BH Middle School Full Teacher Course Plan
OER PROJECT:BIG HISTORYUnless otherwise noted, this work is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Credit: “Big History Course Plan”, OER Project, www.oerproject.com/Big History Course PlanMegan Suits, Big History Teacher, New JerseyOverviewI teach Big History as a full-year course at the middle school level in New Jersey. The course helps students explore the story of the Universe—from the Big Bang to the present—and consider how understanding the deep past helps us make sense of the world today. Students invesCgate major Big History ideas such as thresholds of increasing complexity, claim tesCng, scale-switching, and collecCve learning as they examine how change occurs across Cme.My classroom approach is inquiry-driven and interdisciplinary. Students develop quesCons about historical, scienCfic, and geographic topics and analyze primary and secondary sources, geographic data, and scienCfic evidence to build and test claims. Units are organized around driving quesCons that guide student inquiry and culminate in discussions or short wriKen arguments supported by evidence.Throughout the course, I integrate the New Jersey Student Learning Standards for Social Studies, helping students build content knowledge while developing skills in inquiry, geographic reasoning, and evidence-based argumentaCon.Brief bioI am a social studies teacher in New Jersey with a focus on inquiry-based instrucCon and interdisciplinary learning. My teaching emphasizes the use of primary sources, evidence-based argumentaCon, and geographic and historical analysis to help students develop criCcal thinking skills. I am parCcularly interested in helping students explore big quesCons about the past, present, and future while building the skills needed to evaluate evidence and construct meaningful explanaCons about the world.Grades taught7th gradeClasses per day4Length of Bme per class60 minutesLength of school year180 days (full year course)Number of students per yearApproximately 60–90 students per yearHow is your content different from the course outline?I explicitly connect each Big History unit to the 2020 NJSLS-SS, parCcularly Standard 6.2 World History/Global Studies (Eras 1–4 by end of grade 8) and Standard 6.3 AcCve CiCzenship. Because Big History’s scope spans from the Big Bang to the present, itdoes not always provide the depth of medieval and classical world history content required by NJSLS-SS 6.2 Eras 2–4. To address this, I strategically supplement Units 4 and 5 with selected materials
OER PROJECT:BIG HISTORYBIG HISTORYCOURSE PLANFor teacher instructions and sample answers, hit the hammer icon at the top of each lesson.2from the OER Project’s World History: Origins course. These addiCons bring in content on classical civilizaCons (Greece, Rome, India, China), world religions, the Islamic world and Dar al-Islam, Christendom and the ByzanCne Empire, the Crusades, and theconsequences of medieval trade networks—including the Black Death—that NJ standards require.These supplements are noted explicitly in the unit teacher notes.How does your skills instrucBon different from the course outline?I use the Big History claim-tesCng framework as a bridge to the NJSLS-SS social studies pracCces, parCcularly Historical Sourcing and Evidence (SE) and Claims and ArgumentaCon (CA). I supplement OER’s built-in HAPPY-style source analysis with explicit pracCce in corroboraCng evidence across disciplines (history, science, geography) and structured DBQ-style wriCng. Course Learning Objectives 1.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 own 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.Projected Pacing Guide*UnitLessonsPacingUnit 1—What Is Big History?4Up to 18 daysUnit 2—History of the Universe and Earth6Up to 24 daysUnit 3—Life4Up to 18 daysUnit 4—Early Humans5Up to 20 daysUnit 5—Agriculture and Complex SocieSes6Up to 36daysUnit 6—The Modern Age6Up to 32 daysUnit 7—The Future6Up to 30 days*Takes into account school holidays, in-service days, and other commonly missed time such as testing days.Unit 1: What Is Big History? Unit 1 Driving Ques4on: How does learning about the history of the Universe help us understand our past, present, and future?
