Humanities I

Map of the world from Ranulph Higden’s Polychronicon, England, c. 1350, Royal MS 14 C IX, ff. 1v-2 https://blogs.bl.uk/digitisedmanuscripts/2014/01/a-map-at-the-end-of-the-world.html

Humanities I

Ms. Emami 864-3311 ext. 127

memami@rangeleyschool.org


High School Classroom Policies:

  • RLRS: Classroom behavior is expected to adhere to the student code of conduct.

  • Cell phones: School time is an opportunity to be free of your Cell phones. Cell phones are allowed in the cafeteria during break and lunch only. Cell phones are NOT allowed to be visible anywhere else in the building. The use of cell phones in a classroom for specific purposes is at each teacher’s discretion.

  • Hats: Hats are allowed in classrooms at each teacher’s discretion. Students may be asked to remove their hats at any time.


Humanities I

Students cover from the days of nomadic roaming tribes in 10,000 B.C.E. to the meeting of hemispheres throughout the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries. Humanities I explores the impacts of civilizations gaining, consolidating, and losing power in an increasingly interconnected world. Through the investigation and analysis of primary and secondary sources, students have the opportunity to think critically, and to read, write, and speak like historians, while simultaneously honing the literacy and critical thinking skills necessary for post-secondary coursework and knowledge needed to be responsible 21st-century citizens. To teach students about concepts that recur throughout human history, a list of enduring issues is used which are the basis for the enduring questions in the curriculum. Students address the questions throughout the course through unit introductions, enduring question check-ins, unit closers, end-of-unit assessments, and performance tasks.


Eras

Beginnings to 600 BCE: Technological and environmental transformations.

600 BCE to 600 CE: Organization and reorganization of human societies.

600 to 1450: Regional and interregional interactions.


Instructional Methods: The course is Inquiry-based and begins with vocabulary, then continues with content background lessons, multiple-choice formative check-ins, close-reads, a unit synthesis task, the end of the unit summative assessment, and GRASP Performance Task.


Unit Structure:

Introduce Unit Essential and Enduring Questions

Vocabulary Introduction (Formative Assessments)

Geographic and Historical Context (Formative Assessments)

Content Background Lessons (Formative Assessments)

Close Read (Formative Assessments)

Enduring Issues Check-ins (Formative Assessments)

Unit Synthesis (Summative GRASP Task)

End of Unit Assessment (Summative Assessment)


Course Outline:


UNIT 1: The First Civilizations (September)

Essential Question:

How do people respond to their environments?

Unit Description:

The development of agriculture enabled the rise of the first civilizations, located primarily along river valleys; these complex societies were influenced by geographic conditions and shared a number of defining political, social, and economic characteristics.


UNIT 2: Classical Civilizations (October - 1st Week of November)

Essential Question:

How did classical civilizations gain, consolidate, maintain and lose their power?

Unit Description:

Classical civilizations in Eurasia and Mesoamerica (which will be covered in Unit 9.5) employed a variety of methods to expand and maintain control over vast territories. They developed lasting cultural achievements. Both internal and external forces led to the eventual decline of these empires.


UNIT 3: Political Powers and Achievements (2nd Week of November-End of November)

Essential Question:

How did post-classical gain, consolidate, maintain and lose their power?

Unit Description:

New power arrangements emerged across Eurasia. Political states and empires employed a variety of techniques for expanding and maintaining control. Periods of relative stability allowed for significant cultural, technological, and scientific innovations.


UNIT 4: Social and Cultural Growth and Conflict (December)

Essential Question:

How did increased interconnectedness affect the postclassical world?

Unit Description:

During the postclassical era, the growth of transregional empires and the use of trade networks influenced religions and spread disease. These cross-cultural interactions also led to conflict and demographic impacts.


UNIT 5: Ottoman and Ming Pre-1600 (January)

Essential Question:

How did the Ottoman Empire and Ming Dynasty gain, consolidate and maintain their power?

Unit Description:

During the postclassical era, the growth of transregional empires and the use of trade networks influenced religions and spread disease. These cross-cultural interactions also led to conflict and demographic impacts.


UNIT 6: Transformation of W. Europe & Russia (February)

Essential Question:

How did new ideas and innovation affect Western Europe and Russia starting in the 15th century?

Unit Description:

Western Europe and Russia transformed politically, economically, and culturally between 1400 and 1750. This transformation included state building, conflicts, shifts in power and authority, and new ways of understanding the world.


UNIT 7: Africa and the Americas Pre-1600 (March)

Essential Question:

How did pre-1600s civilizations in Africa and the Americas gain, consolidate, and maintain power?

Unit Description:

The environment, trade networks, and belief systems influenced the development of complex societies and civilizations in Africa and the Americas between 1325 and 1600.


UNIT 8: Interactions and Disruptions (April)

Essential Question:

How did increased interconnectedness affect the world after the Encounter?

Unit Description:

Efforts to reach the Indies resulted in the encounter between the people of Western Europe, Africa, and the Americas. This encounter led to a devastating impact on populations in the Americas, the rise of the transatlantic slave trade, and the re-orientation of trade networks.


Scoring:


Formative assessments and HOW will be scored for 25% of your grade.

Summative assessments will be scored for 75% of your grade.


Formative assessments:


Formative work: Pieces of work will be scored following the guidelines below.

  • Turned in on the due date, may receive full credit based on completion

  • Turned in late, but prior to unit summative assessment, the possible max score drops to 75

  • Assignments not turned in before unit summative will receive a zero


Unit Quizzes: There will be multiple lesson quizzes during each unit. A missed quiz must be made up in a timely manner. Students are responsible for making a plan with their teacher. Any quizzes not made up will be scored as a zero.


Summative Assessments:


Tests/ End of Unit Assessments:


  • Summative assessments are expected to be finished within one class period unless otherwise specified. Students are expected to come prepared on a test day.

  • It is the responsibility of the student to make up an end-of-unit assessment. The student must follow up with the teacher and make a recovery plan outside of class time. Students have 2 school days per excused day to make up work for full credit.

    • Summative Assessments turned in after the assigned due date, without communication with the teacher, will have a penalty of 5% per school day taken from the overall score.

  • Cases of extended absences will be dealt with on an individual basis with consultation with the administration.

  • Summative tests may be retaken at the discretion of the teacher outside of class time, within two weeks of receiving the original score. The final score will be based on the discretion of the teacher.

  • The final Exam will be worth two Summative scores.