human/environment interaction
interdependence
political system
population patterns
trade
bureaucracy
classical civilization
cultural diffusion
cultural interaction
democracy
dynasty
empire
human/environment interaction
innovation
legal codes
migration
militarism
religion
republic
trade network
TARGETED OUTCOMES:

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








7 – H1.4.2 Describe and use themes of history to study patterns of change and continuity.
7 – G1.1.1 Explain and use a variety of maps, globes, and web based geography technology to
study the world, including global, interregional, regional, and local scales.
7 – G1.2.4 Draw the general population distribution of the Eastern Hemisphere on a map, analyze
the patterns, and propose two generalizations about the location and density of the population.
7 – G1.2.6 Apply the skills of geographic inquiry (asking geographic questions, acquiring geographic
information, organizing geographic information, analyzing geographic information, and answering
geographic questions) to analyze a problem or issue of importance to a region of the Eastern
Hemisphere.
7 – G1.3.2 Explain the locations and distributions of physical and human characteristics of Earth by
using knowledge of spatial patterns.
7 – G2.1.1 Describe the landform features and the climate of the region (within the Western or
Eastern Hemispheres) under study.
7 – G4.1.1 Identify and explain examples of cultural diffusion within the Eastern Hemisphere (e.g.,
the spread of sports, music, architecture, television, Internet, Bantu languages in Africa, Islam in
Western Europe).
7 – G4.3.1 Identify places in the Eastern Hemisphere that have been modified to be suitable for
settlement by describing the modifications that were necessary (e.g., Nile River irrigation,
reclamation of land along the North Sea, planting trees in areas that have become desertified in
Africa).
7 – G4.3.2 Describe patterns of settlement by using historical and modern maps (e.g., the location of
the world’s mega cities, other cities located near coasts and navigable rivers, regions under
environmental stress such as the Sahel).
7 – G4.4.1 Identify and explain factors that contribute to conflict and cooperation between and
among cultural groups (e.g., natural resources, power, culture, wealth).
7 – G5.1.1 Describe the environmental effects of human action on the atmosphere (air), biosphere
(people, animals, and plants), lithosphere (soil), and hydrosphere (water) (e.g., desertification in the
Sahel Region of North Africa, deforestation in the Congo Basin, air pollution in urban center, and
chemical spills in European Rivers).
57

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







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










7 – G5.1.3 Identify the ways in which human-induced changes in the physical environment in one
place can cause changes in other places (e.g., cutting forests in one region may result in river basin
flooding elsewhere as has happened historically in China; building dams floods land upstream and
permits irrigation downstream as in Southern Africa, the Aswan Dam flooded the upper Nile Valley
and permitted irrigation downstream).
7 – C1.1.1 Explain how the purposes served by government affect relationships between the
individual, government, and society as a whole and the differences that occur in monarchies,
theocracies, dictatorships, and representative governments.
7 – C3.6.1 Define the characteristics of a nation-state (a specific territory, clearly defined boundaries,
citizens, and jurisdiction over people who reside there, laws, and government) and how Eastern
Hemisphere nations interact.
7 – C4.3.2 Explain the challenges to governments and the cooperation needed to address
international issues (e.g., migration and human rights).
7 – E2.3.1 Explain how national governments make decisions that impact both that country and
other countries that use its resources (e.g., sanctions and tariffs enacted by a national government
to prevent imports, most favored trade agreements, the impact China is having on the global
economy and the U.S. economy in particular).
7 – E3.1.1 Explain the importance of trade (imports and exports) on national economies in the
Eastern Hemisphere (e.g., natural gas in North Africa, petroleum Africa, mineral resources in Asia).
7 – E3.1.4 Explain how communications innovations have affected economic interactions and where
and how people work (e.g., internet home offices, international work teams, international
companies).
7 – E3.3.1 Explain and compare how economic systems (traditional, command, and market) answer
four basic questions: What should be produced? How will it be produced? How will it be distributed?
Who will receive the benefits of production? (e.g., market economies in Africa, Europe; command
economy in North Korea; and the transition to market economies in Vietnam and China).
7 – E1.1.1 Explain the role of incentives in different economic systems (acquiring money, profit, goods,
wanting to avoid loss, position in society, job placement).
7 – E1.1.2 Describe the circular flow model (that businesses get money from households in exchange
for goods and services and return that money to households by paying for the factors of production that
households have to sell) and apply it to a public service (e.g., education, health care, military protection).
7 – E3.1.2 Diagram or map the movement of a consumer product from where it is manufactured to where
it is sold to demonstrate the flow of materials, labor, and capital (e.g., global supply chain for computers,
athletic shoes, and clothing).
7 – E3.1.3 Determine the impact of trade on a region of the Eastern Hemisphere by graphing and analyzing
the gross Domestic Product of the region for the past decade and comparing the data with trend data on
the total value of imports and exports over the same period.
7 – W3.1.5 Describe major achievements from Indian, Chinese, Mediterranean, African, and
Southwest and Central Asian civilizations in the areas of art, architecture and culture; science,
technology and mathematics; political life and ideas; philosophy and ethical beliefs; and military
strategy.
7 – W3.2.1 Identify and describe the beliefs of the five major world religions.
7 – W3.2.2 Locate the geographical center of major religions and map the spread through the 3rd
century C.E./A.D.
7 – W3.2.3 Identify and describe the ways that religions unified people’s perceptions of the world
and contributed to cultural integration of large regions of Afro-Eurasia.
7 – C1.1.1 Explain how the purposes served by government affect relationships between the
individual, government, and society as a whole and the differences that occur in monarchies,
theocracies, dictatorships, and representative governments.
7 – H1.2.6 Identify the role of the individual in history and the significance of one person’s ideas.
7 – W3.1.1 Describe the characteristics that classical civilizations share (institutions, cultural styles,
systems of thought that influenced neighboring peoples and have endured for several centuries).
7 – W3.1.2 Using historic and modern maps, locate three major empires of this era, describe their
geographic characteristics including physical features and climates, and propose a generalization
about the relationship between geographic characteristics and the development of early empires.
