World History: Ancient – 1500 grades 6-8

We will use historical topics such as river-valley civilizations, classical-era Greece and Rome, European and Japanese feudalism, early African and American civilizations, and geography's historical impact to learn how to answer document based questions (DBQs). Skills specifically addressed will be: evaluating evidence and primary source documents, analyzing visual primary sources, analyzing the question, developing a thesis statement, outlining and planning essay structure, writing an introductory paragraph, writing and linking support paragraphs, and summing up and concluding.

Materials: WORLD HISTORY UNFOLDING: A MindSparks DBQ and Essay Writing Program: Ancient Times to 1500 (student books provided); students need to have a binder with paper and a writing implement for all classes.
Notes: Students will need to set up student Google accounts for essay writing, instructions to come.