Alexander the Not So Great: Through Persian Eyes

He destroyed the great capital of Persepolis and the temples and emblems of the ancient Zoroastrian religion. So, unlike Westerners who tend to see Alexander as a great conqueror and military genius, Iranians do not see him as so great.

In an fascinating article for BBC News Magazine, Iranian historian, Ali Ansari, professor in modern history and director of The Institute of Iranian Studies at The University of St Andrews, Scotland, suggests that Alexander came to regret the destruction he wrought in Persia. He believes that had Alexander lived, "he may have restored and repaired more" than he did during his life.

You can also listen to Professor Ansari on BBC4 Radio 4 in an an excellent  3-part series "exploring world history from a Persian perspective."  Each episode is about 30 minutes and offers some great history through Persian eyes. In part 1, Professor Ansari discusses Zoroastrianism.

A History of the World, I Guess: Bill Wurtz's CLEAN Version

Here's an engaging history of the world (this is the clean, school version--yes, there's a not-so-clean version).

It was made by Bill Wurtz who also made a history of Japan that was released in 2015 and  earned over 3 million views on its first day. But be careful. Look for the clean version before showing it to your class.

Who Were the Sogdians

Here is a hyperdoc about the Sogdians who played a critical role in the trade of goods and ideas on the Silk Road.  It's based on an excellent online exhibit about the Sogdians from the National Museum of Asian Art.

The exhibit has four chapters: the Sogdians at Home: Believers, Proselytizers & Translators; the Sogdians Abroad; and the Rediscovery of the Sogdians.

The Sogdians were an Iranian people whose homeland, Sogdiana, was between present-day Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, right on the Silk Road. They rose to prominence between the 4th and 5th centuries, capitalizing on their location. 

They developed a merchant society and made money on the trade between China and other parts of Asia. According to Judith Lerner  and Thomas Wide, writing for the National Museum of Asian Art, "mobile, multilingual, and highly skilled, the Sogdians were able to connect disparate regions, transfer goods and ideas across long distances, and oil the wheels of global trade and exchange."

Decolonization in Ghana & Kenya: Two Short Documentaries

Studying decolonization?  Here are two terrific short (25 to 30 minutes) documentaries about two independence movements in Africa--in Ghana and Kenya.

Both are from CCTV News, a 24-hour English news channel, of China Central Television, based in Beijing.

You can find questions for both videos in the New Visions Global Curriculum for 10th grade. Look for the unit on decolonization and nationalism. You'll find links to both videos with questions and other short activities

. 

Manchurian Crisis & Rape of Nanking

Here are two video clips about Japanese imperialism during the interwar period.

The first reviews the Manchurian crisis and the failure of the League of Nations while the second, from CCTV News, speaks to eyewitnesses about the Nanking Massacre.

Cold War Stations Activity

Here is a Cold War Stations activity that I use with my AP World students when we cover the Cold War.

One of my colleagues developed it years ago. It includes seven stations, each with cartoons, documents, or photographs for students to process. I printed it out for seven different stations, but students could also work on it online.

Here's a google link to the handout that students complete. If that does not work, try this dropbox link to the student worksheet. And here is a link to the activity on google slides. You can simply print out all the material for the different stations.

Here is a Dropbox link to the slideshow.

Online Archive for WWII

Here is a cool new online archive of 20th-century resources surrounding Winston Churchill.

The archive includes primary sources such as images, cartoons, and documents.

One of the most interesting parts of the archives is the investigations of significant issues designed for high school students.

Find out what went wrong at Gallipoli or if Britain could have done more for the Jews during WWII. The website gives you an overview of each issue along with a chart of primary sources to help students come to a conclusion.

The database is divided into four themes:

Key developments in world history

Key development in modern British empire history

Anglo-American relations in the 20th century

Churchill: Discussion, debate, and controversy

I might assign different key questions about World War II to students and have them create a short presentation. Some of the key questions and topics connect to the AP World curriculum. For example, questions about Yalta, the Jews, and Pearl Harbor, and Churchill's Iron Curtain Speech all connect to 7.7 and 8.2. Each topic has background information, sources for student research.

A Global Guide to WWI

The Guardian has a terrific interactive site about the global nature of World War I.  It has interactive maps, original news reports, and videos exploring the war and its effects from many perspectives. 

Ten historians give a brief history of the war through global lenses in a video that takes the viewer through the war.

My colleague and I put together a hyperdoc that takes students through the site and helps them understand the global nature of the war.  

The 4 Main Causes of WWI- Six Minute Overview

Here's a great six minute review of the MAIN causes of WWI from "Made from History."

 

Using Images to Understand the Interwar Period

Atlantic Magazine published 45 black and white stunning black-and-white photographs of the interwar period around the world.

