Understandings

Over the course of the school-year, you will accumulate a great deal of knowledge about global history.  My goal is for you to also be equipped to connect the knowledge of specific historical events to big ideas that frame the study of history.

In particular, by the end of the school-year, all students should understand that…

• History is the study of (the written record) of how human beings change the world over time.
• Historical events are identified by the place and time in which they happen.
• Human beings interact with the physical environment (or geography) of a place and that interaction affects both the environment and the people.
• Groups of people, or societies, make decisions about what to produce and how to distribute goods and services. (Economics)
• Groups of people, or societies, make decisions about the rules and laws they want people to follow. (Politics)
• The decisions societies make about economics and politics shape/define the relationships that people in society have with one another. (Social)
• Societies develop ideas and beliefs to explain and to shape their lives and the decisions that they make.
• Societies create tools and gather, record and create knowledge about how to use those tools to shape society.
• Events in history are shaped by the events and conditions that precede them; they, in turn, shape the events and conditions that follow them.