World Civilizations

Grade 3

Trimester I:

Unit I: European Feudalism (3 weeks)

Unit II: Islam (3 weeks)

Unit III: China and Japan (3 weeks)

Unit IV: High Middle Ages (3 weeks)

Trimester II:

Unit V: Renaissance & Reformation (3 weeks)

Unit VI: Exploration and the Americas (3 weeks)

Unit VII: Absolutism(3 weeks)

Unit VIII: Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment (3 weeks)

World Civilizations

Trimester One

European Feudalism

Unit I / European Feudalism
MA Standard/Strands / WHI. 7b,c
Time Frame / 3 weeks
Text Chapter(s)/pages / World History Connection to Today
Chapter 8
Essential Questions /
  1. Explain how the church (Christianity) and state became connected during the reign of Charlemagne.
  2. How did Charlemagne unite Western Europe?
  3. Why did feudalism become the social and political system of the Middle Ages?
  4. In detail describe the feudal relationships (Lord, Vassal, and Serf).
  5. How is a manor self-sufficient?
  6. What is the code of Chivalry and what part did it play throughout the Middle Ages?
  7. Describe in detail three ways in which the church shaped medieval life.
  8. How did Monks and nuns help shape Christian civilization in Europe? What roles did they play?
  9. In what ways did feudalism encourage the growth of the Roman Catholic Church?
  10. What question will arise between church and state once feudalism is weakened?
  11. Describe new business practices and how they contributed to the fall of feudalism.
  12. What is the connection between the Agricultural Revolution and the end of feudalism?

Targeted Skill(s) / Reading, writing, map skills, primary source analysis, independent research, higher-level thinking and discussion, mastery of essential questions

Islam

Unit II / Islam
MA Standard/Strands / WHI.1, WHI.2, WHI.3, WHI.4, WHI.5
Time Frame / 3 weeks
Text Chapter(s)/pages / World History Connection to Today
Chapter 11
Essential Questions / 1.Describe the life of Muhammad.
2.Explain why Mecca was a bustling market town.
3.In what ways was the Quran a part of a Muslim’s life?
4.In what ways was the Sharia a part of a Muslim’s life?
5.In detail explain how Islam became both a religion and a way of life.
6.Compare and contrast Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.
7.Compare and contrast Sunni and Shiite Muslims. Be sure to explain their different origins and beliefs.
8.Why were the Arabs successful in rapidly conquering lands?
9.In what ways did the spread of Islam contribute to success in trade?
10.In detail describe the Islamic Golden Age. Be sure to discuss a minimum of three accomplishments and the atmosphere.
11.Why did the Arab Empire decline?
Targeted Skill(s) / Reading, writing, map skills, primary source analysis, independent research, higher-level thinking and discussion, mastery of essential questions

China and Japan

Unit III / China and Japan
MA Standard/Strands / WHI.23-27
Time Frame / 3 weeks
Text Chapter(s)/pages / World History Connection to Today
Chapter 4 Sections 4-5
Chapter 13
Essential Questions /
  1. Summarize the Dynastic Cycle.
  2. What is the main goal of Confucianism and how can it be reached?
  3. What is the main goal of Legalism and how can it be reached?
  4. What is the main goal of Daoism and how can it be reached?
  5. What is the main goal of Buddhism and how can it be reached?
  6. In what ways was the Silk Road important from a world perspective?
  7. Describe the two types of exchanges that took place on the Silk Road; cultural and economic.
  8. Summarize what you know about Foot Binding. When and how did it begin? What was the process? When and why was it outlawed?
  9. What are three accomplishments of the Tang Dynasty?
  10. What are three accomplishments of the Song Dynasty?
  11. How did the Mongols take over China? Give three examples of why they were so successful.
  12. Why did the Mongol Empire fall?
  13. Why is Marco Polo important to world history?
  14. How did the Ming Dynasty re-establish Chinese rule and tradition?
  15. In what ways is Zheng He important to Chinese history?
16. What caused China to weaken as a world power?
17. Describe Shinto and Japanese Buddhism.
18. Describe Japanese feudalism and compare it European feudalism.
19. Explain the development and impact of the Tokugawa Shogunate.
20. Explain Japan’s cultural debt to China and Korea.
Targeted Skill(s) / Reading, writing, map skills, primary source analysis, independent research, higher-level thinking and discussion, mastery of essential questions

High Middle Ages

Unit IV / High Middle Ages
MA Standard/Strands / WHI.7d,e, WHI.8
Time Frame / 3 weeks
Text Chapter(s)/pages / World History Connection to Today
Chapter 9
Essential Questions /
  1. In what ways did monarchs try to strengthen royal power?
  2. Who was the power struggle that took place during the Middle Ages between and what was it over?
  3. Why was the Battle of Hastings the most important battle in English history? How did the Norman Conquest change the course of English history?
  4. Identify the Bayeux Tapestry.
  5. Describe the controversy between Henry II and Thomas Beckett. What was the ultimate result?
  6. What debt does the modern American legal system owe to Henry II?
  7. Describe the three problems that John Lackland encountered during his reign. Be sure to state the outcome of each.
  8. What was the purpose of the Magna Carta?
  9. Compare and contrast England’s Parliament and France’s Estates General.
  10. Explain how the Crusades began. Be sure to mention Alexius I, the Seljuks and Pope Urban II.
  11. What was the purpose of the Crusades?
  12. What were the motivations for going on the Crusades?
  13. Explain whether or not the Crusades were successful. This should be a yes and no answer.
  14. Describe the ways in which the Crusades changed Europe.
  15. Explain how the Plague began and how it spread.
  16. What effects did the Plague have on history?
  17. What was the Hundred Years War? Who was fighting and what were they fighting over?
  18. Compare and contrast the English and French strategies and tactics during the Hundred Years’ War.
  19. What effect did Joan of Arc have on the War?
  20. What were the results of the war? England, France, overall?

