Scale
Human beings have a hard time with scale. How do you get your mind around a grain of sand compared to a planet? A decade of a person’s life compared to billions of years in the life of a star? In these scale activities and lessons, you’ll get a Big History perspective on humanity and our Universe. Use it to help students master the art of scale switching, a tool that will change the way they think.
Featured Materials
Scale Switching
Article
Scale Switching
Scale switching helps us see connections between the story of how you ended up in a Big History class and the history of human migration, the formation of Earth, and the death of stars.
Zooming Out
Opener
Zooming Out
How does your understanding of an image change as you zoom out?
Zooming In
Closer
Zooming In
When we look at things at a large scale, we see the big picture. But when we’re zoomed out too far, we often miss smaller details about the lives of the individuals who make history happen.
Lessons
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.
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Lesson 1.2
What Is World History?
World history is the study of connections linking humanity across our long history. Developing skills like claim testing and scale switching will help you reveal those connections.
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Materials
Scale: History of Me
Activity
Scale: History of Me
You have five minutes to write a history of you. What will you include and at what scale will you tell your story?
Unit 1 Introduction: History of Many Shapes and Sizes
Article
Unit 1 Introduction: History of Many Shapes and Sizes
History might seem simple—it’s just a list of names, dates, and events, right? Historians would beg to differ. Learn why in this article.
The Universe’s Cosmic Calendar
Activity
The Universe’s Cosmic Calendar
Scale switching is an important skill when you’re trying to visualize the history of the Universe in one year.