Foraging Societies
Teacher Resources
Lesson Guide
No two Big History lessons are the same. Find lesson objectives, pacing, vocabulary, and teaching tips in this guide.
Claim Testing One-Pager
This one-pager outlines this skill, its importance, and the thinking tools and feedback forms we use in the course. We also have a link to a handy placement doc to see where you can find the other claim-testing activities.
Driving Question: How did early humans live?
Early humans populated the Earth by traveling hundreds of thousands of miles searching for food to gather and hunt. In the process, they used collective learning to improve upon their tools and techniques.
Learning Objectives:
- Describe the characteristics of foraging communities.
- Identify how foraging impacted the diets of hunter-gatherer communities.
Vocab Terms:
- climate
- collective learning
- extinction
- foraging
- Homo sapiens
- migration
Want to spice up the foraging simulation? Head outside your classroom and hide high-value items like candy or homework passes for students to forage. Take a look at this thread in the OER Project Teacher Community for more ideas.
Before we farmed, we foraged. We’re going to give you a taste of the foraging lifestyle with this simulation.
A great way to make learning stick is by showing students pictures that illustrate words or concepts in the article to allow students to visualize what they’re reading about. For example, show students images of present-day foragers or examples of megafauna like mammoths or giant sloths.
Want to see some great student examples of hunter-gatherer menus? Check out this thread in the OER Project Teacher Community.
You are what you eat, but societies aren’t just what they eat, but how they eat. In this article and activity, we’ll look at how relying on foraging shaped early human communities.
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Guiding Questions
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Before you read
Preview the questions below, and then skim the article. Be sure to look at the section headings and any images.
While you read
Look for answers to these questions:
- How did foraging drive the evolution of different human species?
- What types of tools and weapons did early humans use to hunt?
- How did early humans’ use of fire help support bigger brains?
- What were some characteristics that foraging societies shared?
- What are the three debates scholars have about foraging societies?
After you read
Respond to this question: Do you think people who lived in foraging societies had a better way of life than those who lived in farming societies?
How does your diet compare to an ancient hunter-gatherer’s? Get ready to learn about some surprising similarities (and big differences) between what each of you consumes in this video and activity.
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Guiding Questions
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Before you watch
Preview the questions below, and then review the transcript.
While you watch
Look for answers to these questions:
- What kinds of foods would foragers prefer? Why?
- Why would foragers go to extra lengths to get foods like bone marrow, nuts, and honey?
- Why did extinctions often occur after humans settled in a particular area?
After you watch
Respond to this question: How do you think modern humans would cope if they had to return to a foraging lifestyle?
Another unit down! Well, not quite—time to summarize what you’ve learned so you don’t forget anything important.
