Topic
A. History

Indicator
1. Explain how the rise of the earliest communities led to the emergence of agricultural societies

Objectives

a. Identify characteristics of hunting and gathering societies, such as nomadic lifestyles, inventors of tools, adaptation to animal migration and vegetation cycles, and the shift from food gathering to food-producing activities

b. Identify innovations that permitted permanent human settlements such as spears, bow and arrows, harpoons, agricultural methods, and fire

c. Explain why towns and cities emerged from human settlements, such as the need for security and an organized system of government

Indicator
2. Explain how civilizations emerged in the river valley areas

Objectives

a. Identify the characteristics of a civilization, such as social hierarchy, government, writing system, specialization in an area of trade, and the establishment of cities

b. Describe major cultural, political and economic achievements of river valley civilizations, such as the Tigris and Euphrates River Valley, the Huang River Valley, the Indus River Valley and the Nile River Valley including Egypt, Nubia and Kush

Indicator
3. Analyze the emergence and influences of Aegean civilizations

Objectives

a. Describe the major cultural achievements of the Greek civilization such as art, science, political systems and philosophy

b. Describe and compare the emergence, rise, and decline of the Greek city-states

Indicator
4. Describe the emergence, expansion, and decline of the Roman Empire

Objectives

a. Describe the major achievements of the Roman Era such as legal, artistic, architecture, technology, and literary

b. Describe the transition from Roman Republic to Empire including the social structure, significance of citizenship, and the development of political institutions

c. Describe the causes and consequences of the unification of the Mediterranean basin under Roman rule

Indicator
5. Describe the emergence and expansion of dynasties and empires in ancient China

Objectives

a. Describe the causes and consequences of the unification of China under early imperial dynasties, such as the Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han and Tang

b. Describe the major traditions, customs and beliefs of Confucianism and Taoism in the context of early Chinese imperial dynasties

c. Explain China's cultural, political and economic influence on Japan, Korea, and countries in Southeast Asia

Indicator
6. Describe the major traditions, customs and beliefs of Hinduism and Buddhism and their expansion throughout Asia

Objectives

a. Describe the major traditions, customs and beliefs of Buddhism from India throughout Asia

b. Describe the major traditions, customs and beliefs of Hinduism and its political and social impact on India

Indicator
7. Describe the emergence, growth and decline of African Empires

Objectives

a. Describe the contributions of major African monarchies, cities, and trade networks, such as Ghana, Mali, and Songhai

b. Analyze the cultural and economic impact of African regional and worldwide trade routes

c. Describe the causes and consequences of slavery in the context of the ancient world

Indicator
8. Describe the emergence and expansion of Islamic civilization

Objectives

a. Describe factors, such as traditions, customs, and beliefs, which contributed to the emergence of Islam

b. Describe causes and consequences of the expansion of Islam into other regions, such as Southwest Asia, North Africa, Europe, and India

c. Analyze the influence and impact of the Islamic culture and its contributions, such as art, science, medicine, literature, and philosophy

Indicator
9. Analyze the changes in the European society during the Middle Ages

Objectives

a. Describe the growth and influence of the Christian church in Europe as a social, cultural, and political institution

b. Describe the causes, consequences and cultural diffusion that resulted from the Crusades, such as the split of the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Churches, the fall of the Byzantine Empire, and the increase in Mediterranean trade

c. Explain the origins and consequences of the Black Death during the 14th century, such as bacterium without medicine, its spread by tradesmen, anti-Semitism, population decrease, a decline in trade, the elimination of the social order, and the decline of religious power

d. Analyze the characteristics of the development and decline of feudalism and the emergence of monarchies, such as governing and land holding practices, the development of the social order under the feudal system, and the limitations placed on rulers

Indicator
10. Examine the emergence, growth and decline of empires in the Americas

Objectives

a. Describe the development of political and social structures of the Incas, Mayans, and Aztecs

b. Explain the distribution of power among the early American empires of the Incas, Mayans, and Aztecs

c. Compare the decline of the Incas and the Aztecs

Topic
A. Geography

Indicator
1. Locate places and describe the human and physical characteristics of those places using geographic tools

Objectives

a. Compare the geographic locations of civilizations from world history using maps

• Mesopotamia

• Africa including Egypt, Nubia/Kush and sub-Saharan Africa

• Indus River Valley

• Northern China

• Mesoamerican such as the Incas, Mayans, and Aztecs

b. Identify and describe physical and human features of early civilizations using thematic maps, such as climate, natural features, transportation networks, and settlement patterns

