|
Study Guides
These study guides correspond to the twelve units (Parts 1 and 2) of the Student's Friend concise alternative textbook, available free on this website.
Study Guides for Student's Friend - Part 1, Prehistory to 1500
Study Guides for the Student's Friend - Part 2, 1500 to the Present
More about the Study Guides:
Each unit's study guide provides an introduction to the historical content to be covered during the unit, related map locations, and questions - many of them open ended - meant to stimulate thought and discussion. Study guides are available in Microsoft Word and pdf formats. (Map locations are identified in the online view of each unit, available here.)
 Basic writing guidelines for history students
These three guidelines are compatible with the Student's Friend Study Guides:
1) When you are asked to state your own opinion in this class, remember, opinions don’t count unless they are backed by historical evidence.
2) Any time you are asked to describe or explain something in history class, a good answer would include "What is it?" (definition) and "Why it is important?" (historical significance).
3) When asked to answer a question, state your answer in such a way that it's clear to the reader what the question was. (Some teachers put it this way: "Restate the question in your answer.")
Timelines
Most of these study guides ask students to be familiar with a timeline of major historical events from the Big Bang through the current unit of study. A sampling of such major events can be found on the "4 Eras Timeline" available here.
Essential Questions:
These study guides emphasize a scheme of eight "essential questions" that overlay the entire course of study from Unit 1 through Unit 12. These are the kind of big, over-arching questions advocated by the Understanding by Design curriculum model.
Listed beneath each essential question in the study guides are one or more sub-questions, or topical questions, relating to specific content from the unit under study. These topical questions can serve to illuminate the larger essential question. Topical questions may be used as discussion starters at the beginning of a class session to preview an upcoming concept or to reinforce an earlier lesson, and they may show up later as essay-type questions on the unit exam.
Essential questions could be used to form the basis for a final exam at the conclusion of the course. Students might be asked to state a thesis relating to an essential question and support if with evidence from history.
Following are the eight essential questions featured in these study guides. The first four focus on fundamental aspects of human experience, and the second four deal with major forces of history.
- What is human nature?
- Can we know the truth?
- What makes a good society?
- When is war justified?
- How does geography make history?
- How does trade make history?
- How does technology make history?
- How does human choice make history?
© 2001 - 2011 michael g. maxwell - maxwell learning l.l.c.
|
