Big History Course Guide
BIG HISTORY COURSE GUIDEOur approachUse inquiry-based learning: Let students interrogate diverse sources to understand the history of the Universe.Focus on skills: Build reading, writing, causation, and claim-testing skills to evaluate historical and scientific information.Engage: Offer students articles, videos, and activities that allow them to evaluate historical and scientific topics.ContentsWhy teach Big History? ........................................................................................................................................2Course learning objectives ..................................................................................................................................2Course structure and materials ...........................................................................................................................2Standards alignment ............................................................................................................................................7Skills .....................................................................................................................................................................7Reading and writing .............................................................................................................................................7Assessment ..........................................................................................................................................................8Support and contact information .........................................................................................................................8A framework for all knowledge OER Project: Big History (BH) gives students a framework for the story of humanity’s place in the Universe. It asks students to consider where we came from, where we are, and what caused the changes between then and now. BH ultimately asks them to consider where we’re heading.
2Big History Course GuideWhy teach Big History?Big History is more than a history course. It helps middle-school and junior-high-school students see the overall historical picture and make sense of the pieces: It starts with a look back, starting with the Big Bang, extends into the future, and seeks out common themes and patterns that can help us better understand people, civilizations, and the world we live in. By teaching students to explore these connections, and to effectively question, analyze, and hypothesize, BH provides a foundation for thinking not only about the past, but also the future and the changes that are reshaping our world.Course learning objectives1. Explain how thresholds of increasing complexity, scale switching, claim testing, and collective learning help us understand our past, present, and future.2. Engage in inquiry-based learning by developing and framing questions about historical, scientific, and geographic topics.3. Locate and understand how our place, our community’s place, and humanity as a whole fit into and impact Big History’s narrative.4. Use geography to spatially analyze the interaction of physical and human systems.5. Engage in historical analysis using evidence from multiple disciplines to understand the history of the Universe.6. Create arguments using historical and scientific evidence to support claims and communicate conclusions through individual or shared writing, speaking, and other formats.Course structure and materialsBig History lessons are designed to be flexible and easily integrated into your classroom setting. The course materials can be taught as a full-year program or as standalone lessons, which allows you to tailor the curriculum to meet specific learning goals, standards, schedules, and student needs. Whether you choose to teach the entire course as a comprehensive investigation of the history of the Universe, or select individual lessons to focus on particular topics of interest, course materials follow a clear, cohesive structure to maximize student engagement and learning. We’ve outlined approximate pacing based on the lessons and activities in each unit. Our estimate assumes daily class periods of 55 minutes, and we estimate that each lesson will take between one and five days.UnitLessonsPacingUnit 1—What Is Big History?4Up to 15 daysUnit 2—History of the Universe and Earth6Up to 22 daysUnit 3—Life 4Up to 14 daysUnit 4—Early Humans5Up to 17 daysUnit 5—Agriculture and Complex Societies6Up to 25 daysUnit 6—The Modern Age6Up to 22 daysUnit 7—The Future6Up to 20 daysOn the next page is an overview of the course framework. For more detailed information, follow the links to the unit and lesson pages.
3Big History Course GuideUnit 1—What Is Big History?How does learning about the history of our Universe help us understand our past, present, and future? Lesson 1.1—Welcome to Big HistoryWhat’s so big about Big History? It explores all 13.8 billion years of the Universe’s history. Lesson 1.2—Scale Looking at the history of the Universe from different scales of time and space will help you see both the big picture and the tiny details that make up our shared history.Lesson 1.3—Origin StoriesHow did the Universe begin? How did human life on Earth come to be? People across different times and regions created origin stories to answer these questions.Lesson 1.4—Claim TestingHow do we know if the claims people make are true? In Big History, we test claims with four claim testers: intuition, logic, authority, and evidence.Unit 2—History of the Universe and EarthHow did complexity increase from the origins of our Universe to the formation of the Earth?Lesson 2.1—Big Bang to EarthTake a journey through time and space to learn about the first four Big History thresholds.Lesson 2.2—Big BangWas the Big Bang the start of the Universe? We don’t really know the answer, but we do know a lot about what happened right after the Big Bang.Lesson 2.3—Stars FormExplore how these trillions of celestial bodies added complexity to what was once a very simple Universe.Lesson 2.4—Stars DieWhen stars go supernova, these massive explosions give us the elements that make possible everything from planets to ladybugs to you!Lesson 2.5—Solar SystemJourney through time and space and witness the cosmic collisions that led to the formation of our planetary system.
