Unit Plan 36 (Grade 7 Social Studies): Cumulative Synthesis & Exhibition
Showcase your mastery at the Global Fair with trade-route maps, Enlightenment posters, and inquiry essays that connect geography, economy, and civic ideals—highlighting how ideas, goods, and power shaped our interconnected world.
Focus: Show what you know at the Global Fair with trade-route maps, Enlightenment posters, and inquiry essays that connect faith, geography, power, economy, and civic ideals across units.
Grade Level: 7
Subject Area: Social Studies (Civics • History • Geography • Inquiry • Economics)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 50–60 minutes per session
I. Introduction
Students curate and create a mini-portfolio demonstrating how ideas, people, and goods moved, how governments and beliefs shaped life, and how arguments with evidence inform civic action. Products include: (1) a thematic trade-route map (network + impacts), (2) an Enlightenment poster (idea → practice), and (3) a concise inquiry essay with citations. The week ends with a Global Fair exhibition and peer feedback.
Essential Questions
- How do geography, technology, and exchange create interdependence—and for whom?
- Which civic and philosophical ideas of justice and liberty traveled farthest and mattered most?
- How do historians and citizens argue with evidence and communicate responsibly?
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:
- Design a trade-route map that shows movement of goods/ideas/people with correct scale, legend, and annotations.
- Produce an Enlightenment poster that explains a key idea (e.g., separation of powers) and traces diffusion and impact.
- Write a source-based inquiry essay (claim, corroborated evidence, citations, conclusion/implication).
- Present and defend reasoning through exhibition talk-backs using discipline vocabulary and respectful discourse norms.
Standards Alignment — 7th Grade (C3-based custom)
- 7.C3.Inq — Frame questions; gather/evaluate sources; develop claims; communicate conclusions.
- 7.C3.Civ — Examine civic ideals, discourse, and roles/responsibilities across systems.
- 7.C3.Geo — Use/create thematic maps; analyze place, movement, and human–environment interaction.
- 7.C3.Hist — Explain causes/effects; perspectives; turning points; continuity/change.
- 7.C3.Econ — Describe systems of exchange and interdependence across networks.
Success Criteria — Student Language
- I can show movement and impact on my map with a clear legend, accurate routes, and labels.
- I can explain an Enlightenment idea and connect it to real institutions or practices.
- I can argue a claim in writing with corroborated evidence and proper citations, and respond to questions clearly.