ABCDEFGHI
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AP World History: Modern Pacing Guide
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Theme Spiral Abbreviations
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Unit TitleDate RangeChaptersTheme SpiralHistorical Thinking SkillsMCQ and SAQ Practice:
Warm Up and Exit Tickets		Reasoning ProcessLearning ObjectivesAssessment
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Unit 1:
The Global Tapestry		Aug 11, 2025 - Aug 15, 20251–2ENV, CDI, GOV, ECN, SIO, TECDevelopments and Processes

Contextualization

Making Connections		- Zhu Xi SAQ (Confucianism)
- Islamic Science Image MCQ 1-3 (Dar al-Islam knowledge systems)
- Countess of Bearn MCQ 1-3 (Feudalism context/Europe comparison)		Comparison
Key Task: Identify and explain similarities and/or differences between historical developments.
Example: Compare Chinese and Islamic systems of governance in the 13th century.
Instructional Strategy: Use a Venn diagram and sentence frames to build comparative thesis statements.		1.1 — Explain the systems of government employed by Chinese dynasties and how they developed over time.
1.4 — Explain how the various belief systems and practices of South and Southeast Asia affected society over time.
1.7 — Explain how and why various states of Afro-Eurasia and the Americas developed and changed over time.		Topic Quiz + MCQs
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Aug 18, 2025 - Aug 22, 2025- Comparison state centralization 1200 to 1450 (Comparison skill)
- De Leon on Inca Roads MCQ 1–3 (Inca state-building)
- Conrad of Megenberg SAQ (European knowledge systems)
- Elkiss on Kilwa Secondary MCQ 1–3 (African city-states comparison)		Causation
Key Task: Explain causes and effects of historical developments.
Example: Analyze how technological innovations affected the Chinese economy.
Instructional Strategy: Have students do a cause-effect flowchart with immediate and long-term causes.		1.2 — Explain the effects of innovation on the Chinese economy over time.
1.5 — Explain how and why states in the Americas developed and changed over time.
1.8 — Explain the similarities and differences in the processes of state formation from c. 1200 to c. 1450.
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Aug 25, 2025 - Aug 29, 2025- Nizam al-Mulk SAQ (Vizier role/Islamic governance)
- Madura Vijayan MCQ 1–3 (Indian Ocean cultural context)
- De Leon on Inca Roads MCQ 3 (continuities in infrastructure)
- Elkiss on Kilwa Secondary MCQ 3 (continuities/changes in African trade routes)		Continuity and Change over Time (CCOT)
Key Task: Identify and explain patterns of continuity and change.
Example: Track continuity and change in state formation across Africa and the Americas.
Instructional Strategy: Use a “Then–Now–Why” timeline with color-coded changes and continuities.		1.3 — Explain the effects of the rise of Islamic states.
1.6 — Explain how and why states in Africa developed and changed over time.
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Unit 2: Networks of ExchangeSep 01, 2025 - Sep 05, 20253–4ENV, CDI, GOV, ECN, TECMaking Connections