4Big History Course GuideLesson 2.6—Earth Learn about the fiery early days of our planet and why this one planet among countless others increased the complexity of the Universe in a way that may be unique.Unit 3—LifeWhy did life begin on Earth, and how did it change over time? Lesson 3.1—Complexity of Life on EarthEvolution is all about increasing complexity via tiny changes in DNA. But these mutations are a bit different from the ones you read about in comic books.Lesson 3.2—Origins of LifeDid ancient meteors bring life to Earth or did organic chemicals form when lava mixed with water deep in the oceans? Let’s explore the theories about the origins of life on our planet.Lesson 3.3—Evolution Did you know that birds are descendants of dinosaurs? Time to investigate that complex molecule you’ve been hearing so much about called DNA.Lesson 3.4—Extinction EventsCould you survive an extinction event? Time to use your Big History knowledge to put together a survival plan—and consider if we should bring some dinosaurs back to life!Unit 4—Early HumansHow did the evolution of humans lead to new complexity on Earth?Lesson 4.1—Humanity’s New ComplexityOf all the different human species who existed in the past, only we remain. It’s time to discover why.Lesson 4.2—Human AncestorsHow did life transform from a simple single-celled organism to our own species? Explore humanity’s place in the great history of life.Lesson 4.3—Collective LearningUsing a set of uniquely human skills, such as speech, art, and writing, we can build on each other’s breakthroughs.Lesson 4.4—Migration All humans evolved in Africa, but what made our ancestors’ journey out of Africa to eventually populate the whole world? Journey through time and space to investigate human migration.
5Big History Course GuideLesson 4.5—Foraging SocietiesExplore how the hunter-gatherer lifestyle shaped our early communities while limiting the potential for growth of some.Unit 5—Agriculture and Complex SocietiesHow did the transition to agriculture increase complexity in human societies?Lesson 5.1—Farming and ComplexityThe invention of farming about 12,000 years ago gave humans access to new food and energy resources, which increased populations, collective learning, and complexity.Lesson 5.2—Agricultural RevolutionLet’s dig deeper into the details of exactly how agriculture changed human life—for better and for worse.Lesson 5.3—Complex Societies AppearGrowing food in fixed locations enabled people who once migrated with the seasons to settle down. Soon, complexity increased as villages turned into cities and states.Lesson 5.4—Empires As civilizations grew in complexity, they also grew in size, and that meant they started meeting their neighbors. It’s time to talk conflict, conquest, and empire.Lesson 5.5—Expanding ConnectionsAgriculture gave societies the spark they needed to begin growing, but it’s trade that set us on the path to the modern world.Lesson 5.6—Museum ProjectIt’s your turn to become a curator and create an exhibition. Will you be a mapmaker, an artifact creator, or a storyteller?Unit 6—The Modern AgeWhat are the positive and negative impacts of interconnection and acceleration?Lesson 6.1—The Modern WorldAs we connected the four world zones and found new energy sources, complexity increased—with positive and negative results for humans everywhere. Lesson 6.2—Four World Zones ConnectThe connection of the world zones helped establish expansive empires powered by incredible technological breakthroughs, but this interconnection came at a cost.
6Big History Course GuideLesson 6.3—Industrial RevolutionFossil fuels were the key to unlocking a huge amount of energy, as well as increasing population and innovation, but they’ve also caused pollution and climate change.Lesson 6.4—Acceleration Industrialization kicked off the Modern Revolution, and within a few hundred years, many societies had advanced so much they were almost unrecognizable. Lesson 6.5—Globalization The world became interconnected after the Columbian Exchange, but industrialization accelerated our connections to people across the world, and now we can connect and share ideas in real time.Lesson 6.6—Anthropocene Accessing new energy sources made humans the most powerful species on the planet. But interconnection and acceleration have created some of the greatest challenges.Unit 7—The FutureWhat’s the next threshold?Lesson 7.1—Complexity and the FutureYou’ve learned how complexity increased over 13.8 billion years. Now, it’s time to consider what complexity might look like in the future.Lesson 7.2—Climate In the past 250 years, human actions have altered Earth’s climate. How will climate change impact the future?Lesson 7.3—Space Today, we’re all hurtling through space on a giant rock we call Earth. Will future humans journey to another planet and call that home?Lesson 7.4—Technology Advancements in technology have accelerated since industrialization. How will technology continue to shape our future?Lesson 7.5—Human SystemsPeople form states, develop belief systems, and trade in complicated economic systems. But how might human systems impact the future?Lesson 7.6—The Next ThresholdHistorians don’t typically predict the future, but with your knowledge of Big History’s thresholds, you can make some calculated guesses about what the next threshold might be.
