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The Enlightenment

Driving Question: How did Enlightenment ideas help spark revolution?

The Enlightenment, which began in the late seventeenth-century, was a European movement emphasizing reason, science, individualism, and skepticism of traditional authority. Thinkers applied rational principles to government, philosophy, science, and religion, inspiring revolutions based on equality, reason, and freedom. Material conditions, such as rising taxes or food prices, also fueled public unrest.

Learning Objectives:

  1. Evaluate the influence of Enlightenment ideas on political revolutions.
  2. Learn how new ideas about sovereignty and individualism affected states.
  3. Practice sourcing to evaluate the Enlightenment’s impact on revolutionary thought.
STEP 1

Opener: The Enlightenment

Teaching Tools

To teach this lesson step, refer to page 2 of the Lesson 4.2 Teaching Guide Locked .

Want additional ways to approach learning new words? Look no further than the OER Project Vocabulary Guide.

STEP 2

Revolutionary Ideas

Teaching Tools

To teach this lesson step, refer to page 3 of the Lesson 4.2 Teaching Guide Locked .

Find before-, during-, and after-reading strategies and more ways to support all learners in our Differentiation Guide Locked .

Enlightenment ideas surrounding rights and sovereignty aimed high, but as you’ll explore in these articles and activity, they had their limits.

STEP 3

Words of the Enlightenment

Teaching Tools

To teach this lesson step, refer to page 5 of the Lesson 4.2 Teaching Guide Locked .

Check out this thread Enlightenment Quotes Activity Extension Possibility External link , for ideas to extend this activity.

The ideas of the Enlightenments are often best analyzed through the words of those who shaped it. Compare original quotes and their modern “translations.”

Extension Materials
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The source collection and video below provide additional opportunities to dig into the writings of Enlightenment thinkers and explore how they attempted to reimagine their world.

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Dare to Know

Teaching Tools

To teach this lesson step, refer to page 6 of the Lesson 4.2 Teaching Guide Locked .

Enlightenment thinkers sought to transform their world and how people thought about it. Use the article, source collection, and activity to examine their motives and impacts.