LESSON PLANS
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Florentine or Ottoman?
This is an incredible lesson plan we found online and Kelsie modified. You can find the original lesson plan here and below. In the lesson, students examine primary sources talking about women in Florence and the Ottoman Empire from around the same period to question whether the Renaissance was really progressive for women.
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Printing PressThis inquiry leads students through an investigation of the impacts of the printing press by examining its utility in society, both as an instrument to preserve cultural products of the past and as an agent of change. By investigating the compelling question “Did the printing press preserve the past or invent the future?” students evaluate both functions of the printing press and consider which had the greater impact. The formative performance tasks build on knowledge and skills through the course of the inquiry and help students recognize the dual nature of the printing press in order to better understand its importance in larger historical phenomena. Students create an evidence-based argument about whether the printing press promoted continuity or change after considering the ways in which it preserved existing systems of belief and thought, enabled the dissemination of information, and led to increased exploration and systemic change within European societies.
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Martin Luther
The writings of Martin Luther helped spur the Reformation and inspired the rise of Protestantism in the 16th century. Luther gave different reasons for his break from the Catholic Church at different times in his life. This lesson features two sources attributed to Luther - an excerpt from the letter he wrote that accompanied what came to be his 95 Theses and part of a talk he gave later in life. Students compare the documents and consider how to weigh contrasting accounts of history written by the same person.
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GalileoIn 1633, scientist Galileo Galilei was convicted of heresy by the Inquisition. He was forced to recant his beliefs and spent the rest of his life under house arrest. Students may be surprised to learn Galileo's crime: teaching the sun, rather than the earth, is at the center of the solar system. In this lesson, students explore three primary sources and one New York Times article to answer the question: Was Galileo really a heretic?
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La MalincheIn this digital history lesson, students corroborate competing accounts about La Malinche, one of the most significant and controversial figures in Mexican history. Students will reason historically about some of the most important historical documents on the conquest of Mexico in order to answer the central historical question: What was La Malinche’s role in the conquest of Mexico?
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Moctezuma and CortésMany are familiar with the popular tale of the meeting between Emperor Moctezuma and conquistador Hernán Cortés. As it goes, Moctezuma mistook the Spanish invaders for gods, thereby setting the stage for the conquest of the Aztec Empire. But how does this compare to what the historical record tells us? In this lesson, students read from two 16th century sources and one contemporary historian's interpretation of the event to answer the question: What happened when Moctezuma met Cortés?
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Moctezuma's ZooThis lesson asks students to investigate whether a blogger’s claims about the splendor of the Triple Alliance (aka Aztec Empire) are true. Students test the blogger’s claims about Moctezuma Xocoyotzin’s zoo against three document’s in the World Digital Library’s archive and reason about whether the documents provide corroborating or contesting evidence.
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Atahualpa and the Bible
The meeting between Atahualpa, emperor of the Inca Empire, and Francisco Pizarro, Spanish conquistador, was a defining moment in Latin American history. In this Opening Up the Textbook (OUT) lesson plan, students read a textbook account of the event followed by two primary sources to answer this question: Did Atahualpa hold the Bible to his ear?
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Aztec EncyclopediaThe Florentine Codex is a twelve-volume encyclopedia of Aztec history and culture written in the sixteenth century. It is one of the main sources historians have for learning about precolonial and early colonial Aztec society and has been declared by UNESCO to be of universal value. But scholars do not fully understand the process of how the Florentine Codex was created and have long debated how reliable it is and whose perspective it presents. In this lesson, students practice thinking historically as they work to answer the question: How reliable is the Florentine Codex for learning about Aztec history and culture?
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Silk RoadThis inquiry leads students through an investigation of the complex trade networks throughout Eurasia, collectively known as the “Silk Road.” By investigating the compelling question, students evaluate the descriptor “Silk Road” by considering its accuracy and determining whether or not this label should continue to be used or if there is a more appropriate title that better reflects the network’s historical, sociocultural, and economic role. Students begin by gathering research about the types of commodities traded, as well as the geographic reach of the network. The next task asks students to consider the importance of silk within various cultures of Eurasia and the sharing of both cultural and technological knowledge. Using the previous formative performance tasks along with the featured sources, students will propose one or more different names for the Silk Road, supporting their suggestions with defensible reasons. After considering the complexities of the Silk Road trade networks and the appropriateness of its name, students should be able to make a claim supported by evidence as to whether we should continue to call it the “Silk Road.” The progression of the inquiry will help students recognize the problematic nature of simplistic titles applied to complex historical phenomena.
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Other useful resources
These Women Artists Influenced the Renaissance and Baroque
| 8_women_artists_who_influenced_the_renaissance_and_baroque_-_artsy.pdf |
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