1. Bellwork Activity
Be prepared to answer these questions at the beginning of class:
What do you want to gain from this class?
What concerns do you have about the class?
What do you expect will happen in this class?

2. Unit 1, Section 1 Introduction to History
World History
Unit 1, Section 1
Introduction to History

3. Objectives Explain why we study history.
Understand the differences between BC and AD.
Identify the link between history and geography

4. Why do we study history? To learn from our mistakes and successes
We don’t want to make the same mistakes our ancestors did, but we do want to learn what made many civilizations so powerful.
To understand perspectives
Historians Fallacy & Presentism (looking at the past through contemporary thought)
To know what shaped modern society
Laws, art, literature, etc.

5. How do we study history? To study history, we have to be able to:
Understand dates.
Understand how the people of the time perceived what was happening around them.
Understand methods of researching history.

6. Dating Methods There are two primary ways we date objects:
Absolute dating
Relative Dating

7. Absolute Dating Giving a age to an object by looking at its atoms.
We look at the molecular structure and decide its age by how much the structure has decayed.
This gives a more accurate date to the items in question, such as fossils.

8. Relative Dating
Dating objects by looking at where they are in the rock layer.
The deeper the item is the rock layers, the older the object is.

9. What about recent history
Generally speaking, the two former dating methods are less necessary for history that has occurred since the advent of writing. We can generally know when something occurred based on when it was written about.

10. Calendars
History is generally broken into two sections to describe its age:
B.C.- Before Christ- History that occurred prior to Christ’s birth.
This system works backwards. The higher the number in BC, the older it is (500 BC was before 400 BC).
A.D.- Anno Domini- History that occurred after Christ’s birth.
The higher numbers here indicate how recent it occurred (so, 1994 was before 2014).

11. Alternative Dating Methods
However, some scholars have began to utilize a different dating method due to religious sensitivity:
CE- Common Era – alternative to AD
BCE- Before Common Era- alternative to BC
Both are exactly the same as BC/AD, but for this class, I will be using BC and AD.

12. History and Geography
Another part of this class will be heavily studying the geography of the area(s) in question.
Geography studies how physical environments affected human events and how humans effect their environment
In this class, when we study a new culture or group, we will identify how the geography has affected aforementioned group.

13. History and Geography (cont)
As well, when certain events occur in human history, the environment around them can change. This can include:
A change in territories
Interaction such as irrigation, clearing forests, building cities
Using and reading maps will prove vital in this course.

14. What to expect from this class
In this class, we will cover people and events spanning the entire world and throughout all of dated/recorded history.
Be aware, we will cover history almost sequentially (in order).
Some historical events occur at the same time, so there may be some backtracking and skipping around, but all concepts will lead back into a central concept.

15. What to expect… Let’s start with what not to expect: rote memorization
What we will do:
Understanding how the world changed over time through trade, conquest, disease, advancement, etc.
Look at how events have changed humanity
Analyze how people experienced the world around them through reading their myths, first hand accounts, researching their lives, and so on.
Practicing researching skills, debate skills, discussion skills, and reading/writing skills.
Synthesizing materials
And, finally, gaining a greater appreciation of history through earnest interest in the materials

16. Activities Expect to do quite a few of the following activities:
Reading primary and secondary sources. We want to get an understanding of a time from those who lived it. This give us the greatest insight.
Comparing and contrasting sources is also a major part of this class. History is too complex to believe there is only one viewpoint in most situations.
Projects. There are various kinds of projects in this class, such as creating presentations, posters, researching, writing, etc.
Debating. There are a few debates littered throughout the class. Debates help us critically think about major issues from sides that we don’t always agree with. Its an important skill to be able to defend your beliefs.
Intermittent tests and quizzes: we have to be able to remember what we learn. This summative assessments help me know what you know.
Socratic Discussions. These are designed to better understand sources or events.

17. Breakdown of the Course
The class will be broken down as such:
The Beginning
Early Civilizations
Western Civilizations
Islam
Africa
Middle Ages
Americas AD
1700-present

18. Any questions?
Do you have any questions about this class or what to expect?
What do you take notes on?
How will information be presented?
Will we watch videos or do activities?

19. Review Objectives Explain why we study history.
Understand the differences between BC and AD.
Identify the link between history and geography

20. Next Lesson
In the next lesson, we are going to discuss pre-human history– the very beginning of us.

21. Closure Assignment
Please read the document All people are living histories – which is why History matters by Penelope J. Corfield and follow the directions on the sheet.
At your table, you may work as a team to come to answer the question as a group. Each group needs to make sure their name is on the paper and that they contributed something to sheet.
If you are reading this on the computer, please go to the website and download the assignment from beneath the PowerPoint.