Social Studies World History

Social Studies World History - Unit II Overview

Classical Civilizations

World History Chapter 3, sections 2, 4; Chapter 4; Chapter 5.
This unit continues the story of the rise of civilization through periods of unification and the growth of empires. Each civilization under study-the Greeks, Romans, Indians, and Chinese - went through periods of wars to unify and expand their territory. They also achieved classical periods where trade, government, philosophy, the arts, literature, and science flourished. Additionally, it was during this classical period that the world's major religions and philosophies continued to develop and spread. Justifiably, these civilizations deserve a special place in the study of world history because they serve as a model of excellence for their original ideas and lasting influence.

Critical Questions:

How do the political and cultural developments of classical civilizations influence our world today?
How did new ideas about government influence both classical and future civilizations?
Why do empires rise and fall?
In what ways did the creative ideas from science, math, technology, literature, philosophy, and the arts produced in the classical civilizations influence later cultures?
How did the religions of the ancient world change and spread during the classical period?

Student Performance Expectation

Key

Information in the brackets that is not in bold (8.2A) is the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skill (TEKS) that this objective is aligned to.

Information in the brackets that is in bold (8.2.11B) (8.2.12A) (11.2US10A) is the specific Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS- test) objective this objective is aligned to.

Unit II Resources

Identify the major eras in world history and explain their defining characteristics. (WH1A) (T10); (T11); (11.1.US1A-C) (10.3.WH1B)

Apply absolute and relative chronology through the sequencing of significant individuals, events, and time periods. (WH1C) (T10); (T11); (10.3.WH1B)

Summarize the major political, economic, and cultural developments of civilization in China and India. (WH1A,6C)

Summarize the fundamental ideas and institutions of Eastern civilizations that originated in China, [such as Confucian ethics]. (WH22A) (T10) (10.3.WG18A) (10.3.WH1B)

Compare the historical origins, central ideas, and the spread of major religions and philosophical traditions, including Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism. (WH19A) (T10) (10.2.WG1B)

Identify examples of religious influence in historic and contemporary world events. (WH19B)

Interpret historical and contemporary maps to identify and explain geographic factors such as the mountains of Greece and the peninsula of Rome that have influenced the people and events of the past. (WH12C) (T10); (T11); (10.2.WH12C) (10.5.WG21C) (11.5.WG21C)

Pose and answer questions about geographic distributions and patterns in world history shown on maps, graphs, charts, models, and databases. (WH11B) (T10); (T11); (10.2.WH11B) (11.2.WH11B)

Summarize the fundamental ideas and institutions of Western civilization that originated in Greece and Rome including government and law. (WH22B) (T10); (T11); (10.4.16A) (11.4.16A)

Trace the process by which democratic-republican government evolved from its beginnings in classical Greece and Rome. (WH16A) (T10); (T11); (10.3.WG18A) (10.4.16A) (11.4.16A)

Trace the historical development of the rule of law and rights and responsibilities, beginning in the ancient world and continuing to the beginning of the first modern constitutional republics. (WH18A) (T10); (T11); (10.4.16A) (11.416A)

Identify the impact of political and legal ideas contained in significant historic documents including Rome's Twelve Tables and Justinian's Code of Laws. (WH16B); (T10); (T11); (10.4.16A) (11.4.16A)

Analyze examples of major empires of the world such as [Alexander the Great and Rome]. (WH7A)

Analyze the effects of physical and human geography factors on major events in world history such as [the building of the empires of Alexander the Great, the Romans, and the Han and Gupta of India and China]. (WH12B) (T10); (T11); (10.2.WG1A) (10.2.WH12B) (10.5.WG8B) (11.2.WG1A)

Analyze the specific roles of women, children, and families in the classical civilizations.(WH21A)

Identify significant examples of art and architecture that demonstrate an artistic ideal or visual principle from selected cultures such as the Parthenon, the Coliseum, as well as others of the classical civilizations. (WH20A)

Analyze examples of how art, architecture, literature, music, and drama reflect the history of cultures in which they are produced. (i.e. the mythology or poetry of the Greeks, Romans, Chinese, and Indian civilizations; Greek, Roman, Chinese, and Indian architecture) (WH20B)

Identify examples of art, music, and literature that transcend the cultures in which they were created and convey universal themes. (i.e. Greek drama) (WH20C)

Identify major scientific, mathematical discoveries, and technological innovations of the classical civilizations and describe the changes produced by these discoveries and innovations. (WH23A) (T10) (10.2.23A)

Identify new ideas in mathematics, science, and technology that occurred during the Greco-Roman, Indian, Islamic, and Chinese civilizations, and trace the spread of these ideas to other civilizations. (WH23B) (T10) (10.2.WH23A)

Identify the contributions of significant scientists such as Archimedes, Copernicus, Erastosthenes, Galileo, and Pythagorus. (WH23E) (T10) (10.2.WH23A)

Locate and use primary and secondary sources, such as computer software, databases, media and news services, biographies, interviews, and artifacts, to acquire information. (WH25B) (T10); (T11); (11.5.US24A) (10.5.WG21A)

Analyze information by sequencing, categorizing, identifying cause-and-effect relationships, comparing, contrasting, finding the main idea, summarizing, making generalizations and predictions, and drawing inferences and conclusions. (WH25C) (T10); (T11); (10.5.WH25C) (11.5.US24B)

Use the process of historical inquiry to research, interpret, and use multiple sources of evidence. (WH25E) (T10) (10.5.WG21A) (10.5.WH11B)

Support a point of view on a social studies issue or event. (WH25H) (T11) (11.5.US24C)

Interpret and create databases, research outlines, bibliographies, and visuals including graphs, charts, timelines and maps. (WH26C); (T10); (T11); (10.5.WH26C) (11.5.WH26C)