NYCDOE: Passport to Social Studies – Grade 9 Unit 5 Guide
Note to Teachers: To help with remote learning, student graphic organizers for this unit are available on the NYCDOE TeachHub in a Google Drive folder along with Passport to Social Studies lessons that have been adjusted for remote learning. Access these materials by following these instructions.
This Passport to Social Studies teacher’s guide is for the fifth unit of the Global History and Geography I course, titled: Africa and the Americas (Pre-1600 CE). This curriculum was developed by a team of NYCDOE staff and teachers, in collaboration with scholars of global history and history education. Students immerse themselves in the topic by discussing historical questions, reading and analyzing a rich collection of diverse primary and secondary sources, examining artifacts, and interpreting images, such as paintings, objects, and maps.
In this fifth unit of Grade 9, students examine how the environment, trade networks, and belief systems influenced the development of complex societies and civilizations in Africa and the Americas prior to the First Global Age. To consider the Essential Question: How are a society’s achievements judged? students identify, describe, and evaluate evidence from diverse sources on the history of Africa and the Americas. Through their analysis, students connect historical developments to specific circumstances of time and place and to broader regional, national, or global processes.
This guide includes multiple components:
- Overview
- Day-by-Day Planner
- Model Lesson
- Unit Assessment (and rubric)
- Historical Thinking Tools and Analysis Strategies
- Key Standards
- Connections to the Regents Exam in Global History and Geography II
To evaluate student mastery of content knowledge, cognitive processes, and critical thinking skills, this unit includes opportunities for formative assessments and a performance-based unit assessment. Please note that the NYCDOE 9-12: Passport to Social Studies materials also include a separate student Text Set for each unit.