7– W3.1.3 Compare and contrast the defining characteristics of a city-state, civilization, and empire.
7 – W3.1.6 Use historic and modern maps to locate and describe trade networks among empires in
the classical era.
58


7 – W3.1.9 Describe the significance of legal codes, belief systems, written languages and
communications in the development of large regional empires.
7 – W3.1.10 Create a time line that illustrates the rise and fall of classical empires during the
classical period.
SAMPLE ACTIVITIES AND ASSESSMENTS
Sample ActivitiesBegin this lesson with a review of the various forms of government (monarchies, theocracies,
dictatorships, and representative governments). Have students use textbooks and atlases to locate
countries in East Asia and identify each form of government. Partner students and assign each pair
one country to research. Give each team a Post-it note and have them write the name of their country
on the note and research the form of government for that country. Once the students have
determined the form of government they are to use dictionaries and other resource materials to
create their own definition of the terms. The definition can be written on the back of the note. Once
all the students have their information, they go to a large map of Asia hanging on the wall and locate
their country. They announce the name and the type of government as well as describe or define the
form of government. They place the Post-it note on the country on the map. Discuss why there might
be a large range in the types of governments found. Ask them to speculate on what this means for
international relationships. Have students use their textbooks or atlases to locate China, Myanmar,
and Japan and find information about each of their governments. Once the three countries have
been studied, lead the students in a discussion about life in each country as influenced by the
government. Instruct the students that they will now use the information they have learned about
government to write a business plan through the eyes of an entrepreneur. They are to imagine that
they are starting a business in the United States, but will be selling their products in China,
Myanmar, and Japan. Using the information about the governments of these countries, discuss how
hard or easy this global trade would be. The plan should include a description of the business and
how the company would obtain production materials. The next three sections will deal with doing
business in three countries, describing the challenges and opportunities that might exist in the three
nations. Have students discuss what they have written. They are guided to the ideas of how
government influences the lives of people and also how people can influence the government. They
look at how this affects world trade and speculate why some countries are important trading
partners with the United States and others are not.
Find a current event in the Eastern Hemisphere and write a short essay on how that event has
affected the country/continent and world (use resource 7-9:3a).
Create a current event portfolio of the world. Make a comparison between events during the school
year. Are there any common themes (political, economical, cultural, geographical)?
Compare/contrast physical, political, and cultural characteristics of places in the Eastern
Hemisphere.
Assessments:
Objective Assessments: True/False questions, Cloze questioning to determine a quick check of
understanding.
Writing Portfolio: As students are growing as writers, keep a selection of writing samples throughout the
year to determine misconceptions, phonics that need attention, knowledge of sentence structure and monitor
growth as writers.
Writing Assessments: With a given prompt, have students demonstrate their understanding through writing
their thoughts.
Observations: While asking students questions or while students are performing tasks, observe them and
their thought process, and enter these observations into written form for each child observed.
59
Rubrics:
When designing an assessment/ activity, think about what you want to learn from the assessment/ activity
about your students. Use what you want to learn about the child and what you want the child to be able to
do as guidelines to create a rubric to use as an assessing tool. Students can be assessed anytime during
any activity throughout the day to see if they are learning what you want them to learn.
Summative Assessments:
Create a pre and post assessment that covers the literary standards covered in the unit and determine
growth and areas of weakness. This assessment can be made up of multiple choice, missing information,
and open ended questions.
After completing a business plan regarding China, Myanmar, and Japan, the essays that the students
complete will show their understanding of different forms of government and how that influences trade
relations.
INTERDISCIPLINARY CONNECTIONS
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary
sources.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source;
provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.3 Identify key steps in a text’s description of a process related to history/social
studies (e.g., how a bill becomes law, how interest rates are raised or lowered).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text,
including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.5 Describe how a text presents information (e.g., sequentially, comparatively,
causally).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.6 Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author’s point of view or purpose (e.g.,
loaded language, inclusion or avoidance of particular facts).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.7 Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or
maps) with other information in print and digital texts.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.8 Distinguish among fact, opinion, and reasoned judgment in a text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.9 Analyze the relationship between a primary and secondary source on the
same topic.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.10 By the end of grade 8, read and comprehend history/social studies texts in
the grades 6–8 text complexity band independently and proficiently. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.1 Write
arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.1a Introduce claim(s) about a topic or issue, acknowledge and distinguish the
claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.1b Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant, accurate data and
evidence that demonstrate an understanding of the topic or text, using credible sources.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.1c Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the
relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.1d Establish and maintain a formal style.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.1e Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports
the argument presented.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.2 Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical
events, scientific procedures/ experiments, or technical processes.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.2a Introduce a topic clearly, previewing what is to follow; organize ideas,
concepts, and information into broader categories as appropriate to achieving purpose; include formatting
(e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.2b Develop the topic with relevant, well-chosen facts, definitions, concrete
details, quotations, or other information and examples.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.2c Use appropriate and varied transitions to create cohesion and clarify the
relationships among ideas and concepts.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.2d Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or
explain the topic.
60
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.2e Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.2f Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports
the information or explanation presented. (See note; not applicable as a separate requirement)
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization,
and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.5 With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and
strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on
how well purpose and audience have been addressed.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and
present the relationships between information and ideas clearly and efficiently.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.7 Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a selfgenerated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that
allow for multiple avenues of exploration.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.8 Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using
search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the
data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.9 Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis reflection, and
research.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for reflection and
revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks,
purposes, and audiences.
INTEGRATING CHARACTER EDUCATION
Bully Awareness and Prevention
Throughout instruction we want our students to construct knowledge of positive character traits that we
believe are important for our students to possess. When looking at who bullies are, discuss the importance
of justice and showing integrity to prevent bullying and help others who are bullied.
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Explicitly teach the meaning of integrity and justice.
Use texts that are about bullies. Talk about what makes a person a bully and how to be the best
person you can be.
Discuss historical American figures and discuss what character traits they possess of the ones
already covered in the school year.
Use read- a-louds to analyze if a character in the book is showing justice to others and integrity to
ones’ self. If not, talk about the effect of the character’s behavior.
