Over the past semester, I have been working with a partner on a
Unit Plan on the Renaissance. The Renaissance always intrigued me.
It was a time in History where culture and human development had exploded after
years of immense suffering. The rebirth of the arts lead to a cultural
revolution that spanned for over a century across many countries.
What many students do realize is that trade and
influence between Western Europe and Asia caused this rebirth to occur.
Arabs were moving in and out of Europe trading resources from Asia with the
Europeans. I hope to help my students realize that this exchange was
essential to spreading the Renaissance. The computer has revolutionized
the way students learn about any subject including the Renaissance.
To begin my spreadsheet process, i have found three
standards from the NJCCCS that will assist me in enabling students to better
understand the connections between the Middle East and Western Europe.
The first standard that i decided to choose involves the use of geography,
people and places. This will allow students to see a broader scope of the
world and how Italy played a key role as a port region for many
merchants. Students will be able to see that places like Florence and
Venice, coastal cities in Italy were prime spots for trade with the Middle East
and other parts of Asia. I combined that with the NETS-S standard that invokes
Research and Information using online databases. online databases are
credible organizations that help spread knowledge and information about
particular topics. For my class on the Renassiance, this would be a
valuable tool to show the relation between cities and accessibility to
water. The next standard i chose involves looking at history and culture
of the places of interests. Without knowing the changes going on in middle east
society, students would be unable to know how advanced many of their civilizations
were. Students will also see how civilizations in Africa also helped
spread the Renaissance through their trade. I used them together with the
research and fluency standards to build a strong research foundation for
students. In order to know more about a topic, students need to be
actively engaged through group and individual work. Working together
using the online databases force the students to be actively engaged in the
research process and learn how to think like a historian. This is one of
the major goals of all social studies teachers. Students will definitely
enjoy this process because it enables them to be the one making all the
decisions and evaluations.
Along with the research component, students would be to evaluate which
resources online are credible and which are not! There are a variety of
false sites produced by individuals who wish to decieve people. Students
who are living in this digital age are now forced to what is true and what is
false information. I would require students to back up their information
and learn which sources can be considered credible. The information
required would be placed in a powerpoint presentation and the students will be
required to present what they have learned about the topic. The next and last component is the Gutenberg printing
press. This technology helped spread
information about the renaissance and helped merchants spread new ideas
throughout all the ports in Western Europe.
Often, underestimated, the printing press was a revolutionary piece of technology
that impacted the entire world. It
helped make the world seemed smaller because it made paper products and sources
of information easily accessible. The strategies i have decided to employ is the projector with smartboard technologies for students to present their findings and disucss how the printing press changed life in Europe during the Renaissance.
The majority of the teaching strategies i have employed are incredibly student focused because i believe in the power of students teaching themselves. I honestly feel that group work and individual assignments help students evaluate and analyze the various materials that will be presented in class. Giving the students the opportunity to teach themselves is rewarding and incredibly helpful for our youth. It will help them be more collaborative and independently research their work. Our students have the potential to use technology to teach themselves. Students are able to figure out complex technological issues on a daily basis. There is no doubt in my mind that they can handle learning about how trade and merchant class led to the increase of Renaissance ideology. This is a good time for students!
Renaissance Spreadsheet
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