OER PROJECT:BIG HISTORYBIG HISTORYCOURSE PLANFor teacher instructions and sample answers, hit the hammer icon at the top of each lesson.3Unit 1 Learning Objec4ves1.Students will evaluate your place in the Big History narrative using the concepts of thresholds of increasing complexity and scale.2.Compare the Big History origin story with other types of origin stories.3.Create mental maps to organize information about places, environments, and people at different scales. 4.Define claim testing and practice using the claim testers to evaluate a claim or resource. 5.Practice writing claims.Lesson 1.1: Welcome to Big HistoryLesson 1.1 DQ: How does learning about the history of the Universe help us be=er understand the world today?1.Opener: Welcome to Big Historya.Opener: What Is History?2.Yes or No? You Decide!a.Activity: Unit 1 Notebook: Part 13.Our Past, Present, and Futurea.Article: “What Makes Big History...BIG?” b.Activity: Big History 3-2-14.Thresholds of Increasing Complexitya.Image Carousel: The Thresholds Gallery b.Article (comic): “The Thresholds: Big History”c.Activity: Big History Thresholds5.Your Thresholda.Activity: My Threshold6.Closer: Welcome to Big Historya.Closer: Threshold TaglinesLesson 1.2: ScaleLesson 1.2 DQ: How does looking at things from different scales of Dme and space help us understand our past?1.Opener: Scalea.Opener: Close Up and Far Away 2.Zooming In and Outa.Article: “Scale Switching”3.Big History and Youa.Activity: Scale: History of Me4.Introduction to Geographya.Image Carousel: Geography 101b.Activity: Geography: Mental Maps5.Cosmic Calendara.Activity: The Universe’s Cosmic Calendarb.Activity: The Universe’s Cosmic Calendar Story6.Closer: Scale
OER PROJECT:BIG HISTORYBIG HISTORYCOURSE PLANFor teacher instructions and sample answers, hit the hammer icon at the top of each lesson.4a.Closer: Scale: Big History Timeline7.Universe Comica.Extension Article (comic): “Bang!”Lesson 1.3: Origin StoriesLesson 1.3 DQ: How can you compare the Big History origin story with others?1.Opener: Origin Storiesa.Opener: A Cosmic Mad Lib2.Origin Stories Jigsawa.Activity: Comparing Origin Storiesb.Article: “Big History Origin Story”c.Article: “Chinese Origin Story”d.Article: “Judeo-Christian Origin Story”e.Article: “Iroquois Origin Story”f.Article: “Maya Origin Story”g.Article: “Greek Origin Story”h.Article: “Zulu Origin Story”i.Article: “Efik Origin Story”j.Article: “Māori Origin Story”k.Article: “Shinto Origin Story” (coming soon)l.Article: “Zoroastrianism Origin Story” (coming soon)m.Article: “Norse Origin Story” (coming soon)3.Your Originsa.Activity: Draw Your Origin Story 4.Closer: Origin Storiesa.Closer: Origin Story ReflectionLesson 1.4: Claim TestingLesson 1.4 DQ: How can claim tesDng help us evaluate the past, present, and future?1.Opener: Claim Testinga.Opener: The Mystery of the Alien Signalb.Activity: The Mystery of the Alien Signal Story2.Testing Claimsa.Activity: What Are the Claim Testers?3.Making Claims About Knowledge and Disciplinesa.Article: “What Is Knowledge?” b.Activity: Claim Warm-Up 4.A Murder Mysterya.Activity: History Mystery b.Activity: What Will We Leave Behind? Story5.Assessing Claimsa.Activity: Claim Testing: Practice6.Closer: Claim Testinga.Closer: Unit 1 Notebook: Part 27.Disciplines in Big Historya.Extension Image Carousel: Disciplines Slideshow
OER PROJECT:BIG HISTORYBIG HISTORYCOURSE PLANFor teacher instructions and sample answers, hit the hammer icon at the top of each lesson.5b.Extension Activity: What Are Disciplines?Teacher Unit Notes: This is basically your “here’s how we think in this class” unit, and it does a lot of heavy lijing for the rest of the year. I lean hard into the claim testers early and keep coming back to that vocabulary all year —by the end of the school year, students are using it without being prompted, which is the goal. The Origin Stories jigsaw is genuinely one of my favorite lessons in the whole course; kids are surprised that so many cultures have wrestled with the same big quesCons, and that surprise is a great entry point for gelng them to take other perspecCves seriously. The “What Is Knowledge?” arCcle is worth slowing down for—it’s really about how scholars build and test claims through evidence and peer review, using Galileo as the example. Unit 2: History of the Universe and Earth (Thresholds 1–4) Unit 2 Driving QuesBon:How did complexity increase from the origins of our Universe to the formaCon of the Earth? Unit 2 Learning ObjecBves1.Explain the basics of the Big Bang theory and the evidence that supports it. 2.Describe how stars created new complexity in the Universe. 