“The skills of evaluating evidence, of posing questions and answering them, of writing, of mobilizing information in order to make an argument -- I think all of that is important in a democratic society if people are actually going to be active citizens.”
--Eric Foner, Historian
The full, printed curriculum includes the following four sections, but as pdfs and jpgs don't load properly into blogger, only the parts anticipated to be of most interest to parents have been recreated here for you. Please be in touch if you would like a copy of the full department curriculum.
- Department Skills Progression
- Department Standards
- Technology Applications
- Department Course Curricula (World History followed by U.S. History)
World History
A Year Course -- 1 Credit -- SOPHOMORE year REQUIRED COURSE This sophomore-level course requires having taken World Geography as a freshman, as the core skills of history build in sequence from year-to-year, increasing in rigor at each step. World History is a survey course addressing themes of humanity spanning the globe and millenia, emphasizing case studies of diverse societies -- from the anthropological cultures of longevity to those that are urban, industrial, and global. We analyze for techno-economic, political, social, cultural, and environmental trends in an historical chronology by use of both primary and secondary sources.
Intro (~3 days)
Essential Question
What is history?
Critical Vocabulary
History Voice Historiography Commonality
Claim Lens Primary source Diversity
Agency Cognitive Dissonance Secondary source Historical empathy
Tertiary source
Teaching Ideas
“The Historian” slideshow [Cluver]
“High School History Skills” handout [Cluver]
“Skills in History” slideshow [Cluver]
“Skills Getting Started” slideshow [Cluver]
History’s Habits of Mind [Cluver]
Humanity (~14 days)
Essential Question
What does it mean to be human?*
Central Case Studies/Sources
UN Human Rights video (humanrights.com) (Intro. 10 min. & a sampling of some of the PSAs)
Critical Vocabulary
Human rights
Skill Assessments
Audio-visual Claim & Evidence
Socratic Discussion
Research
Argumentative Writing
Teaching Ideas
Video clip from Dreamworks’ Over The Hedge [Cluver]
Video clip from Disney’s Pocahontas [Cluver]
“A Perspective Worth Pondering” read-aloud [Cluver]
Hannah Garry article [Cluver]
Select episode from NBC’s Third Rock from The Sun [Cluver]
“Material World” images [Cluver]
Unit-Closure Work Page as summary and Finals study guide [Cluver]
Metacognitive self-eval: Skills Breakdown
Communal Cultures (~32 days)
Essential Question
1. What does it mean to be human? (Continue to consider)
2. How/why are communal cultures relevant?
Central Case Studies/Sources
“Mental Map Timeline” handout & note additions
Native Australians; Rabbit-Proof Fence film excerpts
Yanomamo archival film footage
Utes map & article
“Kalahari” episode of Bizarre Foods about the Zhut wasi
Critical Vocabulary
Aboriginal Nomadic Kinship Mother goddess
Native Non-accumulative Elder Animism
BCE/BC Gathering Ancestor worship Anthropology
CE/AD Cooperative Totemism Paleolithic
Skill Assessments
Context & Lens
Reading Claim & Evidence
Audio-visual Claim & Evidence
Socratic Discussion
Research
Argumentative Writing
Teaching Ideas
“Outline of Popular Details” handout [Cluver]
Native Australian reading-for-information articles [Cluver]
Dreaming information and sample stories from Gadi Mirrabooka [Cluver]
Native Australian slideshow [Cluver]
Yanomamo images pre-video inference activity [Cluver]
Yanomamo reading-for-information articles [Cluver]
Layering-to-Today articles [Cluver]
Hadza article [Cluver]
Rumble in the Jungle article [Lemke]
Wall-e -- perhaps? [Lemke]
Unit-Closure Work Page as summary and Finals study guide [Cluver]
Agri-cultures (~13 days)
Essential Question
What was the Neolithic Revolution?
Central Case Studies/Sources
“Mental Map Timeline” handout & note additions
The First Farmers film excerpts
Catal-Huyuk
Hebrews
Navajo
Maasai
Critical Vocabulary
Agriculture Drought Sedentary Pastoralist Material wealth
Skill Assessments**
Context & Lens
Research
Argumentative Writing
Teaching Ideas
“Outline of Popular Details” handout [Cluver]
The Economist article excerpt about Agri-cultures v. Communal cultures [Cluver]
Catal-Huyuk webquest [Cluver]
Hebrews reading-for-information [Cluver]
Hebrews primary source close-read [Cluver]
14 Cows for America read-aloud [Cluver]
Maasai webquest [Cluver]
“Tanzania” episode of Bizarre Foods (Maasai) [Cluver]
Layering-to-today articles [Cluver]
Unit-Closure Work Page as summary and Finals study guide [Cluver]
Urban Cultures (~23 days)
Essential Question
Were Urban cultures civilized?
Central Case Studies/Sources
“Mental Map Timeline” handout & note additions
Hebrews-to-Jews transitional case study
Mesopotamia
Egypt
Indus River Valley
Shang & Zhou Dynasties
Olmec
Chavin
Critical Vocabulary
Civilization Culture hearth Bureaucratic Chinese characters
Urban Patriarchy Specialized Isolationist
Bronze Age Social class Cuneiform
Iron Age Architecture Ziggurat
History Public works Hieroglyphics
Skill Assessments
Context & Lens
Reading Claim & Evidence
Audio-visual Claim & Evidence
Socratic Discussion
Research
Argumentative Writing
Teaching Ideas
“Outline of Popular Details” handout [Cluver]
Hebrews-to-Jews reading-for-information [Cluver]
Maps of culture hearths [Cluver]
Reading-for-information Meso, Egypt, & IRV [Cluver]
Mesopotamia primary source close-read [Cluver]
Shang & Zhou slideshow [Cluver]
“Kings of the Stone Age” Olmec video [Cluver]
“Kings of the Stone Age” Chavin video [Cluver]
Layering-to-today articles [Cluver]
Unit-Closure Work Page as summary and Finals study guide [Cluver]
World Religions (~29 days)
Essential Question
1. How has religion affected culture/history?
2. How has culture/history affected religion?
Central Case Studies/Sources
“Mental Map Timeline” handout & note additions
Hinduism
Buddhism
Judaism
Christianity
Islam
Critical Vocabulary
Monotheism Buddha Bhagavad Gita Dharma Middle Way Crucifixion
Polytheism Abraham Dhammapada 8-fold path Reincarnation Resurrection
Orthodoxy Moses Torah Karma Brahman Commandments
Orthopraxy Jesus Bible Enlightenment Kosher Allah
Prophet Muhammad Koran/Q’uran 4 Noble Truths Halal 5 Pillars
Messiah Heaven Masjid Ka’ba
Skill Assessments
Context & Lens
Reading Claim & Evidence
Audio-visual Claim & Evidence
Socratic Discussion
Research
Argumentative Writing
Teaching Ideas
“Outline of Popular Details” handout [Cluver]
Quotes & images slideshow [Cluver]
Symbols collaborative work page [Cluver]
Map w/ dates [Cluver]
Slideshows for each of the five religions [Cluver]
Primary source close-reads for Hinduism, Buddhism, Christiantiy, & Islam (An excerpt from Deuteronomy was already ready in the Ag unit) [Cluver]
Amma (Hindu saint) article and image slides [Cluver]
Ganesh (Hindu god) article and image slides [Cluver]
Bhagavad Gita excerpt & work page [Cluver]
Dalai Lama article, Tibet map, image slides, & video clip [Cluver]
Dhammapada excerpts and work page [Cluver]
PBS’ Islam: Empire of Faith excerpt [Cluver]
Fordson: Faith, Fasting, & Football video [Cluver]
Unit-Closure Work Page as summary and Finals study guide [Cluver]
Urban Empires (~18 days)
Essential Question
Are empires advanced forms of civilization?