Sourcing and Situation

Claims and Evidence in Sources		- May on the Mongols Secondary MCQ 1–3 (Silk Road expansion, Mongol governance)
- Abd-al-Razzak Samarkand Travel Embassy (Mongol trade + diplomacy)
- Empires and Cultural Exchange LEQ (Mongol/empire-driven exchanges)
- Cropland in Eurasia Table MCQ 1–3 (Effects of agrarian exchange networks)		Causation
Key Task: Explain the relationship between causes and effects of trade network growth.
Example: Causes and effects of Silk Road expansion under the Mongols.
Instructional Strategy: Construct a "cause web" linking political, economic, and environmental factors.		2.1 — Explain the causes and effects of the growth of networks of exchange in the Silk Roads after 1200.
2.4 — Explain how the expansion of empires influenced trade and communication over time.
2.7 — Explain the similarities and differences among the various networks of exchange in the period from c. 1200 to c. 1450.		SAQ Timed Practice
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Sep 08, 2025 - Sep 12, 2025- Swahili History of Pate MCQ 1–3 (East African coastal city-states in Indian Ocean trade)
- Ibn Battuta on Southeast Asia MCQ 1–3 (Cultural diffusion via maritime trade)
- Conrad of Megenberg SAQ (European awareness of global networks)		Comopariosn
Key Task: Compare the Indian Ocean and Trans-Saharan trade routes.
Example: Differences in goods, technologies, and state support.
Instructional Strategy: Carousel activity comparing source sets about each trade network.		2.2 — Explain the causes and effects of the growth of networks of exchange in the Indian Ocean after 1200.
2.5 — Explain the intellectual and cultural effects of the various networks of exchange in Afro-Eurasia from c. 1200 to c. 1450.
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Sep 15, 2025 - Sep 19, 2025- Trans-Saharan Trade Secondary MCQ 1–3 (Trade and environment in Africa)
- Cropland in Eurasia Table MCQ 2–3 (Environmental impacts of trade and agriculture spread)		CCOT
Key Task: Explain change over time in environmental and cultural exchanges.
Example: Impact of trade on religious diffusion in Afro-Eurasia.
Instructional Strategy: Write a paragraph with labeled sentence stems: “A major change was... A continuity was…”		2.3 — Explain the causes and effects of the growth of networks of exchange in the trans-Saharan trade routes.
2.6 — Explain the environmental effects of the various networks of exchange in Afro-Eurasia from c. 1200 to c. 1450.
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Unit 3: Land-Based EmpiresSep 22, 2025 - Sep 26, 20255–6GOV, CDI, SIODevelopments and Processes

Argumentation

Contextualization

Argumentation		- Battle of Panipat Image MCQ 1–3 (Mughal military expansion)
- Compare Empires and popular religions 1450 to 1750 (Intro to state ideologies)
- Ottoman Devshirme MCQ 1–3 (State building + bureaucracy)		Causation
Key Task: Identify and evaluate causes of imperial expansion.
Example: Gunpowder empires and military tech.
Instructional Strategy: Annotate maps with arrows showing motivations and results of empire growth.		3.1 — Explain how and why various land-based empires developed and expanded from 1450 to 1750.MCQ + LEQ Prompt
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Sep 29, 2025 - Oct 03, 2025- Luther on War against the Turks MCQ 1–3 (Ottoman presence in Europe + perceptions)
- Verbiest Letter from China 1683 SAQ (Qing administrative methods + Confucian worldview)
- Tokugawa Decree 1615 SAQ (Centralized state control in Japan)		CCOT
Key Task: Explain continuity and change in religious policies.
Example: Mughal tolerance vs. Safavid Shi’ism enforcement.
Instructional Strategy: Primary source comparison of legal and religious edicts.		3.2 — Explain how land-based empires employed administrative institutions to expand and control their territories.
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Oct 06, 2025 - Oct 10, 2025- Compare Empires and popular religions 1450 to 1750 (can also be reused or discussed again here with more depth)
- Verbiest Letter from China 1683 SAQ (continuity of Confucian belief under Qing rule)		Comparison
Key Task: Compare empire-building strategies.
Example: Ottoman vs. Russian expansion methods.
Instructional Strategy: Practice writing 1-sentence comparative claims using the ACE format (Answer, Cite, Explain).		3.3 — Explain continuity and change within the various belief systems during the period from 1450 to 1750.
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Oct 13, 2025 - Oct 17, 2025- Ottoman Devshirme MCQ 2–3 (comparison of imperial strategies—revisit for synthesis)
- Luther on War against the Turks MCQ 2–3 (for review + connection to European reactions)		CCOT
Key Task: Analyze patterns in belief systems over time.
Example: Endurance of Confucianism in East Asia.
Instructional Strategy: Visual "belief system bar graphs" showing rise/decline across empires.		3.4 — Explain similarities and differences in how various land-based empires developed and expanded from 1450 to 1750.
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Benchmark #1
Unit 2		Oct 20, 2025 - Oct 24, 2025Progress Check Unit #2Benchmark #1 (Units 1–3)
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Unit 4: Transoceanic InteractionsOct 27, 2025 - Oct 31, 20256–7GOV, CDI, ENV, ECN, TECClaims and Evidence in Sources