3.Explain how the death of stars increased complexity in the Universe. 4.Use evidence to explain the formation and evolution of the Earth over time.Lesson 2.1: Big Bang to Earth Lesson 2.1 DQ: How can thresholds of increasing complexity help us understand the formaDon of the Universe, our Solar System, and Earth?1.Opener: Big Bang to Eartha.Opener: Unit 2 Notebook: Part 12.Unit 2 Overviewa.Article (comic): “The Thresholds: History of the Universe”b.Activity: History of the Universe Explained3.The First Four Thresholdsa.Audio: Thresholds 1-4b.Activity: Thresholds 1–4 Graphic Transcript 4.Closer: Big Bang to Eartha.Closer: Threshold Jingle5.Scientific Giants of the Islamic Worlda.Extension Article: “Standing on the Shoulders of Invisible Giants”Lesson 2.2: Big BangLesson 2.2 DQ: How did the Universe begin?1.Opener: Big Banga.Opener: Universe Quick Poll2.Causal Thinking
OER PROJECT:BIG HISTORYBIG HISTORYCOURSE PLANFor teacher instructions and sample answers, hit the hammer icon at the top of each lesson.6a.Activity: Causation: Alphonse the Camelb.Activity: Alphonse the Camel Story3.Big History’s First Thresholda.Video: Threshold 1: Big Bangb.Activity: Threshold 1 Card4.Origin of the Universea.Video: The Big Bangb.Activity: How the Universe Began5.Geography: Map of the Observable Universea.Activity: Geography: Map of the Observable Universe6.Closer: Big Banga.Closer: Quiz Master7.Revealing the Darka.Extension Graphic Biography: Vera RubinLesson 2.3: Stars FormLesson 2.3 DQ: Why is the formaDon of stars important?1.Opener: Stars Forma.Opener: Life of a Star 2.Stars Light Upa.Video: Threshold 2: Stars Light Upb.Activity: Threshold 2 Card3.Star Formationa.Video: How Were Stars Formed?b.Image Carousel: How Stars Formc.Activity: Causes of Star Formation4.What Are Stars Made Of? a.Graphic Biography: Intuition and Evidence: Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkinb.Activity: Claim Testing: Intuition5.Who Is an Authority?a.Article: “The Universe Through a Pinhole” b.Activity: Claim Testing: Authority 6.Closer: Stars Forma.Closer: Star ComicsLesson 2.4: Stars DieLesson 2.4 DQ: Why is the death of stars important?1.Opener: Stars Diea.Opener: Is It in There?2.New Chemical Elementsa.Video: Threshold 3: New Chemical Elementsb.Activity: Threshold 3 Card3.The Death of Starsa.Image Carousel: What Did Star Stuff Give Us?b.Activity: Causation: From Stars to New Elements4.Closer: Stars Die
OER PROJECT:BIG HISTORYBIG HISTORYCOURSE PLANFor teacher instructions and sample answers, hit the hammer icon at the top of each lesson.7a.Closer: Cosmic Connections5.Chemical Reactionsa.Extension Activity: Superhero Element 6.Pure Metala.Extension Article: “Jābir Ibn Hayyān”Lesson 2.5: Solar SystemLesson 2.5 DQ: How is the development of our Solar System an increase in complexity?1.Opener: Solar Systema.Opener: Planet Card Sort2.The Solar Systema.Video: Threshold 4: Solar System and Earthb.Activity: Threshold 4 Card 3.Our Cosmic Neighborhooda.Article: “How Our Solar System Formed”4.Visualizing Our Solar Systema.Video: To Scale: Solar System5.Closer: Solar System a.Closer: Solar System News Headlines 6.Active Accretiona.Extension Activity: Accretion Simulation7.Actually, It’s the Moona.Extension Graphic Biography: Wang ZhenyiLesson 2.6: Earth Lesson 2.6 DQ: How did the formaDon and evoluDon of Earth increase complexity?1.Opener: Eartha.Opener: Plate Tectonics Match-Up2.The Early Eartha.Video: What Was the Young Earth Like?3.Theory of Plate Tectonicsa.Image Carousel: Earth’s Tectonic Platesb.Activity: Geography: Plate Tectonics 4.Continents in Motiona.Article: “Plate Tectonics: Continents in Motion”b.Activity: Claim Testing: Evidence 5.Closer: Eartha.Closer: Unit 2 Notebook: Part 26.A “Girl Talk” Geological Revolutiona.Extension Graphic Biography: Marie Tharp7.Unit 2 Assessmenta.Sourcing:Introduction (WH Origins Lesson 3.3)b.Assessment: Prewriting: Earth’s Structure and Processesc.Assessment: DBQ Sources: Earth’s Structure and Processesd.Assessment: Writing: Earth’s Structure and Processes