Indicator
2. Analyze interrelationships among physical and human characteristics that shape the identity of places and the development of civilizations

Objectives

a. Identify and explain physical features that attracted human settlement in the ancient world

b. Explain how physical characteristics of place influenced human activities, such as agriculture, transportation, art and architecture, and economic activity in the ancient world

c. Explain how human perception of and interaction with the environment changed over time in response to new technologies such as scientific, agricultural (terraced farming), transportation, and architecture (building of cities, construction of walls)

d. Analyze how humans in ancient times perceived and reacted to environmental concerns, such as flooding, droughts, depletion of natural resources and evaluate the consequences of those actions

Indicator
3. Analyze and describe population growth, migration, and settlement patterns in World History

Objectives

a. Explain how the development of transportation and communication networks influenced the movement of people, goods, and ideas from place to place, such as trade routes in Africa, Asia, and Europe, and the spread of Islam

b. Describe how economic systems and cultural diffusion help to shape patterns of human settlement and interaction

Indicator
4. Analyze how and why humans modify their natural environment

Objectives

a. Describe ways humans modified their environment to meet their needs, such as the building of dams, roads and aqueducts

b. Analyze how humans in world history perceived and reacted to environmental concerns such as flooding, droughts and the depletion of natural resources

National Geographic Map Machine: Thematic maps of nearly any place on Earth, including links to country profiles.

National Geographic Xpeditions: Printable outline maps and basic political maps.

Ancient World Maps:

• HyperHistory maps -- Maps for seven periods of world history including Early Civilizations, Greek Colonization, Rome and Han China, Expansion of Islam, and A.D. 1500-1800. Also Regional maps including Maps of Antiquity, Medieval Maps, and Modern Maps.
  * Click the Maps button on the left side navigation bar.
• Ancient World maps -- Fertile Crescent, Mesopotamia, Africa, India, China, Aegean, Roman Empire, and more. Also searchable by specific location (Index of places).
• Mediterranean - Ancient Egypt, Greece, & Rome.
• Geography of Ancient Greece
• Ancient Greece
• Ancient Rome: City to Empire
• Nile River Valley
• Ancient Egypt
• Chinese Dynasties
• Homeland of the Maya
• World Map -- circa 1565
• Map of Trade Routes
• Map of the Four Old-World River Valley Cultures

Human and Physical Geography (Regents Prep) -- Includes overviews of the five themes of geography, rivers, mountains, deserts, bodies of water, rainforests, plains, and human impact.

Geography (Regents Prep) -- Overview of how geography shapes history.

Geographic Regions (Regents Prep) -- The impact of geography on diversity in world history.

Geography and Chinese Civilization -- Geographical context for the development of Chinese civilization.

The Gift of the Nile (MrDowling.com) -- Teacher-created overview.

India and the Himalayas (MrDowling.com) -- Teacher-created overviews of the Indian Subcontinent, Himalayas, and Monsoon.

Japan (MrDowling.com) -- Teacher-created overviews of the Land of the Rising Sun and the Ring of Fire.

Ancient Civilizations Thinkquest -- Articles on political, economic, and social organization; art and culture; religion; scientific discoveries; and an ancient world timeline.

Technology & Society -- Articles on ancient Latin American technologies including Terrace Farming, Pyramids, and Roads.

Ancient India -- Geography & origins, timeline, cultural elements, arts, technology, and trade.

Empires (Thinkquest) -- Includes Fact Pages, Online Activities, Create Your Own Materials, Recipes, and Resources on ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome.

Ancient Civilizations Virtual Museum -- China, India, Mesopotamia, Maya, and Africa, including information on culture, daily life, geography/topography, government, industry, and social levels.

Couriers in the Incan Empire: Getting Your Message Across (EdSitement) -- Lesson plan in which students discover how the Inca communicated over large distances in an empire without the wheel, the horse, or the written word

Germs: Cultural Diffusion -- Lesson plan introducing the concept of cultural diffusion.

Greek and Roman Land Use (National Geographic) -- Lesson plan in which students students differentiate between the two civilizations' practices of land and natural resource use and assess the extent to which the Romans adopted Greek practices.

Roman Buildings and Roads:

• Roman Buildings and Roads
• Roman Builders
• The Great Builders
• Roman Roads and Trade

Ancient Roman Transportation

Ancient Egypt: Means of Transportation

The Great Wall of China:

• The Great Wall of China -- Click-able motion panoramas, photos, and information.
• The Great Wall of China -- background information.
• The Great Wall of China
• Following the Great Wall of China (EdSitement) -- lesson plan.

