bitmark-grammar

[.book] [#Unit: Era 1 - Our Big History (13.82 billion years ago to the future)] [.chapter] [#History Stories] [%1.0] [.article:bitmark--] [%BEFORE YOU WATCH: What Makes History Usable?] Use the “Three Close Reads” approach as you watch the video below (next in the lineup!). If you want to learn more about this strategy, ==click here==(https://whp.oerproject.com/-/media/WHP/PDF/Teacher-Resources/WHP-Introduction-to-Three-Close-Reads-for-Video.ashx)=. **First read: preview and skimming for gist** Before you watch, you should skim the transcript first. The skim should be very quick and give you the gist (general idea) of what the video is about. You should be looking at the title, thumbnails, pictures, and first few seconds of the video for the gist. **Second read: key ideas and understanding content** Now that you’ve skimmed the video transcript and taken a quick peek at the video, you should preview the questions you will be answering. These questions will help you get a better understanding of the concepts and arguments that are presented in the video. Keep in mind that when you watch the video, it is a good idea to write down any vocab you read or hear that is unfamiliar to you. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions: •. Bob Bain describes a long debate that politicians and educators have “waged war” over, about what should be taught in the history classroom. What are the two sides and what do they argue? •. What was the big driving question Bain’s students in Detroit studied? •. What did students do over the course of the school year, after they shared the stories they collected? •. What did looking at multiple narratives help students do? •. According to Bob Bain, what makes history usable? **Third read: evaluating and corroborating** Finally, here are some questions that will help you focus on why this video matters and how it connects to other content you’ve studied. At the end of the third read, you should be able to respond to these questions: •. How might looking at the stories of the history of your city help you understand the present better? •. How might looking at the stories of the history of your city help you understand the future better? Now that you know what to look for, it’s time to watch! Remember to return to these questions once you’ve finished watching. [.article:bitmark--] ==WATCH: What Makes History Usable?==(:https://youtu.be/ynW8jr7K43s)== [.article:bitmark--] [%BEFORE YOU WATCH: The Danger of a Single Story] Use the “Three Close Reads” approach as you watch the video below (next in the lineup!). If you want to learn more about this strategy, ==click here==(https://whp.oerproject.com/-/media/WHP/PDF/Teacher-Resources/WHP-Introduction-to-Three-Close-Reads-for-Video.ashx)=. **Use the “Three Close Reads” approach as you watch the video below (next in the lineup!). If you want to learn more about this strategy, click here. First read: preview and skimming for gist** Before you watch, you should skim the transcript first. The skim should be very quick and give you the gist (general idea) of what the video is about. You should be looking at the title, thumbnails, pictures, and first few seconds of the video for the gist. **Second read: key ideas and understanding content** Now that you’ve skimmed the video transcript and taken a quick peek at the video, you should preview the questions you will be answering. These questions will help you get a better understanding of the concepts and arguments that are presented in the video. Keep in mind that when you watch the video, it is a good idea to write down any vocab you read or hear that is unfamiliar to you. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions: •. What kinds of characters did Adichie write about as a young girl, and what did these characters do? Why is it significant that Adichie chose to write about those characters and their lives? •. Why did it matter that Fide’s brother had made a beautiful patterned basket? How did that affect Adichie’s understanding of the story of Fide’s family? •. What expectations did Adichie’s roommate have about Nigeria and Africa more broadly? According to Adichie, what gave her roommate these expectations? How does it relate to Adichie’s previous point about the story of Fide’s family? •. Why did Adichie’s professor think her novel lacked authenticity? •. What did Adichie witness during her trip to Guadalajara that surprised her? Why was it surprising to her? What did this make her realize? •. Why would starting a story with “secondly” affect different communities? What are examples that Adichie gives? •. Why did Adichie tell the student that it was a shame that young Americans were serial murderers? What was different about Adichie’s understanding of America versus the student’s understanding of Nigeria? •. Adichie describes negative experiences she and her family and friends have experienced in Nigeria, including poor healthcare and education, limited water, repressive governments, and poverty. She also mentions war crimes and unemployment. How, according to Adichie, do these stories fit into the stereotype of Africa as a “continent full of catastrophes.” What, according to Adichie, is the problem with stereotypes? •. What are some examples Adichie gives of stories that challenge stereotypes? **Third read: evaluating and corroborating** Finally, here are some questions that will help you focus on why this video matters and how it connects to other content you’ve studied. At the end of the third read, you should be able to respond to these questions: •. Adichie claims that power affects which stories are told, how they are told, and which stories become “definitive” accepted stories that people believe. Using evidence from the video and anything else you have learned in this Era, give an example of a story which has been accepted because a powerful group had told it in a certain way. •. Adichie argues that beginning a story with “secondly” can completely change the story. How does order and context affect stories? Using an example from your life or what you have learned in past history classes, give an example of a story