Use read- a-louds to show examples of both traits and have students make connections to their own
lives. Discuss how bullying has affected their lives. Talk about how we can stop bullying.
Have students talk about times they exhibited justice and responsibility. Make a class book.
Brainstorm as a class why justice is important.
Use as many teachable moments as possible throughout the day to complement students for
showing integrity and demonstrating justice and use their real life examples as a learning
experience.
Talk about how justice is an important part of being an American.
Examine how justice and responsibility have placed a key role in our past.
Make an anti-bullying chain. Every time a student helps instead of hurts, have them write out what
they did that made a difference and add it to a paper chain in the classroom.
RESOURCES:
Texts
Social Studies Annotated Bibliography
Writing Across the Curriculum Guides
Social Studies Writing Across the Curriculum
Online Resources
Discovery Education Streaming
61
MDE Social Studies Resources
Equipment/Manipulative
8x11” paper for sketch maps and posters
Almanacs
Articles on Asian Art from books, newspapers, and the Internet
Articles on the Silk Road from books, newspapers, and the Internet
Atlases and textbooks, classroom set
Computer with Internet connection for viewing art and listening to music
Drawing paper, one sheet for every two students
Examples of graphs from books, newspapers, and the Internet
Geography Journal
Markers and/or colored pencils
Multi-media projector
Paper clip or Post-it notes for each student
Strips of paper, 14” x 4”, one for each student
Transparency film
Twine or yarn, about 18” per student
Wall map of Asia
Washable markers for writing on the transparency film
Student Resource
Antique and Contemporary Chinese Porcelain. 4 Oct. 2009
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sultan/china.html
Arts of Asia and the Islamic World. The Detroit Institute of Art. 4 October 2009
http://www.dia.org/collections/eastern/default.asp>.
Asia History Timeline. 4 Oct. 2009
http://www.timelineindex.com/content/view/333%20
Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. 4 October 2009
*Ask Asia. 4 Oct. 2009
http://www.askasia.org/
Asia Population Trends. 4 Oct. 2009
Burma. 4 October 2009
China. 4 Oct. 2009
http://www.asianart.org/
http://www.international.ucla.edu/eas/statistics/wb-population.htm
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bm.html
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ch.html
China: General Information. 4 Oct. 2009
http://www.chinatoday.com/
*China: History, Geography, Government and Culture. 4 Oct. 2009
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107411.html
China Three Gorges Project. 4 Oct. 2009
http://www.ctgpc.com/
China’s Three Gorges Dam. 4 Oct. 2009
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1999/china.50/asian.superpower/three.gorges/
Collections. Freer and Sackler Galleries. 4 October 2009
*Countries. 4 Oct. 2009
http://www.asia.si.edu/collections/default.htm
http://www.state.gov/countries/
*Country Studies. 4 Oct. 2009
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/
Dong Qichang: Shaded Dwellings among Streams and Mountains. In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New
York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. 4 October 2009
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ming/ho_1979.75.2.htm
*East and Southeast Asia: The Environment. 4 Oct. 2009
62
http://newton.uor.edu/Departments&Programs/AsianStudiesDept/general-environ.html
*East and Southeast Asia: Social and Economic Data. 4 Oct. 2009
http://newton.uor.edu/Departments&Programs/AsianStudiesDept/general-data.html
Flask-Shaped Bottle [Korea] (1986.305). Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan
Museum of Art, 2000–. 4 October 2009
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/08/eak/ho_1986.305.htm
Geography Network. 4 Oct. 2009
http://www.geographynetwork.com/
Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara. Our Place: The World Heritage Collection. 4 August 2009
http://www.ourplaceworldheritage.com/custom.cfm?action=WHsite&whsiteid=870
*Image of Contemporary Hmong Storycloth. 4 Oct. 2009
http://www.askasia.org/teachers/images/image.php?no=198
International Data Base (IDB) Population Pyramids. U.S. Census Bureau. 4 October 2009
http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idb/pyramids.html
Introduction to Asian Art. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 4 October 2009
http://www.metmuseum.org/works_of_art/introduction.asp?dep=6
Japan. 4 October 2009
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ja.html
*Japanese Culture. 4 Oct. 2009
http://www.japaneselifestyle.com.au/culture/culture.html
Japanese Government. 4 Oct. 2009
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2136.html
Japanese Paintings. Japanese Gardens. 4 October 2009
http://gallery.sjsu.edu/oldworld/asiangate/gardens/poems_paintings.html
*Japanese Rock Music. 4 Oct. 2009
http://www.japaneselifestyle.com.au/culture/j_rock.html
Jar [China] (37.191.1). Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–.
