Social Studies

Social Studies I: Early Globalization

How do ideas spark change? This is the overarching question that students in Early Globalization have been investigating throughout Unit 1: Europe Before the Great Convergence. One of the topics that was covered during this unit was the Protestant Reformation. This was a time of great change in Europe involving the splintering of the Catholic Church and setting the stage for new Protestant beliefs. Many were growing tired of perceived abuses by the Catholic Church, including requiring members to pay a fee or “indulgence” to the church for forgiveness of sin. The leader of this Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther, was the first to bring the corruption and abuses of the Catholic Church to the masses.

For this particular assignment, our students completed what is known as a DBQ or document-based question. Students were given a series of primary source documents written during the Protestant Reformation. Each document provided arguments either from the Catholic Church’s perspective or the perspective of reformers. Students analyzed the documents and then answered questions based on each. The use of DBQ’s in Social Studies is to provide students an opportunity to act as a historian. Students analyze sources for purpose and context and can then begin to make deeper connections between he documents themselves.

We are very proud of our students for the work that they put into this DBQ. This was the first attempt at tackling an assignment of this caliber and overall they did a great job!