Description:

This year-long, full credit high school course offers an in-depth look at how our world developed from 1200 CE to today. Long before jet travel, many portions of the globe were connected. By the early 1200s, Persian historian Juvayni reported that one might walk safely from Southeast Asia to Eastern Europe- thanks to Mongol army units. Silk Roads linked Moscow to Tibet. Vibrant Indian Ocean trade circulated goods, people, and animals from China to Indonesia to India, with linkages to East African coastal cities and the wider Muslim world, including Arab and Turkic peoples. In 200 more years, Muslim Admiral Zheng He would command China's legendary treasure fleet.

Despite a few sporadic contacts, most of the Old World remained ignorant of lands from the Arctic Circle to the volcanic Tierra del Fuego. Here in the Americas, precursors to Incan and Aztec empires built urban city-states, while farther north, Cahokia's pyramids and Mesa Verde's cliffside apartments boomed, the Iroquois League united five great nations, and countless other populations lived as hunter-gatherers, horticulturists, whalers, fishers, and farmers. At 1200 CE, when this course begins, two halves of the world had not yet collided, but soon would.

We will use the tools and perspectives of historians to see how this collision happened and what else built the world we know today. You will analyze primary sources and secondary sources. You will learn to identify symbols, develop arguments based on evidence, and think critically about the arguments of others. We spend a lot of time interpreting maps, letters, paintings, sculptures, photographs, speeches, and other material to understand context, causation, and continuity and change over time. By the end of the course, you may not have memorized dozens of dates (unless you wanted to), but you WILL have a much clearer idea of who was where, when, and why-- and how that has affected us.

*INSTRUCTOR'S NOTE*This is a reading-heavy course suited for students who can commit to completing homework BEFORE each meeting. That prepares you for active discussion, role play, and activities in class. The course is not lecture-based, but instead is taught as a participatory seminar. Students cannot learn the rich course material by simply attending. However, if you come with your readings finished, ready to ask questions and apply what you've learned, the world is yours!

LEVELS:This course is offered at three levels: On-Level, Honors, and Advanced Placement (AP). Each has a different workload, but all meet together. AP students work at a university freshman level and have the potential to earn college credit or placement through the spring 2022 AP exam. AP students start class two weeks earlier, with online homework due in mid- and late August. Honors students have assignments that engage higher-level analysis and historical thinking skills. On-Level students use the same college-level textbook, but have fewer readings, less homework, and less rigorous assessments.

SCHEDULE: There are two weekly meetings: (1) Friday online in a virtual classroom from 1:00 pm- 1:55 pm for all online class members; and (2) Monday online in a virtual classroom from 10:00 am - 11:00 am. The Monday online session is required for AP students, but open to all students and recorded for those who cannot attend live. For Honors and On-Level, this is a 28-week course which follows the Compass calendar but ends two weeks early due to the AP exam. AP students have the equivalent of 31 weeks, as they begin two weeks before the regular Compass start date and have an additional session for a mock exam.

WORKLOAD: Honors and On-Level students should plan 4-5 hours each week outside of class meetings for reading and homework. AP students typically need 6 hours or more, depending on reading speed and experience. All levels use materials written at a freshman college level, so students must be highly-skilled readers or else have robust reading support at home.

Assignments: All assignments will be posted on a password-protected Canvas classroom management site. There, students access assignments, upload homework, take automated quizzes and tests, track grades, message instructor and classmates; and attend virtual conferences.

Assessments: Completed homework, projects, quizzes, and tests receive points and narrative feedback. Parents can calculate a letter grade using the student's points earned divided by points available, in weighted categories that include assignments, reading quizzes, tests, and participation and presentations. Parents may view all scoring and comments at any time through the Canvas site.

TEXTBOOK: Registered students will receive an e-mail with the required textbook(s) over the summer.

REGISTRATION. All students register online for the same course, but students must designate their choice of On-Level, Honors, or AP by emailing Compass before August 4. Once the course has begun, students may move down a level at any time, but the instructor will consider "bumping up" on a case-by-case basis only.

AP FEES:An additional tuition fee of $175 is assessed for students approved to take AP level, due to additional instructional time. Families will receive a separate invoice for this amount before the start of classes. The fee is not refundable if the student decides midyear to switch to Honors or On-Level. The fee for the College Board's AP Modern World History exam in May 2022 is not included; each family is responsible for scheduling and paying for their student's AP exam.

AP APPROVAL: Students who have taken a prior course with the instructor may seek approval for AP level through a conversation or e-mail with her. For students new to this instructor, a short questionnaire and brief written assignment about a sample textbook chapter are needed to request approval for AP level.

CREDIT: Homeschool families may wish to count this course as a full credit in World History for purposes of a high school transcript.