Central Case Studies/Sources
“Mental Map Timeline” handout revisited
Student choice of case study projects
Crash Course World History: Imperialism video
Critical Vocabulary
Empire Cultural institutions Oppression Subaltern
Physical power Engineering Chauvinism Agency
Economic power Paternalism Social history
Ethnocentrism
Skill Assessments
Audio-visual Claim & Evidence
Research
Argumentative Writing
Teaching Ideas
Engineering an Empire: Greece video (last 45 min.) to explore Persian Empire [Cluver]
Unit-Closure Work Page as summary and Finals study guide [Cluver]
Modern Europe (~14 days)
Essential Question
What is significant about the age of the European Renaissance, Reformation, & Exploration?
Central Case Studies/Sources
“Mental Map Timeline” handout & note additions
Islam: Empire of Faith, The Awakening segment of video -- causative factor for Renaissance.
The Renaissance
The Reformation
Guns, Germs, & Steel video for analysis of exploration
Critical Vocabulary
Renaissance Medici family Reformation Age of Exploration
Renaissance man House of Wisdom Protestantism
Leonardo da Vinci Copernicus Counter-reformation
Humanism
Skill Assessments**
Reading Claim & Evidence
Socratic Discussion
Argumentative Writing
Teaching Ideas
Crash Course World History: Renaissance video
TICE ART 1010 Youtube video on the Renaissance [Cluver]
“The Reformation” article by the History Channel [Cluver]
Guns, Germs, & Steel flow chart and exit slips [Cluver]
Unit-Closure Work Page as summary and Finals study guide [Cluver]
Modern Western Civ. (~10 days)
Essential Question
1. Who are revolutionaries?
2. What was the Enlightenment?
Central Case Studies/Sources
“Mental Map Timeline” handout & note additions
Haitian Revolution***
French Revolution
Critical Vocabulary
Revolution Marie Antoinette Declaration of the Rights of Man
Saint Domingue Louis XVI Napoleon Rousseau Scientific Rev.
Colonial commodity system Robespierre Nationalism Philosophes
Toussaint L’Ourverture Jacobens Enlightenment Natural Rights
Reign of Terror Voltaire Contractual gov.
Skill Assessments**
Reading Claim & Evidence
Audio-visual Claim & Evidence
Socratic Discussion
Argumentative Writing
Teaching Ideas
“Outline of Popular Details” handout [Cluver]
Create Dangerously excerpt close-read [Cluver]
PBS’ Egalite for All: Toussaint L’Ouverture and the Haitian Revolution video [Cluver]
Haitian Revolution timeline hand out [Cluver]
Layering-to-later video clip of beautiful scenes of Haiti for a different lens [Cluver]
The History Channel’s The French Revolution video [Cluver]
French Revolution timeline hand out & spelling aid sheet [Cluver]
Revolutions conceptual hand out [Cluver]
The Enlightenment Youtube video clip/s [Cluver]
Unit-Closure Work Page as summary and Finals study guide [Cluver]
Year-end wrap-up (~3 days)
Essential Question:
What does it mean to be human? (full circle to 1st EQ of the year)
Teaching Ideas:
“Are We Really Different?” full circle slide show & discussion about being human [Cluver]
Human vol. 3 video documentary via Youtube w/ closed captioning -- select excerpts [Cluver]
“People of History” slideshow [Cluver]
“What a Week of Groceries Looks Like Around the World” slideshow [Cluver]
Discussion (formal Socratic or casual) of E.Q.
*The essential question is a deep, exploratory inquiry, and thus, on the first day of the unit, the obvious answers to the question should be given and discussed, and students should record that information and then be prepared to collect information throughout the unit to use in their writing that answers the question on a deeper level. (For example, give the biological definition of “human,” and then challenge them to answer the question by going beyond the scientific classification.)
**Once a skill has been conducted and recorded as a formal assessment at least twice in a semester, a teacher may design some of the subsequent repetitions of that same skill as collaborative group work as unscored practice and/or at the conclusion of individual work provide individualized student choice as whether to submit it to replace the previous score or to keep it and remain with the previous score. The latter option has the added benefit of requiring student metacognition.
