7th Grade World History: Medieval and Early Modern Societies
• We define History and Historiography and examine their associated methodology.
• We will study the development of political and social institutions in civilizations across the globe in the aftermath of the waning of the ancient world and in the emerging modern world of Africa, Asia and especially Europe.
• In particular, we will examine the rise and expansion of Islamic civilization in Asia and Africa and its interaction with evolving nations in Europe; the development of empires in the Far East and Sub-Saharan Africa; and in Europe, the transition from medieval feudalism through the Renaissance and Reformation to the Age of Enlightenment.
• We will give special consideration to relations between religious and scientific trends and the impact of technological progress and the development of political concepts and their implementation.
• We will always be concerned with the implications our study of the past has for our present social and political concerns.
• We will make use of the textbook Across The Centuries (Houghton Mifflin Social Studies) as guide for our exploration of the past, but our principal concern will be to develop a classroom conversation between teacher and students about our studies, supplementing the textbook with material provided by the teacher in the form of lectures, handouts and research assignments.
• Students will be expected to take notes in class and on assigned readings and maintain a binder containing these notes and all other materials associated with the course.
• There will be periodic quizzes/tests announced and prepared for well in advance.
• There will be opportunities provided each student for classroom presentations based on research after consultation with the teacher.
• Grades will be based not only on quiz or test results, but also on an assessment of the individual student's engagement with and mastery of the material as demonstrated in participation in classroom discussion and in the precision and thoroughness of classroom notes.
• The ultimate determinant of the student's success will be: what in the end the student has achieved, given the resources and opportunities afforded in the class.