Sourcing and Situation

Making Connections

Argumentation		- Christ the Mariner Image MCQ 1–4 (religion + maritime travel iconography)
- Early English and French Atlantic Voyages MCQ (European maritime expansion)
- Effect of Spanish Voyages MCQ (exploration + Columbian Exchange overview)		CCOT
Key Task: Explain patterns of continuity and change over time.
Example: Continuity and change in trade systems after maritime innovations.
Instructional Strategy: Create a then–now–why T-chart about Afro-Eurasian maritime trade.		4.1 — Explain how cross-cultural interactions resulted in the diffusion of technology and facilitated changes in patterns of trade and travel from 1450 to 1750.
4.5 — Explain the continuity and changes in economic systems and labor systems from 1450 to 1750.		DBQ Scaffolded Task
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Nov 03, 2025 - Nov 07, 2025- Portuguese Trading Post Comparison MCQ (Portuguese state-sponsored expansion)
- The Requirement SAQ (Spanish imperial justification of conquest)
- Silver Trade in the Philippines MCQ 1–2 (economic motivations and outcomes)		Causation
Key Task: Explain the causes of maritime exploration.
Example: Analyze motives for Iberian overseas expansion.
Instructional Strategy: Use evidence cards to construct a “layered” cause pyramid (economic, political, religious).		4.2 — Explain the causes of the expansion of maritime exploration from 1450 to 1750.
4.6 — Explain how political, economic, and cultural factors affected society from 1450 to 1750.
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Nov 10, 2025 - Nov 14, 2025- Colonial Labor Systems LEQ (comparative + causation focus)
- Ramaswamy on Weavers in South India–Secondary SAQ (impacts of European commercial activity in Asia)
- Barkey on Tolerance in the Ottoman Empire MCQ 1–3 (comparison: labor, belief, and imperial policy)		Comparison
Key Task: Compare labor systems across empires.
Example: Encomienda vs. slavery vs. indentured servitude.
Instructional Strategy: Source comparison with SAQ-style claim writing.		4.3 — Explain the effects of the Columbian Exchange.
4.7 — Explain the changes and continuities in systems of slavery in the period from 1450 to 1750.
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Nov 17, 2025 - Nov 21, 2025- Annals of the Kagcheihs MCQ 1–3 (Southeast Asian view of European colonialism)
- British Treaty with Jamaican Maroons MCQ 1–3 (British colonial negotiation + control tactics)
- Barkey on Tolerance in the Ottoman Empire MCQ 2–3 (compare to European empire-building)		Comparison
Key Task: Compare maritime and land-based imperial strategies.
Example: British vs. Mughal administrative models.
Instructional Strategy: Group debate with assigned empire “roles” to argue similarities/differences.		4.4 — Explain the process of state building and expansion among maritime empires from 1450 to 1750.
4.8 — Explain the similarities and differences in the development of empires from 1450 to 1750.
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Unit 5: RevolutionsNov 24, 2025 - Nov 28, 20258–9GOV, CDI, ECN, SIO, TECDevelopments and Processes