***The Modern Western Civilizations unit is designed to springboard smoothly from exploration into the related themes in the Haitian Revolution and allow natural curiosity flow backward, then, to the French Revolution. The next History work for these students will be their course next year, U.S. History, in which the U.S. Revolution will be thoroughly studied.
(It is expected that ~3 weeks cumulative total on the school year will be used by final exam preparations, standardized testing, assemblies, and drop-in lessons when substitute teachers are needed, which is why the total number of weeks allotted for the the units of study equal fewer than the sum total number of all school days in a year.)
U.S. History
A Year Course -- 1 Credit -- JUNIOR year REQUIRED COURSE (or Dual-Credit U.S. History)
In this junior-year, required U.S. History course the History and Social Science skills are advanced in rigor, and thus, students must have taken World Geography as freshmen and World History as sophomores prior to enrolling in this capstone course. U.S. History is a survey course addressing the complex history of our country within a global context and exploring the “American Mosaic” of diverse viewpoints from different social classes, races, genders, religious affiliations, and ethnicities. In studying both our nation’s triumphs and shortfalls, we gain a deep appreciation for the opportunities in the present and the heroes who may inspire us.
History & Historiography (~3 days)
Essential Question/s*
1. What is History?
Central Case Studies/Sources
James W. Loewen’s Intro material for his Lies My Teacher Told Me
Critical Vocabulary
History Historiography Context Lens Claim
Cognitive Dissonance Colonial Commodity System
French Revolution Haitian Revolution Primary Source Secondary Source
Tertiary Source
Skills Assessments
Reading Claim & Evidence (Look at C&E scoring criteria)
Teaching Ideas
Student survey questions [Cluver]
Reconnect to World History context [Cluver]
History’s Habits of Mind [curriculum standards]
“The Historian” slideshow [Cluver]
“Skills in History” slideshow [Cluver]
“My Voice Matters” slideshow [Cluver]
“Skills Getting Started” slideshow [Cluver]
Exploration & Colonization (~22 days)
Essential Question/s
1. What was colonialism in North America?
Inquiry Questions
Student-developed via brainstorm on sensory object/pic
Central Case Studies/Sources
Pre-contact Native Americans -- review Communal, Ag, Urban, & Guns, Germs, & Steel
“Massacre at Mystic” episode of “10 Days that Unexpectedly Changed America” (feedback on note-taking skills)
Excerpts from James W. Loewen’s “Lies My Teacher Told Me” (Chapter 2)
Price’s “Love and Hate in the Jamestown Colony” excerpt
Reconnect to Ute and Navajo studies from W.His. course
Charles C. Mann’s 1491 chapters 1 & 11 excerpts
Middle Passage clip from Spielberg’s film Amistad (permission slips)
“Origins of Slavery” article
Crash Course: U.S. History #2 “Thanksgiving” (YouTube video)
Critical Vocabulary
Communal cultures Columbian Exchange Colonization Middle Passage
Agri-cultures Anglo-Saxon Chesapeake Chattel Slavery
Urban cultures Intolerance Jamestown Peculiar institution
Pequot Patriarchy Pilgrims
Haudenosaunee Puritans
Great Law of Peace “Noble Savage”
Skill Assessments**
Socratic discussion
Audio-Visual Claim & Evid. (Precise discernment of author’s thesis and support facts.) (Look at C&E scoring criteria)
Research (Locate expert sources and comprehend relevant reading material.)
Argumentative writing
Self-eval on Skills Breakdown
Teaching Ideas
Colonial Era Mental Map Timeline [Cluver]
Pocahontas scholarly anaylses
Colonial Williamsburg vodcasts [Cluver]
Layer-to-Later article “11 American Nations [Cluver]
Slavery Visual Timeline [Cluver]
Unit-Closure Work Packet [Cluver]
“Who are we, as Americans” every-unit discussion
Skills Break-down Self-evaluation [Cluver]
A New Republic (~31 days)
