The Ancient World for Ages 11 to 13 Course

What you will learn in 4 lessons

1. 1

   Thinking Like a Historian

   Start here

   The learner uses sources as evidence, places events in chronological order and periods, and explains causes, consequences, change and continuity, significance and different interpretations.

   5 learning goals

   What you will learn

   1. 1.Ask historical questions and find the right sources
   2. 2.Use sources as evidence
   3. 3.Place the past in time
   4. 4.Explain causes, consequences, change and continuity
   5. 5.Judge significance, perspectives and interpretations
2. 2

   First Civilizations

   The learner explains why the first cities and states arose in Mesopotamia, the Indus valley and early China, and what writing, law, trade and religion meant for them.

   6 learning goals

   What you will learn

   1. 1.Explain why the first cities grew up in river valleys
   2. 2.Describe life, belief and power in Sumer and Mesopotamia
   3. 3.Explain how writing and written laws changed Mesopotamian society
   4. 4.Describe the Indus valley civilization
   5. 5.Describe Shang China along the Yellow River
   6. 6.Compare the first civilizations and judge their importance
3. 3

   Ancient Greece

   The learner compares Greek city-states, explains Athenian democracy and citizenship, and describes Greek achievements in science, philosophy, theatre and the arts and their influence today.

   6 learning goals

   What you will learn

   1. 1.Place ancient Greece on the map and in time, and find out how we know about it
   2. 2.Explain how Greek city-states were governed and compare Athens and Sparta
   3. 3.Explain the wars that shaped the Greek world, from Persia to Alexander
   4. 4.Describe Greek beliefs, festivals and arts
   5. 5.Explain how Greek thinkers studied the world
   6. 6.Judge the legacy of ancient Greece today
4. 4

   Ancient China

   The learner explains the Mandate of Heaven, compares the teachings of Confucius, Daoism and Legalism, and explains how the Qin unified China and how the Han empire governed, traded along the Silk Roads and invented paper.

   5 learning goals

   What you will learn

   1. 1.Explain how land and the idea of Heaven shaped early Chinese rule
   2. 2.Compare the ideas born in an age of war
   3. 3.Understand how the Qin unified China
   4. 4.Trace how the Han built a lasting empire
   5. 5.Show how the Han connected China with the world