Download Honors World History Course Summary

World History Course Summary
Department: Social Studies
All World History courses (Honors or otherwise) utilize the same targets and indicators for student
performance. However, students enrolled in Honors World History will cover course content at a faster pace
and/or in greater depth than those students enrolled in other World History classes. In addition, critical
thinking and writing skills crucial for success in Advanced Placement Social Studies courses are developed and
refined as part of the Honors curriculum.
Semester 1
Learning Objective #1: Students will examine features of classical and medieval civilizations.
Target(s) to Meet Learning Objective #1
 Target 1: Identify important characteristics of Greek and Roman civilizations.
 Target 2: Examine significant developments of medieval societies in Europe, as well as in Japan.
 Target 3: Describe contributions made by Islamic societies in Africa and the Middle East.
 Target 4: Compare and contrast beliefs found in the Abrahamic Faiths.
Timeline
Weeks 1-2
Learning Objective #2: Students will analyze the new ideas and values that led to the Renaissance, the
Protestant Reformation, and the Scientific Revolution.
Target(s) to Meet Learning Objective #2
 Target 1: Identify reasons the Renaissance was able to emerge in Italy, as well as how and why it
spread throughout Europe.
 Target 2: Describe the major changes in art and literature of the Renaissance period.
 Target 3: Analyze the forces, including religious issues, which led to the Protestant Reformation.
 Target 4: Trace Martin Luther’s role in the movement to reform the Catholic Church, and how his
actions contribute to the spread of Protestantism.
 Target 5: Examine religious and secular responses to the Protestant Reformation.
 Target 6: Identify prominent thinkers of the Scientific Revolution, describe their achievements, and
examine the impacts these developments had.
Timeline
Weeks 3-5
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Learning Objective #3: Students will investigate motives for and effects of European exploration on Africa,
Asia, and the New World.
Target(s) to Meet Learning Objective #3
 Target 1: Identify significant European explorers, the areas to which they travelled, and the motives
behind exploration for both individual explorers as well as European governments.
 Target 2: Describe how the interactions of explorers and indigenous peoples changed societies in
the New World.
 Target 3: Consider how exploration led to tension among European powers, and steps these
nations took to resolve conflicts that arose.
 Target 4: Describe how the rise of African slavery impacted the political, economic, social, and
cultural systems of both Africa and the New World.
 Target 5: Examine the impact of the Columbian Exchange on the Old and New Worlds, and how this
system contributes to the rise of mercantilism.
Timeline
Weeks 6-7 (with midterm given during Week 8)
Learning Objective #4: Students will compare and contrast monarchies that governed Europe during the Age
of Absolutism.
Target(s) to Meet Learning Objective #4
 Target 1: Identify the defining characteristics of an absolute monarchy.
 Target 2: Examine how Philip II came to rule Spain, and how events of his reign contributed to
Spain’s golden age.
 Target 3: Track how absolutism emerged in France, beginning with Henry of Navarre and
culminating with Louis XIV.
 Target 4: Identify similarities and differences in the reigns of Maria Theresa of Austria and Frederick
the Great of Prussia.
 Target 5: Compare the reigns of Russian monarchs Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great, and Catherine
the Great.
 Target 6: Trace the development of constitutional monarchy in England from the reign of Elizabeth
I through that of William and Mary, comparing these governments to those of absolute monarchs.
Timeline
Weeks 9-10
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Learning Objective #5: Students will analyze events that led Enlightenment thinkers to question old ideas and
to revolutionize the arts, religion, government, and society.
Target(s) to Meet Learning Objective #5
 Target 1: Identify key contributors to the Enlightenment.
 Target 2: Compare and contrast the political, economic, and cultural ideas that emerged during this
era, and how those ideas spread throughout Europe.
 Target 3: Describe how Enlightenment ideals contributed to the American Revolution, and the
influence of Enlightenment ideas on American government.
Timeline
Weeks 11-13
Learning Objective #6: Students will explore the causes and consequences of the French Revolution, from the
Tennis Court Oath through the fall of Napoleon.
Target(s) to Meet Learning Objective #6
 Target 1: Examine the structure of the class and government systems in France prior to the French
Revolution.
 Target 2: Analyze the causes and consequences of each major development in French government
from the onset of the French Revolution through the rise of Napoleon, including the effects of
these changes on French society.
 Target 3: Trace the successes and failures of Napoleon Bonaparte’s reign and how these
developments relate to the collapse of the French empire, as well as to actions taken by the
Congress of Vienna.
Timeline
Weeks 14-15 (with final given during Week 16)
Learning Objective #7: Students will evaluate the role conflict has played in World History. (THEMATIC)
Timeline
Ongoing – This objective is cumulative; its targets incorporate information from other objectives.
Learning Objective #8: Students will recognize how political, economic, social, and cultural changes in World
History impact our past, present, and future. (THEMATIC)
Timeline
Ongoing – This objective is cumulative; its targets incorporate information from other objectives.
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Semester 2
Learning Objective #1
Students will trace key events of the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions, examining their impacts on
society and economics.
