Seventh Grade

Social Studies Practices

Byzantine Empire: 400-1500s AD: Students will analyze the geographic, political, economic, and cultural structures of the Byzantine Empire.

Southwest Asia and North Africa: 400-1500s AD: Students will analyze the geographic, political, economic, and cultural structures of Southwest Asia and North Africa.

West Africa: 400-1500s AD: Students will analyze the geographic, political, economic, and cultural structures of West Africa.

East Asia: 400-1500s AD: Students will analyze the geographic, political, economic, and cultural structures of China and Japan.

Middle Ages in Western Europe: 400-1500s AD: Students will analyze the geographic, political, economic, and cultural structures of Europe during the Middle Ages.

Early Modern Europe: 1400-1700s AD: Students will analyze the origins, accomplishments, and geographic diffusion of the Renaissance as well as the historical developments of the Protestant Reformation and Scientific Revolution.

Indigenous Civilizations of the Americas: 400-1500s AD: Students will analyze the geographic, political, economic, and cultural structures of indigenous civilizations of the Americas.

The Age of Exploration: 1400-1700s AD: Students will analyze the motivations for the movement of people from Europe to the Americas and the impact of exploration by Europeans.

Collect data and information from a variety of primary and secondary sources, including:

Critically examine a primary or secondary source in order to:

Synthesize data from multiple sources in order to:

Construct and communicate arguments by citing supporting evidence to:

Develop historical awareness by:

Develop geographic awareness by:

Identify the continuation of the Eastern Roman Empire as the Byzantine Empire including its use of Greek culture, and describe the diffusion of Christianity and the preservation of the Latin language.

Explain the importance of Justinian's political, social, and architectural achievements, including:

Analyze the importance of regional geography, trade, and the location of Constantinople in maintaining European culture.

Identify and locate on a map the geographical and political features of Southwest Asia and North Africa, including:

Describe the origins and central features of Islam:

Describe how trade and expansion led to the diffusion of Islamic culture and the Arabic language.

Summarize the contributions of the region’s scholars in the areas of:

Explain the importance of Mehmed II the Conqueror, the fall of Constantinople, and the establishment of the Ottoman Empire.

Analyze the development of trade routes throughout Asia, Africa, and Europe and the expanding role of merchants, including the trade in spices, paper, textiles, and navigational tools.

Identify and locate on a map the geographical and political features of West Africa, including:

Explain indigenous African spiritual traditions, including ancestor worship, animism, and the relationship between humans and deities.

Analyze the growth of the kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai, including cities such as Djenne and Timbuktu as centers of trade, culture, and learning.

Analyze how the exchange of salt, gold, and enslaved people along the Trans-Saharan trade route led to religious and cultural changes, such as the growth of Islam and the Arabic language.

Describe the role of griots and their use of oral traditions in the transmission of West African history and culture.

Explain the importance of the Malian king Mansa Musa and his pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324.

Identify and locate on a map the geographical and political features of East Asia, including:

Describe the reunification of China during the Sui Dynasty, including the spread of Buddhism and the building of the Grand Canal.

Describe the developments (e.g., gunpowder and the reopening of the Silk Road) during the Tang Dynasty, including the expansion of Confucianism.

Describe the developments (e.g., fast-ripening rice and mariner’s compass) during the Song Dynasty, and examine the role of Neo-Confucianism in instituting merit-based civil service exams.

Examine the rise of the Mongol Empire, including the conquests of Genghis Khan and Kublai Khan's establishment of the Yuan Dynasty.

Summarize the effects of the Mongolian empires on the Silk Roads, including the importance of Marco Polo’s travels on the spread of Chinese technology and Eurasian trade.

Analyze the achievements of the Ming Dynasty and reasons for its isolationism, including building projects (e.g., the Forbidden City and reconstruction of the Great Wall) and Zheng He’s sea voyages.

Describe the origins and central features of Shintoism:

Explain how Japanese culture changed through Chinese and Korean influences (including Buddhism and Confucianism) as shown in the Constitution of Prince Shotoku and the adoption of the Chinese writing system.

Describe how the Heian aristocracy contributed to the development of a Japanese national culture, including politics, art, language, and literature (e.g., Tale of Genji as the world's first novel).

Analyze the rise of a military society in the late 12th century, and the role of the shogun and samurai in Japanese society.

