This activity will provide you with an active demonstration of the global interconnectedness that exists in the world today, with a specific focus on the networks and production and distribution frames. Beginning the activity with a demonstration of our globalized world today and using relevant items from your daily lives will give you some context with which you can better analyze world connections that existed in previous time periods.

Contextualization, CCOT
This activity will help you contextualize the world that we live in today, but also the world in 1750 or in other periods of history. You’ll also practice establishing patterns of continuity and change over time, and developing hypotheses for reasons for these changes.

Your teacher will either hand out or have you download the Our Interconnected World Worksheet and provide you with directions for how this activity is structured. Your job is to use the narratives in the worksheet to illustrate how interconnected our world is today by tracing the production and distribution of three goods that you probably use or encounter on a daily basis. You’ll then use the yarn your teacher will supply to trace the steps in the production and distribution of these products across networks of exchange.

As your teacher walks through the narratives for each of the products, think about how these products get into your hands. Where was the product manufactured? Where were the components of the product created? Where did the natural resources used in the product originate?

At the end of the activity, think about how many of these connections existed between consumers and producers and distributors 50 or 100 years ago, during your grandparents’ lifetimes or even your great-grandparents’ lifetimes. There are three rounds to this activity. Each round will highlight some of the key goods that were traded across networks during three time periods: 1450, 1750, and today. Finally, you’ll answer the questions in Part 4 of the worksheet. Be prepared to share your answers and reasoning with your class.

Old ideas like credit got a reboot in this era. Along with some other financial innovations, credit really changed the way the European economy worked. Building on ideas from the Islamic world and India, Europeans created new economic systems which stimulated efficient trade. These systems helped Europeans run new empires pretty much as businesses, which contributed to the rise of capitalism, the middle class, and even nationalism.

This article shows how some economic changes in Eurasia led to global connections—and major global changes, which will help you consider the nit 3 Problem: How did transoceanic connections transform global economic systems and societies in different parts of the world? It gives you important information about the links between capitalism and imperialism, which you’ll need to understand before you move on to other material in this lesson. This information will also equip you to test the claims made in the production and distribution frame narrative.

Preview – Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming for Gist section of the Three Close Reads Worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Key Ideas – Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. In what ways was the European use of credit in this period a continuation of older practices? In what ways was it a change?
2. What was the impact of Fibonacci’s book, according to the author?
3. Why was a bill of exchange useful?
4. What financial innovation did the British East India Company and Dutch East India Company rely on?
5. What was the economic role of colonies, for Europeans in this era?

Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following question:

1. Was the development of the system of capitalism, in this era, an example of innovation (invention), or diffusion (the spread of ideas), or both? What evidence supports your response?

This article introduces the early phase of European colonization in the Americas, focusing mainly on the empires of Spain and Portugal. The Catholic church played an important part in the imperial expansion of these two neighbors from the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Along with the spread of religion and political dominion, this early colonization was driven also by the desire for extracting silver mined in the Americas, and sugar grown and produced there mainly by enslaved Africans.

This article will help you understand some of the most important causes and methods of early European expansion in the Americas. Additionally, you’ll learn how the Spanish and Portuguese empires expanded their control through a new global economic system of exploitation and extraction. This information will contribute to your understanding of how the Columbian Exchange changed societies in the Americas, an important part of this unit’s theme.

Preview – Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming for Gist section of the Three Close Reads Worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Key Ideas – Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. According to the article, what two European powers were most important in the early colonization of the Americas in the late 1400s-1500s? What was their relationship as they expanded into the Americas?
2. What industries first developed in the Spanish colonies of New Spain and Peru?
3. What methods did the King of Spain use to control the huge territory included in New Spain?
4. What were the two so-called “republics” in the Spanish colonies? Who was included within each of these groups?
5. According to the final section of the article, what empires followed Spain and Portugal in the Americas, and in what ways did they differ?

Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following questions:

1. What evidence does this article contribute to your understanding of how societies in Europe, the Americas, and Africa changed in this period?
2. According to the article, what methods of political, social, economic, and cultural control did Spain use in the territories of New Spain?

You’ve likely heard the name Pocahontas before. Who was she? She was a Powhatan woman named Amonute who intervened in the relationship between her people and early English colonists in Virginia. Beyond that, the facts of her story are disputed. We present two different versions of her early years and show how scholars try to navigate the evidence.

