• Students will explain regional interactions through trade, migration, and conquest

•  They will analyze how geography (mountains, water, resources) and human factors affect these connections.

• Students will analyze historical maps from European, Asian, and American cartographers.

• Demonstrate the ability to analyze primary sources, including texts, maps, diagrams, works of art and architecture.

• What kinds of global connections existed among humans in the past? 

• How do ideas migrate across cultures?

• Explain how the events of the Middle Ages in Western Europe shaped or impacted the development of the region.

• Explain the consolidation of wealth of the Catholic Church and the power struggles within the church in the 11th century CE, the development of the practices of feudalism, knighthood, and chivalry in Europe, and the emergence of the concept of rights in England.

• Evaluate the causes, course, and consequences of the European Crusades in the Mediterranean region in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries CE.

• Explain the global consequences of diseases, focusing on the Bubonic plague and its spread through the Eurasian and African trade routes several times, in particular the severity of the impact of the disease on mortality rates in Europe, Africa, and Asia in the 15th century CE.

• What are the core beliefs and values of Judaism and Christianity and how did they both develop? 

• How did feudalism and the manor economy provide a measure of political, economic, and social order after the fall of Rome (476 CE)?

• In what ways did the Church take over and maintain the functions of the state after the fall of Rome?  How did it impact people economically, socially, and politically? 

• As feudalism declined, agriculture, trade, finance, towns, and universities developed.  How did these changes lay the groundwork for a modern Europe?

• How did the Black Death destabilize the GGREATS of Western Europe? How might the economic model explain the changes that occurred?

• Describe the central tenets of Islam.

• Understand and evaluate the Abbasid Caliphate in western Asia and North Africa (750–1258 CE) and the flourishing of Islamic arts, science, and learning.

• Describe the influence of Islam on art and architecture within the societies connected by trade networks.  

• Evaluate and analyze  how the existence of monotheistic religions in the Middle East mattered in the creation and spread of Islam.

• Analyze the reasons behind the Sunni and Shia split of the religion and evaluate the main differences between them

•  Locate on a map and analyze relationships between political power, religion, and cultural achievement in the Islamic Empire.

• Explain the role of Islamic scholars in preserving Greek, Roman, and Arabic texts after the collapse of the Roman Empire.

• Understand and explain the development of Islamic and European universities from the 9th to the 13th centuries.

• How and where did Islam originate and spread?

• How did the development of religions and belief systems influence the political and cultural structures of the regions where they were produced?

• How did the trading networks across the Muslim world encourage the spread of Islam? What were other effects?

•  What was the influence of empire on technological development?

• What conditions are needed to lead to a "Golden Age" within a society?

• What was the influence of Islam on art and architecture?

Students will:

• • Explain how geographical factors—such as the location of bodies of water and natural resources—influenced the development and expansion of the Indian Ocean trade network.

  • Explain the different ways societies interact across regions (trade, religion, linguistic, and technological exchange).

• •  Understand gunpowder as a revolutionary technology and how it changed power structures.

  • Explain what the role of the Mongol Empire was in the Silk Routes, the rule of Genghis Khan and Kublai Khan, and contacts with Europeans entailed. 

  • Analyze the military innovations, tactical leadership of Genghis Khan, and geographic factors that enabled the rapid expansion of the Mongol Empire.

  • Explain how military technology—specifically firearms, artillery, and gunpowder—enabled the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires to centralize power and expand their territorial control.

  • Describe the political organization, religious policies (such as the millet system), and key achievements of the Ottoman Empire during its height under rulers like Suleiman the Magnificent.

  • Explain the rise of the Safavid Empire, its establishment of Shia Islam as the state religion, and how geopolitical and sectarian rivalries led to conflict with the neighboring Sunni Ottoman Empire.

• How do the effects of trade impact the development of a civilization?

• In what ways does cultural diffusion reflect the interconnectedness of peoples across a broad geographic area?

• How did cultural diversity contribute to the decentralization of power among empires during the medieval era?

• What are the core beliefs and values of Hinduism and Buddhism?

• How did Buddhism and Hinduism help develop Indian culture?

• What were the “gunpowder empires”? Why were they called that?

• How does new military technology transform the balance of political power and the size of empires?

• How can a vast, diverse empire maintain stability and central authority over centuries?