Among the 45 images are Hitler and Mussolini shaking hands in Germany, Japanese aircraft carrying out air raids over China, Chinese General Chiang Kai-shek sitting with the chairman of the Yunan provincial government, and four Italian soldiers taking aim in Ethiopia in 1935.

Together, the images offer a terrific overview of the rise of fascism and authoritarianism around the world in the 1920s and 30's.

Classroom Connection:  Last year, I gave students the link to the images and had them sort them at least four different ways. Then I asked them to log into a common Google Doc, which I posted on Google Classroom,  and create a descriptive title for each group. Students could easily see what others were posting with the common Google Doc.

The lesson took about 25 minutes and allowed students to analyze interesting images and manipulate them in ways that might help them better understand the interwar period.

Here is a link to the lesson.

Thanks to my colleague, Jeff Feinstein, who gave me the sorting idea for this lesson and Brenda Liz Garcia‎ who posted the link to the Atlantic story on Facebook.

World War I: China & Africa Participate

Show your students the extent to which World War 1 was global with this excellent Twitter thread from Eileen Cheng-yin Chow, Director of the Shewo Institute of Chinese Journalism. 

She notes that China contributed much to the war effort and outlines the untold story of over 140,000 Chinese laborers who fought on the European frontlines beside French, Russian, and British troops. The thread includes excellent images and a trailer for a movie from Yellow Earth Productions called "Forgotten" about China during the war.

After students review the Twitter thread,  they can analyze charts and graphs showing the number of Chinese laborers recruited by Europeans and a map showing their route from China to Europe from the South China Morning Post.

World War I was also fought in Africa.  Michelle Moyd, Associate Professor of History at Indiana University Bloomington, discusses in a podcast the participation of African colonial troops in the war and answers these questions: "What motivated Africans to fight in the armies of their colonial power? How did the war change the relationships between the empires and their colonies? "

Ten Historians: 10 Different Interpretations on Who Started WWI

Ten historians give 10 different interpretations on who started WWI in this BBC story.

Sir Max Hastings - military historian, argues that Germany was most responsible. "It alone had power to halt the descent to disaster at any time in July 1914 by withdrawing its "blank cheque..."

Another historian, Sir Richard J Evans -Regius professor of history, University of Cambridge, argues that Serbia was most responsible. "Serbian nationalism and expansionism were profoundly disruptive forces and Serbian backing for the Black Hand terrorists was extraordinarily irresponsible."

And a number of historians like John Rohl - emeritus professor of history, University of Sussexe, put the blame on Austria Hungary and Germany. He argues that "the war broke out as the result of a conspiracy between the governments of imperial Germany and Austria-Hungary to bring about war." 

These short arguments might be an interesting assignment for students. They could read the ten arguments and make their own assessment of who or what started the war.

Students will also see that historians do not always agree on causes and outcomes of historical events.

Opium Wars: CNN Millenium & The Story of China

Here are two clips about the Opium Wars.  One is from CNN Millenium, which I often show my students and the other is from Micheal Wood in The Story of China. Both are short, about 8 to 10 minutes.

In the CNN Millenim video, the Opium War starts at 28.49 and runs to 36.50. The clip from The Story of China is eight minutes long.

MIT's Visualizing Cultures: Opening Japan, Opium War

This MIT site "Visualizing Cultures," is a great resource for World History and AP World when studying imperialism. 

The site includes outstanding visual narratives on which curriculum units are based. Most of the curriculum units ask students to analyze various images. Some of the units include the rise and fall of the Canton Trade System and the First Opium War.

If you click on a unit like the Opium War, you can click on a lesson mini database, which opens up a series of images in a PDF.

I am thinking of incorporating some of these images when we cover the Opium Wars.

The Black Ships and Samurai Curriculum is really cool and includes events from both American and Japanese perspectives. One of the lessons include two letters advising the shogun on how to respond to the Americans who are trying to open Japan to the West with instructions on how to use them.

The Meiji Revolution: Excellent Clip from the Pacific Century

Here is an excellent 14-minute clip about the Meiji Revolution from the Pacific Century, the 1992 PBS 10-part documentary about the rise of the Pacific Rim.  Part two, from which the attached clip comes, is about the Meiji Revolution.

It is dated but still does a good job. It begins in 1868 when Mutsuhito became the Meiji Emperor.

Storymaps: WWI, Black Plague, Ancient Greece

Here are some great StoryMaps from Esri's GIS Systems

Their software includes story maps for over a dozen titles in World and US history, including the Age of Exploration, the First  Crusade, Ancient Greece, the Black Death, the Spanish Conquest of the Aztec Empire, Egyptian Funerary Practices, and many more.