OER PROJECT:BIG HISTORYBIG HISTORYCOURSE PLANFor teacher instructions and sample answers, hit the hammer icon at the top of each lesson.8Teacher Unit Notes: The plate tectonics and geography materials aresome of the most engaging content in the unit; kids respond really well to the idea that the ground under their feet has been moving for billions of years. The DBQ at the end is a nice low-stakes introducCon to that format because students are wriCng about Earth science rather than history, which feels less inCmidaCng. I use it deliberately to build confidence before the wriCng gets harder.Unit 3: Life (Threshold 5)Unit 3 Driving Ques4on: Why did life begin on Earth, and how did it change over Sme? Unit 3 Learning Objec4ves1.Describe the origins of life on Earth.2.Explain the differences between life and nonlife.3.Describe how life on Earth changed over time.4.Use evidence to explain adaptation and evolution.5.Evaluate how extinction events change life on Earth.Lesson 3.1: Complexity of Life on EarthLesson 3.1 DQ: How did complexity increase as life on Earth emerged?1.Opener: Complexity of Life on Eartha.Opener: Unit 3 Notebook: Part 12.Life on Eartha.Article (comic): “The Thresholds: Life on Earth”b.Activity: A Brief History of Life on Earth3.Threshold 5: Life on Eartha.Video: Threshold 5: Lifeb.Activity: Threshold 5 Card4.Life and Nonlifea.Article: “What Is Life?”b.Audio: Unknowns Podcast Episode 2, Clip 1c.Activity: Characteristics of Life5.Closer: Complexity of Life on Eartha.Closer: How Closely Are We Related?Lesson 3.2: Origins of Life Lesson 3.2 DQ: How did life on Earth begin and change?1.Opener: Origins of Lifea.Opener: Order Up Part 12.Life Beginsa.Image Carousel: How did Life on Earth Begin?b.Activity: How Did Life Begin?3.How Did Life on Earth Change?a.Video: Mini-Thresholds of Lifeb.Activity: Order Up Part 24.The Biosphere
OER PROJECT:BIG HISTORYBIG HISTORYCOURSE PLANFor teacher instructions and sample answers, hit the hammer icon at the top of each lesson.9a.Article: “What Is the Biosphere?”b.Infographic: Biosphere Comfort Zonec.Activity: Living in the Extremes of the Biosphere5.Geography and the Biospherea.Activity: Geography: Biomesb.Image Carousel: Geography: Climographs6.Closer: Origins of Lifea.Closer: Poetry of Life on Earth7.The Collectora.Extension Graphic Biography: Ynés MexíaLesson 3.3: Evolution Lesson 3.3 DQ: How did the evoluDon of life on Earth increase complexity?1.Opener: Evolutiona.Opener: The Tree of Life b.Infographic: Tree of Life 2.The Instructions for Lifea.Video: What Is DNA?b.Article: “What Is Evolution?”c.Activity: Invent a Species3.Earth, Life, and Evolutiona.Audio: UnknownsPodcast Episode 3, Clip 1b.Activity: Geography: Earth in Motion4.Closer: Evolutiona.Closer: Claim Testing: Life5.An Immortal Legacya.Extension Graphic Biography: Henrietta LacksLesson 3.4: Extinction EventsLesson 3.4 DQ: How do exDncDon events change the complexity of life on Earth?1.Opener: Extinction Eventsa.Opener: Surviving an Extinction Event2.What Causes Extinction Events?a.Video: Extinction Eventsb.Activity: Causation: Extinction Events3.Re-Creating Lifea.Activity: De-extinction Debateb.Activity: Bringing the Past Back to Life Storyc.Extension Audio: Unknowns Podcast Episode 3, Clip 24.Closer: Extinction Eventsa.Closer: Unit 3 Notebook: Part 2Teacher Unit Notes: The De-exCncCon Debate is one of the best discussions I have all year—students have strong opinions and don’t realize they’re building an evidence-based argument unCl you debrief them on it. It’s also a natural place to bring in a real policy quesCon without it
OER PROJECT:BIG HISTORYBIG HISTORYCOURSE PLANFor teacher instructions and sample answers, hit the hammer icon at the top of each lesson.10feeling like a detour. The biomes geographymaterialsareworth being intenConal about—I make the physical environment connecCon explicit hereso students carry it into Units 4 and 5 when we start talking about why humans seKled where they did.Unit 4: Early Humans (Threshold 6)Unit 4 Driving QuesBon: How did the evoluCon of humans lead to new complexity on Earth?Unit 4 Learning ObjecBves1.Describe human evolution and how it increases complexity. 2.Define collective learning. 3.Describe how early humans lived. 4.Explain the distribution and migration of human populations across Earth’s surface.Lesson 4.1: Humanity’s New Complexity Lesson 4.1 DQ: How did human evoluDon lead to new complexity on Earth?1.Opener: Humanity’s New Complexitya.Opener: Unit 4 Notebook: Part 12.Human Originsa.Article (comic): “The Thresholds: Collective Learning”b.Activity: A Brief History of Our Origins3.Threshold 6a.Video: Threshold 6: Collective Learningb.Activity: Threshold 6 Card4.Closer: Humanity’s New Complexitya.Closer: Collective Learning Book CoverLesson 4.2: Human Ancestors Lesson 4.2 DQ: How did early humans evolve on Earth?1.Opener: Human Ancestorsa.Opener: Early Ancestors2.Our Evolutionary History a.Image Carousel: Human Evolutionb.Activity: Evolution Comic3.One of Many Humansa.Article: “Human Evolution: Our Many Ancestors”b.Activity: Our Human History4.Closer: Human Ancestorsa.Closer: Evolution PostcardLesson 4.3: Collective Learning Lesson 4.3 DQ: How did early humans share and improve upon knowledge?1.Opener: Collective Learninga.Opener: Cave Paintings