• How do religious identity and geographic proximity drive conflict between neighboring superpowers?

• Is an empire stronger when it enforces religious uniformity or when it promotes religious tolerance?

• How do rulers use monumental art, architecture, and economic control to prove their right to rule?

• Were the Mongols primarily brutal conquerors or vital facilitators of global trade and cultural exchange?

• How can a nomadic society overcome settled, agrarian civilizations to build the largest contiguous land empire in world history?

• Map the geographical extent of the West African kingdoms and  explain their central political, economic, cultural developments and its role in trade, diplomatic alliances, warfare, and exchanges with other parts of the world. 

• Explain the West African empires of ancient Ghana (c. 700–1240 CE), Mali (c.1230–1670 CE), and Songhai (15th-17th centuries CE), the importance of Timbuktu as a center of trade and learning, the gold-salt and slave trade.

• How did Africa’s location and its physical geography contribute to the development of its Geography, Government, Religion, Economy, Arts & Architecture, Technology, Society? 

• How did trade impact the development of societies and civilizations?

• What were the key factors that contributed to the significant kingdoms and empires of Post-Classical Africa advancement? 

Students will be able to:

• Determine how climate change played a key role in the collapse of ancient Maya civilization.

• Identify the major economic, political, and social effects of the Columbian Exchange.

• Describe the impact of Christian missionaries on religious and social structures in the Americas.

• Understand that the reason for collapse of American empires was primarily disease

•  Explain the expansion of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

• Why is it important to learn Indigenous Peoples’ history?

• What were the GGREATS of the Indigenous civilizations? How developed were the GGREATS of the Indigenous civilizations (were they rising, at their peak, in decline, etc. during the post-Classical era)?

• How do the Aztecs use alliances and their geography to establish power? 

• How have historical civilizations reacted and adapted to climate change? 

• How does the way we record history change the way we use history?

Students will be able to:

• Explain the mandate of heaven and the dynastic cycle and how they justify the power of Chinese dynasties.

• Explain the consolidation of the Song Dynasty and the development of the scholar-official concept.

• Describe the Mongol Empire under Genghis Khan and Kublai Khan, including its role on the Silk Route.

• Explain the global spread and consequences of Chinese inventions like gunpowder, the compass, and printing.

• Analyze the key characteristics of China’s Golden Age during the Tang and Song Dynasties. 

• Identify the political, cultural, and technological advancements that occurred during this period.

• Evaluate how these advancements contributed to China’s long-lasting impact on the world.

• How did the dynastic cycle justify the rise and fall of Chinese dynasties? 

• How did China’s Golden Age during the Tang and Song Dynasties influence the development of Chinese culture, society, and its legacy on the world?

• What were the extensive trade routes that linked India and Southeast Asia to other parts of the world? 

• How did the Civil Service Exam system in China and determine how it indicates Chinese political and cultural values?

• How does art reflect the values of a society?

Students will be able to:

• Understand how the rediscovery of Greek and Roman models of art, philosophy, science and government influenced the Renaissance.

• Explain the core goals, policies, and outcomes of the Catholic Counter-Reformation.

• Analyze how the Reformation and Counter-Reformation reshaped European political power, fueled religious persecution, and sparked major European wars in the 15th and 16th centuries.

• Describe the emergence of a wealthy Protestant middle class in 17th-century Northern Europe and explain their role in global trade networks and patronage of the arts and sciences.

• Summarize how the scientific method and new observation tools (like telescopes and microscopes) challenged existing views of the universe, using evidence from the accomplishments of at least two key figures.

• Explain how specific advances in shipbuilding and navigation tech enabled European maritime exploration, conquest, and global trade expansion.

• Explain the traditional Chinese doctrine of the Mandate of Heaven and evaluate how it defined a ruler's moral legitimacy and right to rule.

• What were the external and internal  factors that  led to the European Renaissance?

• How is art a reflection of the society in which it was created?

• What was the impact of the Protestant Reformation? 

• How did political leaders utilize the Reformation to consolidate their own power?

• How did the Catholic Church respond to the Protestant Reformation?

• How and why did the Reformation lead to conflict between emerging political powers?

• How did global events lead to the European Scientific Revolution?

• What were the main ideas of the Enlightenment and what was their influence on world history?