In this unit on Global Convergence, students will using their the Internet, Textbook, and other resources with Common Core Standards in History to do independent research to answer the questions stated above. Students will collect biographical information on a slave from this era and use them to show the movement of people and goods between three continents. Students will produce a One Pager to visually show their concept and understanding of the standards.

Time Frame one week.

Culminating activity: Students will create a One Pager exploring the question, "How does mercantilism and colonization combine to effect three continents between the 1500's and 1700's?"

CALIFORNIA HISTORY CONTENT STANDARDS

7.11 Students analyze political and economic change in the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries (the Age of Exploration, the Enlightenment, and the Age of Reason).

     2. Discuss the exchanges of plants, animals, technology, culture, and ideas among Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and the major        economic and social effects on each continent.

     3. Examine the origins of modern capitalism; the influence of mercantilism and cottage industry; the elements and importance of a market economy in seventeenth-century   Europe; the changing international trading and marketing patterns, including their locations on a world map; and the influence of explorer and  map makers.

COMMON CORE READING STANDARDS FOR LITERACY IN HISTORY/SOCIAL STUDIES 6–12

RH 2. Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.

RH 8. Distinguish among fact, opinion, and reasoned judgment in a text.

WHST 2.b. Develop the topic with relevant, well-chosen facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples.

WHST 6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas clearly and efficiently.

WHST 7. Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration.

Students will research the topic using their textbook and web resources to establish a connection between mercantilism, colonialism, and the slave trade. They will research a biography of a slave that lived in the 15-17 Century and use their story in their projects. They then have to produce a One Pager with their finding. A one-pager is a way to visually share key ideas and information from what you have learned. When you create a one-pager, you are trying to use both visual symbols and important words to clearly and concisely share your most important takeaways with someone else.  The students' projects are posted below by period.

After writing their advisory letter to their king, students then participated in a debrief to the academic conversations. This activity served as an assessment on the conversations and how students felt it helped them build their knowledge to show competence in understanding of the content standard. The self assessment is shown in the pie charts below, while the peer assessment is expressed in the short answer questions below.

Self Assessment

Peer Assessment