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The First Global Age

Teacher Resources

Driving Question: How did the first ongoing connections between the hemispheres promote change both globally and regionally?

Before 1492, complex societies with thriving exchange networks existed in most regions of the world—but they weren’t connected. That changed when Europeans reached the Americas, launching the Columbian Exchange, a global exchange system that moved crops, animals, people, and ideas to new continents. But this exchange also brought long-lasting negative impacts such as disease and slavery, with devastating consequences.

Learning Objectives:

  1. Evaluate the historical narrative of expanding networks and the formation of a new global age.
  2. Explain how increasing global connections from 1200 to 1750 affected communities, production and distribution, and networks.
STEP 1

Opener: The First Global Age

Today, we’re used to having toilet paper or batteries delivered to our doorstep with a single click. But how did goods and ideas find their way to people during the First Global Age?

STEP 2

Looking Ahead

STEP 3

Collapse and Restructuring

The Columbian Exchange brought the world closer together, but how dramatic were the changes it produced?

The First Global Age (1200 to 1750 CE): Unit 6 Overview External link

As global interconnections increased during the Columbian Exchange, people blended traditional teachings with new ideas to transform the world.

Key Ideas

As this video progresses, key ideas will be introduced to invoke discussion.
STEP 4

Framing Unit 6

This video and activity will help us use the frames to evaluate the impacts of the first global networks between Afro-Eurasia and the Americas.

Frames in Unit 6 External link

The connection of Afro-Eurasia with the Americas established the first truly global network, creating waves of change all over the world—but with uneven results.

Key Ideas

As this video progresses, key ideas will be introduced to invoke discussion.
STEP 5

Closer: The First Global Age

Extension Materials
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Use this post-writing activity to evaluate and improve organization and language/style in an essay—either your own or a student sample.
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Essay Review: Organization and Language/Style

A great way to improve your writing skill is to evaluate writing samples. In this activity, you’ll evaluate your own writing or a sample essay using the Organization and Language/Style rows of the OER Project Writing Rubric.