7Big History Course GuideStandards alignmentThe Big History curriculum provides an opportunity for middle-school and junior-high-school students to develop a well-grounded foundation for a deep understanding of historical, geographical, and scientific topics through its readings, videos, and activities. One benefit of the BHP course is that its structure also supports teacher and curricular flexibility while aligning with the rigor and standards of the C3 Framework. Teachers are encouraged to revise or include additional materials at any point in the course in order to focus on, or dig more deeply into, specific topics or historical periods. BHP emphasizes the development of social studies skills such as causal thinking, claim testing, reading, writing, and spatial analysis. Students learn how to evaluate secondary sources and primary-source excerpts, assess and write claims supported by evidence, analyze causes and effects, develop their geographic skills through map analysis, and think across scales as they consider change over time. In addition, the BHP curriculum provides students with multiple opportunities to engage in inquiry-based learning as they develop questions, create arguments, and deliver presentations in a variety of formats. Students will hone these skills while focusing on the history of humanity from foraging communities to the future, and how humans fit into the history of our planet and Universe. SkillsHistorical thinking skills, which are rooted in critical thinking, are integral to the development of student learning. They cut across all content areas and are used far beyond the classroom setting. The Big History curriculum introduces middle-school and junior-high-school students to the historical thinking skills of claim testing and causation through a series of practice progression activities. These activities introduce students to these skills in a low-stakes way, and then use Big History content to gradually build upon these skills as the course progresses. In addition to historical thinking skills, students will also develop their geographic skills using a progression sequence that builds upon geographic knowledge as students move through each unit. For more information, check out the OER Project Historical Thinking Skills Guide. Reading and writingBHP seeks to improve students’ ability to analyze, evaluate, and use a range of texts. To enable students to develop the skills related to historical reading, the course provides supports for what we call Three-Step Reading. The first step for reading texts such as articles, and graphic biographies is to skim to get the general idea of what the text is focusing on. The next step is to read for key ideas, or the information that helps you understand the text. The last step is about understanding how the text relates to the content Analyze how relationships between humans and environments extend or contract spatial patterns of settlement and movement.College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies D2.Geo.8.6-8Use, interpret, and create maps and graphs representing places and regions in the era being studied.Michigan Student Learning Standards for Social Studies 7 – G1.2.3Explain multiple causes and effects of events and developments in the past.Maryland State Standards and Frameworks in Social Studies D. 6.0-D.1-4
8Big History Course Guidestudents have learned. To ensure all your students can improve their reading ability, BHP offers all articles in a variety of Lexile measures so that you can differentiate based on your students’ needs and abilities. For more information, check out the Reading Guide. We encourage students to write both informally and formally. We feel it’s important for students to have the opportunity to engage frequently in informal writing. The emphasis here is for students to gain comfort with writing as they think about concepts and what they’ve learned, rather than explicitly focusing on formal writing techniques. Students are encouraged to write in almost every lesson of the course: while engaging in opening and closing activities, as they read articles and watch videos, and as part of longer, multi-sentence responses to prompts. We also offer two optional DBQs for students to use for practicing formal writing techniques. For more information, check out the Writing Guide.AssessmentAssessment needs to be a comprehensive strategy, not just a test at the end of a unit. For this reason, Big History embeds assessments throughout the course—all activities, including openers and closers, are developed to help both students and teachers gain insight into their understanding. All articles, videos, and graphic biographies contain guiding questions, which can be done as a class or individually to assess understanding.We encourage the use of formative assessment (or, as we find it helpful to think about it, informative assessment—assessment that informs) as opposed to the exclusive use of summative assessment. Instead of making every quiz, test, or extended writing a one-shot opportunity—à la summative assessments—we favor assessment opportunities that allow students to revisit and revise their work, as that’s one of the best ways for them to learn. For more information, check out the Assessment Guide.There are two formal writing assessments offered in the course in the form of a document-based question (DBQ). Each DBQ asks students to analyze documents, and then respond to a prompt. The BHP Writing Rubric provides support to illuminate writing criteria and help you evaluate student writing. In addition, BHP includes several longer activities that can be used as assessment opportunities, such as The Next Threshold podcast and the From the Past to the Future activities.Support and contact informationProfessional learning support: Several opportunities for live and virtual professional development are available throughout the school year. These sessions help you get familiar with our tools and courses and get ready to use them in the classroom. All these professional-development options are free and are easily accessed online. Click here to see the OER Project professional learning schedule.Big History Teacher Community: The online Big History Teacher Community is active, open, and brings together the collective wisdom and support of thousands of helpful people. Here you’ll find BH educators across grade levels and regions.OER Project email:team@oerproject.comCourse home