In this online lesson, students are introduced to resources that will help them better understand the effects and implications of the reopening of the ancient Silk Road between Europe and China, including Marco Polo's travels and the location of his routes.

In this lesson, students will compare and contrast the empires of the Ottoman Empire, Rome, and China, learning the similarities and differences as well as identifying and explaining characteristics of why empires rise and fall.

Using the Eurasian frontier as a case study, this lesson will introduce students to the importance of disease transmission and containment in history - and their connection to world trade, military movements, population movements, and government social policies.

In this lesson students will understand: 1.the social and political consequences of European expansion upon indigenous populations during the early modern period. 2. the development of a new economic system -- mercantilism -- and its impact upon the European and worldwide economy. 3. the cultural and political importance of establishing an empire for European monarchs. Would a monarch's authority be considered absolute without an empire?

This article examines European exploration of the Pacific. Much of the European exploration of this region was inspired by two obsessions, the search for the fastest routes to the spice-rich islands of the Moluccas as well as the theory that somewhere in the South Pacific lay a vast undiscovered southern continent, possibly also rich in gold, spices, and other trade goods.

This article explains the period of discovery from the latter half of the fifteenth through the sixteenth centuries which is generally referred to as the Age of Exploration. It discusses important explorers and innovations during this historical period.

With this digital collection, students will review documents that survey the many parts of the world swept up in French imperialism during the early modern period (1500–1800), and the many ways the French empire influenced their histories. Students will consider the following essential questions as they review the documents: 1. What were the motivations behind France’s presence in different parts of the world? How did French motives change from place to place, and over time? 2. How did French colonists see native peoples in North America, the Caribbean, and Africa? How did these peoples interact with the French? 3. How did the pieces of France’s empire fit together? Were they a single, coherent system?

The Indian Ocean Trade network has been a conduit for goods and culture for thousands of years. This lesson will teach students key concepts of cultural diffusion, and diasporic communities.

In this lesson, students will become familiar with China, Central Asia, and the Silk Road in the time of Marco Polo.

In this lesson, students will become familiar with China, Central Asia, and the Silk Road in the time of Marco Polo.

In this lesson, students will understand and describe the geography of China and the conditions for travel in ancient and medieval times.

In this lesson, students will explore the Mongol Empire and China at the time of Mongol domination. They will also recognize Marco Polo's role as an official of Kublai Khan.

In this lesson, students will summarize the first leg of Marco Polo's return voyage and become familiar with South Asia in the 13th century.

In this lesson, students will become familiar with the geography and early history of Turkey and learn about Constantinople and its historical importance.

This lesson is meant to look at Mass Culture and Consumerism in the 20th Century specifically the 1920s, 1950s, and 1980s.  To better understand the importance of this in American life, it also involves a concept of comparing and contrasting these to today’s culture.Teachers have the ability to adjust this unit to deal with each Era/Decade separately 1920s=Unit 4; 1950s=Unit 6) or to look at the issue of Mass Culture/Consumerism as a whole in Unit 8, going back over the earlier periods. 

Students will examine content related to mercantilism. Students will use a map to identify political boundaries, analyze primary and secondary sources, and evaluate the impact of economic forces. Students will also participate in an activity to simulate the flow of goods and gold between colonies and the mother countries.

This article explains Portuguese motives for exploring Africa in the 15th through 17th centuries. Motives included access to commodities and a faster means to South Asia. In addition, religion played an important role in Portuguese exploration of Africa.

In this writing activity, students use the images and texts in the documents provided to write a well-organized essay of at least five paragraphs in response to the following question: Describe and analyze the effect of the Black Death in 14th century Italy for its effect on families and children who became ill or who were survivors of parents and siblings who died, based on analysis of evidence in the documents.

In this lesson, students analyze and compare different types of available evidence on the physical and social effects of the Black Death. Students will also develop possible explanations for the difference between contemporary narrative accounts of the Black Death and other types of evidence. Students will also develop research questions that could lead beyond the current sources to suggest strategies for resolving the historical disputes raised by conflicting evidence.

This teaching module offers an array of evidence to investigate the experience of children during the Black Death and question the traditional view that the epidemic caused wide-spread social chaos resulting in the abandonment of family members, even of children by their parents. A set of discussion questions is provided.