Essential Question/s
1. Was the U.S. Revolution revolutionary?
2. What is a revolutionary?
Inquiry Questions
Central Case Studies/Sources
Review empires and the Enlightenment & revolutions for World History context
Crash Course: U.S. History #7 “Revolution” (YouTube video) (feedback on note-taking)
“The Declaration of Independence” primary source
Crash Course: U.S. History # “Constitution” (YouTube video)
Hamilton, the musical soundtrack edited for classroom (permission slips) (feedback on note-taking)
Jon Meacham’s article “God and the Founders”
The “Trail of Tears” webquest
Princess Watchekee and the Potowatomi
The Presidents DVD by The History Channel (Washington through Polk)
Critical Vocabulary
Revolutionary (n.) Continental Army Articles of Confederation Cabinet
Ideology Founding Fathers Federalism Electoral College
Sons of Liberty Founding Mothers Anti-Federalists Church & State
Declaration of Independence Federalist Papers Democratic-Republicans
Republic Constitution Indian Removal Act
Legislature Trail of Tears
Skill Assessments
Context & Lens (pt. values specified?)
Reading Claim & Evidence
Audio-visual Claim & Evidence
Socratic Discussion
Research
Argumentative Writing
Teaching Ideas
Founder or Not? Slideshow hook
Map
Timeline anchor
The Founders anchor packet
1607-1776 visual conceptual timeline [Cluver]
Declaration of Independence video [Cluver]
“Who are we, as a Americans” discussion revisited
The Civil War Era (~32 days)
Essential Question/s
1. What is significant about the Civil War era?
Inquiry Questions
Central Case Studies/Sources
Map & timeline anchors; revisit Racial Issues Timeline
John Brown (children’s book excerpt and Ch. 6 from Loewen)
Crash Course: U.S. History #20 “Civil War Part I“ & #21 “Civil War Part II“ (YouTube videos) (feedback on note-taking)
South Carolina secession document
Twelve Years a Slave select film excerpts
“Antietam” episode of 10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America
Bruce Catton’s essay “Hayfoot, Strawfoot” excerpts
Spielberg’s Lincoln film
Anna Quinlan’s article “The Other Lincoln”
The Horton’s essay “Call Me Mister” excerpts
Frederick Douglas
Harriet Tubman
Articles and/or video clips on the history of the Ku Klux Klan
Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman” speech analysis
The Presidents DVD by The History Channel (Taylor-Lincoln & Johnson-Arthur)
Unit-Closure Work Packet
Revisit “Who are we, as American” discussion
Critical Vocabulary
Abolitionist Emancipation Proclamation Industrialization
Emancipation 13th Amendment Reconstruction
The Union Secession Jim Crow laws
The Confederacy
Skill Assessments
Context & Lens (pt. values specified?)
Reading Claim & Evidence
Audio-visual Claim & Evidence
Socratic Discussion
Research
Argumentative Writing
Teaching Ideas
Illinois connections -- Looking for Lincoln and Watseka [Cluver]
Turn of The Century (~30 days)
Essential Question/s
Who were we at the turn of the century?
Inquiry Questions
Central Case Studies/Sources
“Homestead Strike” episode of 10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America video
Loewen’s Chapter 7 on social inequity
Crash Course U.S. History #s 25, 26, & 27 (feedback on note-taking)
Hilda Polachek’s I Came A Stranger excerpts
Jane Addams’ NYT obituary
Contemporary immigration statistics and issues
Iron-Jawed Angels film (minus scene #5)
How We Got the Right to Vote documentary
Louise Erdrich’s “Indian Boarding Schools: The Runaways” poem analysis
The Presidents DVD by The History Channel (Cleveland-Taft)
Unit-Closure Work Packet
Revisit “Who are we, as Americans” discussion
Critical Vocabulary
Nativism Suffrage Boarding school Immigration Union
Emigration Strike Hull House Industrialist Social History Monopoly
Skill Assessments
Context & Lens (pt. values specified?)