OER PROJECT:BIG HISTORYBIG HISTORYCOURSE PLANFor teacher instructions and sample answers, hit the hammer icon at the top of each lesson.112.Passing Down Knowledgea.Article: “What Is Collective Learning?”3.Art and Collective Learninga.Video: Written in Stone: Petroglyphsb.Activity: The Importance of Art4.Closer: Collective Learninga.Closer: Improving Knowledge5.Toolmakinga.Extension Video: Making Stone ToolsLesson 4.4: MigrationLesson 4.4 DQ: Where and why did early humans migrate?1.Opener: Migrationa.Opener: Mapping Predictions2.On the Movea.Image Carousel: Human Movement and Migrationb.Activity: Early Human Migration3.Impact of Geographya.Activity: Geography: Migration and Climateb.Image Carousel: Migration and Climate Maps4.Closer: Migrationa.Closer: Causation: Migration5.The Americasa.Extension Activity: When did Humans Arrive in the Americas?b.Audio: Unknowns Podcast Episode 7, Clip 1c.Extension Graphic Biography: Ales Hrdlickad.Extension Graphic Biography: George McJunkinLesson 4.5: Foraging Societies Lesson 4.5 DQ: How did early humans live?1.Opener: Foraging Societiesa.Opener: Foraging Simulation2.What’s for Dinner?a.Article: “Foraging: Life as a Hunter-Gatherer”b.Activity: Hunter-Gatherer Menu3.The Evolution of Our Dietsa.Video: From Foraging to Food Shoppingb.Activity: Claim Testing: Early Humans 4.Closer: Foraging Societiesa.Closer: Unit 4 Notebook: Part 2Teacher Unit Notes: This is your early humans unitand there is a lot of history to consider. The migraCon maps are great for building geospaCal skills and I treat them as a real geographic inquiry. The "When Did Humans Arrive in the Americas?" extension in that same lesson is worth doing if you have Cme. Students come in with a lot of assumpCons about Indigenous history,
OER PROJECT:BIG HISTORYBIG HISTORYCOURSE PLANFor teacher instructions and sample answers, hit the hammer icon at the top of each lesson.12and this is a good early chance to complicate those. The George McJunkin graphic biography is also worth slowing down on, as his story opens a really honest conversaCon about whose contribuCons get recognized and how knowledge actually gets built over Cme.Unit 5: Agriculture & Complex Societies (Threshold 7)Unit 5 Driving QuesBon:How did the transiCon to agriculture increase complexity in human socieCes? Unit 5 Learning ObjecBves1.Define agriculture and describe where it emerged.2.Describe how agrarian societies formed.3.Describe how farming changed human societies4.Compare and contrast various agrarian societies.5.Analyze the expansion and interconnection of agrarian societies. Lesson 5.1: Farming and ComplexityLesson 5.1 DQ: How did the transiDon to farming lead to new complexity?1.Opener: Farming and Complexitya.Opener: Unit 5 Notebook: Part 12.A Farming Revolutiona.Article (comic): “The Thresholds: Agriculture and Complex Societies”b.Activity: A Brief History of New Complexities3.Threshold 7a.Video: Threshold 7: Agriculture and Complex Societiesb.Activity: Threshold 7 Card4.Closer: Farming and Complexitya.Closer: Farming JingleLesson 5.2: Agricultural RevolutionLesson 5.2 DQ: How did humans begin farming?1.Opener: Agricultural Revolutiona.Opener: From Farming to Civilizations2.Harnessing Energya.Video: Why Was Agriculture So Important? 3.Effects of Farminga.Article: “How Farming Built the First Cities”b.Activity: Before and After4.Farming and the Environmenta.Activity: Geography: The Agricultural Revolution 5.Closer: Agricultural Revolution a.Closer: Making Claims: Farming 6.Mysteries of the Agricultural Revolutiona.Audio: Unknowns Podcast Episode 7, Clip 2
