WORLD HISTORY 10

Syllabus in pdf format

Essay Topics in pdf format

Essay Rubric in pdf format

Essay Survey in pdf format

Course Description:

The course will begin with a review of early civilizations, serving as an introduction to key topics that will be revisited throughout the course, such as government, arts and architecture, war and religion. Forms of government will be explored in greater depth by way of Mediterranean civilizations and the Romans in particular. Republican government and the rule of law will constitute the bulk of this exploration. A brief review of the middle ages, particularly in the context of Europe, will lead up to encounters with limited monarchy, enlightenment philosophy, the birth of modern nation-states, and the evolution of contemporary forms of representative democracy. Passing into the second half of the course, the focus will shift from the exploration of concepts to the tracing of historical developments and the application of skills specific to the discipline, such as analyzing empirical evidence, identifying patterns in history, tracing cause and effect, and researching historical time periods, individuals, and specific events. The content reflect an emphasis on the 20^th century, particularly the emergence of a military-industrial complex and the new global economy.

Skills that are learned and mastered over the year will include reading for comprehension, summarizing information, distinguishing between fact and opinion, researching with the aid of books and electronic resources, identifying patterns, formulating and testing hypotheses, making generalizations based on empirical evidence, constructing maps and timelines, debating and constructing persuasive arguments, and analyzing examples of art and popular media.

Course Materials:

World History: Connections to Today, textbook by Prentice Hall

Videos, maps, sound recordings, primary source documents, and physical objects from various sources

Learning Activities:

Learning stations, matching, group reading, pair-&-share, note-taking, vocabulary logs, geography and map-making, class discussions and debates, reading responses, textual analysis, art and music analysis, examination of physical artifacts, research projects, oral and multimedia presentations, tests and quizzes

Course Outline:

UNIT I: Prehistory and Early Civilizations [standards: 10.1.1-2]

• Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus Valley and China
• Concept of a civilization
• Mycenae and classical Greece
• Early Rome
• Government and law

UNIT II: Fall of an Empire [standards: 10.1.1]

• Legacies of the Roman Empire
• Judeo-Christian ethics
• Roman Catholic Church

UNIT III: Times of Darkness [standards: 10.1.2]

• Feudal Europe
• Monastic orders
• Monarchy: absolute and limited
• Magna Carta

UNIT IV: Renaissance and Reformation [standards: none]

• Italian Renaissance
• Northern Renaissance
• Protestant Reformation

UNIT V: Revolutions in Science and Technology [standards: 10.3.1-4]

• Heliocentric universe
• Agricultural revolution
• Beginnings of industrialization
• Mercantilism and capitalism
• Socioeconomic classification

UNIT VI: Political Revolutions [standards: 10.2.1; 10.2.2-5]

• Enlightenment philosophy
• Classicism in the arts
• French Revolution
• Napoleon
• American Revolution
• Nation-states

UNIT VII: Nationalism and Global Empires [standards: 10.4.1-4]

• Race for empire: Central America, South Africa, China
• Romanticism in the arts
• Nationalism in Italy and Germany
• Militarism and the new imperialism
• Socialism, Marxist theory, and progressivism

UNIT VIII: Modern Age [standards: 10.5.1-5; 10.6.1-4]

• Militarism
• Diplomacy and alliances
• Armenian genocide
• The Great War: technologies, tactics, human costs
• Treaty of Versailles
• Economic and social despair

UNIT IX: Fragile Peace and the Return to Arms [standards: 10.7.1-3; 10.8.1-2]

• Russian revolution, communism, and socialism
• Fascism and totalitarianism
• Aggression, appeasement, and isolationism
• Propaganda

UNIT X: World War II [standards: 10.8.3-6; 10.9.1]

• Axis and allies
• Geography and theaters
• World War: technologies, tactics, human costs
• Holocaust in Europe
• Heroes and leaders
• Nuclear weapons

UNIT XI: Cold War and the Nuclear Age [standards: 10.9.2-8]

• Post-war aftermath: geography, economics, human rights
• Population explosion
• Balance of power: Marshall plan, NATO, SEATO, United Nations
• Military-industrial complex: arms race, proxy wars, containment
• Struggle for self-determination: Eastern Europe, South America, East and Southeast Asia, Middle East

UNIT XII: New Global Era [standards: 10.10.1-3; 10.11]

• Northern industrialized states
• Neo-liberalism and the free market
• Developing nations and poverty
• Labor and human rights issues
• Global culture: media and communications technology

• Environment and world population