4 October 2009
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/08/eac/ho_37.191.1.htm
Lee, Soyoung. Religious Influence on Korean Art. Asia Society. 4 October 2009
http://www.asiasociety.org/countries-history/traditions/religious-influence-korean-art
Leshan Giant Buddha. Our Place: The World Heritage Collection. 4 October 2009
http://www.ourplaceworldheritage.com/custom.cfm?action=WHsite&whsiteid=779
Maps of Asia. Ask Asia website. 4 Oct. 2009
http://www.askasia.org/teachers/maps/
Myanmar: History, Geography, Government and Culture. 4 Oct. 2009
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107808.html
*On China’s China. 4 Oct. 2009
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sultan/china.html
Population Data For Asia: Maps. 4 Oct. 2009
http://www.ncgia.ucsb.edu/pubs/gdp/pop.html#UNEP_CGIAR
Population Reference Bureau Datafinder. 4 October 2009
*Rock of Japan. 4 Oct. 2009
http://www.prb.org/DataFinder.aspx
http://www.rockofjapan.com/
Seokguram Grotto. Our Place: The World Heritage Collection. 4 October 2009
http://www.ourplaceworldheritage.com/custom.cfm?action=WHsite&whsiteid=736
Storage jar [Japan] (1975.268.428). Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum
of Art, 2000-. 4 October 2009
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/08/eaj/ho_1975.268.428.htm>
A Student’s Guide to Globalization. The Levin Institute. 4 October 2009
Three Gorges Dam. 4 Oct. 2009
http://internationalrivers.org/node/356
63
http://www.globalization101.org/
*Timelines of Asia. 4 Oct. 2009
http://web.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/hum210/tml/asiantml.htm
*Traditional Japanese Painting. 4 Oct. 2009
*Traditional Japanese Music. 4 Oct. 2009
United States. 4 October 2009
http://www.jref.com/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/502
http://www.japanya.co.uk/TraditionalMusic.aspx
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html
The World Factbook. CIA. 4 October 2009
Three Gorges Dam. 4 October 2009
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/
http://internationalrivers.org/node/356
Teacher Resource
AAS Resources for Teaching about Asia. 4 Oct. 2009
The Asia Center. 4 Oct. 2009
http://www.aasianst.org/publications/RTA.htm
http://www.uky.edu/Centers/Asia/k12/NCTA.php
Background Note: North Korea. U.S. Department of State. 4 October 2009
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2792.htm
Background Note: South Korea. U.S. Department of State. 4 October 2009
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2800.htm
Bridging Gaps: Myanmar. How Stuff Works. 4 October 2009
bridging-gaps-myanmar-video.htm
http://videos.howstuffworks.com/hsw/5452-
China: History, Geography, Government and Culture. 4 October 2009
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107411.html
Committee of Teaching About Asia: Outreach Database List. 4 Oct. 2009
http://www.aasianst.org/CTAweb.html
Countries. 4 October 2009
http://www.state.gov/countries/
*East Asian Library. 4 Oct. 2009
http://www.library.pitt.edu/libraries/eal/EAS-K12.htm
*East Asian Studies Center. 4 Oct. 2009
http://www.indiana.edu/~easc/
Exploring Asia Through Art. DIA Asian Art Collection. 4 October 2009
http://edu.dia.org/tao/default.htm
General Globalization Terms. Global Envision. 4 October 2009
http://www.globalenvision.org/library/25/1618
Globalization. Global Policy Forum. 4 October 2009
http://www.globalpolicy.org/globaliz/index.htm
Human Population – Three Patterns of Population Change. Population Reference Bureau. 4 October 2009
http://www.prb.org/pdf/threepatterns.pdf
Images of Asia. 4 Oct. 2009 <
http://www.askasia.org/teachers/images/>.
Indonesia. Discovery Education Streaming. 4 October 2009 (password needed)
http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=047FDCD0-A063-487B-9845EC44D25AD0BD&blnFromSearch=1&productcode=US
An Integrated Unit on Hmong Story Cloth. 4 Oct. 2009
http://www.csupomona.edu/~tassi/hmong.htm
Lesson Plan: Population—Building a Foundation. Population Reference Bureau. 4 October 2009
http://www.prb.org/Educators/LessonPlans/2005/PopulationBuildingaFoundation.aspx
Lesson Plan: Pyramid Building. Population Reference Bureau. 4 October 2009
http://www.prb.org/Educators/LessonPlans/2000/PyramidBuilding.aspx
Lost Treasures of the Yangtze River. Discovery Education Streaming. 4 October 2009 (password needed)
http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=CD675C4F-131B-4A1D-8A3213E7B2ACF26A&blnFromSearch=1&productcode=US
64
*National Consortium for Teaching About Asia. 4 Oct. 2009
National Geographic Website. 4 Oct. 2009
http://www.nctasia.org/
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/
*National Geographic Educational Network. 4 Oct. 2009
*Program for Teaching East Asia. 4 Oct. 2009
http://www.ngsednet.org/
http://www.colorado.edu/cas/TEA/resourcejapan.html
*Resources for Geography Teachers. 4 Oct. 2009
http://www.cnr.vt.edu/geography/vga/resource.html
Resources for Teaching about East and Southeast Asia. 4 Oct. 2009
http://newton.uor.edu/Departments&Programs/AsianStudiesDept/general-teach.html
Rich and Poor: Exploring Differences the between North and South Korea. Discovery Education Streaming.
4 October 2009 (password needed)
http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=06B65D40-D5D1-4C82-95FB34488667DFD5&blnFromSearch=1&productcode=US
Satellite Image Overview of China (PRC) at Night + Cities. Shanxi Province. 4 October 2009
http://www.drben.net/ChinaReport/Shanxi_Province/Shanxi_Source/Shanxi_Maps/Shanxi_Province-MapsIndex.html
Satellite View of the Three Gorges Dam. 4 October 2009
http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/map/google_map_three_gorges.htm
Sericulture. 4 October 2009
http://www.insects.org/ced1/seric.html
Silk Road. Discovery Education Streaming. 4 October 2009 (password needed)
http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=5E4CA18F-0F95-4EB8-8D4AD76C33203EF7&blnFromSearch=1&productcode=US
Story of the Silk Road. Discovery Education Streaming. 4 October 2009 (password needed)
http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=E931F341-31E5-4F53-AD6C7DF40BDCE7C7&blnFromSearch=1&productcode=US
Student’s Friend. 4 October 2009
http://www.studentsfriend.com/sf/part1see/part1-3.html
Tales from Asia. 4 October 2009
http://www.learningtogive.org/materials/folktales/geography.asp?region=Asia
Teacher Resources on Asia. Ask Asia Website. 4 October 2009 <
http://www.askasia.org/teachers/
Understanding: Manufacturing in China. How Stuff Works. 4 October 2009
http://videos.howstuffworks.com/geography/asia-videos.htm
United States Population Pyramid. 4 October 2009
http://www.edstephan.org/Animation/pyramid.html
Student Resource
Alexander the Great. Calliope: Exploring World History Peterborough, NH: Carus, December, 1998.
Ancient China. 30 January 2008.
http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/ANCCHINA/ANCCHINA.HTM
Ancient China. British Museum website. 30 January 2008.
http://www.ancientchina.co.uk/menu.html
Ancient Civilizations Theme Pack I (Queens of Egypt; Africa's Carthage; Hunnic Invasions; Lost Cities;
Vanished Civilizations; Children of Ancient Mesopotamia; Byzantium; Ancient Mexico; Ancient Maya).
Calliope Magazine. Peterborough, NH: Carus Publishing, 2007.
Ancient Civilizations Theme Pack II (Fieldwork: The Anthropologist at Work; Mesopotamia;
Pharaohs of Egypt; Julius Caesar; Writing; Rise of Persia). Calliope Magazine. Peterborough, NH: Carus
Publishing, 2007.
