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Big Bang to Earth

Driving Question: How can thresholds of increasing complexity help us understand the formation of the Universe, our Solar System, and Earth?

Big History’s thresholds of increasing complexity explain how a Universe composed mainly of hydrogen and helium became one filled with billions of stars and planets.

Learning Objective:

  1. Explain how complexity increased from the origins of the Universe to the formation of the Earth.

Vocab Terms:

  • Big Bang
  • collective learning
  • complexity
  • Earth
  • element
  • solar system
  • star
STEP 1

Opener: Big Bang to Earth

Teaching Tools

To teach this lesson step, refer to page 2 of the Lesson 2.1 Teaching Guide Locked .

Check out the OER Project Writing Guide to learn more about our approach to informal writing.

STEP 2

Unit 2 Overview

Teaching Tools

To teach this lesson step, refer to page 3 of the Lesson 2.1 Teaching Guide Locked .

New to reading historical comics? Check out our Graphic Biographies lesson plan to learn more about teaching using this genre.

STEP 3

The First Four Thresholds

Teaching Tools

To teach this lesson step, refer to page 3 of the Lesson 2.1 Teaching Guide Locked .

Looking for tips on using video in the classroom? Look no further than the OER Project Video Guide.

The Universe is like life: it starts simple, but it gets complicated fast! The next steps show you how it happened.

Thresholds 1–4 External link

Listen to a story that will take you on a journey through time and space. It’s a story that begins with the Big Bang and ends with you.
STEP 4

Closer: Big Bang to Earth

Teaching Tools

To teach this lesson step, refer to page 4 of the Lesson 2.1 Teaching Guide Locked .

Closers are a great way to informally assess student understanding of the content. For an explanation of closers, check out this guide.

How did the Universe change during its first 10 billion years of existence? Show off your musical talents, and your new knowledge, by writing a song about the early days of the Universe.

Extension Materials
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You don’t have “knowledge” without humans to make the discoveries. Meet the brilliant Islamic scholars who set the foundation for modern science centuries ago.
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Scientific Giants of the Islamic World

Teaching Tools

To teach this lesson step, refer to page 4 of the Lesson 2.1 Teaching Guide Locked .

We often think of scientists as lone geniuses who had “aha!” moments and discovered the secrets of the Universe. In reality, scientific breakthroughs happen thanks to information shared across generations.

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The Missing Link?

Teaching Tools

To teach this lesson step, refer to page 5 of the Lesson 2.1 Teaching Guide Locked .

You would not believe how many fights there have been over whether the Sun orbits the Earth, or the Earth orbits the Sun. Learn how Muslim scholars contributed to settling the question once and for all!