Unit Plan 1 (Grade 7 Social Studies): Mapping the Medieval World
Use latitude/longitude and thematic maps to locate and compare major world regions in 1000 CE, revealing how trade routes, environments, and cultural networks shaped global connections.
Focus: Use latitude, longitude, and thematic maps to locate and compare major world regions in 1000 CE.
Grade Level: 7
Subject Area: Social Studies (World Geography • World History • Inquiry)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 50–60 minutes per session
I. Introduction
Students build a shared geographic toolkit for the year. They learn to find places using coordinates, read scale/legend/projection, and create thematic layers (trade, climate, culture) to understand the world around 1000 CE—from Song China and the Byzantine Empire to Chola, Ghana, and Fatimid domains. They finish with a mini-map exhibition that answers a student-framed question about how ideas and goods moved across regions.
Essential Questions
- How do latitude and longitude help us describe absolute location precisely?
- What can thematic maps reveal about migration, trade, and empires around 1000 CE?
- How do we frame a compelling question about global connections—and who benefited from those connections?
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:
- Determine absolute location using latitude/longitude and identify hemispheres and regional groupings.
- Interpret and create thematic maps that show trade routes, migration, resources, and environmental patterns (e.g., monsoon winds).
- Compare major world regions (Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Indian Ocean world) by key physical, political, cultural, and economic features circa 1000 CE.
- Frame a compelling/supporting question about global interaction and communicate an evidence-based conclusion.
Standards Alignment — 7th Grade (C3-based custom)
- 7.C3.Geo.1: Identify/compare world regions by physical, political, cultural, economic features.
- 7.C3.Geo.2: Use/create thematic maps to analyze migration, trade, empire growth, resource use.
- 7.C3.Inq.1: Frame compelling/supporting questions about global interactions, change, and power.
Success Criteria — Student Language
- I can plot coordinates and state a place’s absolute location and region.
- I can read and make a thematic map with a correct legend, scale, and clear symbols.
- I can explain how trade routes and environment shaped connections in 1000 CE.
- I can present an answer to my question with accurate map evidence.