Ancient Civilizations Theme Pack III (Alexander the Great; Children of Ancient Athens; Greece vs. Persia;
Hannibal vs. Rome; Homer's Troy; Phoenicians; Roman Army; Theater in Ancient Greece). Calliope
Magazine. Peterborough, NH: Carus Publishing, 2007.
65
Ancient Greek Civilization Resources. 30 January 2008.
http://members.tripod.com/edpa/history/greece.htm
Ancient Greek Civilizations. 30 January 2008.
http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/aegean/
Ancient Leaders Series (Greece, Rome, Egypt). New York: Rosen Publishers, 2005.
Ancient Mesopotamia. 30 January 2008.
Ancient Persia. 30 January 2008.
http://mesopotamia.lib.uchicago.edu/
http://www.ancientpersia.com/
Ancient Rome Timeline. 30 January 2008.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/rome_timeline.shtml
Ancient World Mapping Center. 30 January 2008.
http://www.unc.edu/awmc/
Ashoka: India’s Philosopher King: Calliope: Exploring World History. Peterborough, NH: Carus, January
2000.
The Athenian Origins of Direct Democracy. 30 January 2008.
http://www.historyguide.org/ancient/lecture6b.html
Athens and Ancient Greece. 30 January 2008.
http://www.dcmp.org/guides/9681.pdf
The Babylonians. Calliope: Exploring World History. Peterborough, NH: Carus, November, 2000.
Bantu Migrations Map. 30 January 2008.
http://encarta.msn.com/media_701611637/Bantu_Migration.html
BBC: Ancient History, 30 January, 2008.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/
Bridging World History: Human Migrations, 12 March 2008.
http://www.learner.org/channel/courses/worldhistory/support/activities_3.pdf
Bring Ancient History to Life. 30 January 2008.
http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson276.shtml
Challen, Paul. Life in Ancient China. New York: Crabtree, 2005.
Challen, Paul. Life in Ancient Egypt. New York: Crabtree, 2005.
The Code of Hammurabi. 30 January 2008.
http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/MESO/CODE.HTM
Cotterel, Arthur. Ancient China. New York: DK Children’s Books, 2005.
Cyrus the Great. 06 March 2008.
http://www.iranchamber.com/history/cyrus/cyrus.php
Dig Into History: Mesopotamia. 30 January 2008.
http://mesopotamia.lib.uchicago.edu/interactives/DigIntoHistory.html
Early African Societies and the Bantu Migrations PowerPoint. 30 January 2008.
http://www.accd.edu/sac/history/keller/BentleyUnit1-07-02.ppt
The Edicts of King Asoka. 30 January 2008.
Egypt Archive. 30 January 2008.
Empires. 30 January 2008.
http://www.cs.colostate.edu/~malaiya/ashoka.html
http://egyptarchive.co.uk/index.htm
http://www.pbs.org/empires/
Forgotten Empire: The World of Ancient Persia. 30 January 2008.
http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/forgottenempire/
The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology: Early Imperial China. 30 January 2008.
http://www.nga.gov/education/chinatp_pt4.shtm
Greece: The Democratic Experiment. 30 January 2008.
66
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/greeks/greekdemocracy_01.shtml
Jacobs, Heidi Hayes and Le Vasseur, Michal. The Ancient World. Boston: Prentice Hall, 2008.
Kingdom of Kush. 30 January 2008.
http://www.stockton.edu/~gilmorew/consorti/1iafric.htm
Map of the Mauryan Empire. 30 January 2008.
http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/ANCINDIA/MAURYMAP.HTM
Mehta-Jones, Shilpa. Life in Ancient Mesopotamia. New York: Crabtree, 2005.
Movement: The Bantu Migrations. Module Six, Unit 2: The Geography of Africa. Exploring Africa Website. 30
January 2008.
http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/students/curriculum/m6/activity5.php
People on the Move: The Bantu Migrations. The Story of Africa Website. 30 January 2008.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/2chapter5.shtml
Peppas, Lynn. Life in Ancient Greece. New York: Crabtree, 2005.
Peppas, Lynn. Life in Ancient Mesoamerica. New York: Crabtree, 2005.
Peppas, Lynn. Life in Ancient Rome. New York: Crabtree, 2005.
The Pillars of Asoka. 30 January 2008. <
http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00routesdata/bce_299_200/ashoka/ashoka.html
Precolumbian Portfolio. 30 January 2008.
http://research.famsi.org/kerrportfolio.html
Primary Sources of Ancient Civilizations Series (Greece, Rome, Egypt). New York: Rosen Publishers, 2005.
Richardson, Hazel. Life in Ancient Africa. New York: Crabtree, 2005.
Richardson, Hazel. Life in the Ancient Indus River Valley. New York: Crabtree, 2005.
Rise and Fall of the Mauryan Empire. 30 January 2008.
http://www.fsmitha.com/h1/ch13.htm
The Roman Empire. 30 January 2008.
http://www.pbs.org/empires/romans/
The Roman Empire. 30 January 2008.
http://www.roman-empire.net/
Rome’s Master Builders. Calliope: Exploring World History. Peterborough, NH: Carus, November 2005.
The Silk Road. Calliope: Exploring World History. Peterborough, NH: Carus, February 2002.
The Silk Route. Economics and Geography Lessons. 30 January 2008.
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/Socialstd/grade3/Silk_Route.html
The Story of Africa. 30 January 2008.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/index.shtml
Technology of the Ancient World Series (Greece, Japan, Rome, Egypt, Mesopotamia, China). New York:
Rosen Publishers, 2006
Writing in the Ancient World. (Mesoamerica, Mesopotamia, Phoenicia, India, Egypt). New York: Rosen
Publishers, 2003.
Teacher Resource
Gateway to World History. 30 January 2008.
http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/index.html
Internet Ancient History Sourcebook. 30 January 2008.
http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/ancient/asbook.html
Kathy Schrock’s Guide For Educations: Ancient and World History. 30 January 2008.
