5-8 Benchmark 1-C. World: compare and contrast major historical eras, events and figures from ancient civilizations to the age of exploration:
Grade Performance Standards
1. describe the characteristics of early societies, including the development of tools and adaptation to environments;
2. identify, describe and explain the political, religious, economic and social conditions in Europe that led to the era of colonization;
3. identify the European countries that colonized the North American continent and their areas of settlement; and
4. describe the development of slavery as a widespread practice that limits human freedoms and potentials.
1. describe and compare the characteristics of the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia and China and explain the importance of their contributions to later civilizations, to include:
a. significance of river valleys; early irrigation and its impact on agriculture;
b. forms of government (e.g., the theocracies in Egypt, dynasties in China);
c. effect on world economies and trade;
d. key historical figures;
e. religious traditions, cultural, and scientific contributions (e.g., writing systems, calendars, building of monuments such as the pyramids);
2. describe and analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious and social structures of early civilizations of India, to include:
a. location and description of the river systems and other topographical features that supported the rise of this civilization;
b. significance of the Aryan invasions;
c. structure and function of the caste system;
d. important aesthetic and intellectual traditions (e.g., Sanskrit literature, medicine, metallurgy, mathematics including Hindu-Arabic numerals and the number zero);
3. describe and analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious and social structures of the early civilizations in China, to include:
a. location and description of the origins of Chinese civilization in the Huang-He valley, Shang dynasty, geographical features of China that made governance and movement of ideas and goods difficult and served to isolate the country;
b. life of Confucius and the fundamental teachings of Confucianism and Taoism;
c. rule by dynasties (e.g., Shang, Qin, Han, Tang, and Ming);
d. historical influence of China on other parts of the world (e.g., tea, paper, wood-block printing, compass, gunpowder);
4. describe major religions of the world to include Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam (e.g., founding leaders, traditions, customs, beliefs);
5. compare and contrast the geographic, political, economic, and social characteristics of the ancient Greek, ancient Roman, Ottoman, Indian, Arabic, African and middle eastern civilizations and their enduring impacts on later civilizations, to include:
a. influence of Mediterranean geography on the development and expansion of the civilizations;
b. development of concepts of government and citizenship (e.g., democracy, republic, codification of laws, Code of Hammurabi);
c. scientific and cultural advancements (e.g., networks of roads, aqueducts, art, architecture, literature, theater, philosophy);
d. contributions and roles of key figures (e.g., Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Augustus); and
6. compare and contrast the political and economic events and the social and geographic characteristics of medieval European life and their enduring impacts on later civilizations, to include:
a. creation and expansion of the Byzantine empire;
b. reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire;
c. new forms of government, feudalism and the beginning of limited government with the Magna Carta;
d. role of the roman catholic church and its monasteries;
e. causes, course and effects of the Crusades; impact of the black plague; contributions and roles of key figures (e.g., Charlemagne, Joan of Arc, Marco Polo).
1. compare and contrast the influence of Spain on the western hemisphere from colonization to the present.
1. describe and explain the significance of the line of demarcation on the colonization of the new world;
2. compare and contrast the influence of European countries (e.g., England, France, Holland) on the development of colonies in the new world;
3. describe and explain the impact of the American revolution on France and the French revolution.