Contextualization

Claims and Evidence in Sources

Argumentation		- Juárez on Neoplastic Ideals MCQ 1–3 (Latin American revolutionary ideals)
- Secularization of Women in the 19th Century SAQ (Enlightenment, gender, and reform)
- Gripsholm Letter DBQ (Enlightenment views and political reform)		Causation
Key Task: Explain causes and effects of political revolutions.
Example: Causes of the French and Haitian revolutions.
Instructional Strategy: Build a “sparkline timeline” with layered economic, social, and ideological causes.		5.1 — Explain the intellectual and ideological context in which revolutions swept the Atlantic world from 1750 to 1900.
5.5 — Explain how different modes and locations of production developed and changed over time.
5.9 — Explain the causes and effects of calls for change in industrial societies.		SAQ + MCQ
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Dec 01, 2025 - Dec 05, 2025- British South Africa Company MCQ 1–3 (British economic imperialism)
- English Textile Workers Table MCQ 1–3 (working class responses to industrialization)
- Factory System Labor Specialization News Site MCQ (specialization and production)		Causation
Key Task: Analyze the effects of industrialization.
Example: Urban growth and class structure in Britain.
Instructional Strategy: Compare industrial maps of 1750 and 1900 and write a mini-DBQ.		5.2 — Explain causes and effects of the various revolutions in the period from 1750 to 1900.
5.6 — Explain how governments and workers responded to the development and spread of industrialization.
5.10 — Explain the extent to which industrialization brought change from 1750 to 1900.
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Dec 08, 2025 - Dec 12, 2025- Shipbuilding and World Trade Table MCQ 1–3 (industrial transportation growth)
- German Chemical Industry Secondary MCQ 1–3 (scientific innovation + industrial growth)
- Ayur Productivity Industrialization Press MCQ 1–2 (industrial productivity in colonized states)		CCOT
Key Task: Explain how production and labor systems changed over time.
Example: Factory work vs. pre-industrial artisan work.
Instructional Strategy: Two-column CCOT notes with specific evidence and transitions (“Despite this,…”)		5.3 — Explain how the Industrial Revolution began and spread around the world.
5.7 — Explain how various environmental factors contributed to the development of the global economy.
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- Tevarati Reform Decree MCQ 1–2 (reform responses to inequality)
- Some Industrialization Consequences LEQ (cumulative writing warm-up)
- Tokugawa Response to Japanese Iron Production MCQ 1–2 (economic transformation and state role)
- St. Maurice and Enslaved MCQ 1–3 (race, labor, and revolution in the Atlantic world)		CCOT
Key Task: Track social class shifts and responses to industrialization.
Example: Rise of socialism and working-class movements.
Instructional Strategy: DBQ practice: connect evidence to context and change.		5.4 — Explain the causes and effects of the development of systems of labor and production.
5.8 — Explain how social and economic classes changed in response to industrialization.
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Benchmark #2
Unit 4		Dec 15, 2025 - Dec 19, 2025Progress Check Unit 4Benchmark #2 (Units 4–5)
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Unit 6: IndustrializationDec 29, 2025 - Jan 02, 202610ENV, ECN, SIO, TECMaking Connections

Sourcing and Situation

Claims and Evidence in Sources

Developments and Processes		- Non-Western Ideologies and Imperialism SAQ (justifications for imperialism)
- French Algeria School Image MCQ 1–3 (education + cultural imperialism)
- Chakravarti on British Imperialism India MCQ 1–3 (economic control)		Week 19
CCOT
Key Task: Identify and evaluate changes in imperialism.
Example: Transition from trading posts to direct colonial rule.
Instructional Strategy: Have students color-code imperialism maps with continuity and change zones.		6.1 — Explain how ideologies contributed to the development of imperialism from 1750 to 1900.
6.5 — Explain how economic imperialism influenced societies.		SAQ + LEQ Scaffold
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Jan 05, 2026 - Jan 09, 2026- Chinese Immigration to US MCQ 1–2 (push-pull migration factors)
- Indentured and Non-Indentured Workers MCQ 1–3 (labor systems)
- Musicians and Imperialism in Africa DBQ (social/cultural imperial consequences)		Causation
Key Task: Explain migration patterns as responses to industrialization and empire.
Example: Push/pull factors of Indian migration to the Caribbean.
Instructional Strategy: Jigsaw using real migrant testimonies + cause/effect T-charts.		6.2 — Explain how and why states and empires expanded from 1750 to 1900.
6.6 — Explain the causes and effects of global migrations.
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Jan 12, 2026 - Jan 16, 2026- Iwano Russian Colonization Crimes MCQ 1–2 (state repression and resistance)
- Stanley on the Congo and Commerce MCQ 1–3 (European violence and control)
- Rivett-Carnac on India Coffee MCQ 1–3 (colonial economic exploitation)
- Roots Africa Imperial Statue analysis SAQ (symbolism of imperial propaganda)		Causation
Key Task: Explain how imperialism influenced state formation and resistance.
Example: Zulu and Sepoy resistance.
Instructional Strategy: DBQ outline focusing on causation, using multiple perspectives.		6.3 — Explain how imperialism influenced state formation and contraction around the world.
6.7 — Explain how and why new patterns of migration affected society.
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Jan 19, 2026 - Jan 23, 2026- Chinese Immigration to US MCQ 3 (comparison of treatment/ideology)
– Ivanov Russian Colonization Crimes MCQ 3 (imperial ideology vs. violence)
– Rivett-Carnac on India Cotton MCQ 3 (link to economic motives)
– Roots Africa Imperial Statue Analysis SAQ (revisit for propaganda comparison)
CCOT + Comparison
Key Task: Compare and evaluate ideological responses to imperialism.
Example: Liberalism vs. Social Darwinism vs. Pan-Africanism.
Instructional Strategy: Carousel discussions with guiding quote analysis.		6.4 — Explain how the development of the global economy contributed to the development of new economic systems and ideologies from 1750 to 1900.
6.8 — Explain the relative significance of the effects of imperialism from 1750 to 1900.
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Unit 7: Global ConflictJan 26, 2026 - Jan 30, 202611GOV, ECN, SIO, TECContextualization