OER PROJECT:BIG HISTORYBIG HISTORYCOURSE PLANFor teacher instructions and sample answers, hit the hammer icon at the top of each lesson.13Lesson 5.3: Complex Societies Appear Lesson 5.3 DQ: How did farming lead to the development of complex socieDes?1.Opener: Complex Societies Appeara.Opener: Three Questions2.Formation of Statesa.Image Carousel: Where Did the First Cities and States Appear?b.Activity: Cities and States3.The First Statesa.Activity: Frankenstein’s Civilizationb.Article: “Mesopotamia: The Land of Firsts”c.Video: Egyptd.Audio: “Indus River Valley”4.Closer: Complex Societies Appeara.Closer: Did They Jump or Were They Pushed?5.Causes of Collapsea.Audio: Unknowns Podcast Episode 7, Clip 3Lesson 5.4: EmpiresLesson 5.4 DQ: Why did some agrarian socieDes become empires?1.Opener: Empiresa.Opener: What Caused Expansion?2.Formation of Empiresa.Video: Why Did Civilization Expand? 3.Belief Systems Around the Worlda.Article: “Overview of Belief Systems” (WH Origins Lesson 4.2)b.Activity: Comparison: Belief Systems (WH Origins Lesson 4.2)c.Article: “Confucianism” (WH Origins Lesson 4.2)d.Article: “Buddhism” (WH Origins Lesson 4.2)e.Article: “Judaism” (WH Origins Lesson 4.2)f.Article: “Christianity” (WH Origins Lesson 4.2)g.Article: “Hinduism” (WH Origins Lesson 4.2)h.Article: “Islam” (WH Origins Lesson 4.2)4.Empires Rise and Falla.Activity: Empire Autopsyb.Article: “Han Dynasty China”c.Video: Persians and Greeks d.Article: “The Roman Empire”e.Article: “The Mauryan and Gupta Empires” (WH Origins Lesson 4.4)5.Closer: Empiresa.Closer: The AmericasLesson 5.5: Expanding Connections Lesson 5.5 DQ: How did long-distance connecDons increase complexity?1.Opener: Expanding Connections
OER PROJECT:BIG HISTORYBIG HISTORYCOURSE PLANFor teacher instructions and sample answers, hit the hammer icon at the top of each lesson.14a.Opener: Geography of Connections2.Making Connectionsa.Video: How Did the World Become Interconnected?b.Image Carousel: How Did Cultures Connect?c.Activity: World Travelers3.Connecting Across Distancesa.Activity: Trade Gameb.Article: “Silk Road: Merchants of Complexity”c.Article: “Trade in the Americas”d.Article: “Oceania”4.Religion, Trade, and the Medieval Worlda.Article: “Christendom” (WH Origins Lesson 5.4)b.Activity: New Sources of Authority (WH Origins Lesson 5.4)c.Article: “Dar al-Islam” (WH Origins Lesson 5.5)d.Activity: Claim Testing: The Islamic World (WH Origins Lesson 5.5)e.Video: Causes and Consequences of the Crusades(WH Origins Lesson 5.5)f.Article: “Trade Networks and the Black Death” (WH Origins Lesson 6.3)5.Closer: Expanding Connectionsa.Closer: Unit 5 Notebook: Part 26.Exploring Interconnectiona.Extension Graphic Biography: Ibn Khaldunb.Extension Graphic Biography: Taking Root: Ibn Bassalc.Extension Article: “Thank You for Algebra: Muhammad Ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi”Lesson 5.6: Museum ProjectLesson 5.6 DQ: How did ancient socieDes contribute to our world today?1.Opener: Museum Projecta.Opener: Society Superlatives 2.Choosing Your Societya.Activity: Select a Society3.Creating Your Museuma.Activity: Ancient Society Explorerb.Activity: Mapmakers Presentationc.Activity: Artifact Crafters Presentationd.Activity: Storytellers Presentation4.Closer: Museum Projecta.Closer: Ancient WisdomTeacher Unit Notes: This is the most content-packed unit in the course and the one where I feel the Cme crunch most acutely—you are covering the Agricultural RevoluCon, the formaCon of the first ciCes, early empires, world religions, and medieval trade networks all in one stretch. Plan your pacing carefully and be intenConal about which supplements you use and when. I’ve added a small set of WH Origins supplemental materialsto help fill in areas that align with NJ standards, parCcularly around medieval Europe, the Islamic world, and Afro-Eurasian trade networks. Think of these as targeted supports for standards alignment rather than full addiConal units, andadjust based on your available Cme. The Trade Game is worth the prep
OER PROJECT:BIG HISTORYBIG HISTORYCOURSE PLANFor teacher instructions and sample answers, hit the hammer icon at the top of each lesson.15Cme—what it builds well is students’ intuiCon for how trade networks funcConed, what made long-distance exchange risky, and why merchants kept going anyway. The Museum Project is the best summaCve in the whole course when it is set up well. I have added WH Origins arCcles to the society opCons so that Greece, Rome, India, and China are all represented alongside the Big History opCons—students have enough choices to find something they are genuinely interested in, and the end products are usually impressive. Give it real class Cme; it earns it.Unit 6: The Modern Age (Threshold 8)Unit 6 Driving QuesBon:What are the posiCve and negaCve impacts of interconnecCon and acceleraCon?Unit 6 Learning ObjecBves1.Describe the many changes caused by the connection of the four world zones.2.Evaluate the impact of the Industrial Revolution. 3.Describe the factors that accelerated global change. 