which can become a completely different story if you change the context or order. Now that you know what to look for, it’s time to watch! Remember to return to these questions once you’ve finished watching. [.article:bitmark--] ==WATCH: The Danger of a Single Story== (:https://youtu.be/D9Ihs241zeg)== [.multiple-choice] [%Practice:History Stories] === [!What is one example of collective learning working against human progress, damaging the way we interact with one another? Choose 1 answer:] [-A Development of networks] [-B Loss of symbolic language] [+C Institutionalization of racism] [-D Spread of viruses] === [!Many historians argue that non-human actors are crucial in shaping human history. What is one non-human actor that shaped human history both in the past and the present, and why? Choose 1 answer:] [-A Weather, because many ancient religions revolved around the climate and seasons] [-B Asteroids, because their role in the dinosaur extinction made way for our human ancestors to flourish.] [-C Other hominids, like Neanderthals, because their success led to our eventual emergence as a species.] [+D Geography, because it has influenced where humans settled, and the success different civilizations had.] === [!In the context of Big History, what is the best description of the term “thresholds”? Choose 1 answer:] [+A Eras where lots of things happened at once across the globe] [-B Marking points for human progress] [-C Moments when humans attained certain population sizes] [+D Moments where significant changes happened] === [!In WHP, what term do historians use to describe moving between different events, eras, and countries through the span of time and space? Choose 1 answer:] [+A Scale-switching] [-B Era-jumping] [-C Time-jumping] [-D Scope-changing] === ||more rotating possible questions|| [.chapter] [#Era 1 Overview] [%1.1] [.article:bitmark--] [%BEFORE YOU WATCH: Frame Concept Introduction] Use the “Three Close Reads” approach as you watch the video below (next in the lineup!). If you want to learn more about this strategy, ==click here==(https://whp.oerproject.com/-/media/WHP/PDF/Teacher-Resources/WHP-Introduction-to-Three-Close-Reads-for-Video.ashx)=. **First read: preview and skimming for gist** Before you watch, you should skim the ==transcript==(:https://whp.oerproject.com/-/media/WHP/PDF/Transcripts/Frame_Concept_Introduction.ashx)== first. The skim should be very quick and give you the gist (general idea) of what the video is about. You should be looking at the title, thumbnails, pictures, and first few seconds of the video for the gist. **Second read: key ideas and understanding content** Now that you’ve skimmed the video transcript and taken a quick peek at the video, you should preview the questions you will be answering. These questions will help you get a better understanding of the concepts and arguments that are presented in the video. Keep in mind that when you watch the video, it is a good idea to write down any vocab you read or hear that is unfamiliar to you. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions: •. What kinds of narratives about the past might you encounter, according to the video? •. Why should we start a course in world history before humans existed? •. The video introduces one historian’s account of history, David Christian’s Big History. What does Christian argue were the big transitions, or changes, in his account? •. The video also introduces the story of Ardi, who was one of our ancestors but not yet a modern human. Ardi’s life seems very different from ours. What were some of these differences? •. Ardi and her species did share at least one attribute with modern humans, however. What was it? **Third read: evaluating and corroborating** Finally, here are some questions that will help you focus on why this video matters and how it connects to other content you’ve studied. At the end of the third read, you should be able to respond to this question: •. One of the goals of this course is that the information you learn becomes usable for you. Can you think of any ways in which you might use the information you learned in this video at some point, despite the fact that this is the most distant history in the whole course? **Now that you know what to look for, it’s time to watch! Remember to return to these questions once you’ve finished watching.** [.article:bitmark--&video-online] [%WATCH: Era 1 Overview] [&video-online:https://youtu.be/pvuqqrQ5Lyg] [.article:bitmark++] [%READ: Era 1 Overview - History of Many Shapes and Sizes] The article below uses “Three Close Reads”. If you want to learn more about this strategy, ==click here==(https://whp.oerproject.com/-/media/WHP/PDF/Teacher-Resources/WHP-Introduction-to-Three-Close-Reads-for-Video.ashx)=. **First read: preview and skimming for gist** Before you read the article, you should skim it first. The skim should be very quick and give you the gist (general idea) of what the article is about. You should be looking at the title, author, headings, pictures, and opening sentences of paragraphs for the gist. **Second read: key ideas and understanding content** Now that you’ve skimmed the article, you should preview the questions you will be answering. These questions will help you get a better understanding of the concepts and arguments that are presented in the article. Keep in mind that when you read the article, it is a good idea to write down any vocab you see in the article that is unfamiliar to you. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions: •. Why are there so many different types of history? •. What are some common characteristics of all histories? •. How do some historians include multiple perspectives? •. Why does this course begin 13.8 billion years ago? That is, billions of years before humans even evolved? •. What will this course use as its frame to tell the history of humanity? **Third read: evaluating and corroborating** Finally, here are some questions that will help you focus on why this article matters and how it connects to other content you’ve studied. Since this is the first reading assignment of the course, you may not connect it to much other than the knowledge you already have. At the end of the third read, you should be able to respond to these questions: •. Most history courses begin with humans. This course begins with a prehuman era. To what degree does it help you make sense of human history and your world to think about time at such a large scale? •. The end of this article mentions how some of the information you’ll learn in the course may lead you to question the narratives that are presented. Why do you think this might be the case? Why would the author want you to test the claims that are being made? Explain your answer. **Now that you know what to look for, it’s time to read! Remember to return to these questions once you’ve finished reading.** Era 1 Overview - History of Many Shapes and Sizes [&image:https://docs.bitbook.education/bit-books/khan_academy/khan_world_history_project_origins/web-resources/images/universe.png] __By Bob Bain History can be the last 14 billion years of the universe, or the last 60 seconds of your life. In either case, details will be left out, and you’ll need a historian’s skills to discover a meaningful narrative.__ **Introduction: everything has a history, and history comes in many shapes and sizes** Everything, and we mean __everything__, has a history. No matter how big or how small, everything has a past and a history that can be written. Of course, you know that people have written histories of individual people, cultures, communities, and nations. And we suspect you might know about histories of art, architecture, music, or animals, or even a history of a __particular__ piece of art, or a building, or a musical composition, or even a special animal, like a racehorse. We have histories of big objects, like the Earth or the moon, and small objects, like paper, glass, or coffee beans1. People, not just historians, have always created histories of "things" that are important to them. From their family or a family member, to an important object, or a process, these histories are important to people. Everything has a history, and history comes in many shapes and many sizes. In this world history course, you will study all different types of histories. You will learn some personal stories of individual people, maybe even focusing only on a very short time in their lives. You will also investigate the histories of families and communities; of entire regions and societies; of the connections among people over great and small distances; of belief systems and ideas, such as science; of the environment and the planet; and even the history of the cosmos. Each type of history is valuable. No matter how big or small the topic it discusses, every history is important to someone. Each begins with people asking questions about the present and the past. Each uses evidence to answer those questions. And each presents a perspective or way of seeing the past, the present, and even the future. It is important to realize that no history can include everything, even a history as short as your last minute. A minute- long history of you would have to leave out "stuff" like the number of times your heartbeat, the movements of your eyes as you focused on the words on this page, or the thoughts (or daydreams?) that flowed through your mind in the past minute. No matter how big or small the topic or the amount of time or space a history covers, all histories give a picture of the past that could help us think more clearly about the present or the future. Indeed, historians have named the types of histories people have written by the size and scope of their focus. Table 1 shows one way to see this. __Table 1: Different ways to frame the past__ |image:https://docs.bitbook.education/bit-books/khan_academy/khan_world_history_project_origins/web-resources/images/table1.png| |image:https://docs.bitbook.education/bit-books/khan_academy/khan_world_history_project_origins/web-resources/images/table2.png| Some historians work across many levels of time and space rather than just one. They ask questions about and try to explain possible connections between the everyday lives of people found in micro-history. Or they investigate a biography and larger patterns found in national, global, or even cosmic history. In studying connections among the events or processes at different scales, or levels of time and place, some historians think of these as nested, much like Russian dolls. __Table 2: Nested or connected levels of history__ |image:https://docs.bitbook.education/bit-books/khan_academy/khan_world_history_project_origins/web-resources/images/graph.png| In WHP, we will move among all these different levels of our lives. We'll investigate the strength and weakness of connections among these scales of time and space. We call this scale switching, explicitly moving between events, people, details, questions, and narratives located within these envelopes of time and space to develop useful pictures of our global past. **Where to begin? The case for beginning with big historical stories:** In launching an investigation into the past or in telling a historical story – or any type of story – everyone must decide where to begin. WHP is no different. And the choice we are making might surprise you. We are going to start world history over 9.5 billion years before the Earth even formed, and about 13.5 billion years before the "stars" of our story – us humans – even make an appearance. We are starting with the Big Bang, the very beginning of time and space, or at least the very beginning according to most of the world's scientists and historians. Why start here? There are four reasons why we think Big History, the big story about our long pre-human history, is important. In fact, we think Big History is worth a more in-depth study than we will be able to provide here.2 First, Big History offers our most concise, scientific explanation of how the Universe, the Earth, and life on Earth has come to be the way it is now. In an orderly fashion, it connects human history to the development of other living organisms in our environment and to the environment itself. Second, to create and present a "history of everything," Big Historians must draw on the best and most current thinking of all the disciplines of human knowledge. Remember, it cannot be a complete history of everything! But by beginning with this history, we are demonstrating how much humans have discovered and learned about the world in which we live and how the sciences, the humanities, and other ways of thinking have made contributions to our understanding. Ironically, we are using our most recent history of human thinking to construct and tell a history of our most distant past. Big History enables us to become familiar with some major findings of human thinking. This way, we can use things like Big Bang cosmology, plate tectonics, and the theory of evolution to make sense of the past. Third, Big History also helps us see some of the differences between the various disciplines or ways of knowing. These disciplines include the physical sciences, the Earth sciences, cosmology, math, history, archaeology, anthropology, and even theology. It shows what each can and has provided us, and also how each has limitations. It shows us many ways we humans have studied ourselves and our world. Big History encourages us to pay attention to how we make and test claims, using intuition, logic, authority, and empirical evidence. We think that starting a course in history using the ideas of so many different disciplines, such as Earth science, physics, biology, and geology, also demonstrates the value of learning history and of learning to "do" history. Finally, Big History places human history in its physical, biological, and environmental context. It offers answers to some deep human questions: How did our universe emerge or materialize? How did all the "stuff" we use come into being? How did the Earth and the environment form and why does it "behave" as it does with its patterns of seasons, wind or ocean currents, earthquakes and volcanoes, and its various climatic patterns? And what about the other living organisms with whom we share the Earth and the environment? How did various life forms come into existence, change, survive, or disappear? In short, Big History offers us a way to understand the stage on which the human story takes place. We will use some of the answers, such as the way the environment works, how the geography of the Earth and other organisms have helped or hindered humans, and how our place in the cosmos affected our history. And, we will also investigate how humans have affected the environment, the climate, and other organisms on the Earth. So, let's begin with a Big History of the last nearly 14 billion years of time and space. The next article you read will outline the themes of two big histories, one constructed by a historian, David Christian, and an educator, Cynthia Stokes Brown. The other is constructed by a geologist, Walter Alvarez. |note:Notes •. See Leah Hager Cohen, Glass, Paper, Beans: Revelations on the Nature and Value of Ordinary Things (New York: Doubleday/Currency, 1997) •. If you have not taken the Big History Project’s course in Big History, we urge you to take a close look at it: www.bighistoryproject.com **Author bio** Bob Bain is Associate Professor in the School of Education, and the Departments of History and of Museum Studies at the University of Michigan. He also is the director of U-M’s World History and Literature Initiative and the faculty lead on the Big History Project. Before coming to the U-M in 1998, he taught high school history and social studies for 26 years. Bain’s research centers on teaching and learning history and the social sciences in classrooms, on-line, in museums and homes. |note:Sources and attributions Image credits Cover: NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has revisited the famous Pillars of Creation, originally photographed in 1995, revealing a sharper and wider view of the structures in this visible-light image. Public domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pillars_ of_creation_2014_HST_WFC3-UVIS_full-res_denoised.jpg| [.article:bitmark--] [%BEFORE YOU WATCH: Frame Concept Introduction] Use the “Three Close Reads” approach as you watch the video below (next in the lineup!). If you want to learn more about this strategy, ==click here==(https://whp.oerproject.com/-/media/WHP/PDF/Teacher-Resources/WHP-Introduction-to-Three-Close-Reads-for-Video.ashx)=. **First read: preview and skimming for gist** Before you watch, you should skim the ==transcript==(:https://whp.oerproject.com/-/media/WHP/PDF/Transcripts/Frame_Concept_Introduction.ashx)== first. The skim should be very quick and give you the gist (general idea) of what the video is about. You should be looking at the title, thumbnails, pictures, and first few seconds of the video for the gist. **Second read: key ideas and understanding content** Now that you’ve skimmed the video transcript and taken a quick peek at the video, you should preview the questions you will be answering. These questions will help you get a better understanding of the concepts and arguments that are presented in the video. Keep in mind that when you watch the video, it is a good idea to write down any vocab you read or hear that is unfamiliar to you. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions: •. According to Craig Benjamin, what is collective learning? •. Why is the concept of collective learning introduced so early in the course? •. This video introduces the argument by David Christian and Yuval Harari that symbolic language was important to collective learning. According to the video, why is symbolic language important to collective learning? •. Bob Bain argues that collective learning can also lead to the spread of concepts that are a "virus" or "glitch" and not really useful. Given the images on the screen and the things he is saying, what is one example of a glitch, and why? •. Where does Sharika Crawford see collective learning working in the world today? **Third read: evaluating and corroborating** Finally, here are some questions that will help you focus on why this video matters and how it connects to other content you’ve studied. At the end of the third read, you should be able to respond to this question: •. What is one example of a place where you see collective learning operating in your life? **Now that you know what to look for, it’s time to watch! Remember to return to these questions once you’ve finished watching.** [.article:bitmark--&video-online] [%WATCH: Collective Learning] [&video-online:https://youtu.be/rSzUkMFbcO0] [.multiple-choice] [%Era 1 Overview] === [!Which best describes how collective learning aided humans at the beginning of our history? Choose the best answer. Choose 1 answer:] [-A It enabled people to use written language to transmit knowledge.] [+B It helped people share important information about how to survive.] [-C It pushed people connect with one another to form religious communities.] [-D It taught people to cooperate and form states and empires] === [!Many historians argue that non-human actors are crucial in shaping human history. What is one non-human actor that shaped human history both in the past and the present, and why? Choose 1 answer:] [-A Weather, because many ancient religions revolved around the climate and seasons [-B Asteroids, because their role in the dinosaur extinction made way for our human ancestors to flourish.] [+C Geography, because it has influenced where humans settled, and the success different civilizations had.] [-D Other hominids, like Neanderthals, because their success led to our eventual emergence as a species.] === [!What is the best example of a Regional or Civilizational history? Choose 1 answer:] [+A A study of the early settlements in the Indus River Valley] [-B A detailed dive into emergence of the United States as a nation] [-C A summary of the United States’ role in upholding corrupt Latin American governments] [-D A historical record outlining the life of Fidel Castro.] === [!An extensive study of Abraham Lincoln and his role as a national figure would fall into what category of history? Choose 1 answer:] [-A Regional or Civilizational History] [+B Micro-history/Biography] [-C Deep History] [-D National History] === [.chapter] [#History Frames] [%1.2] [.article:bitmark--] [%BEFORE YOU WATCH: Frame Concept Introduction] Use the “Three Close Reads” approach as you watch the video below (next in the lineup!). If you want to learn more about this strategy, ==click here==(https://whp.oerproject.com/-/media/WHP/PDF/Teacher-Resources/WHP-Introduction-to-Three-Close-Reads-for-Video.ashx)=. **First read: preview and skimming for gist** Before you watch, you should skim the ==transcript==(:https://whp.oerproject.com/-/media/WHP/PDF/Transcripts/Frame_Concept_Introduction.ashx)== first. The skim should be very quick and give you the gist (general idea) of what the video is about. You should be looking at the title, thumbnails, pictures, and first few seconds of the video for the gist. **Second read: key ideas and understanding content** Now that you’ve skimmed the video transcript and taken a quick peek at the video, you should preview the questions you will be answering. These questions will help you get a better understanding of the concepts and arguments that are presented in the video. Keep in mind that when you watch the video, it is a good idea to write down any vocab you read or hear that is unfamiliar to you. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions: •. What is a frame, and how is it like a map? •. Why are frames useful? •. What are the three frames we use in this course? •. Why is it useful to have more than one frame? •. You are going to be given Frame Stories in this part of the course. Later, you will be asked to “test their claims”. What does this mean? **Third read: evaluating and corroborating** Finally, here are some questions that will help you focus on why this video matters and how it connects to other content you’ve studied. At the end of the third read, you should be able to respond to these questions: •. Are the three frames introduced in this video the only frames one could use to interpret the past and make it usable? What might some other frames be? •. This video argues that studying history through frames might help you to think about and anticipate for the future, and gives some examples. Think about the frame(s) you suggested to answer the question above. How might studying the past through this frame help prepare you for the future? **Now that you know what to look for, it’s time to watch! Remember to return to these questions once you’ve finished watching.** [.article:bitmark--] ==WATCH: Frame Concept Introduction== (:https://youtu.be/NB-qqY3kV3w)= [.article:bitmark--] [%BEFORE YOU WATCH: Communities Frame Introduction] Use the “Three Close Reads” approach as you watch the video below (next in the lineup!). If you want to learn more about this strategy, ==click here==(https://whp.oerproject.com/-/media/WHP/PDF/Teacher-Resources/WHP-Introduction-to-Three-Close-Reads-for-Video.ashx)=. **First read: preview and skimming for gist** Before you watch, you should skim the ==transcript==(:https://whp.oerproject.com/-/media/WHP/PDF/Transcripts/Communities_Frame_Introduction.ashx)= first. The skim should be very quick and give you the gist (general idea) of what the video is about. You should be looking at the title, thumbnails, pictures, and first few seconds of the video for the gist. **Second read: key ideas and understanding content** Now that you’ve skimmed the video transcript and taken a quick peek at the video, you should preview the questions you will be answering. These questions will help you get a better understanding of the concepts and arguments that are presented in the video. Keep in mind that when you watch the video, it is a good idea to write down any vocab you read or hear that is unfamiliar to you. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions: •. How does the quote from Helen Keller relate to the idea of “communities”? •. What were the first human communities like? •. What are some major changes and developments in the history of human communities, according to this video? •. According to this video, globalization has made us all members of a single community, but smaller communities are still relevant. Why? **Third read: evaluating and corroborating** Finally, here are some questions that will help you focus on why this video matters and how it connects to other content you’ve studied. At the end of the third read, you should be able to respond to these questions: •. What communities are you a member of, and how long ago did these emerge? •. What kinds of evidence would allow you to evaluate the claims made in this video about the history of human communities? Now that you know what to look for, it’s time to watch! Remember to return to these questions once you’ve finished watching. [.article:bitmark--&video-online] WATCH: Communities Frame Introduction [&video-online:https://youtu.be/nJO2C2Hk7J8] [.article:bitmark--] [%BEFORE YOU WATCH: Networks Frame Introduction] Use the “Three Close Reads” approach as you watch the video below (next in the lineup!). If you want to learn more about this strategy, ==click here==(https://whp.oerproject.com/-/media/WHP/PDF/Teacher-Resources/WHP-Introduction-to-Three-Close-Reads-for-Video.ashx)=. **First read: preview and skimming for gist** Before you watch, you should skim the ==transcript==(https://whp.oerproject.com/-/media/WHP/PDF/Transcripts/Networks_Frame_Introduction.ashx)= first. The skim should be very quick and give you the gist (general idea) of what the video is about. You should be looking at the title, thumbnails, pictures, and first few seconds of the video for the gist. **Second read: key ideas and understanding content** Now that you’ve skimmed the video transcript and taken a quick peek at the video, you should preview the questions you will be answering. These questions will help you get a better understanding of the concepts and arguments that are presented in the video. Keep in mind that when you watch the video, it is a good idea to write down any vocab you read or hear that is unfamiliar to you. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions: •. The video begins with a philosophical statement common to the Zulu people of southern Africa. How would you describe this idea in your own words? •. What were the first human networks like, and why were they important? •. What are some major changes and developments in the history of human networks, according to this video? •. The video ends with several questions. What problems does it suggest people might have within the global network? **Third read: evaluating and corroborating** Finally, here are some questions that will help you focus on why this video matters and how it connects to other content you’ve studied. At the end of the third read, you should be able to respond to these questions: •. The networks frame and the communities frame overlap somewhat, but they are also different. How would you explain the difference between a network and a community? •. What kinds of evidence would allow you to evaluate the claims made in this video about the history of human networks? Now that you know what to look for, it’s time to watch! Remember to return to these questions once you’ve finished watching. [.article:bitmark--] ==WATCH: Networks Frame Introduction== (:https://youtu.be/yglvxAN2j6I)== [.article:bitmark--] [%BEFORE YOU WATCH: Production and Distribution Frame Introduction] Use the “Three Close Reads” approach as you watch the video below (next in the lineup!). If you want to learn more about this strategy, ==click here==(https://whp.oerproject.com/-/media/WHP/PDF/Teacher-Resources/WHP-Introduction-to-Three-Close-Reads-for-Video.ashx)=. **First read: preview and skimming for gist** Before you watch, you should skim the ==transcript==(https://whp.oerproject.com/-/media/WHP/PDF/Transcripts/Networks_Frame_Introduction.ashx)= first. The skim should be very quick and give you the gist (general idea) of what the video is about. You should be looking at the title, thumbnails, pictures, and first few seconds of the video for the gist. **Second read: key ideas and understanding content** Now that you’ve skimmed the video transcript and taken a quick peek at the video, you should preview the questions you will be answering. These questions will help you get a better understanding of the concepts and arguments that are presented in the video. Keep in mind that when you watch the video, it is a good idea to write down any vocab you read or hear that is unfamiliar to you. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions: •. The video starts with a saying we believe emerged from Chinese society several hundred years ago. What does this saying suggest about some values common to that society in that period? •. Why is it important to start a frame story about production and distribution with the environment? •. According to the video, what was the first system of production and distribution like? •. What are the two biggest changes in production and distribution in human history, according to the video, and when did they occur? •. Have production and distribution grown consistently over the course of human history? •. According to this video, how has our systems of production and distribution changed recently? **Third read: evaluating and corroborating** Finally, here are some questions that will help you focus on why this video matters and how it connects to other content you’ve studied. At the end of the third read, you should be able to respond to these questions: •. Think about the things you own and about the jobs people do in your community. Based on just that evidence, do you think that the claims made in this video, about production and distribution in the world today, are accurate? •. What kinds of evidence would allow you to evaluate the claims made in this video about the history of production and distribution? Now that you know what to look for, it’s time to watch! Remember to return to these questions once you’ve finished watching. [.article:bitmark--] ==WATCH: Production and Distribution Frame Introduction== (:https://youtu.be/b_lrv-8_ZPQ)== [.multiple-choice:bitmark--] [%Practice:History Frames] === [!What aspect of the production and distribution frame narrative changed most dramatically as a result of the expansion of trade routes? Choose 1 answer:] [-A Neither production nor distribution were affected] [-B Mostly production] [+C Mainly distribution] [-D Both production and distribution] === [!What question below best fits with the network frame narrative--as opposed to the communities or production and distribution frame narratives? Choose the **best** answer. Choose 1 answer:] [-A How did the leadership structure change as foragers transitioned to farming?] [-B What group of people was most affected by changes in land ownership during the modern age?] [+C How did the expansion of the Silk Road affect the people living along these trade routes?] [-D How did the Industrial Revolution change the way work was treated in society?] === [!Certain barriers often limited the size and form of communities in the past. What barrier to expansion has the Internet allowed communities to surpass? Choose 1 answer:] [-A Legal barriers] [-B Economic barriers] [+C Geographic barriers] [-D Political barriers] === [!What types of communities were people in Era 3 (6000 BCE – 700 CE) able to form, allowing them to form a shared identity with people that lived far from them? Choose 1 answer:] [-A Cities] [-B Familial communities] [-C Farming villages] [+D Religious communities] === [.chapter] [#The Big History Story] [%1.3] [.article:bitmark--] [%READ: An Introduction to Big History] The Big History story of the universe – and human’s place in it – is told from two perspectives that are outlined in this article. The first, from historian David Christian, is based on thresholds of increasing complexity. The second, from geologist Walter Alvarez, concentrates on four movements: the Cosmos, the Earth, Life, and Humanity. Created by World History Project. Use the “Three Close Reads” approach as you watch the video below (next in the lineup!). If you want to learn more about this strategy, ==click here==(https://whp.oerproject.com/-/media/WHP/PDF/Teacher-Resources/WHP-Introduction-to-Three-Close-Reads-for-Video.ashx)=. **First read: preview and skimming for gist** Before you watch, you should skim the ==transcript==(https://whp.oerproject.com/-/media/WHP/PDF/Transcripts/Networks_Frame_Introduction.ashx)= first. The skim should be very quick and give you the gist (general idea) of what the video is about. You should be looking at the title, thumbnails, pictures, and first few seconds of the video for the gist. **Second read: key ideas and understanding content** Now that you’ve skimmed the video transcript and taken a quick peek at the video, you should preview the questions you will be answering. These questions will help you get a better understanding of the concepts and arguments that are presented in the video. Keep in mind that when you watch the video, it is a good idea to write down any vocab you read or hear that is unfamiliar to you. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions: •. What does it mean to periodize history? •. What are origin stories? What makes Big History a unique kind of origin story, according to the author? •. What is a “threshold of increasing complexity?” •. How is David Christian’s narrative of Big History different from Walter Alvarez’s? •. How are David Christian and Walter Alvarez’s narratives of Big History similar? **Third read: evaluating and corroborating** Finally, here are some questions that will help you focus on why this video matters and how it connects to other content you’ve studied. At the end of the third read, you should be able to respond to these questions: •. How might studying Big History support our learning in a world history course? Based on what you learned from the text, what do you think could be the next threshold of increasing complexity? •. Now that you know what to look for, it’s time to read! Remember to return to these questions once you’ve finished reading. [.article:bitmark++] [%An Introduction to Big History: Thresholds of Increasing Complexity or Four Movements?] |image:https://docs.bitbook.education/bit-books/khan_academy/khan_world_history_project_origins/web-resources/images/earth.png| __By Bob Bain The Big History story of the universe – and human’s place in it – is told from two perspectives that are outlined in this article. The first, from historian David Christian, is based on thresholds of increasing complexity. The second, from geologist Walter Alvarez, concentrates on four movements: the Cosmos, the Earth, Life, and Humanity.__ **Introduction** In the Era 1 Overview, you read about how everything in the Universe has a history. Everyone and everything—from your great-great grandparents to a World War II battle—has a history story. There's a history of the planet and even a history of the entire cosmos. You also learned that you can understand how the history of Earth or the universe fits into your own life story. But it requires some scale switching. You must look at time and space from different perspectives. And in order to make sure a history is coherent, or that it fits together as a story, you need to periodize it. That's a fancy way of saying how historians divide or categorize history into distinct chunks of time or eras. The Big History story of the universe—and human's place in it—has been told from many different perspectives. Two of those perspectives are outlined in this article. The first is based on thresholds of increasing complexity. This is how historian David Christian organized 13.8 billion years of history to fit into one course. The second concentrates on four movements. It's based on how geologist Walter Alvarez chose to arrange his Big History. **Thresholds of increasing complexity: David Christian's Big History** David Christian is a historian who teaches at Macquarie University in Australia. He has written books on such topics as vodka in Russia, inner Eurasia, and Big History. Dr. Christian has recognized the importance of the stories people tell and the ways these stories help connect us in meaningful ways. He focuses on how we are connected to each other and also to the world and Universe in which we live. Some of these stories are origin stories. They explain the beginnings of where we came from, where we are in the universe, and where we are going. Every