Argumentation

Claims and Evidence in Sources		- Memorandum to Czar 1914 MCQ 1–3 (Russian entry into WWI)
– Moltke and Giolitti WWI Predictions MCQ 1–3 (perspectives on inevitability)
– Nationalism and the Ottoman Empire DBQ (nationalist tensions as causes)
– Dutch Newspaper on Treaty of Versailles MCQ 1–3 (reactions post-WWI; bridge to WWII)		Causation
Key Task: Evaluate causes of World Wars.
Example: Long- and short-term causes of WWI.
Instructional Strategy: Construct a fishbone diagram of militarism, alliances, imperialism, nationalism.		7.1 — Explain how internal and external factors contributed to change in various states after 1900.
7.4 — Explain the economic crisis of the Great Depression.
7.7 — Explain the causes and consequences of World War II.		MCQ + SAQ
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Feb 02, 2026 - Feb 06, 2026- Brazilian Government Document MCQ 1–3 (Latin American political shift post-war)
– Moser Great Depression and WWII SAQ (economic crisis bridge between wars)
– Watson and Marquis Secondary MCQ 1–3 (Europe’s economic + political destabilization)		Causation
Key Task: Explain responses to economic crises.
Example: Compare U.S. New Deal and Germany’s Nazi economic policies.
Instructional Strategy: SAQ comparison drills using economic reform documents.		7.2 — Explain the causes and consequences of World War I.
7.5 — Explain the responses to the economic crisis of the Great Depression.
7.8 — Explain the various causes and consequences of mass atrocities in the period 1900 to the present.
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Feb 09, 2026 - Feb 13, 2026- Olere Holocaust Painting MCQ 1–3 (visual analysis of atrocities)
– Franck on Nuclear Weapons MCQ 1–3 (debate over atomic bomb)
– Shigenobu on Japanese Grievance MCQ 1–3 (Axis motivations, grievances, and militarism)		CCOT
Key Task: Track changes in territorial control and global influence.
Example: Post-WWII shifts in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
Instructional Strategy: Continuity and change color-coded maps with political cartoons.		7.3 — Explain how governments used a variety of methods to conduct war.
7.6 — Explain the continuities and changes in territorial holdings after 1900.
7.9 — Explain the relative significance of the causes and effects of global conflict in the period 1900 to the present.
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Benchmark #8
Unit 6		Feb 16, 2026 - Feb 20, 2026Progress Check Unit 6Benchmark #3 (Units 6–7)
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Unit 8: Cold War & DecolonizationFeb 23, 2026 - Feb 27, 202612GOV, ECN, SIODevelopments and Processes

