Early Agriculture

Writing Warm-Up  Why do you think many of our early human ancestors abandoned (left behind) the hunter-gatherer lifestyle to become farmers? What advantages (positives) do you think farming might have over hunting and gathering? Share your ideas here.  

Early Agriculture: Vocabulary Study  Today we are going to be studying the key vocabulary related to 'Early Agriculture' using the assignment Early Agriculture - Cognitive Content Dictionary located in your Social Studies Google Classroom. We will be using an excerpt from our Social Studies textbook, also located in your Social Studies Google Classroom, to help us understand the lesson's key words and concepts.  

Homework  Complete the assignment Early Agriculture - Cognitive Content Dictionary by next Friday, September 11.

Identifying Main Ideas and Exploring Human Migration

Analysis Skill: Identify Main Ideas  Almost all written nonfiction text, including your history textbook, consists of main ideas. There may be one main idea or multiple ideas. Learning to identify the main idea or ideas of a passage will help you understand what you have read. Today we will read the passage below and work together to identify its main ideas. You can find the assignment Identify Main Ideas (Ice Age Hunter-Gatherers) in your Social Studies Google Classroom. This assignment will be due on Friday, September 4. 

Journey of Humankind: Interactive Map  Today we are going to go on a virtual global journey of modern humans over the last 160,000 years. This interactive map "will show for the first time the interaction between migration and climate over this period." Press "play" and watch your ancestors begin their migration out of Africa to the furthest reaches of the globe. Read their stories along the way. Observe the changes in climate that they are forced to confront. Make note of when and how your ancestors first set foot in the American. Enjoy!

Populating the Earth (Day 2)

Video: The First Great Migration  The first great migration out of Africa and into other parts of the world was heavily influenced by climate. This segment explores the paths of migration into Asia and beyond.  

Populating the Earth: Guided Reading  Today we are going to read the 'Populating the Earth' section from our Social Studies textbook's Interactive Reader. You can find a PDF of the selection here, as well as in your Social Studies Google Classroom. After reading, you will begin to answer the questions from the document Populating the Earth - Questions, which can also be found in your Social Studies Google Classroom. 

Homework  In addition to completing the assignment Populating the Earth - Questions, also make sure you complete and 'turn in' the assignment Populating the Earth - Cognitive Content Dictionary by Friday, September 4. 

Populating the Earth

Populating the Earth: Vocabulary Study  Today we are going to be studying the key vocabulary related to early humans 'Populating the Earth' using the Populating the Earth - Cognitive Content Dictionary located in your Social Studies Google Classroom. We will be using an excerpt from our Social Studies textbook, which can also be found in your Google Classroom, to help us understand the lesson's key words and concepts.   

Homework  Complete Populating the Earth - Cognitive Content Dictionary, which is officially due next Friday, September 4.

Assessing Early Humans

Early Humans Quiz  Show me what you've learned 'Early Humans' by taking the online quiz here. The quiz is composed of 10 multiple choice questions and a short response paragraph. I will read the questions and answers to you and then provide you time to write your paragraph (you will have two topics to choose from). 

Newsela Article about 'Lucy'  If time permits and you finish your quiz early, head on over to Newsela and read the article about our early human ancestor Lucy here. After reading the article carefully, take the quiz. 

Homework  Tomorrow is Friday. Make sure you complete and 'turn in' the following assignments: Hunter-Gatherer Societies - Cognitive Content Dictionary and Neanderthal and Modern Humans - Venn Diagram.

Comparing and Contrasting Neanderthals and Modern Humans

Comparing and Contrasting Neanderthals and Modern Human To begin, let's continue to add to our Neanderthal and Modern Humans - Venn Diagram (located in your Social Studies Google Classroom) as we take notes on how Neanderthals are both similar and different compared to modern humans. You may reference the excerpts of text from yesterday's Blog, as well as refer to the venn diagram below. 
Video: The Neanderthals  Now we are going to continue to learn about the lives of the Neanderthals, as we add to our Neanderthal and Modern Humans - Venn Diagram, by watching watching excerpts of the Discovery Channel documentary Neanderthal.    

Study for Early Humans Quiz  Tomorrow you will be taking a short quiz on 'Early Humans,' which will test your understanding of how we study and make sense of the ancient past, as well as what we know about the lives of our early human ancestors and how they changed over time. The quiz will be primarily multiple choice, and may include a few short response questions as well. Please review your Social Studies assignments, as well as the Social Studies Blog entries from the past two weeks in order to be prepared.

Homework  Complete the Neanderthal and Modern Humans - Venn Diagram, which is due Friday, August 28, and study for your Early Humans Quiz, which we will have tomorrow, August 27. 

Human Evolution and the Introduction of the Neanderthals

Video: "The New History of Humanity"  The video we are going to watch today is going to both reinforce and challenge what we think we know about the evolution of our human ancestors. While watching the video, use the document New History of Humanity - Video Notes (in your Social Studies Google Classroom) to take notes on what you already know about the lives of our early humans, what information is new regarding the lives of early humans, and what questions you still have.  

 

Introducing the Neanderthals The human evolution journey continues as we learn about another human species, one that many consider to be the most closely related to us: the Neanderthals. As you read from the excerpts from our Ancient Civilizations textbook below, use the document Neanderthal and Modern Humans - Venn Diagram (in your Social Studies Google Classroom) to take notes on how Neanderthals are both similar and different compared to our modern human species.

 

Homework  Please complete the documents New History of Humanity - Video Notes and Neanderthal and Modern Humans - Venn Diagram by Friday, August 28.