The Modern World
Driving Question: How did the world become more interconnected?
Before the late 1400s, most humans were farming and living in large, complex societies. But things began to change when the four world zones interconnected. Then, in the 1700s, new energy sources began to power machines...and everything changed.
Learning Objectives:
- Explain how the four world zones interconnected.
- Describe how interconnection increases complexity.
Vocab Terms:
- Anthropocene
- energy
- fossil fuel
- globalization
- population
- world zone
Welcome at last to the modern world. But when did it become modern, and what makes it “modern” anyway?
Burning fossil fuels for energy spurred the Modern Revolution. Check out more of the impacts of this discovery in this introductory lesson in OER Project: Climate.
Earlier in the course, billions of years passed between thresholds. Don’t blink or you might miss the next one! This article and activity take a closer look at how much has changed in the last 500 years.
Students learn about Big History’s eighth threshold of increasing complexity in this lesson. Help jog their memory by showing them the graphic on page 2 of the Threshold Taglines activity in Unit 1.
We have reached the last threshold of increasing complexity (as far as we know, anyway!). As this video and activity demonstrate, we’ve come a long way from our first threshold billions of years ago.
Most young people look at more memes in a day than they do news articles or videos. Here’s your chance to share what you’ve been learning, meme style.
