Unit 3

UNIT THREE: Regional and Transregional Interactions

Periodization: 600 C.E. to 1450 C.E.

Length of Class Time: 5 weeks

Readings: Ways of the World chapters 6-13.  The Human Web: A Bird’s-Eye View of World History pages 108-153.

Topics for discussion: Byzantine Empire, the rise of Islam, Crusades; Sui, Tang, Song, and Ming empires; The Turkish Empires; Kingdoms in Africa, the expansion of trade and rise of trading cities in East Africa; Polynesian Migration; Empires in the Americas; The Mongols; The Caliphates; the black plague; new forms of labor organization.

Assignments:

1)   Writing – students will continue to develop the CCOT essay – comparing historical developments and assess the effects and changes over time.  Prompts could include questions from previous released AP exams; Compare Japanese and European feudalism; Compare the effects of Islam and Christianity on social on social systems and gender roles.  Students will also be introduced to the DBQ and practice using the DBQ on the spread of Buddhism to China.

2)   Timeline – students will create a timeline for the period connecting events by relationships between the causes and consequences of the events.

3)   Reflective Blog – students will write a reflective blog on the spread of disease along trade routes and military expansion.

4)   Primary Source Analysis – students will analysis using soapstone the following primary sources: excerpts for the books of Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta and the Secret History of the Mongols; excerpts from the Koran; Magna Carta; The Tale of Genji (excerpts); oral story from Micronesia; stick maps from the Marshall Islands (with discussion of canoe travel in Micronesia); photos of Nan Madol; Byzantine art; and others.

5)   Point/Counterpoint (debate): Were the Crusades an early example of western imperialism? Does the modern University have its roots in the Islamic World?

6)   Notecards – key terms for review

Unit Test – 30 multiple-choice question.  DBQ in-class essay.