The story maps are engaging and include images, maps, graphs, and primary sources presented in an engaging manner like the excerpt below from the First Crusade story map.

In addition to the First Crusade,  I also looked at the Black Death, World War I, and ancient Greece, which has many maps, amazing images,  and even a video of a drone flight over the Acropolis.

Student worksheets with each story map include charts and questions for students to complete as they move through the story map. Here is a hyperdoc I made from those questions for the Black Plague. 

Russian Revolution: Short Documentary

Here is a good 33-minute documentary about the Russian Revolution.  It starts with the Revolution of 1905 and continues through Russia's withdrawal from World War 1. 

It comes from Lucas Films and is better than most I've seen over the years.

In addition, here's a great website about the Russian Revolution, called  1917, Free History,  from Yandex Publishing.  It includes diaries, letters, memoirs,  and newspapers. 

Did Reconstruction Have Elements of Genocide? " I Saw Death Coming"

Teaching Reconstruction in US History?  Here is a fascinating overview from the viewpoints of the many freed slaves who experienced it.

Kidada Williams begins her book, "I Saw Death Coming" by reviewing developments immediately after the Civil War.  Some of these important events include the passage of the 13th Amendment, the development of the Freedman's Bureau, the Southern Black Codes, sharecropping, and the Civil Rights Act.  

Despite some of the early barriers, like the Black Codes, many blacks made some progress. For example, some blacks owned small farms, while others used skills that they developed as slaves, like working as carpenters or blacksmiths. According to Williams, another sign of progress towards land ownership was the tens of thousands who opened accounts at the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company. 

Perhaps because of these gains, Williams notes in Chapter 2, whites began to halt the reconstruction of black freedom. One way these vigilantes, known as the Ku Klux Klan, did this was through night riding, which William argues was intentional, not spontaneous. 

One claim that Williams makes is that the effort to halt reconstruction had some of the hallmarks of genocide. For example, the Ku Klux Klan specifically targeted the formally enslaved. Their actions were intentional, not spontaneous, and they used propaganda to justify their actions, suggesting that blacks were always plotting to rebel against whites. 

Some of the cases of violence were horrific. According to Williams, a surgeon at a Montgomery Hospital noted that one overseer shot one woman, cut the ears off of two other women and a man, and severed another man's chin. Southern whites continued to dismiss reports of atrocities and downplay the attacks on blacks. 

While much of the violence was random, some of it was not. After the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, election violence became prominent. And as more blacks voted, the more prominent the violence became.

In subsequent chapters, Kidada outlines the impact of night riding on former slaves. "Strikes were unbelievable: victim's minds struggled to make sense of what was happening.  The events undid many individuals and families. And survivors faced no end of existential questions. Would they live through a raid? How could this have happened?"

Excerpts from Kidada's book might work well in the Reconstruction unit, especially the first chapter which outlines many of the developments affecting the formerly enslaved right after the Civil War.

Global Pandemics: The Plague of Athens

Studying Greece? Here's a great interactive website about the Plague of Athens that provides context for Covid 19. And here is a hyperdoc that students can use as they explore the site. 

Follow an Athenian doctor, Nikos, as he tends to the sick and dying. Those infected by the endemic faced a horrible death. Some of the symptoms included intense fever and laceration of the bowels along with diarrhea. According to the historian Thucydides, many developed “small pustules and ulcers.” 

Nikos struggles to help his patients. One asks him to help him end his life. Bound by the Hippocratic oath, Nikos is not so sure that he can comply but he understands his patient will die a painful death. 

Decide for yourself what would you have done if you were Nikos and find out what Athens looked like during this time using this multimedia website. Click on the “Chromebook Web App.” Once the website loads, click the down arrow at the bottom of your screen. 

Your students will learn about Athens just as the plague breaks out. They will learn about possible pathogens like typhus and smallpox and what the endemic did to the political stability of Athens. The plague stretched Athens to its limits. Athenians blamed the gods, and ostracized leaders like Themistocles and Alcibiades, the most popular citizen after Socrates' death.

The Haitian Revolution: Understanding Liberte and Equality

Here are some excellent ideas for teaching the Haitian Revolution from Professor Julia Gaffield, author of Haitian Connections in the Atlantic World: Recognition after Revolution.

In the short video clip below, Professor Gaffield explains how different stakeholders in revolutionary Haiti understood equality and liberty. 

In addition to the video,  you can explore Professor Gaffield's website,  Haiti and the Atlantic World here. It includes links to both primary and secondary sources.

And here's a link to a terrific essay about Jean-Jacques Dessalines in The Conversation called Meet Haiti’s Founding Father, whose black revolution was too radical for Thomas Jefferson. Professor