Unit 4Calendar and Assignments
Unit 4 Calendar – The Early Modern Period
Date
/Topics/Chapter
/Unit 4 Assignments
/SOL/Review Assignments
Dec9th / Unit 3 IntroductionEuropean expansion /
- Chapter 17 Notes
- SPICE Chart
Dec.12th / Age of Exploration
Columbian Exchange
Colonial Empires /
- Chapter 18 Notes
- GRAPES – Russia
- Quiz Corrections due
- Taboo cards: Explorers
Dec.14th / Renaissance
Reformation
Scientific Revolution /
- Taboo cards: Enlightenment, Reformation, Absolute Monarchs
- Timeline: Western Europe
- Timeline: South America
Dec. 16th / European Nation-states
Absolutism Enlightenment
Rise of Russia /
- Chapter 19 Notes
- SPICE chart
Dec. 20th / Latin America
Winter Break
Jan 3rd / Africa /
- Comparison Outlines: Colonization
- Chapter 20 Notes
- Timeline: Africa
Jan.5th / Africa /
- Chapter 21 Notes
- Tri-GRAPES – Ottomans/ Safavids/Mughals
- Timeline: Islamic World
- Taboo cards: Muslim Empires
Jan.9th / Muslim Empires /
- Comparison Outlines: Muslim Empires
- Chapter 22 Notes
- Timeline: China
Jan.11th / Asia /
- SOL Review Packet
Jan.13th / Review /
- Study
Jan 17th / Midterms
Jan 19th / Midterms
Jan.25th / DBQ Day /
- Buddhism DBQ
Jan.27th / SOL Role Play /
- Unit 3 Glossary
- Role Play
Note: it is expected that SOL-related assignments will require you to go beyond our textbook.
Chapter Notes and Quizzes
Unit 4 consists of 7 chapters (#16-22) from World Civilizations: The Global Experience. You will read at least part of each chapter and take organized, useful notes from each assigned section. You will continue actually have to read the whole chapter, and take notes on it.
As a reminder, about reading and taking quality notes, each chapter will have a short quiz associated with it. The quiz will be multiple-choice based on the reading and sometimes classroom activities. It will be possible to answer the questions without attending class, but not without reading the textbook.
Some tips on taking effective textbook notes:
- Preview the reading. Scan through the major headings in the chapter before you read the rest. Think about what you already know and what you expect to learn. This will help prime your mind to be ready to pull out the important details.
- Review related assignments. Before reading a chapter, check out the other assignments that might go along with the chapter. This will make your homework more efficient, and will help you find the important information.
- Read actively. Active readers are engaging with the text, not just passing words through their heads. This means thinking about what you read – ask yourself questions. Do you agree with what you’ve read? Does it make sense? Can you think of another example, or a counter-example?
- Use the organization of the text. The headings and subheadings in the book are a useful way to organize your notes.
- Summarize subheadings as you go. If you can’t remember orsummarize a section after you finish reading it, you weren’t actively reading! Go back to the text to review.
- After reading, summarize each major heading. Write a short summary (1-2 sentences) for each major heading. If you can recall what each major heading was about, you’ve done your job! Your summaries are excellent study guides!
- Include page numbers. Every once in a while, or every major heading, jot down the page number. This will help you refer back to the test when you have to do things like write essays and complete test corrections.
- Use your notes in class! Write down questions you have while reading so you make sure we clarify them in class. Add details to your reading notes in class – homework and class work should not be separate worlds.
Taboo Cards
The object of the game Taboo is to get your teammates to say a particular word or name by providing oral clues. However, there are certain words that are “taboo” – unmentionable. For example, a real card from the game might look like this:
The Reader leads his/her teammates to say “watch” without saying any of the words on the card. The reader also cannot point, act, draw, etc. The rest of the team tries to follow the Reader’s lead to guess the word.
For the card above, you might say that “this is a circular dial strapped around your arm, near your hand” or that “you would check this to see when class ends, without using your phone or the wall.”
To help us remember all the vocabulary and people in Unit 4 and on the World II SOL, we will create Taboo cards throughout this unit. Each student will work on each word, and then we will play the game as a review before the Midterm (and again before the big tests in May).
For each term/person, you will:
- Define the term/describe the contributions of the person
- Create a list of 5 Taboo words – don’t make it too easy, but leave room to be able to guess!
- Suggest two ways to lead your teammates to the term/person without using the Taboo words
Timelines
At the end of Unit 4, we will have completed 60% of the AP World History curriculum, spanning approximately 9,750 years of human history. This is a lot to remember! The Timelines assignments during this unit will help us recall what we have covered so far, and figure out how what we are learning now fits in with the first three units.
You will create five timelines during this unit: Western Europe, the Islamic World, Africa, South America and China. For each region, you will be provided with a list of events, empires, dynasties, and eras. Here’s what to do:
- Identify the date(s) associated with each events, empires, dynasties, or era. Include both beginning and end dates, when applicable.