Identify and locate on a map geographical features of Europe, including:

Describe the role of monasteries in the preservation of knowledge and the spread of the Catholic Church across Central and Western Europe.

Explain how Charlemagne shaped and defined medieval Europe, including his impact on feudalism, the creation of the Holy Roman Empire, and the establishment of Christianity as the religion of the Empire.

Describe the development of feudalism and manorialism, and their influence on the medieval European economy (i.e., the role of the manor and the growth of towns).

Explain the Battle of Hastings and the long-term historical effects of William the Conqueror on England and Northern France, including the impact on language and the spread of feudalism.

Describe how political relationships both fostered cooperation (i.e., Charlemagne and Pope Leo III) and led to conflict (i.e., Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII) between the Papacy and European monarchs.

Analyze the impact of the Magna Carta, including limiting the power of the monarch, the rule of law, and the right to trial by jury.

Analyze the overarching causes, effects, and key people of the Crusades, including Pope Urban II, Saladin, and Richard I.

Explain how the Crusades impacted Christian, Muslim, and Jewish populations in Europe, with emphasis on the increasing contact with cultures outside Europe.

Describe the economic and social effects of the spread of the Black Death (i.e., Bubonic Plague) from Central Asia to China, the Middle East, and Europe, and its impact on the global population.

Analyze the importance of the Black Death on the emergence of a modern economy, including:

Describe the significance of the Hundred Years War, including the roles of Henry V in shaping English culture and language, and Joan of Arc becoming a symbol of French pride and cultural identity.

Describe the rise of Spanish and Portuguese kingdoms in the Iberian Peninsula, and explain the significance of the Reconquista and Inquisition.

Describe the Moorish (i.e., Muslim) and Jewish influences on the Renaissance in cities such as Toledo, Cordoba, and Granada.

Explain how the location of the Italian Peninsula impacted the movement of resources, knowledge, and culture throughout Italy’s independent trade cities.

Identify the importance of Florence, Italy, and the Medici Family in the early stages of the Renaissance, including the role of patronage.

Define humanism, and explain how maintaining a balance between faith and reason influenced Renaissance thinkers.

Analyze the development of Renaissance art, including the significance of:

Analyze Johannes Gutenberg’s printing press and William Tyndale’s translation of the Bible into the English language as vehicles for the spread of books, growth of literacy, and dissemination of knowledge.

Explain the significant causes of the Protestant Reformation, including the Catholic Church’s taxation policies, the selling of indulgences, and Martin Luther’s 95 Theses.

Analyze the development of the Protestant Reformation and the split with the Catholic Church, including the emphasis on scripture alone, salvation by faith, and predestination (e.g., John Calvin).

Explain the political and religious roles of Henry VIII, Mary I, and Elizabeth I in England's transition between Catholicism and Protestantism.

Examine the Golden Age of the Tudor dynasty (i.e., Queen Elizabeth I), including the defeat of the Spanish Armada and the rise of English power in Europe.

Analyze how the Catholic Counter-Reformation emerged as a response to Protestantism and revitalized the Catholic Church, including the significance of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the Jesuits, and the Council of Trent.

Compare and contrast scientific theories of the Greeks (i.e., geocentric), Copernicus (i.e., heliocentric), and Kepler (i.e., elliptical orbits).

Examine Galileo Galilei’s theories and improvement of scientific tools, including the telescope and microscope.

Explain the significance of the following in regards to the Scientific Revolution: Sir Francis Bacon in establishing the scientific method and Sir Isaac Newton’s three Laws of Motion.

Identify and locate on a map the geographical features of the Americas, including:

Explain the impact of geographic features on North American Indian cultures (i.e., Northeast, Southeast, Plains, Southwest, Pacific Northwest), including clothing, housing, and agriculture.

Describe the existence of diverse networks of North American Indian cultures and sovereign nations (within present-day United States), including varied languages, customs, and economic and political structures.

Explain the impact of geographic features and climate on the agricultural practices and settlement of the Maya, Aztec, and Incan civilizations.

Describe the social, economic, and political characteristics of the Maya, Aztec, and Incan civilizations, including oral traditions, class structures, religious beliefs, slavery, and advancements (e.g., astronomy, mathematics, and calendar).