4.Evaluate the pros and cons of globalization for different groups of people.5.Explain the key features that define the Anthropocene. Lesson 6.1: The Modern World Lesson 6.1 DQ: How did the world become more interconnected?1.Opener: The Modern Worlda.Opener: Unit 6 Notebook: Part 12.Complexity Acceleratesa.Article (comic): “The Thresholds: The Modern Revolution”b.Activity: The Complexities of Our Modern World3.Threshold 8a.Video: Threshold 8: The Modern Revolutionb.Activity: Threshold 8 Card4.Closer: The Modern Worlda.Closer: Modern Revolution MemeLesson 6.2: Four World Zones ConnectLesson 6.2 DQ: What were the pros and cons of the interconnecDon of the four world zones?1.Opener: Four World Zones Connecta.Opener: Columbian Exchange Snap Judgment2.The World Connectsa.Article: “The Four World Zones”3.An Accidental Discoverya.Video: The Columbian Exchange b.Activity: Consequences of the Columbian Exchange4.Economic Changesa.Article: “The Global Economy”5.Closer: Four World Zones Connect
OER PROJECT:BIG HISTORYBIG HISTORYCOURSE PLANFor teacher instructions and sample answers, hit the hammer icon at the top of each lesson.16a.Closer: Connecting the World 6.The Explorersa.Extension Graphic Biography: The Navigator: Mau Piailugb.Extension Article: “Lion of the Sea”c.Extension Graphic Biography: Athanasius Kircher’s Quest to Know Everything7.Unit 6 Assessmenta.Assessment: Prewriting: Columbian Exchangeb.Assessment: DBQ Sources: Columbian Exchangec.Assessment: Writing: Columbian ExchangeLesson 6.3: Industrial RevolutionLesson 6.3 DQ: What were the posiDve and negaDve impacts of industrializaDon?1.Opener: Industrial Revolutiona.Opener: Causes of Industrialization2.An Energy Revolutiona.Image Carousel: Energy Through Time b.Activity: The Quest for Energy3.Coal and Industrializationa.Activity: Geography: Industrialization Mysteryb.Image Carousel: Geography: Industrialization Mystery Maps4.Causes of Industrializationa.Activity: Causation: Industrializationb.Article: “The Industrial Revolution”5.Effects of Industrializationa.Activity: Urbanization Gameb.Audio: Urbanization Game Narrativesc.Image Carousel: Urbanization Game Narrativesd.Article: “Modern Social Transformations”6.Closer: Industrial Revolutiona.Closer: New JobsLesson 6.4: Acceleration Lesson 6.4 DQ: How has change accelerated in the last 500 years?1.Opener: Accelerationa.Opener: Appetite for Energy2.A Changing Worlda.Video: How Did Change Accelerate?b.Activity: Mapping the Worldc.Image Carousel: Mapping the World Data3.Impacts of Accelerationa.Article: “The Complexity of War and Peace”b.Activity: Assessing Acceleration 4.Closer: Accelerationa.Closer: Time-Traveler Letter5.Early Environmental Activisma.Extension Graphic Biography: George Washington Carver
OER PROJECT:BIG HISTORYBIG HISTORYCOURSE PLANFor teacher instructions and sample answers, hit the hammer icon at the top of each lesson.17Lesson 6.5: GlobalizationLesson 6.5 DQ: What are the posiDve and negaDve impacts of globalizaDon?1.Opener: Globalizationa.Opener: Braided Identities2.A Globalized Worlda.Image Carousel: What Is Globalization?b.Activity: Evaluating Globalization3.Follow the Producta.Activity: Geography: Supply Chain4.Closer: Globalizationa.Closer: Claim Testing: Globalization Lesson 6.6: AnthropoceneLesson 6.6 DQ: How has human acDvity changed our planet?1.Opener: Anthropocenea.Opener: Energy Sort2.What Is the Anthropocene?a.Image Carousel: The Anthropocene Explainedb.Activity: The Anthropocene and You 3.Our Changing Worlda.Article: “Climate Change”4.Feeding the Worlda.Video: Solving the Maize: A Big History of Food Complexityb.Activity: Global Restaurantc.Activity: Global Restaurant Food Cards5.Closer: Anthropocenea.Closer: Unit 6 Notebook: Part 2Teacher Unit Notes: This is where the course starts to feel really urgent to students—the Columbian Exchange hits differently once they realize the scale of what happened. The DBQ here is probably your strongest wriCng assessment of the whole year, make sure to include HAPPY analysis into the DBQ to reinforce the skill from earlier in the year.The Supply Chain acCvity in the GlobalizaCon lesson is a great hook;students quickly realize that the same kinds of trade networks we’ve been studying show up in their own lives when they trace everyday items like phones or sneakers back through global producCon systems.Unit 7: The Future (Threshold 9)Unit 7 Driving QuesBon:What’s the next threshold?Unit 7 Learning ObjecBves1.Examine how human and environmental issues might affect the future. 2.Evaluate how technology and innovation might affect the future.3.Propose a vision of the future based on new understandings of the past.
