High School Social Studies

Unit 3 - Construction of Power

October

Overview

This World Studies unit focuses on the study of revolutions and individuals' resistance against established power structures. Students will explore how people in different regions, with a particular emphasis on Latin America, have fought against authority, questioned sovereignty, and redefined power dynamics. The unit delves into the concepts of individual and state sovereignty, examining how power is conferred and how it evolves over time. Students will analyze different forms of government, highlighting the role of agency and the ability to push back against power structures. They will also explore the notion of citizens as active participants in governance and the importance of their role in shaping political systems. The unit will investigate the control of the means of production and its influence on power dynamics. Moreover, students will critically examine the outcomes of revolutions, highlighting that they are not always successful and often differ from the idealized visions initially envisioned. Throughout the unit, students will consistently assess the contrast between the realities of governance and the idealized representations found in written documents. The unit also explores revolutions of thought, power, and political space, drawing on the Enlightenment era as a key influence on challenging existing power structures.

The focus of each unit could include one or more of the following:

Anchor Event: Industrial Revolution

Regional Focus: Europe

Concept: Nation Building

Prepared Graduates

1. Apply the process of inquiry to examine and analyze how historical knowledge is viewed, constructed, and interpreted.

2. Analyze historical time periods and patterns of continuity and change, through multiple perspectives, within and among cultures and societies.

3. Apply geographic representations and perspectives to analyze human movement, spatial patterns, systems, and the connections and relationships among them.

Grade Level Standard(s)

GLE: History 1: Apply the historical method of inquiry to formulate compelling questions, evaluate primary and secondary sources, analyze and interpret data, and argue for an interpretation defended by textual evidence.

GLE: History 3: Analyze and evaluate key concepts of continuity and change, cause and effect, complexity, unity and diversity, and significant ideas throughout the world from the Renaissance to the present.

GLE: Geography 1: Use geographic tools and resources to analyze Earth’s human systems and physical features to investigate and address geographic issues.

The highlighted evidence outcomes are the priority for all students, serving as the essential concepts and skills. It is recommended that the remaining evidence outcomes listed be addressed as time allows, representing the full breadth of the curriculum.

Students Can (Evidence Outcomes):

History: 1.1.a. Formulate compelling and supporting questions after evaluating primary sources for point of view and historical context.
History: 1.1.b. Gather and analyze historical information to address questions from a range of primary and secondary sources containing a variety of perspectives. For example: Perspectives of historically underrepresented groups.
History: 1.1.c. Gather and analyze historical information from a range of qualitative and quantitative sources. For example: Demographic, economic, social, and political data.

History: 1.3.b. Investigate causes and effects of significant events from the Renaissance to the present. Including but not limited to: the Renaissance, the Protestant Reformation, and the Industrial Revolution.
History: 1.3.e. Evaluate the historical development and impact of philosophical and political movements and belief systems. Including but not limited to: the Enlightenment and humanism.
History: 1.3.f. Investigate the historical development and impact of major scientific and technological innovations. For example: The Industrial Age (e.g., the British factory system) and scientific innovations such as the printing press.

Geography: 2.1.b. Create and interpret maps to display and explain the spatial patterns of cultural and environmental characteristics using geospatial and related technologies.
Geography 2.1.c. Evaluate relationships between the locations of places and regions and their political, cultural, and economic relationships using maps, satellite images, photographs, and other representations.

Essential Skills

Interpret, analyze, and draw conclusions using historical sources (Critical Thinking and Analysis).
Interpret geographic information and draw conclusions based on geospatial reasonings (Critical Thinking and Analysis).
Historical thinkers use primary and secondary sources to evaluate and develop hypotheses and diverse interpretations of historical events and figures and patterns and trends.
Historical thinkers evaluate the credibility of a source by examining how experts value the source.
Historical thinkers use information and context to interpret, evaluate, and inform decisions or policies regarding such issues which societies find contentious or worthy of debate and discussion.
Historical thinkers consider what perspectives or information is left out of an argument and why that might be important to know.
Geographic thinkers gather, display, and analyze geographic information using geographic tools.
Geographic thinkers analyze how people’s lives and identities are rooted in time and place.

Inquiry Questions

How does studying a variety of perspectives allow us to construct a more complete record of the past?

Why are historical questions important?

How do historical thinkers use primary and secondary sources to formulate historical arguments?

How do cooperation and conflict influence the division and control of the social, economic, and political spaces on Earth?

Disciplinary, Informational and Media Literacy

Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, connecting insights gained from specific details to an understanding of a text as a whole.
Evaluate various explanations for actions or events and determine which explanation best accords with textual evidence, acknowledging where the text leaves matters uncertain.
Analyze in detail how a complex primary and/or secondary source is structured, including how key sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text contribute to the whole.
Evaluate historians’ differing points of view on the same historical event or issue by assessing the authors’ claims, reasoning, and evidence.
Interpret, analyze, and detect bias in historical sources.
Synthesize information from a range of sources such as texts, experiments, and simulations into a coherent understanding of a process, phenomenon, or concept, resolving conflicting information, when possible.

Academic Vocabulary and Language Expectations

absolutism, colonialism, imperialism, nationalism, Social Darwinism, periphery, Christendom, industrial revolution, humanism
Grade 9-12 Social Studies Language Expectations

Possible Assessments: