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Date:
Period:
Unit 1 & 2 Historical Thinking Skills Prompts
Causation: Explain the causes and effects of the Neolithic Revolution.
CAUSES
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EFFECTS
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Analysis: Analyze WHY the cause occurred.
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Analyze the impact of the effect.
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Synthesis: Compare and contrast the causes and effects of the Neolithic Revolution the Green Revolution of
the 20th century.
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Comparison: Explain the similarities and differences in the growth of Christianity
and the growth of Buddhism in the Classical Era (600 BCE - 600 CE).
SIMILARITIES
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DIFFERENCES
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Analysis: Analyze WHY they are similar.
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Analyze WHY they are different.
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Synthesis: Compare and contrast the growth of Buddhism or Christianity in the Classical Era (600 BCE - 600
CE) with the growth of Islam in the Post-Classical Era (600 CE - 1450 CE)
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Contextualization & Synthesis: Explain the context of the Mandate of Heaven.
Synthesize the significance of the Mandate of Heaven with another ideology that
legitimizes political power from another time period or region.
Contextualization: Who began using the Mandate of Heaven? What does it claim about political legitimacy?
When and where was it created?
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Previous Time Period
or Other Region
Similarity or Difference #1
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Future Time Period
or Other Region
Similarity or Difference #1
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Similarity or Difference #2
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Similarity or Difference #2
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Turning Point: Evaluate the extent of the Fall of the Classical Empires as a
turning point in World History.
Context: What were the classical empires? How did they collapse? Where in the world were these empires
located? By when did they collapse?
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Before the Turning Point
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After the Turning Point
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Evaluate: Was this a major or minor turning point? What parts of the world were NOT impacted? Why?
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Continuities and Changes: Explain the changes in interregional trade across
Eurasia from 600 BCE to 600 CE. Explain what continued to stay the same.
CHANGES
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CONTINUITIES
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Analysis: Analyze WHY the change occurred. .
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Analyze WHY the continuity occurred.
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Synthesis: Compare the changes and continuities of interregional trade in the Classical Era (600 BCE - 600
CE) with interregional trade in the Post-Classical Era (600 CE - 1450 CE)?
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Documentation Analysis & Usage
Mr. Gutierrez’s Thesis: Even though both the Mongols and the Persians demanded tribute of their conquered
population, the Persians showed more restraint in their conquests than did the Mongols.
Read the following document.
Use the document to PROVE Mr. Gutierrez’s thesis to be correct.
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Find an additional piece of evidence from OUTSIDE the document that will further prove or explain Mr.
Gutierrez’s thesis.
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Use ACAP to explain how the author’s background, the document’s context, the author’s intended
audience or the author’s purpose had affected the content of the document.
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Argumentation
Mr. Gutierrez’s Argument: It was better to live in a pastoral society than an agricultural sedentary one.
Provide 2 pieces of historical evidence to SUPPORT this argument
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Provide 2 pieces of historical evidence to REFUTE, REJECT, DISMISS this argument.
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INTERPRETATION
Historian’s Interpretation on: The Fall of Rome
“There is no good case for claiming that the enemies of the Late Roman Empire were simply more
formidable than those of earlier periods. This also makes it harder to argue that the Roman Empire had to
adapt in the third century to face new and more dangerous threats, most of all the Sassanid Persian Empire.
Does this mean that it was the sheer quantity rather than the scale of individual threats that was the problem?
There is certainly do seem to have been more major wars in the third and fourth centuries of the Common Era
than in earlier centuries. In particular, raiding by barbarian groups in Europe is much more prominent. Such
predatory attacks, often on a small scale, were not new. In the past they had always increased in scale and
frequency whenever the frontier defenses were perceived to be weak. An impression of vulnerability
encouraged attacks and this makes it hard to judge whether an increase in raids and invasions was the
consequence of a rise in barbarian numbers and strength or a result of Roman weakness. It is clear that all of
Rome’s enemies, including the Persians, exploited the empire’s frequent internal disputes and civil wars.”
Adrian Goldsworthy, “How Rome Fell: Death of a Superpower”
Identify what the author’s interpretation is.
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Provide 2 pieces of historical evidence from Outside The Document to SUPPORT this Interpretation.
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Provide 1 piece of historical evidence to Outside The Document to REFUTE, REJECT, DISMISS the
author’s interpretation.
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