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The Agricultural Revolution

Driving Question: Why did the Agricultural Revolution begin?

In this lesson, you’ll explore the revolutionary transition from foraging to agriculture. This transition laid the foundation for the first agricultural societies. What were agriculture’s advantages and disadvantages?

Learning Objectives:

  1. Evaluate the impacts of the Agricultural Revolution on human communities.
  2. Identify the characteristics of farming communities and understand why humans began to switch from foraging to farming.
  3. Use the historical thinking practices of comparison to understand how life today differs from that of early farmers.

Vocab Terms:

  • agrarian
  • domesticate
  • hierarchy
  • Neolithic
  • pastoralist
  • surplus
STEP 1

Opener: The Agricultural Revolution

Teaching Tools

Check out this video External link to see how one OER Project teacher uses a variety of Agricultural Revolution resources in her classroom.

How can the course frames help you evaluate early human societies? In this activity, you’ll get ready for this lesson about one of the most important changes in human history.

STEP 2

Agriculture

Teaching Tools

Check out our Comparison One-Pager to learn more about how we approach this historical thinking practice.

The Agricultural Revolution was a huge transformation in the way people lived. This video and activity will help you uncover some ways that those changes are still playing out today.

The Agricultural Revolution: Crash Course World History #1 External link

The Agricultural Revolution is widely considered to be a key turning point in human history. It gave us cheeseburgers, but was it good for us? Can we even call it a revolution?

Key Ideas

As this video progresses, key ideas will be introduced to invoke discussion.
STEP 3

Causation and the Camel

Teaching Tools

For more information about how we address causation at OER Project, take a look at the Causation One-Pager.

STEP 4

Writing Prep: Farming or Foraging

Teaching Tools

OER Project teachers use frames in a variety of ways. Learn more by checking out this conversation External link in our online community.

STEP 5

Closer: The Agricultural Revolution