Big History Project

Where did we come from? What causes change? Where are we heading?

Big History takes on these questions that originate with the dawn of time, and gives students a framework to tell the story of humanity’s place in the Universe. It’s more than a history course. Big History helps students see the overall picture and make sense of the pieces: it looks at the past from the Big Bang to modernity, seeking out common themes and patterns that can help us better understand people, civilizations, and the world we live in.

Big History arose from a desire to transcend traditional self-contained fields of study and grasp history as a whole, looking for linked ideas and connections across history’s entire spectrum. By teaching students to explore these connections, and to effectively question, analyze and postulate, it provides a foundation for thinking not only about the past, but also the future and the changes that are reshaping our world.

The Big History Project represents a strong collaboration between teachers, university faculty and technical professionals. Built from the ground up to support the Common Core and best practices from classrooms around the world, the course includes a rich and comprehensive set of videos, readings, infographics, and classroom activities for students and teachers. Throughout, students encounter challenging ideas and questions and learn to connect ideas across 13.8 billion years of time and an array of disciplines. The course asks students to thoughtfully and rigorously engage with the claims they encounter along the way.

Big History is a free online set of course materials. These materials will always be free. All we ask of teachers is to share what they have learned so we can continually make the course better. The best ideas within the course have always come from the teachers that teach it. Here’s what teachers have said about teaching Big History for the first time—we look forward to hearing about your experience!

Big History requires students to examine big questions:

How has the Universe and life within it grown more complex over the past 13.8 billion years?
How do we know what we know about the past?
How can we judge claims about the past?
Why does what we “know” change over time?
How does what happened during the early days of the Universe, the Solar System, and the Earth shape what we are experiencing today?

Students get to participate in the important and exciting work of exploring, developing, and testing big answers.

*BIG HISTORY PROJECT / SY 2018-19 / FULL COURSE GUIDE 4

Class Codes:

https://www.oerproject.com/Account/Join-Class

7th Grade: PWK1Q2

8th Grade (Room 34): WVBA38

8th Grade (Room 35): U74CXJ

screen-capture (1).webm

Report abuse