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The Next Threshold

Driving Question: What’s the next threshold?

We don’t have a crystal ball that can show us the future, but we do have the lessons of Big History to help us predict what might happen. What will your vision of the future be?

Learning Objectives:

  1. Compare different possibilities for the future.
  2. Propose a vision of the future based on new understandings of the past.

Vocab Terms:

  • collective learning
  • complexity
  • conscious
  • entropy
  • threshold of increasing complexity
STEP 1

Opener: The Next Threshold

Teaching Tools

To teach this lesson step, refer to page X of the Lesson 7.6 Teaching Guide Locked .

Check out the blog “How can an understanding of history help us predict the future? External link ” to learn about how historical reasoning can help us gain insight into the future.

STEP 2

Future Complexity

Teaching Tools

To teach this lesson step, refer to page X of the Lesson 7.6 Teaching Guide Locked .

Looking to differentiate, modify or adapt this assignment? Check out our Differentiation Guide Locked .

We’re bringing in a special guest to help us speculate on the future: David Christian, whose ideas were the origin of this very course! See if you agree with his threshold proposal, and then create your own.

STEP 3

Closer: The Next Threshold

Teaching Tools

To teach this lesson step, refer to page X of the Lesson 7.6 Teaching Guide Locked .

Join our online teacher community here External link to engage with other educators about Big History Project.

Extension Materials
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Want to put your Big History skills to work by investigating the history and possible futures of a topic? Then, check out this activity.
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Bite-Size Big History

Teaching Tools

To teach this lesson step, refer to page X of the Lesson 7.6 Teaching Guide Locked .

Our Assessment Guide shares our approach to assessments of all kinds—check it out!