OER PROJECT:BIG HISTORYBIG HISTORYCOURSE PLANFor teacher instructions and sample answers, hit the hammer icon at the top of each lesson.18Lesson 7.1: Complexity & the Future Lesson 7.1 DQ: How might complexity increase in the future?1.Opener: Complexity & the Futurea.Opener: Unit 7 Notebook: Part 12.Our Collective Futurea.Article (comic): “The Thresholds: The Future”b.Activity: Future Stories3.Threshold 9a.Video: Threshold 9: The Future4.Closer: Complexity & the Future a.Closer: Timeline Review Lesson 7.2: ClimateLesson 7.2 DQ: How might climate change increase complexity?1.Opener: Climatea.Opener: Natural Disasters2.The Future of the Climatea.Video: Climate and Our Future b.Activity: Our Future Climate3.Earth’s Changing Atmospherea.Video: The Atmosphere and Climate4.Climate Science Pioneera.Graphic Biography: Eunice Newton Foote5.Closer: Climatea.Closer: Visions of the Future: ClimateLesson 7.3: SpaceLesson 7.3 DQ: How might space exploraDon increase complexity?1.Opener: Spacea.Opener: What Do Aliens Look Like?2.The Final Frontiera.Video: Space: The Final Threshold?3.The Red Planeta.Video: A Day on Marsb.Activity: Mars Sketchnotesc.Audio:Unknowns Podcast Episode 5 Clip4.Closer: Spacea.Closer: Visions of the Future: Space Lesson 7.4: TechnologyLesson 7.4 DQ: How might technology increase complexity?1.Opener: Technologya.Opener: Past, Present, and Future Tech
OER PROJECT:BIG HISTORYBIG HISTORYCOURSE PLANFor teacher instructions and sample answers, hit the hammer icon at the top of each lesson.192.Future Techa.Article: “Futures of Technology”b.Audio: Unknowns Podcast Episode 8, Clip 1c.Activity: Future Tech Pros and Cons3.Closer: Technologya.Closer: Visions of the Future: Tech4.The Quantum Scientista.Extension Graphic Biography: Satyendra Nath Bose5.Optimism and a 100-Year Futurea.Audio: Unknowns Podcast Episode 8, Clip 2Lesson 7.5: Human SystemsLesson 7.5 DQ: How might human systems increase complexity?1.Opener: Human Systemsa.Opener: Past, Present, and Future Humans2.How Will We Change the World?a.Article: “Human Systems and the Future”b.Activity: Visions of the Future: Human Systems3.Closer: Human Systemsa.Closer: Unit 7 Notebook: Part 2Lesson 7.6: The Next Threshold Lesson 7.6 DQ: What’s the next threshold?1.Opener: The Next Thresholda.Opener: Visions of the Future Revisited2.Future Complexitya.Article: “The Ninth Threshold” b.Activity: Threshold 9 Cardc.Activity: The Next Threshold Podcast3.Closer: The Next Thresholda.Closer: Predicting What’s Next4.Bite-Size Big Historya.Extension Activity: From the Past to the FutureTeacher Unit Notes: This is the unit where students get to be the historians instead of just studying them, and they rise to it. I frame the whole thing around: now that you know how we got here, what do you think comes next and why? The Next Threshold Podcast project is a great payoff if you’ve been building claim-wriCng all year—it’s the first Cme they have to synthesize evidence from across the whole course into a single argument. Students who struggled with wriCng earlier in the year ojen surprise themselves here because the topic is genuinely open-ended and they have real opinions about it. Another don’t miss opportunity for student engagement—especially at the end of the year—is From the Past to the Future. You can really build this out to include student choice with more topics and, depending on your students, more presentaCon opCons. It is a nice capstone acCvity for the course!