Reading Claim & Evidence
Audio-visual Claim & Evidence
Socratic Discussion
Research
Argumentative Writing
Teaching Ideas
Jane Addams images [Cluver]
Nativism Youtube videos [Cluver]
“No Irish Need Apply” song sample [Cluver]
Contemporary immigration slideshow [Cluver]
Immigration document and fee samples [Cluver]
Indian boarding schools contextual information from Dr. Griffith [Cluver]
Mary Agnes Chase article (suffragist from Iroquois Co.) [Cluver]
Global Issues Come Home (~22 days)
Essential Question/s
In what ways were global issues also American issues?
Inquiry Questions
Central Case Studies/Sources
Crash Course U.S. History #30 “America in World War I” (YouTube video)
BBC documentary “The Necessary War”
Crash Course U.S. History #33 “The Great Depression” (YouTube video) (feedback on note-taking)
Visual organizers for WWI and WWII handout anchor
Crash Course U.S. History #35 “World War II Part I” (YouTube video), Crash Course U.S. History #36 “World War II Part II” (YouTube video)
Congressional Medal of Honor video
“Elie Wiesel Goes to Auschwitz” episode of the Oprah Winfrey Show
Historical context of scholarly information on the Holocaust
“Jesse Owens” case study to bridge global and domestic issues
Internment of Japanese Americans
The Presidents DVD by The History Channel (Wilson-Franklin)
Unit-Closure Work Packet
Revisit “Who are we, as Americans?” discussion
Critical Vocabulary
World War I Kaiser Holocaust/Shoah Anti-semitism
World War II Dictatorship Atomic weapons Internment camps
The Depression Fuhrer Pearl Harbor Civil Liberties
Empire/Imperialism Total War
Skill Assessments
Audio-visual Claim & Evidence
Socratic Discussion
Research
Argumentative Writing
Teaching Ideas
“Shoah” slideshow [Cluver]
“Jesse Owens” slideshow [Cluver]
George Takei interview video & History Channel video on Japanese internment [Cluver]
Sherman Alexie poem “Hey, Look, the Abyss!”
10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America episode/s [Cluver]
The Modern United States (6 weeks)
Essential Question/s
1. In what ways is the grip of history not easily broken?
2. What from our history can inspire us in the present era?
Inquiry Questions
Central Case Studies/Sources
Lee Daniels’ The Butler analysis
Curricular review and added scholarly context for issues in the contemporary era
ABC’s “What Would You Do? Bike Thief” episode;implicit bias
Social history of contemporary family life
Globalization, outsourcing, & social class
Contemporary nativism
The contemporary feminist movement
“We Are Still Here” YouTube video on contemporary Native Americans
The Presidents DVD by The History Channel (Truman-Ford & Carter-GWBush)
Maya Angelou’s “On The Pulse of Morning”
Critical Vocabulary
The Great Migration Culture War Terrorism
Civil Rights Globalization Recession
Cold War Outsourcing
Skill Assessments
Context & Lens (pt. values specified?)
Reading Claim & Evidence
Audio-visual Claim & Evidence
Socratic Discussion
Research
Argumentative Writing
Teaching Ideas
“Traditional Family Life” true-false “quiz” for discussion
“Women in America” slideshow [Cluver]
“Race in the 21st c U.S.” slideshow [Cluver]
Bob Zellner notes, video, book [Cluver]
*The essential question is a deep, exploratory inquiry, and thus, on the first day of the unit, the obvious answers to the question should be given and discussed, and students should record that information and then be prepared to collect information throughout the unit to use in their writing that answers the question on a deeper level. (For example, give the biological definition of “human,” and then challenge them to answer the question by going beyond the scientific classification.)
**Once a skill has been conducted and recorded as a formal assessment at least twice in a semester, a teacher may design some of the subsequent repetitions of that same skill as collaborative group work as unscored practice and/or at the conclusion of individual work provide individualized student choice as whether to submit it to replace the previous score or to keep it and remain with the previous score. The latter option has the added benefit of requiring student metacognition.
(It is expected that ~3 weeks cumulative total on the school year will be used by final exam preparations, standardized testing, assemblies, and drop-in lessons when substitute teachers are needed, which is why the total number of weeks allotted for the the units of study equal fewer than the sum total number of all school days in a year.)