Environmental History Timeline -- Click on BC-1200 AD/Ancient Civilizations

Environmental Disasters in the Cradles of Civilization -- How ancient societies repeatedly chose short-sighted food production practices that spoiled their environments and undermined their civilizations.

Pompeii: Death of a City (Awesome Stories) -- Interactive chapters include hyperlinks to primary sources to tell the story of this famous disaster. Only the first four chapters of each "story" are free without site membership, however group registration is free for schools.

Topic
A. Economics

Indicator
1. Examine the relationship between the availability natural, capital, and human resources, and the production and consumption of goods and services in the context of World History

Objectives

a. Identify ways, such as domesticated agriculture, Nile River Trade and the gold/salt trade, people throughout world history have used available natural, capital, and human resources to meet economic wants

b. Explain how technology has changed the production of goods and services by giving examples from world history such as the printing press, the food preservation process, and the loom

Indicator
6. Analyze how specialization, interdependence, and trade affect the production of goods and services in the context of world history

Objective

a. Identify African and Eurasian trade routes, such as the Saharan Trade and the Silk Road, to explain how surplus goods and regional specialization resulted in economic interdependence

b. Describe examples of regional specialization that resulted from available human, natural, and capital resources, such as silk production in China, bronze casting in Africa, terraced farming in the Americas and China

c. Analyze the effects of agricultural surplus and job specialization on the emergence of early towns and cities in various parts of the world

Economic Systems (Regents Prep) -- Overview of economic systems presented in the context of global history, including an Introduction and sections on the Neolithic Revolution, Mesoamerica, Islam, the Middle Ages, Global Trade, Revolutions, Imperialism, and Modern Wars. *Specific topics appear on the left side navigation bar.

Ancient Civilizations: Economic Organization (Thinkquest) -- Includes Money in the Ancient World and Trade in the Mediterranean Area.

Economic Conflict (Regents Prep) -- Overview of economic conflict in world history, including the Commercial Revolution, slavery, and the Japanese Meiji Restoration.

Movement of People and Goods (Regents Prep) -- Overviews of migration, trade, cultural diffusion, and interdependence in world history, including Early Peoples, Belief Systems, Global Trade, Africa, Exploration, the Industrial Revolution, and the Modern World. *Specific topics appear on the left side navigation bar.

Interdependence (Regents Prep) -- Overview of the reliance of people on goods, resources, and knowledge from other parts of the world through trade and cultural diffusion, including sections on global trade, Byzantine, Islam, and the Modern World. *Specific topics appear on the left side navigation bar.

Science and Technology (Regents Prep) -- Overviews of major periods of scientific and technological advancement, including the Neolithic Revolution, Classic Civilizations, Islam, Renaissance, Exploration, and the Scientific and Industrial Revolutions. *Specific topics appear on the left side navigation bar.

Ancient Chinese Technology (Thinkquest) -- Sections on Agriculture, Engineering, Domestic and Industrial Technology, Mathematics, Physics, Warfare, Transportation, and Medicine.

Medieval Technology -- Browse-able by subject or hyperlinked timeline.

Zoom Inventions and Inventors (Enchanted Learning) -- Searchable by type, time period, or country of origin.

Johann Gutenberg (MIT) -- Impact of moveable type and the printing press on human civilization.

Ancient Routes -- Virtual tour of ancient trade routes with maps; students can follow the route and learn along the way, or search the index for articles on specific related information.

Tracing the Silk Road (mapping lesson) -- Includes links to detailed information on the Silk Road and additional resources.

The Spitting Camel -- Online "newspaper"created by a class of students to creatively demonstrate (through articles, edtorials, cartoons, etc.) what they learned about the Silk Road. Covers many topics, such as the origin of silk and the spread of Buddhism.

Life in Old Babylonia: The Importance of Trade (EdSitement) -- Lesson plan.

A Short History of Spice Trading

The History of Spices (trade)

Mali, Songhai and Ghana: Kingdoms Built on Trade -- Brief overview of Saharan Trade.

Let's Find a Deal: How the Crusades Led to the Finding of the New World (EconEdLink) - Lesson plan in which students discover the importance of the Crusades to the expansion of many European countries. Students will also be introduced to new products and find out why explorers were willing to risk all to locate new routes in order to reach these products quickly and cheaply.