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/history/histw.html
Resources for Era III. 30 January 2008.
http://chnm.gmu.edu/worldhistorysources/whmfinding.php?function=find&area=top300
Unpacking Evidence. Guides for Analyzing Primary Sources. 30 January 2008.
http://chnm.gmu.edu/worldhistorysources/whmunpacking.html
67
Traditions & Encounters: A Global Perspective on the Past. Volume I: From the Beginning to 1500. Boston:
McGraw-Hill, 2006.
World History Archives. 30 January 2008.
http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/
World History for Us All. 13 January 2008.
http://worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu/dev/default.htm
World History Sources. 30 January 2008.
http://chnm.gmu.edu/worldhistorysources/whmfinding.php
68
Michigan Grade Level Content Expectations
History
Standard
Temporal Thinking
7– H1.1.1 Explain why and how historians use eras and periods as
constructs to organize and explain human activities over time.
7 – H1.1.2 Compare and contrast several different calendar systems
used in the past and present and their cultural significance (e.g., Sun
Dial, Gregorian calendar – B.C./A.D.; contemporary secular –
B.C.E./C.E.; Chinese, Hebrew, and Islamic/Hijri calendars).
Historical Inquiry and Analysis
7 – H1.2.1 Explain how historians use a variety of sources to
explore the past (e.g., artifacts, primary and secondary sources
including narratives, technology, historical maps, visual/mathematical
quantitative data, radiocarbon dating, DNA analysis).
7 – H1.2.2 Read and comprehend a historical passage to identify basic
factual knowledge and the literal meaning by indicating who was
involved, what happened, where it happened, what events led to the
development, and what consequences or outcomes followed.
7 – H1.2.3 Identify the point of view (perspective of the author) and
context when reading and discussing primary and secondary sources.
7 – H1.2.4 Compare and evaluate competing historical perspectives about
the past based on proof.
7 – H1.2.5 Describe how historians use methods of inquiry to identify
cause effect relationships in history noting that many have multiple
causes.
7 – H1.2.6 Identify the role of the individual in history and the significance
of one person’s ideas.
Historical Understanding
7 – H1.4.1 Describe and use cultural institutions to study an era and a
region (political, economic, religion/ belief, science/technology, written
language, education, family).
7 – H1.4.2 Describe and use themes of history to study patterns of change
and continuity.
7 – H1.4.3Use historical perspectives to analyze global issues faced by
humans long ago and today.
Peopling of the Earth
7 – W1.1.1 Explain how and when human communities populated major
regions of the Eastern Hemisphere (Africa, Australia, Europe, Asia) and
adapted to a variety of environments.
7 – W1.1.2 Explain what archaeologists have learned about
Paleolithic and Neolithic patterns of living in Africa,Western Europe,
and Asia.
Agricultural Revolution
7 – W1.2.1 Explain the importance of the natural environment in the
development of agricultural settlements in different locations (e.g.,
available water for irrigation, adequate precipitation, and suitable growth
season).
7 – W1.2.2 Explain the impact of the Agricultural Revolution (stable food
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supply, surplus, population growth, trade, division of labor, development
of settlements).
7 – W1.2.3 Compare and contrast the environmental, economic, and
social institutions of two early civilizations from different world regions
(e.g.,Yangtse, Indus River Valley,Tigris/Euphrates, and Nile).
Early Civilizations and Early Pastoral Societies
7 – W2.1.1 Describe the importance of the development of human
language, oral and written, and its relationship to the
development of culture
• verbal vocalizations
• standardization of physical (rock, bird) and
abstract (love, fear) words
• pictographs to abstract writing
(governmental administration, laws,
codes, history and artistic
expressions)
7 – W2.1.2 Use historical and modern maps and other sources to locate,
describe, and analyze major river systems and discuss the ways these
physical settings supported permanent settlements, and development of early
civilizations (Tigris and Euphrates Rivers,Yangtze River, Nile River, Indus
River).
7 – W2.1.3 Examine early civilizations to describe their common
features (ways of governing, stable food supply, economic and social
structures, use of resources and technology, division of labor and
forms of communication).
7 – W2.1.4 Define the concept of cultural diffusion and how it
resulted in the spread of ideas and technology from one region to
another (e.g., plants, crops, plow, wheel, bronze metallurgy).
7 – W2.1.5 Describe pastoralism and explain how the climate and
geography of Central Asia were linked to the rise of pastoral societies on
the steppes.
Classical Traditions in Regions of the Eastern Hemisphere
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7 – W3.1.1 Describe the characteristics that classical civilizations share
(institutions, cultural styles, systems of thought that influenced
neighboring peoples and have endured for several centuries).
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7 – W3.1.2 Using historic and modern maps, locate three major empires
of this era, describe their geographic characteristics including physical
features and climates,and propose a generalization about the relationship
between geographic characteristics and the development of early
empires.
7– W3.1.3 Compare and contrast the defining characteristics of a citystate, civilization, and empire.
7 – W3.1.4 Assess the importance of Greek ideas about democracy and
citizenship in the development of Western political thought and
institutions.
7 – W3.1.5 Describe major achievements from Indian, Chinese,
Mediterranean,African, and Southwest and Central Asian civilizations in
the areas of art, architecture and culture; science, technology and
mathematics; political life and ideas; philosophy and ethical beliefs; and
military strategy.
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7 – W3.1.6 Use historic and modern maps to locate and describe trade
networks among empires in the classical era.
7 – W3.1.7 Use a case study to describe how trade integrated cultures
and influenced the economy within empires (e.g., Assyrian and Persian
trade networks or networks of Egypt and Nubia/Kush; or Phoenician and
Greek networks).
7 – W3.1.8 Describe the role of state authority, military power, taxation
systems, and institutions of coerced labor,including slavery,in building
and maintaining empires (e.g.,Han Empire,Mauryan Empire, Egypt, Greek
city-states and the Roman Empire).
7 – W3.1.9 Describe the significance of legal codes, belief systems,
written languages and communications in the development of large
regional empires.
7 – W3.1.10 Create a time line that illustrates the rise and fall of classical
empires during the classical period.
Growth and Development of World Religions
7 – W3.2.1 Identify and describe the beliefs of the five major world
religions.
