Welcome to 7th Grade World History

Students in grade seven study the social, cultural, and technological changes that oc­ curred in Europe, Africa, and Asia in the years A.D. 500–1789. After reviewing the an­ cient world and the ways in which archaeologists and historians uncover the past, students study the history and geography of great civilizations that were developing concurrently throughout the world during medieval and early modern times.

 

Next, students examine the growing economic interaction among civilizations as well as the exchange of ideas, beliefs, technologies, and commodities. They learn about the resulting growth of Enlightenment philosophy and the new examination of the concepts of reason and authority, the natural rights of human beings and the divine right of kings, experimen­talism in science, and the dogma of belief.

 

Finally, students assess the political forces let loose by the Enlightenment, particularly the rise of democratic ideas, and they learn about the continuing influence of these ideas in the world today. 

 

September: The Fall of Rome and the Rise of the Byzantine Empire

• Students will preview life in Ancient Rome to give context and background.

• Students analyze the causes and effects of the vast expansion and ultimate disintegration of the Roman Empire.

1. Research the early strengths and lasting contributions of Rome (e.g., significance of Roman citizenship; rights under Roman law; Roman art, architecture, engineering, and philosophy; preservation and transmission of Christianity) and its ultimate internal weaknesses (e.g., rise of autonomous military powers within the empire, undermining of citizenship by the growth of corruption and slavery, lack of education, and distribu­tion of news).

2. Discuss the geographic borders of the empire at its height and the factors that threat­ ened its territorial cohesion.

3. Describe the establishment by Constantine of the new capital in Constantinople and the development of the Byzantine Empire, with an emphasis on the consequences of the development of two distinct European civilizations, Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic, and their two distinct views on church-state relations. 

 

October: The Rise of Islam and the African Civilizations

• Students will make predictions as they study conflicts between cultures.

• Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the civilizations of Islam in the Middle Ages. 

1. Identify the physical features and describe the climate of the Arabian peninsula, its relationship to surrounding bodies of land and water, and nomadic and sedentary ways of life.

2. Trace the origins of Islam and the life and teachings of Muhammad, including Islamic teachings on the connection with Judaism and Christianity.

3. Discuss the expansion of Muslim rule through military conquests and treaties, empha­ sizing the cultural blending within Muslim civilization and the spread and acceptance of Islam and the Arabic language.

4. Describe the growth of cities and the establishment of trade routes among Asia, Africa, and Europe, the products and inventions that traveled along these routes (e.g., spices, textiles, paper, steel, new crops), and the role of merchants in Arab society.

5. Study the Niger River and the relationship of vegetation zones of forest, savannah, and desert to trade in gold, salt, food, and slaves; and the growth of the Ghana and Mali empires.

6. Analyze the importance of family, labor specialization, and regional commerce in the development of states and cities in West Africa.

7. Describe the role of the trans-Saharan caravan trade in the changing religious and cultural characteristics of West Africa and the influence of Islamic beliefs, ethics, and law.

8. Trace the growth of the Arabic language in government, trade, and Islamic scholarship in West Africa.

 

November: China in the Middle Ages

• Students will make connections between the trade amongst diverse cultures separated by vast distances.

• Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the civilizations of China in the Middle Ages. 

1. Describe the reunification of China under the Tang Dynasty and reasons for the spread of Buddhism in Tang China, Korea, and Japan.

2. Describe agricultural, technological, and commercial developments during the Tang and Sung periods.

3. Analyze the influences of Confucianism and changes in Confucian thought during the Sung and Mongol periods.

4. Understand the importance of both overland trade and maritime expeditions between China and other civilizations in the Mongol Ascendancy and Ming Dynasty.

5. Trace the historic influence of such discoveries as tea, the manufacture of paper, wood­ block printing, the compass, and gunpowder.

6. Describe the development of the imperial state and the scholar-official class. 

 

December: Medieval Japan

• Students will visualize life and culture in Medieval Japan.

• Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the civilizations of Medieval Japan

1. Describe the significance of Japan’s proximity to China and Korea and the intellectual, linguistic, religious, and philosophical influence of those countries on Japan.

2. Discuss the reign of Prince Shotoku of Japan and the characteristics of Japanese society and family life during his reign.

3. Describe the values, social customs, and traditions prescribed by the lord-vassal system consisting of shogun, daimyo, and samurai and the lasting influence of the warrior code in the twentieth century.

4. Trace the development of distinctive forms of Japanese Buddhism.

5. Study the ninth and tenth centuries’ golden age of literature, art, and drama and its

lasting effects on culture today, including Murasaki Shikibu’s Tale of Genji.

6. Analyze the rise of a military society in the late twelfth century and the role of the

samurai in that society. 

 

 

Source: California Department of Education Reposted June 23, 2009

DISCOVERING OUR PAST: MEDIEVAL & EARLY MODERN TIMES, CA-HSS Standards Textbook ©2006