Topic
A. Political Science

Indicator
1. Examine the necessity and purpose of government

Objectives

a. Identify forms of government and various distributions of power, such as those found in ancient civilizations, dynastic China, absolute and constitutional monarchies

b. Identify the roots of democratic principles in World History such as Sumerian written law, Greek city-states, Roman Republicanism, and British Constitution (Magna Carta, English Bill of Rights)

c. Describe the positions taken on government by political philosophers from early civilizations through the Middle Ages

Topic
A. Peoples of the Nations and the World

Indicator
1. Describe characteristics that are used to organize people into cultures

Objectives

a. Describe and compare the elements of culture, such as art, music, religion, government, social structure, education, values, beliefs, and customs, from civilizations in world history

Indicator
2. Explain how cultural diffusion influenced the development of cultures in world history

Objectives

a. Describe factors that resulted in cultural diffusion, such as trade, conflict, and migration

Indicator
3.Analyze the practices and beliefs of world religions and philosophies

Objectives

a. Identify the concepts of monotheism and polytheism

b. Describe the major traditions, customs, and beliefs of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism

c. Analyze the impact of various religions on a civilization, such as its effect on political, economic, and social systems

Looking at Ourselves and Others (The Peace Corps) -- Series of lessons designed to introduce students to the concepts of perspective, culture, and cross-cultural relations. Part 1: Defining Culture, Part 2: Developing Global Perspectives, Part 3: Challenging Assumptions.

Cultural Symbols and the Characteristics of Place (National Geographic Xpeditions) - Lesson plan which explores the cultures of ancient and modern people as reflected in their cultural symbols.

CultureGrams Secondary (BCPS licensed database) -- Extensive content on world cultures; requires username and password for access from home (distribute this handout).

SIRS Discoverer (BCPS licensed database) -- Click on Countries or Cultures from the Browse Subject Tree; requires username and password for access from home (distribute this handout).

Country Studies (Library of Congress) -- Pull down menu under Choose a Country Study; see Chapter 2- Society and its Environment and Chapter 3- Education and the Arts for topics related to culture.

Journey to Japan (BCPS Online Research Model) --Students use a structured research process and a variety of resources to answer the essential question, "How do traditional values, beliefs, and institutions play a role in modern Japanese society?"

Indian Cultural Festival (BCPS Online Research Model) --Students use a structured research process and a variety of resources to answer the essential question, "

Japan Project (American Forum for Global Education) -- Teachers' Resource Database with a variety of lessons, including handouts.

China Project -- (American Forum for Global Education) -- Teachers' Resource Database with a variety of lessons, including handouts.

Six Paths to China (Knowledge Network Explorer) -- Six strategies for using the Web to learn about China: Hotlist, Scrapbook, Treasure Hunt, Subject Sampler, Introductory Webquest, Full Webquest.

The Maya -- Sections include Maya Culture, Maya Today, and Ancient Kingdoms.

Mayan Kids -- People, Places, Beliefs, Glossary, Games.

A Trip Through the Andes -- Land and culture of the Incas, including a quiz.

Civilization of the Incas - Land, culture and daily life of the Incas.

Ancient Aztecs -- Timeline, rulers, religion, daily life, technology, culture.

Not Just Halloween: Festivals of the Dead from Around the World (EdSitement) -- Lesson plan in which students compare festivals of the dead from Japan, Cambodia, and Mexico.

Culture in the Cupboard (National Geographic Xpeditions) -- Lesson plan in which students discover how consumer products found in their own households provide evidence of cultural diffusion.

Made in the U.S.A. (National Geographic) -- Lesson plan introducing the concept of cultural diffusion.

Movement of People and Goods (Regents Prep) -- Overviews of migration, trade, cultural diffusion, and interdependence in world history, including Early Peoples, Belief Systems, Global Trade, Africa, Exploration, the Industrial Revolution, and the Modern World. *Specific topics appear on the left side navigation bar.

Interdependence (Regents Prep) -- Overview of the reliance of people on goods, resources, and knowledge from other parts of the world through trade and cultural diffusion, including sections on global trade, Byzantine, Islam, and the Modern World. *Specific topics appear on the left side navigation bar.

Ancient Civilizations: Religion (Thinkquest) -- Sections include Why the Need of a God?, Hinduism and Buddhism in India, Sacrifices, Christianity in Rome, Superstitions, Death and Burial Customs, The Importance of Fertility, and Legends and Myths.

Your Guide to the Religions of the World -- (BBC) Includes Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism.

World Belief Systems (Regents Prep) -- Overviews of Shinto, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Islam. *Specific topics appear on left side navigation bar.

Religions and Philosophies (Regents Prep) -- Overview in chart form of diverse religions and philosophies of Asia and monotheistic religions, including the number of followers, origins, belief structures, holy books, and holy sites.

Religion and Belief Systems in Asia (National Geographic Xpeditions) -- Lesson plan.