7 – W3.2.2 Locate the geographical center of major
religions and map the spread through the 3rd century
C.E./A.D.
7 – W3.2.3 Identify and describe the ways that religions unified
people’s perceptions of the world and contributed to cultural
integration of large regions of Afro-Eurasia.
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Geography
Standard
Spatial Thinking
7 – G1.1.1 Explain and use a variety of maps, globes, and web
based geography technology to study the world,including global,
interregional,regional,and local scales.
7 – G1.1.2 Draw an accurate sketch map from memory of the
Eastern Hemisphere showing the major regions (Africa,Asia,
Europe,Australia/Oceania,Antarctica).
Geographical Inquiry and Analysis
7 – G1.2.1 Locate the major landforms, rivers and climate regions of the
Eastern Hemisphere.
7 – G1.2.2 Explain why maps of the same place may vary as a result of
the cultural or historical background of the cartographer.
7 – G1.2.3 Use observations from air photos, photographs (print and
CD), films (VCR and DVD) as the basis for answering geographic
questions about the human and physical characteristics of places and
regions.
7 – G1.2.4 Draw the general population distribution of the Eastern
Hemisphere on a map, analyze the patterns, and propose two
generalizations about the location and density of the population.
7 – G1.2.5 Use information from modern technology such as
Geographic Positioning System (GPS), Geographic Information
System (GIS), and satellite remote sensing to locate information
and process maps and data to analyze spatial patterns of the
Eastern Hemisphere to answer geographic questions.
7 – G1.2.6 Apply the skills of geographic inquiry (asking geographic
questions,acquiring geographic information,organizing geographic
information,analyzing geographic information,and answering
geographic questions) to analyze a problem or issue of importance to
a region of the Eastern Hemisphere.
Geographical Understanding
7 – G1.3.1 Use the fundamental themes of geography (location,
place, human environment interaction, movement, region) to
describe regions or places on earth.
7 – G1.3.2 Explain the locations and distributions of physical and
human characteristics of Earth by using knowledge of spatial
patterns.
7 – G1.3.3 Explain the different ways in which places are
connected and how those connections demonstrate
interdependence and accessibility.
Physical Characteristics of Place
7 – G2.1.1 Describe the landform features and the climate of the
region (within the Western or Eastern Hemispheres) under study.
7 – G2.1.2 Use information from GIS, remote sensing and the
World Wide Web to compare and contrast the surface features and
vegetation of the continents of the Eastern Hemisphere.
Human Characteristics of Place
7 – G2.2.1 Describe the human characteristics of the region under
study (including languages, religion, economic system,
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governmental system, cultural traditions).
7 – G2.2.2 Explain that communities are affected positively or negatively by
changes in technology
(e.g., increased manufacturing resulting in rural to urban migration in
China, increased farming of fish, hydroelectric power generation at
Three Gorges, pollution resulting from increased manufacturingand
automobiles).
7 – G2.2.3 Analyze how culture and experience influence people’s
perception of places and regions (e.g., that beaches are places where
tourists travel, cities have historic buildings, northern places are cold,
equatorial places are very warm).
Physical Processes
7 – G3.1.1 Construct and analyze climate graphs for locations at
different latitudes and elevations in the region to answer geographic
questions and make predictions based on patterns (e.g., compare and
contrast Norway and France; Nairobi and Kilimanjaro; Mumbai and New
Delhi).
Ecosystems
7 – G3.2.1 Explain how and why ecosystems differ as a consequence of
differences in latitude, elevation, and human activities (e.g., effects of
latitude on types of vegetation in Africa, proximity to bodies of water in
Europe, and effects of annual river flooding in Southeast Asia and China)
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7 – G3.2.2 Identify ecosystems of a continent and explain why some
provide greater opportunities (fertile soil, precipitation) for humans to
use than do other ecosystems and how that changes with technology
(e.g., China’s humid east and arid west and the effects of irrigation
technology).
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Cultural Mosiac
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7 – G4.1.1 Identify and explain examples of cultural diffusion within the
Eastern Hemisphere (e.g., the spread of sports, music,architecture,
television, Internet, Bantu languages in Africa, Islam inWestern Europe).
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7 – G4.1.2 Compare roles of women in traditional African societies in
the past with roles of women as modern micro-entrepreneurs in current
economies.
Technology Patterns and Networks
7 – G4.2.1 List and describe the advantages and disadvantages of
different technologies used to move people, products, and ideas
throughout the world (e.g., opportunities for employment,
entrepreneurial and educational opportunities using the Internet; the
effects of technology on reducing the time necessary for
communications and travel; the uses and effects of wireless technology in
developing countries;and the spread of group and individual’s ideas as
voice and image messages on electronic networks such as the Internet).
Patterns of Human Settlement
7 – G4.3.1 Identify places in the Eastern Hemisphere that have been
modified to be suitable for settlement by describing the modifications that
were necessary (e.g., Nile River irrigation, reclamation of land along the
North Sea, planting trees in areas that have become desertified in Africa).
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7 – G4.3.2 Describe patterns of settlement by using historical
and modern maps (e.g., the location of the world’s mega cities,
other cities located near coasts and navigable rivers, regions
under environmental stress such as the Sahel).
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Forces of Cooperation and Conflict
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7 – G4.4.1 Identify and explain factors that contribute to conflict
and cooperation between and among cultural groups (e.g., natural
resources, power, culture, wealth).
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7 – G5.1.1 Describe the environmental effects of human action on the
atmosphere (air), biosphere (people, animals,and plants), lithosphere
(soil),and hydrosphere (water) (e.g.,desertification in the Sahel Region
of North Africa, deforestation in the Congo Basin, air pollution in urban
center, and chemical spills in European Rivers).
7 – G5.1.2 Describe how variations in technology affect human
modifications of the landscape (e.g., clearing of agricultural land in
Southeast Asia, fish factories in North Atlantic and Western Pacific
Ocean, and damming rivers to meet needs for electricity).
7 – G5.1.3 Identify the ways in which human-induced changes in the
physical environment in one place can cause changes in other places
(e.g., cutting forests in one region may result in river basin flooding
elsewhere as has happened historically in China; building dams floods
land upstream and permits irrigation downstream as in Southern Africa,
the Aswan Dam flooded the upper Nile Valley and permitted irrigation
downstream).