Target(s) to Meet Learning Objective #1
 Target 1: Describe causes of the Agricultural Revolution, and explain its effects on society.
 Target 2: Identify significant innovators of the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions, and explain
short-term and long-term impacts of their contributions on the world.
 Target 3: Examine factors of production necessary for a country to industrialize, and explain some
effects that industrialization had on the world.
 Target 4: Analyze the effects industrialization had on society, especially in regards to literature, as
well as its impact on socio-economic classes.
 Target 5: Compare and contrast newly-emerging political and economic ideas of this era, primarily
focusing on capitalism/democracy, socialism, and communism.
Timeline
Weeks 1-2
Learning Objective #2
Students will examine the spread of democracy and scientific progress in the 19 th century.
Target(s) to Meet Learning Objective #2
 Target 1: Examine how European colonies in Latin America, as well as dominions of the British
Empire, obtained self-rule.
 Target 2: Explain the origin and goals of the women’s suffrage movement, as well as its short- and
long-term results.
 Target 3: Trace the development of democratic institutions in France and Great Britain.
 Target 4: Review scientific developments in the 19th century, considering their impacts on the
modern world.
Timeline
Weeks 2-4
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Learning Objective #3
Students will investigate the effects that imperialism and nationalism had on empires and their colonies during
the 19th and early 20th century.
Target(s) to Meet Learning Objective #3
 Target 1: Analyze how German unification in the mid-1800s compared to Italy’s during that era.
 Target 2: Examine how nationalism contributed to unification within people and cultures, but also
led to the fracturing of empires.
 Target 3: Trace the patterns of colonization throughout Africa and Asia, analyzing the impacts of
colonization in each region.
 Target 4: Compare and contrast how China and Japan reacted to European imperialism, and
examine the short- and long-term impacts of their reactions.
 Target 5: Explain why nations under imperial rule rebelled against colonial governments, and
examine the results of rebellions during the era leading up to World War I.
Timeline
Weeks 5-7
Learning Objective #4
Students will summarize the causes, events, and effects of World War I.
Target(s) to Meet Learning Objective #4
 Target 1: Investigate the primary causes and key events that triggered World War I, analyzing how
this conflict became a global war.
 Target 2: Describe how changes in technology modernized warfare in World War I.
 Target 3: Compare and contrast war strategies and techniques on the Western and Eastern fronts.
 Target 4: Examine the contributions made by belligerents’ citizens to the war effort, and its impact
on their societies.
 Target 5: Identify the effect that U.S. entry into World War I had on that conflict.
 Target 6: Analyze how the Treaty of Versailles impacted nations and territories involved in World
War I, as well as how this conflict impacted societies throughout the world.
Timeline
Weeks 7-9 (with midterm given at the end of Week 9)
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Learning Objective #5
Students will analyze causes and consequences of revolutions during the early 20th century.
Target(s) to Meet Learning Objective #5
 Target 1: Explain how Russia ended czarist rule and became the communist USSR.
 Target 2: Describe how turmoil and frequent changes in leadership affected Mexico in the late 19th
and early 20th centuries.
 Target 3: Identify causes of nationalist revolution in China, describing its effects on Chinese society.
 Target 4: Explain how the rise of nationalism in India affected its citizens’ desire for self-rule,
tracing their efforts to obtain independence.
 Target 5: Identify how the global economic depression of the 1930s affected governments
throughout the world.
Timeline
Weeks 10-11
Learning Objective #6
Students will analyze causes of, events during, and results stemming from World War II.
Target(s) to Meet Learning Objective #6
 Target 1: Compare and contrast fundamental features and practices found in the totalitarian
governments of Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler, and Benito Mussolini.
 Target 2: Analyze the threat to world peace posed by dictators in the 1930s, and how Western
democracies responded to these nations’ actions.
 Target 3: Examine key strategies and battles of World War II used in Europe and the Pacific.
 Target 4: Trace the persecution of minority groups, primarily Jews, in Germany during this era.
 Target 5 Summarize events that resulted in the Allied victories in Europe and the Pacific.
 Target 6: Examine consequences World War II had on the people of participating nations, both
military and civilian.
Timeline
Weeks: 12-15
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Learning Objective #7
Students will analyze the conflicts between capitalism and communism occurring as part of the Cold War.
Target(s) to Meet Learning Objective #7
 Target 1: Identify the term “Cold War” and the competing forces in NATO and the Warsaw Pact.
 Target 2: Examine the roles the US and the USSR played in the Chinese Revolution, the Korean War,
and Vietnam War, as well as the results of these actions.
 Target 3: Identify how the Cold War ended, and how this affected nations throughout the world.
Timeline
Weeks 16-18
Learning Objective #8: Students will evaluate the role conflict has played in World History. (THEMATIC)
Timeline
Ongoing – This objective is cumulative; its targets incorporate information from other objectives.
Learning Objective #9: Students will recognize how political, economic, social, and cultural changes in World
History impact our past, present, and future. (THEMATIC)
Timeline
Ongoing – This objective is cumulative; its targets incorporate information from other objectives.
© Liberty High School 2011