This document outlines a 1-month unit plan for a 9th grade Big History/English class comparing foraging and agrarian societies. Students will read Walkabout and use the Big History Project website to research and create websites answering whether life was better in foraging or agrarian societies. Over 20 days, students will read, discuss, research, collaborate in groups, and build websites presenting their findings. Differentiation is provided through pairing and challenging gifted students. References include the Big History Project, Walkabout, YouTube tutorials, and research databases.

1. Touro University California | EDU 741 | Technology Unit Outline
Technology Integration Unit Outline
Type only in the gray areas
Name: Scott Marsden
Project Title: Foraging vs. Agrarian Societies Websites
Project Subject: Big History/English
Grade Level(s): 9
Email address: smarsden@nvusd.org
Essential Question: Was life better in hunter-gatherer (foraging) societies or
agricultural societies?
Scaffolding
Questions:
Where, how, and why did agriculture first begin, and what was
its impact?
Where and why did the first cities appear, and what was their
impact?
How and why did cities evolve into agrarian civilizations?
How were agrarian civilizations such as Mesopotamia, Jericho,
China, India, Egypt, Greece, Rome, and Mesoamerica similar
and different from one another?
What were advantages and disadvantages of life in these
agrarian civilizations?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of foraging (hunter-
gatherer) life ways as depicted in the novel Walkabout?
Approximate Length of Unit (days, weeks)
1 month
Goals:
To understand the changes brought by agriculture, both positive and negative
To gain technology skills required to create a website and embed gadgets in the website.
To use textual evidence in order to write a persuasive essay answering the big question.
Objectives:
List 5 advantages of agriculture and 5 disadvantages of agriculture.
List 5 advantages of hunter-gatherer societies and 5 disadvantages.
List 3 changes in human life created by the first cities.
List the 3 most important crops in early agriculture.
Analyze a quotation from Walkabout to understand whether it supports hunter-gatherer or
agrarian civilization.
Analyze quotations from primary source documents to understand whether they are in
favor or hunter-gatherer societies or agrarian societies.

2. Touro University California | EDU 741 | Technology Unit Outline
Day-to-Day Sequence of Activities:
Day 1: Launch the project: entry document, knows-need-to-knows; watch David
Christian’s Main Lecture in Big History “Why was agriculture so important?” and answer
questions in Echo; begin reading Walkabout out loud.
Day 2: Quiz over “Why Was Agriculture So Important?”; read Walkabout; Walkabout
Blog #1 about internal and external conflicts; watch David Christian’s Main Lecture in
Big History “Where and Why did the First Cities Appear?” and answer questions about it
in Echo.
Day 3:Read Walkabout; Walkabout Blog #2; Levels of Inquiry activity to understand the
4 levels of questioning (to prepare for Socratic Seminar on Walkabout)
Day 4: Where and Why Did the First Cities Appear? Quiz; Read Walkabout and complete
Walkabout Blog #3; Complete questioning strategies activity.
Day 5: Read Walkabout and complete Walkabout Blog #4; finish identifying types of
questions; complete strange objects questioning activity
Day 6: Journal: How to deal with slackers in your group; revisit knows-and-need to
knows; create content need-to-knows using the 4 levels of inquiry; locate areas on the Big
History website where you could find answers to your need-to-knows; begin answering
your group’s need-to-knows in a shared Google Doc
Day 7: Read Walkabout; create 4 of your own questions using the 4 levels of inquiry and
answer them; complete a Content Organizer graphic organizer to answer your Need to
Knows using the Big History site
Day 8: Read Walkabout; complete Walkabout Blog #5; finish the Content Organizer;
work in groups to establish roles for your group: research organizer, final checker
(editor), web maven, graphic designer; look at student prototype and past student projects
Day 9: Fill out group goals graphic organizer; project work time: begin to create website
and put content on it
Day 10: Weekly Collaboration Evaluation #1—evaluate your group members; Weekly
project update journal; project work time—continue to research questions, build website
Day 11: Read Walkabout; Walkabout Blog #6 using the 4 levels of inquiry; read
“Agrarian Civilizations” article from Big History; work on Comparison Contrast Chart
using info from the Big History articles on different agricultural civilizations
Day 12: Read Walkabout; Walkabout Blog #7; in groups work on Comparison-Contrast
Chart
Day 13: Finish reading Walkabout; Walkabout Blog #8; go over project rubric; continue

3. Touro University California | EDU 741 | Technology Unit Outline
working in groups on the Comparison-Contrast chart; submit a link to your website using
a Google Form.
Day 14: Socratic Seminars over Walkabout; continue to research and build the website;
begin to utilize tutorial videos in the project briefcase to explain technology skills
Day 15: Weekly Collaboration Evaluation #2; Weekly Project Update #2; gather
information from primary source documents from Big History to answer the big question,
“Was life in hunter-gatherer societies better than life in agrarian societies?”; submit
responses in a Google Form
Day 16: Journal: Advantages of Hunter-Gatherer an Agrarian Civilizations; lecture over
these; share student submissions on Google spreadsheet with class so they use
quotes/analysis on website; group time to work on websites
Day 17: Write Investigation 7 essay for Big History in class: “Was life in hunter-gatherer
societies better than life in agrarian societies?” using info from class spreadsheet; project
work time
Day 18: Project work time
Day 19: Final Weekly Collaboration Evaluation (#3); project work time
Day 20: Present websites; submit feedback of other group’s presentations via Google
Forms. Complete a Project Reflection for homework.
Software and Hardware – Lab Time – needs
Students will use their own laptops, tablets, and, if necessary, smartphones; students will
use Google Edu suite of applications (Docs, Sheets, Forms, Sites) to complete
assignments for this project.
Accommodations for Differentiated Instruction
Resource Student: Resource student will be paired with a student who can help him
or her.
Gifted Student: Gifted students will be placed with other gifted students and
challenged to help their groups achieve “advanced” on the project
rubric.
REFERENCES – List websites, books, magazines, and other resources used to
collect content information for this unit
Big History Website: www.bighistoryproject.com. Students have their own individual
logins to access content articles, videos, and info graphics.
Walkabout, by James Vance Marshall
Youtube tutorials on technology skills needed for the project:
1. How to create a Weebly website (and embed videos, images, etc in it)
2. How to create a Google Form
3. How to embed YouTube videos in Weebly
4. How to create an instant feedback quiz with Google Forms

4. Touro University California | EDU 741 | Technology Unit Outline
5. How to make an Xtranormal animation
6. How to embed Xtranormal in a Google Site
Mrs. Pugh’s AP World History website: http://www.mspugh.net/apwh.htm
ABC-Clio research database: http://databases.abc-
clio.com/Authentication/LogOn?returnUrl=%2FMulti%2F