Chapter 13 - Worlds of the Fifteenth Century
Learning Targets:
• To step back and consider the variety of human experience in the fifteenth century
• To compare conditions in China and Europe on the cusp of the modern world
• To encourage students to consider why Europe came to dominate the world in the modern era, and how well this could have been predicted in 1500
• To examine the Islamic world in the fifteenth century
• To provide a preview of important trends to come in the modern world
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| Indigenous Australian Peoples. Artwork: "Corroboree on the Murray River", 1858, by Gerard Krefft, Watercolour drawing |
Quote of the Day: “The person who says something is impossible should not interrupt the person who is doing it.” – Chinese proverb
Agenda:
1. Quiz - Chapter 13.
2. DO NOW ? After the quiz: In what ways did the gathering and hunting people of Australia differ from those of the northwest coast of North America?
3. Introduce the chapter and discuss the gathering and hunting peoples of Australia & North America. We'll also look at West Africa and the Islamic World in the 15th century.
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| Aztec art: Double-Headed Serpent |
Quote of the Day: “We do not need magic to transform our world. We carry all of the power we need inside ourselves already.” - J.K. Rowling
Agenda:
1. DO NOW ?: What distinguished the Aztec and Inca empires from each other?
2. Video: Engineering an Empire: Aztecs. Students will answer this question while they view: How did Aztec religious thinking support the empire? & How did the Aztec Empire feed their vast population (possibly 15 million)?
3. After the video we will discuss the answers to those two questions.
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| The Great Chinese mariner Zheng He |
Quote of the Day: “We are what we repeatedly do; excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” —Aristotle
Agenda:
1. DO NOW ?: What political and cultural differences stand out in the histories of fifteenth-century China and Western Europe? What similarities are apparent?
2. Video, Engineering an Empire: China. We'll see how Zheng He and the Ming Dynasty created an amazing naval power only to have the emperor destroy it all. While students watch the video, they will answer this question: In what ways did European maritime voyaging in the fifteenth century differ from that of China? What accounts for these differences? We will discuss the answer to the question after the video.
3. Video, America Before Columbus. We will watch the first 15 minutes of this video. While watching the video, students will answer this question: Assume for the moment that the Chinese had not ended their maritime voyages in 1433. How might the subsequent development of world history have been different? What value is there in asking this kind of “what if ” or counterfactual question? How would have America been different if the Chinese had discovered it and colonized it first?
4. Video, Engineering an Empire: Da Vinci's World. Students will watch the video and answer this question: What energy and inspiration gave rise to the Renaissance? Consider why Europe came to dominate the world in the modern era, and how well this could have been predicted in 1500.
5. Review: With any time remaining in the period we will review for the test on Friday.
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| Florence, Italy. The great architecture & Bottom left: Fountain of Neptune. |
Quote of the Day: “To be successful you don’t need to do extraordinary things, you just need to do ordinary things extraordinarily well.” – Jim Rohn
Agenda:
1. TEST Chapter 13, Worlds of the Fifteenth Century
2. Pick up a Review Sheet for the Final Exam. We will review all next week!
EXTRA CREDIT FOR THE 6 WEEK'S PERIOD IS DUE TODAY!