- Create a timeline including ALL of the dates for that region. (meaning beginning and end date) Dates should be significate dates that cause a change on history. (For example the Battle of Tours. This battle stopped the Muslims from moving further into Europe.) The timeline should be neat and well organized; color is also a plus. It need not be one sheet of paper, but if you use multiple sheets, they should be easily laid next to each other to form one timeline. (DO NOT reuse your summer assignment.)
- Include three facts about each event, empire, dynasty, or era in complete sentences.
- Include at least three pictures or drawings that help you remember the items on your timeline. You do not need one image for each event, empire, dynasty, or era – just three images per timeline.
- Clearly show the major eras of world history on the timeline (when applicable):
- River Valley Era
- Classical Era
- Postclassical Era
- Early Modern Period
Comparison Outlines
There are several important topics for comparison in Unit 4, but not enough time to write multiple essays. Instead, you will outline the Comparative Essays that you could have written. An essay outline includes:
- At least three similarities
- At least three differences
- A thesis statement
- One example of a direct comparison WITH analysis
The list of essay prompts is below. Remember that “compare” means both compare and contrast!
Comparison Outlines: Colonization
- Compare the colonial systems in Spanish Latin America and Portuguese Latin America.
- Compare the colonial systems in the Caribbean Islands with ONE of the following: English North America, Spanish South America.
- Compare the methods of European colonization of TWO of the following regions: Latin America, Africa, Southeast Asia.
Comparison Outlines: Muslim Empires
- Compare the political systems of TWO of the following: Ottoman Empire, Safavid Empire, Mughal Empire.
- Compare the decline of the Mughal and Ottoman Empires.
Role Play
We will study a significant number of people in this unit, and it may be difficult to remember what each of them did without the opportunity to meet them.
To help us reach that goal, each student will play the role of one historical character when we return from Winter Break. Groups of characters and their discussion topics are listed below.
- Which explorer made the most important contribution to European knowledge of the New World?
- Christopher Columbus
- Ferdinand Magellan
- Francis Drake
- Francisco Pizarro (1th only)
- Jacques Cartier
- Vasco de Gama
- Which scientist/inventor best represents the spirit of the Scientific Revolution?
- Galileo Galilei
- Isaac Newton
- Johannes Kepler
- Nicolaus Copernicus
- William Harvey
- Which Reformation figure had the greatest impact on Christianity after 1500 CE?
- Ignatius of Loyola (1th only)
- Johann Gutenberg
- John Calvin
- Martin Luther
- Queen Elizabeth I
- Which European monarch is most deserving of the title “The Absolutist Monarch?”
- Frederick the Great
- Ivan the Terrible (1th only)
- King Henry VIII
- Louis XIV
- Peter the Great
- Which philosopher/writer best represents the spirit of the Enlightenment?
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau
- John Locke
- Montesquieu (1th only)
- Thomas Hobbes
- Voltaire
You will be responsible for playing the part of one character in one discussion from the lists above. As you can see, historical characters will be presented together, so each student will need to know their character as well as the others in their category.
On the day of the Role Play, you will arrive ready to assume your part in your discussion and convince the class to vote for you. You should be prepared with:
- A two minute statement about why YOU should win. Be sure to include:
- An introduction (where you are from, when you lived)
- A description of your greatest achievements
- A two sentence rebuttal for the name listed above yours (or, if you are first in the list, of the last person in the list)
- A costume or sign (optional, but worth bonus points)
Because of the large number of historical figures visiting us in one class period, speeches will be carefully timed and you will be cut off after your allotted time. You should also be prepared to answer questions from the moderator about your character.
During the discussions other than the one you are part of, you will take notes on what each historical figure has to say about themselves and the others. The class will vote after each discussion.
After the discussions, you will justify your vote in each discussion other than your own.
GRAPES
You know how to create GRAPES charts, and will make three of them during this unit.
- Use Chapter 18 to create a GRAPES chart for Russia in the Early Modern Period.
- Use Chapters 16 and 19 to create a split GRAPES chart for the Spanish and Portuguese colonial empires (focus on what was happening in the Americas and Southeast Asia, not on what’s going on in Europe).
- Use Chapter 21 to create a Tri-GRAPES chart for the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal Empires.
For Russia and the Colonial Empires, use the standard GRAPES chart sheet. A Tri-GRAPES chart template will be provided for the Muslim Empires.
SOL Review Packet
To help you understand and review the essential knowledge of the Standards of Learning for World History II, you will complete Part 1 of the SOL Review Packet during this unit. There are two types of activities:
- Taboo Cards (in addition to those separately assigned on the Unit 4 Calendar) – see above
- Discussion Questions – these questions are to be answered as though they were short answer questions on a test. Answer in complete sentences, including as much relevant information as you can.
Unit 4 Glossary
For the selected set of Glossary terms, you will find a definition and identify its significance. These terms are in addition to those vocabulary terms included as Taboo cards, though there may be some overlap.
Midterm
The Midterm Exam will consist of 40% content from Unit 4 and 20% each from Units 1,2 and 3. There will be multiple choice questions and a Comparative Essay (from Unit 4). There may also be a map (because I love maps).
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