Middle School World History and Geography B

About This Course

This is the second course in a two-course sequence. In this course, students will explore world history and geography from 1000 BCE to 1500 CE. Students will learn about early river valley civilizations, such as the civilization that began along the Huang He River in China. Next, students will investigate the achievements of multiple classical civilizations and empires, such as the Roman and Incan civilizations. While studying classical societies, students will also learn about religions that formed in different parts of the world and how they spread to new places. Students will investigate complex cases in history, such as the collapse of the Mayan Empire. Throughout this course, students will investigate the role of geography in where and how societies formed. Students will also use historical thinking skills to critically examine the past. Prerequisites:  Middle School World History and Geography A

Course Objectives: Upon completion of this course, students will be able to...

• Use historical thinking skills, such as primary source analysis, to analyze events and themes in history
• Use geographical skills, such as map reading and analysis, to evaluate the role of geography in history
• Describe the features and achievements of early civilizations that developed along rivers, such as ancient China and Mississippian societies
• Describe major achievements of classical civilizations and empires, such as the Mauryan and Roman Empires
• Identify and describe the tenets of major world religions, such as Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam, and map their spread

Course Outline:

Unit 8: Early Civilizations Along the Huang He River

Unit 9: Early Civilizations Along the Mississippi River

Unit 10: Classical Civilizations - India

Unit 11: Classical CIvilizations - China

Unit 12: Classical Civilizations - The Mediterranean

Unit 13: Classical Civilizations - Africa

Unit 14: Classical Civilization - The Americas

Resources Included: Online lesson instruction and activities, opportunities to engage with a certified, online instructor and classmates, when appropriate, and online assessments to measure student performance of course objectives and readiness for subsequent academic pursuits.

Additional Costs: None

Scoring System: Michigan Virtual does not assign letter grades, grant credit for courses, nor issue diplomas. A final score out of total points earned will be submitted to your school mentor for conversion to their own letter grading system.

Time Commitment: Semester sessions are 18-weeks long: Students must be able to spend 1 or more hours per day in the course to be successful. Summer sessions are 10 weeks long: Students must be able to spend a minimum of 2 or more hours per day, or about 90 hours during the summer, for the student to be successful in any course. Trimester sessions are 12-weeks long: Students must be able to spend 1.5 or more hours per day in the course to be successful.

Technology Requirements: Students will require a computer device with headphones, a microphone, webcam, up-to-date Chrome Web Browser, and access to YouTube.

Please review the Michigan Virtual Technology Requirements: https://michiganvirtual.org/about/support/knowledge-base/technical-requirements/

Instructor Support System: For technical issues within your course, contact the Customer Care Center by email at CustomerCare@michiganvirtual.org or by phone at (888) 889-2840.

Instructor Contact Expectations: Students can use email or the private message system within the Student Learning Portal to access highly qualified teachers when they need instructor assistance. Students will also receive feedback on their work inside the learning management system. The Instructor Info area of their course may describe additional communication options.

Academic Support Available: In addition to access to a highly qualified, Michigan certified teacher, students have access to academic videos and outside resources verified by Michigan Virtual. For technical issues within the course, students can contact the Michigan Virtual Customer Care by email at customercare@michiganvirtual.org or by phone at (888) 889-2840.

Required Assessment: Online assessments consist of formative and summative assessments represented by computer-graded multiple choice, instructor-graded writing assignments including hands-on projects, model building and other forms of authentic assessments.

Technical Skills Needed: Basic technology skills necessary to locate and share information and files as well as interact with others in a Learning Management System (LMS), include the ability to:

• Download, edit, save, convert, and upload files
• Download and install software
• Use a messaging service similar to email
• Communicate with others in online discussion or message boards, following basic rules of netiquette
• Open attachments shared in messages
• Create, save, and submit files in commonly used word processing program formats and as a PDF
• Edit file share settings in cloud-based applications, such as Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides
• Save a file as a .pdf
• Copy and paste and format text using your mouse, keyboard, or an html editor’s toolbar menu
• Insert images or links into a file or html editor
• Search for information within a document using Ctrl+F or Command+F keyboard shortcuts
• Work in multiple browser windows and tabs simultaneously
• Activate a microphone or webcam on your device, and record and upload or link audio and/or video files
• Use presentation and graphics programs
• Follow an online pacing guide or calendar of due dates
• Use spell-check, citation editors, and tools commonly provided in word processing tool menus
• Create and maintain usernames and passwords

Additional Information: None