Sometimes, it seems like there are so many different stories about the past that we can hardly tell what really happened. Amonute’s story is a good example. It is the inspiration for the main character in the Disney movie Pocahontas, but that film is based on only one type of source about her life—texts written by Europeans. Oral tradition passed down from the Powhatan people gives us a very different story. Navigating between these sources is the job of historians who want to understand how indigenous Americans and European settlers interacted.

Read 1: Observe

As you read this graphic biography for the first time, review the Read 1: Observe section of your Three Close Reads for Graphic Bios Tool. Be sure to record one question in the thought bubble on the top-right. You don’t need to write anything else down. However, if you’d like to record your observations, feel free to do so on scrap paper.

Read 2: Understand

On the tool, summarize the main idea of the comic and provide two pieces of evidence that helped you understand the creator’s main idea. You can do this only in writing or you can get creative with some art. Some of the evidence you find may come in the form of text (words). But other evidence will come in the form of art (images). You should read the text looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the main idea, and key supporting details. You should also spend some time looking at the images and the way in which the page is designed. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. Who was Amonute?
2. How did Amonute become important to the English settlers in Virginia? What are the key elements of the story John Smith told about her?
3. How does Karen Ordahl Kupperman evaluate John Smith’s story of Amonute?
4. What are the key arguments made by the oral historians of the Mattaponi people, as presented in this biography?
5. What are some doubts raised about the oral tradition version of events, by anthropologists like Helen Roundtree?
6. How does the artist use art and design to show that there are different stories about Amonute?

Read 3: Connect

In this read, you should use the graphic biography as evidence to support, extend, or challenge claims made in this unit of the course. On the bottom of the tool, record what you learned about this person’s life and how it relates to what you’re learning.

1. Which version of Amonute’s relationship with English settlers do you think is more likely to be accurate? Why?
2. How does this biography of Amonute support, extend, or challenge what you have learned about European relations with people of the Americas in this period?

To Be Continued…

On the second page of the tool, your teacher might ask you to extend the graphic biography to a second page. This is where you can draw and write what you think might come next. Here, you can become a co-creator of this graphic biography!

Working with frames allows you to understand how and why people lived the way they did throughout history. They help you recognize how communities (such as societies and nations); networks (such as those for trade and exchange); and the production and distribution of goods, impacted, and still impact, people in different parts of the world. Viewing history through frames gives us a usable knowledge of history that allows us to make sense of the world today and think critically about the future. The process of depicting frames by drawing them—mixing language with imagery—will make the information more memorable.

In this activity, you will draw the course frames, much like you did earlier in the course. However, instead of coming up with your own ideas about each of the frames, you will draw them according to the frame narratives at this point in the course. This will not only help you gain a sense of your understanding of the frames, but will also give you a chance to review what you’ve already learned, which will help you remember all that stuff!

Don’t worry about your drawing skills—you don’t have to be an artist to complete this activity. However, try to use more pictures than words. And feel free to be creative! Here are the criteria:

• Draw a representation of community based on the content of this era. Be sure to label that area of the picture with “community.”
• Draw a representation of production and distribution based on the content of this era. Be sure to label that area of the drawing with “P&D.”
• Finally, draw the networks between communities (people, states, empires, and so on) based on the content of this era.
• Where possible, use arrows and other lines to show movement. This will largely apply to P&D and networks.

Once you’re done, be ready to share your drawings and thinking behind them with your class. Was your approach the same as your classmates? Or did you think about the frames differently? Frames are no different from anything else we study in history—there can be many perspectives on the same topic.

Comparison may seem like it’s one of the easiest skills to master, but you might find that things become more difficult when you’re comparing historical events and processes. In this activity, you’ll work on your comparison skills by evaluating women’s roles during this historical period. By evaluating women’s roles across different geographic locations, you’ll gain a better understanding of the similarities and differences between women’s lives in the early modern period.

Reading, writing
In this activity, you’ll use your close-reading skills to pull out information from the article to complete the Comparison Tool. In addition, you’ll be writing two thesis statements that answer a comparison prompt.

In this activity, you’ll explore the similarities and differences of women’s experiences and roles in this period. Comparing women’s roles across different geographic areas will help you learn the diverse ways women contributed to their communities and to what degree they were restricted by gender roles.

You might have some preconceived notions about women’s roles in this era, including the assumption that women had few rights and were often confined to the “private sphere” or the household. The graphic and extended biographies you’ll read to complete this activity challenge these beliefs at times, but they also reinforce the fact that women operated in a world that was dominated by men.