Targeted Skill(s) / Reading, writing, map skills, primary source analysis, independent research, higher-level thinking and discussion, mastery of essential questions

Trimester Two

Renaissance and Reformation

Unit V / Renaissance and Reformation
MA Standard/Strands / WHI. 29-32
Time Frame / 3 weeks
Text Chapter(s)/pages / World History Connection to Today - Chapter 14
Essential Questions
Essential Questions
(continued) /
  1. Of what was the Renaissance a “rebirth”?
  2. Why did the Renaissance begin in Italy?
  3. What role did the merchant class in Italy play?
  4. What city was the center of the Italian Renaissance? How did the location of the city influence the Renaissance movement?
  5. Contrast the beliefs of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
  6. Describe the ideal Renaissance Man.
  7. Describe the condition of women during the Renaissance.
  8. Define linear perspective.
  9. Contrast art of the Middle Ages to art of the Renaissance.
  10. Explain the artistic contributions of Leonardo daVinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael.
  11. Who is Machiavelli? What did he write and what did he believe?
  12. What role did the Pope’s have in spreading the Renaissance?
  13. What factors contributed to the spread of the Renaissance?
  1. Why did people begin to question the Catholic Church?
  2. Describe the development of the printing press and how it prepared the way for the Reformation.
  3. What was the Reformation reforming?
  4. Who is Martin Luther and how is he important to the Reformation Movement?
  5. Who is John Calvin and how is he important to the Reformation Movement?
  6. Define Predestination and Theocracy.
  7. Explain why Henry VIII split from the Roman Catholic Church. What was his motive for doing so?
  8. Explain in detail how Elizabeth I compromised the Catholic and Protestant religions in England.
  9. What was the Catholic Reformation and was it successful?
  10. What did the Council of Trent do to reform the Roman Catholic Church?
  11. What was the main goal of the Society of Jesus? In what ways did Jesuits try to meet this goal?

Targeted Skill(s) / Reading, writing, map skills, primary source analysis, independent research, higher-level thinking and discussion, mastery of essential questions

Exploration and the Americas

Unit VI / Exploration and the Americas
MA Standard/Strands / WHI. 12-14
Time Frame / 3 weeks
Text Chapter(s)/pages / World History Connection to Today
Chapter 7 Sections 1 and 2
Chapter 15 Section 1
Chapter 16 Section 1
Essential Questions / 1.What technological advances and societal conditions enabled exploration to occur?
2.Who were the significant European explorers and what did they do?
3.Explain how control of major resources influenced political, military, and economic development.
4.Explain how the environment shaped the Latin American cultures in Pre-Columbian America.
5.What factors enabled the Europeans to so easily defeat the Mesoamerican civilizations?
6.Is something moral and good if the vast majority of the population, over several generations, believes that it is?
7.In what ways were the Mesoamerican Civilizations advanced?
Targeted Skill(s) / Reading, writing, map skills, primary source analysis, independent research, higher-level thinking and discussion, mastery of essential questions

Absolutism

Unit VII / Absolutism
MA Standard/Strands / WHII. 1a, b, c, d, WHII.2a,b
Time Frame / 3 weeks
Text Chapter(s)/pages / World History Connection to Today
Chapter 17
Essential Questions /
  1. What were the defining characteristics of an absolute monarch?
  2. Was Philip II’s reign a success or failure?
  3. Why didn’t England develop an absolute monarch?
  4. What factors enabled Louis XIV to reach the height of absolutism?
  5. How could Louis XIV be responsible for the upcoming French Revolution?
  6. How did Peter the Great’s rule embody absolutism?
  7. To what extend was Peter the Great truly great?
  8. To what extent can the governments of Prussia and Austria be defined as absolutist?

Targeted Skill(s) / Reading, writing, map skills, primary source analysis, independent research, higher-level thinking and discussion, mastery of essential questions

Enlightenment and the Scientific Revolution

Unit VIII / Enlightenment and the Scientific Revolution
MA Standard/Strands / WHI. 33-35
Time Frame / 3 weeks
Text Chapter(s)/pages / World History Connection to Today
Chapter 14 Section 5
Chapter 18 Section 1 and 2
Essential Questions / 1.What are natural rights? What natural rights should people have?
2.Are people basically good or bad, or are they born with a “blank slate” and shaped by their environment?
3.Describe the major philosophers and the beliefs they introduced.
4.Does our society embrace enlightenment thought?
5.Was Adam Smith right? Does personal greed actually benefit society as a whole?
6.Name the prominent scientists and how their discoveries challenged long held beliefs.
7.How did the relationship between science and the Church change?
8.How did human understanding of the universe change?
9.Can technology change the course of history? To what extent are those changes positive?
Targeted Skill(s) / Reading, writing, map skills, primary source analysis, independent research, higher-level thinking and discussion, mastery of essential questions

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