Physical and Human Systems
7 – G5.2.1 Describe the effects that a change in the physical environment
could have on human activities and the choices people would have to
make in adjusting to the change (e.g., drought in Africa, pollution from
volcanic eruptions in Indonesia, earthquakes in Turkey, and flooding in
Bangladesh).
Public Discourse, Decision Making, and Citizen Involvement
7 – G6.1.1 Contemporary Investigations – Conduct research on
contemporary global topics and issues, compose persuasive essays, and
develop a plan for action. (H1.4.3, G1.2.6, See P3 and P4)
7 – G6.1.2 Investigations Designed for Ancient World History
Eras – Conduct research on global topics and issues,compose
persuasive essays,and develop a plan for action. (H1.4.3, G1.2.6, See
P3 and P4)
Note:Additional global investigation topics
have been identified for connections to World
History Eras 1, 2, and 3 studies. Students
investigate contemporary topics and issues
that they have studied in an ancient world
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7 – G4.4.2 Describe examples of cooperation and conflict within the
European Union (e.g.,European Parliament, Euro as currency in some
countries but not others, open migration within the European Union, free
trade,and cultural impacts such as a multi-lingual population).
Humans and the Environment
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history context.The investigations may be
addressed at the conclusion of each Era or
may be included at the conclusion of the
course.
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Civics and Government
Standard
Nature of Civic Life, Politics, and Government
7 – C1.1.1 Explain how the purposes served by government affect
relationships between the individual, government, and society as a
whole and the differences that occur in monarchies, theocracies,
dictatorships,and representative governments.
Characteristics of Nation-States
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7 – C3.6.1 Define the characteristics of a nation-state (a specific
territory, clearly defined boundaries, citizens, and jurisdiction over people
who reside there, laws, and government) and how Eastern Hemisphere
nations interact.
Conflict and Cooperation Between and Among Nations
7 – C4.3.1 Explain how governments address national issues and form
policies, and how the policies may not be consistent with those of other
countries (e.g., population pressures in China compared to Sweden;
international immigration quotas, international aid, energy needs for
natural gas and oil and military aid).
7 – C4.3.2 Explain the challenges to governments and the
cooperation needed to address international issues (e.g.,migration
and human rights).
7 – C4.3.3 Explain why governments belong to different types of
international and regional organizations (e.g., United Nations (UN),
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), European Union (EU), and
African Union (AU), G-8 countries (leading economic/political)).
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Economics
Standard
Individual, Business, and Government Choices
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7 – E1.1.1 Explain the role of incentives in different economic systems
(acquiring money, profit, goods, wanting to avoid loss, position in
society, job placement).
7 – E1.1.2 Describe the circular flow model (that businesses get money
from households in exchange for goods and services and return that
money to households by paying for the factors of production that
households have to sell) and apply it to a public service (e.g., education,
health care, military protection).
Role of Government
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7 - E2.3.1 Explain how national governments make decisions that
impact both that country and other countries that use its resources
(e.g., sanctions and tariffs enacted by a national government to prevent
imports, most favored trade agreements, the impact China is having on
the global economy and the U.S. economy in particular).
Economic Interdependence
7 – E3.1.1 Explain the importance of trade (imports and exports) on
national economies in the Eastern Hemisphere (e.g., natural gas in
North Africa, petroleum Africa, mineral resources in Asia).
7 – E3.1.2 Diagram or map the movement of a consumer product from
where it is manufactured to where it is sold to demonstrate the flow of
materials, labor, and capital (e.g., global supply chain for computers, athletic
shoes, and clothing).
7 – E3.1.3 Determine the impact of trade on a region of the Eastern
Hemisphere by graphing and analyzing the gross Domestic Product of the
region for the past decade and comparing the data with trend data on the
total value of imports and exports over the same period.
7 - E3.1.4 Explain how communications innovations have affected
economic interactions and where and how people work (e.g.,
internet home offices, international work teams, international
companies).
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Economic Systems
7 – E3.3.1 Explain and compare how economic systems (traditional,
command, and market) answer four basic questions:What should be
produced? How will it be produced? How will it be distributed? Who will
receive the benefits of production? (e.g., market economies in Africa,
Europe; command economy in North Korea; and the transition to market
economies in Vietnam and China).
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Public Discourse, Decision Making, and Citizen Involvement
Standard
Identifying and Analyzing Issues, Decision Making, Persuasive
Communication about a Public Issue, and Citizen Involvement
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7 – P3.1.1 Clearly state an issue as a question or public policy, trace the
origins of an issue, analyze and synthesize various perspectives, and
generate and evaluate alternative resolutions. Deeply examine policy
issues in group discussions and debates to make reasoned and informed
decisions.Write persuasive/argumentative essays expressing and
justifying decisions on public policy issues. Plan and conduct activities
intended to advance views on matters of public policy, report the results,
and evaluate effectiveness.
-Identify public policy issues related to global topics and issues studied.
-Clearly state the issue as a question of public policy orally or in written
form.
-Use inquiry methods to acquire content knowledge and appropriate
data about the issue.
-Identify the causes and consequences and analyze the impact, both
positive and negative.
-Share and discuss findings of research and issue analysis in group
discussions and debates.
-Compose a persuasive essay justifying the position with a reasoned
argument.
-Develop an action plan to address or inform others about the issue at the
local to global scales.
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Citizen Involvement
7 – P4.2.1 Demonstrate knowledge of how, when, and where
individuals would plan and conduct activities intended to advance
views in matters of public policy, report the results, and evaluate
effectiveness.
7 – P4.2.2 Engage in activities intended to contribute to solving a national
or international problem studied.
7 – P4.2.3 Participate in projects to help or inform others (e.g., service
learning projects).
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References:
Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators
http://gomaisa-public.rubiconatlas.org/Atlas/Browse/View/Default
Michigan Department of Education
http://mi.gov/mde/0,4615,7-140-28753_38684_28761---,00.html
Oakland Schools
http://oaklandk12-public.rubiconatlas.org/Atlas/Browse/View/Default
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