First, your teacher will split the class in half and ask you to read either the graphic and extended biographies “Khanzada Begum” or “Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz.”

Then, you’ll meet in small groups to answer the questions in Part 1: Identifying and Describing of the Comparison Tool, included in the worksheet. After all groups have completed Part 1, you’ll have a whole-class discussion to determine the similarities and differences. Don’t forget to record these in Part 1 of your tool.

Finally, use these similarities and differences to develop two thesis statements in response to the prompts:

• To what extent were women’s roles in North American and Central Asian communities similar from 1450 to 1700?
• To what extent were women’s roles in North American and Central Asian communities different from 1450 to 1700?

Your teacher will walk you through the process of creating a thesis statement. You’ll turn in your worksheets at the end of class so your teacher can assess how your comparison skills are progressing.

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz was a woman born of mixed heritage in what was then the colony of New Spain (Mexico). She went on to write poems, songs, letters, and plays, many of which were widely-read, despite not being allowed a formal education as a young girl. Although she was later censored by the church, her writings contributed to changing ideas in Europe in this era.

This biography will provide you with a different viewpoint from which to consider the Unit 3 problem: How did transoceanic connections transform global economic systems and societies in different parts of the world? Sor Juana’s story, when looked at through the networks frame, will help you to formulate ideas about how new beliefs emerged and spread around the world. Juana’s story will also help you evaluate narratives about the roles of women in different communities.

Preview – Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming section of the Three Close Reads – Graphic Biographies worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Key Ideas – Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. You should also spend some time looking at the images and the way in which the page is designed. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. When and where was Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz born?
2. When Juana was a young girl, what did she first learn?
3. Where was Juana working and living when she was seventeen years old? What controversial writing did she complete at this time?
4. What decision did Juana make so that she could continue studying? How did this decision cause problems for her later?
5. How does the artwork help us to understand the unique circumstances that shaped Juana’s unique life, particularly her dual heritage?

Evaluating and Corroborating

In this read, you should use the graphic biography as evidence to support, extend, or challenge claims made in the course.

1. What evidence does Sor Juana’s biography provide about people’s lived in the colonial Americas in this period? How does this evidence support, extend, or challenge what you have learned about the impact of the Columbian Exchange in this region?
2. Compare and contrast Sor Juana’s biography with that of Domingos Álvares, also in the colonial Americas. In what ways were their lives similar? In what ways were they different?What accounts for those similarities and differences?

The tiny country of Spain did some things that had global effects—many of which were not so positive. This video explores Spanish conquest and silver extraction in the Americas, showing how aspects of Aztec and Incan society set the stage for what would come. It then takes us to other places, like China, where silver flowed. And as it turned out, where silver flowed, problems were sure to follow.

This video highlights the before-and-after of Spanish imperialism in the Americas, helping you see the major shifts that happened as a result of the first ongoing global connections. This is crucial for thinking about the the Unit 3 Problem: How did transoceanic connections transform global economic systems and societies in different parts of the world? The video will give you evidence to answer this question at regional and global scales, through a focus on labor, taxation, and money. You can also use this evidence to test the claims made in the production and distribution frame narrative.

Preview – Skimming for Gist

As a reminder, open and skim the transcript, and read the questions before you watch the video.

Key Ideas – Understanding Content

Think about the following questions as you watch this video:

1. What are some aspects of Inca society that strengthened the Empire?
2. What was the mit’a system? How did the Spanish change this system?
3. What resource did the Spanish find instead of gold, and how did they extract this resource?
4. What were the economic results of Spanish silver mining in the Americas?
5. What other country had a problem with inflation? How did they try to deal with it, and were they successful?
6. What were some effects of China’s new tax structure in the sixteenth century?
7. What were the overall global effects of Spanish silver mining?

Evaluating and Corroborating

1. John Green argues that Spanish silver mining had a huge impact that was both global and long-lasting. He claims that “this process led to the life that you have today, one where I can teach you history through the magic of the Internet.” Is his argument convincing? What other sources or facts support, extend, or challenge his argument?

Trade was pretty hot in southeast Asia, and the Dutch wanted a piece of the action. They formed the VOC, also known as the Dutch East India company, which became a monopoly with lots of government support. Dutch trade flourished, partly because the Dutch used many new economic tools. The VOC went on to make a lot of money, mostly off of spices, but with not without some major human costs, like the use of violence and slavery. Eventually the VOC’s heyday came to an end, and the British stepped in as the more powerful trading empire.

