• Explain how during the High Middle Ages, monarchs began to extend their power and build strong states. 
• Discuss why King John of England put his seal on the Magna Carta in 1215, recognizing the rights of his nobles, and keeping the English monarch from ever becoming an absolute ruler.
• Describe why unlike England and France, the lands of Germany and Italy did not become united during the Middle Ages. 
• Explain how the Slavic peoples settled in central and eastern Europe, forming new kingdoms.

• Describe how the Byzantine Empire created a unique civilization that was eventually weakened by the Crusades. 
• Explain how the Eastern Roman Empire evolved into the smaller Byzantine Empire, which created a unique civilization in the eastern Mediterranean.
• Explain how the Macedonians expanded the Byzantine Empire, but new threats arose in the late eleventh century. 
• Describe why the Crusades had a significant effect on medieval society in both the East and the West.

• Students will create their own landscape artwork inspired by ancient Chinese landscape painting styles, particularly from the Song and Mongol (Yuan) dynasties. They will explore techniques, themes, and cultural significance while expressing their creativity.
  
• Students will create a well-constructed paragraph that analyzes the impact Confucianism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and/or Daoism had on literature and/or social structure in ancient Asia.

• Explain how the new European civilization combined Germanic, Roman, and Christian elements. 
• Describe why the Frankish kingdom was the strongest of the early German states and developed new laws based on the importance of family in Germanic society. 
• Explain how the Bishop of Rome became the leader of the Christian Church. 
• Discuss how Charlemagne expanded the Frankish kingdom and created the Carolingian Empire.

• Describe how the collapse of central authority in Europe led to a new political order known as feudalism. 
• Compare and contrast the methods used by Vikings, Magyars, and Muslims while invading Europe during the ninth and tenth centuries. 
• Discuss how the system of lords and vassals spread throughout Europe after the collapse of the Carolingian Empire. 
• Explain how men and women of the nobility were guided by a code of ethical behavior and society’s expectations of their roles.

• Understand how the geography of Japan, a string of islands, and of Korea, a peninsula bordering China, have had a huge impact on their respective histories. 
• Describe the ways in which Japan’s history has been marked by power struggles between rulers and independent families. 
• Explain how Japan’s small size and relative isolation have had a major effect on the development of its economy, religion, and culture. 
• Describe how the early history of Korea was marked by the presence of dominating neighbors.

• Explain how the Sui, Tang, and Song dynasties unified China by bringing peace, stability, and technological progress. 
• Describe how the political stability established by the three dynasties allowed Chinese society to grow in complexity. 
• Understand how the Chinese economy grew in size and sophistication for 700 years.

• Discuss how shifts in religious beliefs caused major changes in the organization of Chinese society.
• Describe how the Mongols created the world's largest land empire by conquering all of China. 
• Explain how neo-Confucianism differs from Confucianism.

• Understand how the geography of Japan, a string of islands, and of Korea, a peninsula bordering China, have had a huge impact pon their respective histories. 
• Describe the ways in which Japan’s history has been marked by power struggles between rulers and independent families. 
• Explain how Japan’s small size and relative isolation have had a major effect on the development of its economy, religion, and culture. 
• Describe how the early history of Korea was marked by the presence of dominating neighbors.

• Understand how the creation of Islam led to great changes in the social and political systems of Southwest Asia. 
• Describe how trade routes of the Arabs expanded, communities prospered, and tensions among the rich and poor increased. 
• Explain how the revelations of Muhammad led to the creation of the Islamic religion. 
• Relate how Islam is also both a set of religious beliefs and a way of life.

• Describe how successors of Muhammad organized the Arabs and set in motion a great expansion. 
• Explain how Islam experienced prosperity and a new cultural outlook under the Abbasid dynasty.
• Understand why the violent invasion of the Mongols destroyed the old Islamic Empire established by the Arabs and created a new center of Islamic civilization in Cairo, Egypt.

Hi People!

This week we will finish Topic 1: Rome and the Rise of Christianity

Objectives: 

Topic 1.4 The Development of Christianity

• Understand how Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire and eventually became the state religion of Rome. 
• Describe why prior to Christianity, Roman religion involved the worship of a number of gods and goddesses and the belief that Rome had earned the favor of the gods. 
• Trace the changes through which despite early Christian persecution, Christianity grew in importance and spread throughout the Roman Empire.

Topic 1.5 The Decline and Fall of Rome

• Explain how two strong emperors temporarily revived the Roman Empire and how Germanic tribes from central Europe helped bring it to an end. 
• Describe how political upheavals, the plague, and the division of the empire led to its decline. 
• Explain how the migration of Germanic tribes helped bring an end to the Roman Empire.

This week's assignments:

1. Topic 1.4 The Development of Christianity
2. Topic 1.5 The Decline and Fall of Rome
3. Topic 1 test on 8/29

Homework:

-Topic 1 SPICE Chart (25 points) due 8/28

-Topic 1 packet (50 points, 10 points per lesson) due 8/28

• Explain how the Romans conquered and controlled the Italian peninsula and then the entire Mediterranean world. 
• Describe why Rome’s central location and geographic features made it a desirable location from which to expand. 
• Demonstrate why The Romans were practical and skillful in both politics and military matters.
• Describe why after their conquest of Italy, the Romans faced the state of Carthage.

• Summarize why the internal instability of the Roman Empire eventually led to civil wars and increased power for the military. 
• Explain how political and social unrest led to civil wars responsible for ending the Republic.
• Describe how Octavian, titled Caesar Augustus, created a new order that began the Roman Empire.

• Describe the process through which the Romans spread both Greek and Roman contributions to art, architecture, and literature throughout the empire.
• Compare and contrast how city life in ancient Rome had problems similar to life today.