Unit Outline and Daily Plan: Understanding the Global Middle Ages!
Foundations:
The premise for this project is rooted in essential standard from the NC Essential Standards which state that students should be able to "Understand how conflict and innovation influenced political, religious, economic and social changes in medieval civilizations." -WH.H.3 Students will use this website to navigate through their discovery of the Global Middle Ages to answer this compelling question: "How can conflict and innovation cause or influence change within global societies?"
Ultimately students will be creating their own Weebly website that answers this compelling question through a set of 5 sub essential question that are tied to Five Social Sciences. Each day, Student Groups will analyze the Global Middle Ages through these lenses of the different social sciences: Geographer, Political Scientist, Economist, Cultural Anthropologist, & Historian. Students are required to have their product as a Weebly website but are also encouraged to create at least one other product with one of the suggested digital tools. Additionally, students will create a Kahoot to test the knowledge of other students at the end of their presentations.
Day 1: Pose Compelling Question:
Day 2-6: Gather, Analyze, and Creatively Synthesize Information:
Day 7: Critically Evaluate and Revise:
Day 8: Share Public Act/Final Project:
The premise for this project is rooted in essential standard from the NC Essential Standards which state that students should be able to "Understand how conflict and innovation influenced political, religious, economic and social changes in medieval civilizations." -WH.H.3 Students will use this website to navigate through their discovery of the Global Middle Ages to answer this compelling question: "How can conflict and innovation cause or influence change within global societies?"
Ultimately students will be creating their own Weebly website that answers this compelling question through a set of 5 sub essential question that are tied to Five Social Sciences. Each day, Student Groups will analyze the Global Middle Ages through these lenses of the different social sciences: Geographer, Political Scientist, Economist, Cultural Anthropologist, & Historian. Students are required to have their product as a Weebly website but are also encouraged to create at least one other product with one of the suggested digital tools. Additionally, students will create a Kahoot to test the knowledge of other students at the end of their presentations.
Day 1: Pose Compelling Question:
- To set the stage for the unit I will play this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eys0UEOqcQ8) or something similar to gage where students are with their knowledge with the Middle Ages. We will have some brief discussion about their previous knowledge about the time period and I will introduce the compelling question and the unit.
- To pose the compelling questions I will use the format of a digital menu project in which students will allow voice and choice in what product they create and tell the story of the global Middle Ages in their own words.
- I will give them a hard copy of the project brochure as well as show them to the website (www.dbalmsmiddleages.weebly.com) which houses all the same information as the brochure as well as digital tool tutorials, and the platform that houses the completed products of the students.
- The rest of this day will be dedicated to groups planning and preparing for the projects and collaborating on how they will create their final product.
Day 2-6: Gather, Analyze, and Creatively Synthesize Information:
- Day 2-6 are dedicated to student research, analysis, and synthesizing of information. Each day they will have to focus on one lens, mentioned above, as they research various regions of the world.
- Their research into the world regions through the lenses will be guided/scaffolded each day by a specific supporting question:
- Through the lens of a Geographer, explain to what extent did geography played a role in conflict and innovation over the course of the Middle Ages?
- Does where a civilization is located ultimately determine their survival/failure?
- Through the lens of a Cultural Anthropologist, describe day to day life for individuals in various social classes and how it changed over time?
- How did innovation create solutions and/or problems in Global Middle Age societies?
- Through the lens of a Political Scientist, analyze, contrast, and evaluate at least 3 government systems of the Middle Ages Time Period?
- How did these view points and various government systems ultimately lead to conflict and innovation amongst themselves and around the world?
- Through the lens of an Economist, analyze and describe the various economic systems of the Middle Ages and evaluate those economies on their ability to unify or separate people?
- What role did conflict and innovation play in the gathering and distribution of goods/resources?
- Through the lens of a Historian, explain the Continuity and Change Over Time during the period of the Middle Ages with at least 4-5 major events that show conflict and innovation in the Global Middle Ages?
- Through the lens of a Geographer, explain to what extent did geography played a role in conflict and innovation over the course of the Middle Ages?
- Students can find a list of websites/sources to research the various global regions on the website listed under the “Resources” Tab.
Day 7: Critically Evaluate and Revise:
- Throughout the project, students are working on a “group task log” where they are monitoring themselves as to what is in progress with the project, things that need to be revisited & revised, and items that are complete.
- Student will use this time to practice presenting their websites to their groups and providing feedback among themselves.
- Also, throughout the project and the practice presentations, students will have a padlet which creates an online hub for students to complete their digital gallery walks. Here students will offer feedback on creativity, facts, and the critical thinking of the other groups.
Day 8: Share Public Act/Final Project:
- As stated earlier, students will be creating a published website on weebly.com platform. They are allowed to creatively work within that confine to put their creative touch on things. There are examples of finished student product available online for you to see if you’d like to view them. The Public Act is the students presenting their websites to the class, myself, other classes and the Administration Team.
- Students have a project rubric that can be found on the project website that gives them a detailed description of how the assessment will be graded and what they should include.
- In the future I would like to connect to some friends of mine that are employed at the NC Museum of History and have them evaluate the students work and provide them feedback and ultimately tie the student work to something at the museum.