Describe Prince Henry the Navigator’s influence on exploration, voyages, cartographic improvements, and tools related to exploration (i.e., compass, caravel, astrolabe) during the Age of Discovery.

Analyze why European countries were motivated to explore the world, including religion, political rivalry, and economic gain (i.e., mercantilism).

Explain the significance of the voyages and routes of discovery of the following explorers by their sponsoring country:

Identify on a map French, Spanish, English, Dutch and Portuguese colonies in the Americas, and describe how the distributions of religions (e.g., Catholic and Protestant) in Europe affected the distribution of religions and colonization in the New World.

Explain the impact of the Columbian Exchange on people, plants, animals, technology, culture, ideas, and diseases among Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas in the 15th and 16th centuries, and examine the major economic and social effects on each continent.

Describe how the Aztec and Inca empires were eventually defeated by Spanish Conquistadors (i.e., Hernan Cortes and Francisco Pizarro).

Explain the impact of Spanish colonization in the Americas, including the introduction and spread of Christianity, the mission system, the encomienda system, and the role of Bartolome de la Casa.

Printed materials

Graphic representations

Artifacts

Media and technology sources

Oral History

Extract, summarize, and paraphrase significant ideas and relevant information

Distinguish the difference between fact and opinion

Recognize author’s purpose and point of view, and potential bias

Draw logical inferences and conclusions

Assess the strengths and limitations of arguments

Recognize differences among multiple accounts

Establish validity by comparing and contrasting multiple sources

Frame appropriate questions for further investigation

Demonstrate and defend an understanding of ideas

Compare and contrast viewpoints

Illustrate cause and effect

Predict likely outcomes

Devise new outcomes or solutions

Engage in appropriate civic discourse

Recognizing how and why historical accounts change over time

Perceiving and presenting past events and issues as they might have been experienced by the people of the time, with historical empathy vs. present mindedness

Evaluating how unique circumstances of time and place create context and contribute to action and reaction

Identifying patters of continuity and change over time, making connections to the present

Using the geographic perspective to determine relationships, patterns, and diffusion across space at multiple scales

Determining the use of diverse types of maps based on their origin, structure, context, and validity

Analyzing locations, conditions, and connections of places and use maps to investigate spatial relationships

Analyzing interaction between humans and the physical environment

Examining how geographic regions and perceptions of the regions are fluid across time and space

Expanding the empire

Spreading Christianity

The role of Theodora

Justinian Code

The Hagia Sophia

Arabian Peninsula

Arabian Sea

Black Sea

Euphrates River

Mecca

Mediterranean Sea

Persian Gulf

Red Sea

Tigris River

Key Person(s): Mohammad

Sacred Texts: The Quran and The Sunnah

Basic Beliefs: monotheism, Five Pillars

Art

Literature

Mathematics

Medicine

Navigation

Science

Atlantic Ocean

Djenne

The Sahara

The Niger River

Timbuktu

China

Gobi Desert

Himalayan Mountains

Japan

Korean Peninsula

Pacific Ocean

Plateau of Tibet

Sea of Japan (i.e., East Sea)

Yangtze River

Yellow River

Key Person(s): None

Sacred Texts: No sacred text

Basic Beliefs: localized tradition that focuses on ritual practices that are carried out with discipline to maintain connections with ancient past; animism and Kami

Alps

Atlantic Ocean

English Channel

Iberian Peninsula

Mediterranean Sea

North European Plain

Agricultural improvements

Commerce

Decline of feudalism

Growth of banking

Growth of towns

A merchant class

Leonardo da Vinci (e.g., Last Supper, Mona Lisa)

Michelangelo (e.g., Sistine Chapel, The David)

Filippo Brunelleschi (e.g., Florence Cathedral Dome, linear perspective)

William Shakespeare (e.g., literature, language, and plays)

Andes Mountains

Appalachian Mountains

Atlantic Ocean

Caribbean Sea

Central Mexican Plateau

Great Plains

Gulf of Mexico

Mississippi River

North America

Pacific Ocean

Rocky Mountains

South America

Yucatan Peninsula

England: Henry Hudson

France: Jacques Cartier

Portugal: Vasco da Gama, Bartolomeu Dias

Spain: Christopher Columbus, Hernando de Soto, Ferdinand Magellan, Amerigo Vespucci