This video builds on what you learned in the Overview of New Economic Systems article by showing a specific case study of a joint-stock company: the Dutch East India company. You can use the evidence and narratives from this video to evaluate the production and distribution frame narrative. It also brings up important questions about whether these economic systems are moral or not.

Preview – Skimming for Gist

As a reminder, open and skim the transcript, and read the questions before you watch the video.

1. Why did the Dutch enter into trade in southeast Asia?
2. What was the VOC and why was it formed? What powers did it have?
3. How did low interest rates help the Dutch?
4. Why was it easy for Dutch citizens to invest?
5. What were some important financial technologies used by the Dutch?
6. What key advantage did the VOC have over British companies?
7. How did the Dutch control trade in Southeast Asia?
8. What caused the VOC to decline and eventually go bankrupt?
9. Why isn’t the VOC a good example of modern free market capitalism, according to John Green?

Key Ideas – Understanding Content

Think about the following questions as you watch this video:

1. Does the example of the VOC support or contradict the argument, made elsewhere in this unit, that capitalism was the main system supporting European overseas trade in this period? Why?
2. John Green closes the video by claiming that, “the VOC provides a chilling example of what has happened in the past when corporations become more powerful than states.” Is this convincing? What other sources or facts support, extend, or challenge this assertion?

This quick skill-building activity is intended to help you understand what is being asked of you when you’re presented with historical prompts, particularly those you’ll encounter in assessment prompts such as document-based questions (DBQs) and long essay questions (LEQs).

In this activity, you will revisit the process of how to parse a prompt. Remember, parsing a prompt is the process of analyzing a string of words—that is, trying to figure out what something is saying and asking!

Take out the Question Parsing Tool and write down the following prompt at the top of the tool: In the period 600 B.C.E. to 600 C.E., different factors led to the emergence and spread of new religions and belief systems, such as Buddhism, Confucianism, and Christianity. Develop an argument that evaluates how such factors led to the emergence or spread of one or more religions in this time period.

Now, follow the tool directions. Be prepared to discuss your answers with the class!

You have already been introduced to the CCOT Tool, and in this activity you will use the CCOT skills you’ve developed to analyze a historical topic. This process will help you make claims in response to questions about how things have stayed the same or changed in history.

Comparison, causation, claim testing
In this activity, you will use both your comparison and causation skills and apply them to analyzing changes and continuities that took place from Unit 2: The Global Tapestry (1200–1450) to Unit 3: Transoceanic Connections (1450–1750). Additionally, you are making claims in this activity by determining which changes and continuities are most historically significant.

You’ve read a lot about the different types of communities around the world. One type of community you’ve studied is the empire, and one empire in particular stands out—the Mongols. But with the fall of the Mongol dynasty and the rise of new, land-based empires, what really changed in the period covered in the previous unit and this one? Was this a period where there were more continuities than changes? Or were there a few changes that took place on a much larger scale during this period? We’ll look at the time period from about 1200 to 1750 CE to decide just how much the world actually changed during this time.

Your teacher will either hand out or have you download the CCOT – The Global Tapestry to Transoceanic Connections worksheet and divide the class into small groups of three to four students. Follow the directions on the CCOT Tool, which is included in the worksheet, and start by adding the timeframe you’re investigating. Then, work with your group members to identify and write down on sticky notes as many continuities and changes (one continuity or change per sticky note) you can find for this time period. Remember that you can review any of the articles or videos in these units to jog your memory—looking over the Units 2 and 3 overview articles would be a good place to start!

Once your group has written your changes and continuities on sticky notes, you’ll determine if the change or continuity was positive or negative. You’ll share your changes and continuities with the class by placing your sticky notes on the graph on the board. Be sure to share your reasons for categorizing your changes and continuities as positive or negative. You are allowed to move any sticky notes that you think were placed incorrectly by the prior group, but you must provide justification for doing so. After your group has moved any of the previous group’s sticky notes, you can place any of your changes or continuities that are not already up on the graph and explain your reasoning to the class.

Finally, return to your group to answer the remaining questions on the tool. Remember that you can use the acronym ADE to determine historical significance. Consider if most people’s lives were affected by these changes and continuities (amount); if people living in this time period were deeply affected by these changes and continuities (depth); or if these changes and continuities were long lasting (endurance). Be prepared to share your most significant change and continuity with the class along with your reasoning for your selections.

Your teacher will collect these worksheets and use them to review your understanding of these historical processes and to assess your CCOT skills.