culture, Dr. Christian explained, had such origin stories. They played crucial roles in providing meaning to people. Sharing stories with others helped illuminate where people and their communities fit in our powerful, vast, and beautiful universe. There is no common, modern origin story that suits our global community of over seven billion people. But Christian claims one has been emerging over the last 50 years. It's an origin story he calls "Big History". This modern story is different from other origin stories in two crucial ways. First, it is not tied to one region or culture, but is a story for all of us. Second, it draws on the best collective, evidence-based understanding of the universe, the Earth, life, and of humanity that we have. The "plot" of Christian's story centers around the idea that sometimes completely new and more complex phenomena comes into existence. These phenomena are more complex because they have more parts. These parts are arranged in an entirely new way than previous "things". In his book Maps of Time, Christian coined the term thresholds of increasing complexity. The term identifies times when significant new forms of complex phenomena emerged. It gives a chapter-like structure to his story. He and other Big Historians, such as Cynthia Stokes Brown and Craig Benjamin, identified eight such thresholds of increasing complexity. This narrative is what the Big History Project used to structure its course in Big History. So, what's the story? And why does it matter to world history? |image:Cover of Maps of Time, by David Christian. Fair use. https://docs.bitbook.education/bit-books/khan_academy/khan_world_history_project_origins/web-resources/images/maps_of_time.png| This story begins with the emergence of the universe with the Big Bang. Our understanding of this first threshold developed recently. The physicists and cosmologists among us figured out how to measure the distance other stars are from the Earth. To our surprise, we learned that stars are moving away from us. This indicates that the universe is expanding. Using logic, scientists reasoned that that our expanding universe once upon a time must have been smaller, and smaller, and smaller still. Finally, they theorized that there must have been a point when the expanding universe emerged. They called this emergence the Big Bang. The early universe contained only hydrogen and helium and the four basic forces: gravity, electromagnetism, the strong force, and the weak force. |image:Quite a Big History, wouldn’t you agree? https://docs.bitbook.education/bit-books/khan_academy/khan_world_history_project_origins/web-resources/images/hist_map.png| While relatively simple, these early elements and forces were enough for more complex phenomena to emerge such as stars and galaxies (Threshold 2). Then, more complex and heavier elements emerged (Threshold 3). Eventually our Solar System and Earth (Threshold 4) emerged. Gravity is a central actor in making the universe more complex after the Big Bang since it draws objects together. Gravity compressed clouds of hydrogen gas that formed a few billion years after the Big Bang, a compression that created increasing heat and mass, until finally the first stars "lit" up. The heat within stars and the heat produced when stars explode create more complex and heavier elements by fusing atoms together. About 4.5 billion years ago our Sun, an average-sized star, formed as gravity compressed gases just as it does when creating other stars. And gravity acted on the left-over "stuff" from the formation of the Sun to create the other planets and moons in our solar system. One of those planets is our Earth, a rocky planet with a single moon, a moon that revolves around the Earth while the Earth revolves around the Sun. Living organisms, life, is Threshold 5 in Christian's Big History story. How living organisms emerged from inanimate—non-living—objects, is still a mystery. But it is a great example of complex things emerging from less complex things. The first organisms were single-celled bacteria. Some of these bacteria emitted oxygen into the air helping to form the ozone layer that protects us from the harmful rays of the Sun. From these single- celled organisms more complex life evolved to give us the great diversity of organisms on Earth. Today we have organisms ranging from micro-organisms to plants to animals, and, of course, to us humans. This story, thus far, is not only a story of how the universe became more complex. It is also the story of how we humans developed our understanding of events over 13.82 billion years ago at the beginning of time. It is the story of how our Earth formed 4.5 billion years ago, or the origin of elements, or evolution of life. It is quite an amazing story about our curiosity, our innovations, and our collective learning. It is not just a big story of the universe. It is a story of the change in human's understanding of the universe. If we can understand the science of physical and natural forces around us, we can develop clearer pictures of the past, the present, and the future. For example, we have learned a lot about the way the Earth formed with its unique elements, minerals, climate, landforms, and even its Moon. This knowledge has limited or encouraged human actions and experiences. Historians have been able to use new scientific explanations and understandings of our physical and biological world to provide stronger understandings of the past and the present. This in turn has enabled us to think with more knowledge about our future. Christian's last three thresholds of increasing complexity are the Emergence of Humans and Collective Learning (Threshold 6), the Emergence of Agriculture (Threshold 7), and the Emergence of Modernity and Use of Fossil Fuels (Threshold 8). These thresholds represent three major transformations in our collective human experiences. These are the transformations that we will discuss in much greater detail in the rest of the course. Indeed, the World History Project is an extended investigation into the complexity that emerged with human actions. Complexity increased as humans evolved a language that allo