Making Connections

Argumentation		- Cold War Atlas DBQ
– Lawrence on the British Raj Secondary MCQ 1–3 (imperial holdover + Cold War tensions)
– Lawrence Interview with TASS MCQ 1–3 (media and ideological framing)
– American Report on Pan-African Conference MCQ 1–3 (competing Cold War influence on Africa)		Comparison
Key Task: Compare ideologies and political strategies.
Example: Soviet vs. American Cold War expansion.
Instructional Strategy: Cold War "speech battle" with historical speech excerpts.		8.1 — Explain the context in which the Cold War developed.
8.4 — Explain the causes and consequences of the spread of communism after 1900.
8.7 — Explain how and why globalization changed culture after 1900.		SAQ
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Mar 02, 2026 - Mar 06, 2026- Mau Mau in Kenya MCQ 1–3 (violent resistance and independence)
– Lumumba Interview with TASS MCQ 1–3 (postcolonial leadership and Cold War positioning)
– Salvador Allende Farewell Address SAQ (redistribution and Cold War intervention)		Causation
Key Task: Explain causes and effects of decolonization.
Example: Indian Independence movement and partition.
Instructional Strategy: DBQ writing scaffolded by analyzing Gandhi’s writing and British policies.		8.2 — Explain the causes and effects of the ideological struggle of the Cold War.
8.5 — Explain the causes and effects of movements to redistribute economic resources.
8.8 — Explain how and why global resistance to established order occurred after 1900.
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Mar 09, 2026 - Mar 13, 2026- Shining Path Interview MCQ 1–3 (internal Cold War-era resistance)
– Soviet Cartoons of Red Square Parade MCQ 1–3 (visual propaganda)
– Li Zhisui Great Leap Forward MCQ 1–3 (continuity/change post-revolution)
– New States in Late Twentieth Century SAQ (political structure & leadership shifts)		CCOT
Key Task: Track continuity and change in political structures post-independence.
Example: Africa's post-colonial coups and leadership.
Instructional Strategy: Timeline activity with transitions labeled “continuity” or “change.”		8.3 — Explain the effects of the Cold War in the Western Hemisphere.
8.6 — Explain how and why globalization changed politics and economics after 1900.
8.9 — Explain the various causes and consequences of the end of the Cold War.
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Unit 9: GlobalizationMar 16, 2026 - Mar 20, 202613–14ENV, CDI, GOV, ECN, SIO, TEC
Contextualization

Making Connections		- CCOT Technology and state power 1900
– Deng Xiaoping MCQ 1–3 (tech, reform, and state policy)
– UN Development Report MCQ 1–3 (global metrics and development goals)
– Liberation Theology Poem 9.5 MCQ 1–3 (social responses to global inequities)		CCOT
Key Task: Evaluate technological and environmental change after 1900.
Example: The Green Revolution and fossil fuels.
Instructional Strategy: DBQ or SAQ on environmental responses across nations.		9.1 — Explain how the development of new technologies changed the world after 1900.
9.3 — Explain the debates over the effects of the increased use of fossil fuels in the 20th century.
9.5 — Explain how and why globalization changed culture after 1900.
9.7 — Explain how and why resistance to globalization took place after 1900.		DBQ or SAQ
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Mar 23, 2026 - Mar 27, 2026- League of Nations vs UN assessments 9.3 MCQ 1–3 (comparison of global governance)
– Sweden vs Mexico graph MCQ 1–3 (data literacy: economic effects)
– Antiglobalization protest Unit 9 MCQ 1–3 (resistance to globalization)
– Schumacher antimatialist policies 9.2 MCQ 1–3 (economic philosophies vs global capitalism)
– J.R. McNeill on pollution dualism Unit 9 SAQ (environmental impact of globalization)
– Non-state free-market Econ SAQ (economic systems outside government control)		Comparison
Key Task: Compare cultural and economic effects of globalization.
Example: Rise of global brands vs. cultural resistance.
Instructional Strategy: Use case studies (e.g., McDonald’s vs. local food) for claim-evidence writing.		9.2 — Explain how environmental factors affected human populations over time.
9.4 — Explain how economic changes after 1900 led to shifts in the global economy.
9.6 — Explain how and why globalization changed international interactions among states.
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Practice Exam Mar 30, 2026 - Apr 03, 2026AP Practice Exam Benchmark #4 (Units 8–9)
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Final AP Review Weeks 2–3Apr 06, 2026 - Apr 10, 2026AllPractice Exam + Writing
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Final AP Review Weeks 2–3Apr 13, 2026 - Apr 17, 2026AllPractice Exam + Writing