Tools for Learning History

1. Tools for Learning History Section 1.1 Telling Time

2. Telling Time by Years

3. The history of mankind is divided into two great time periods that are referred to as BC and AD. • BC means “Before Christ” • AD comes form the Latin, Anno Domini, meaning “in the year of our Lord”

4. Some people have chosen to mark history in a non-religious way by referring to the two great periods of history as BCE and CE • CE means Common Era and refers to the same period as AD • BCE means Before Common Era and refers to the same period as BC

5. AD dates count forward from 1 AD. • BC dates count backward from 1 AD. 1 AD 200 BC 100 BC 100 200 Left Right

6. Telling Time by Centuries

7. 1 year = 12 months • 10 years = 1 decade • 100 years = century • 1000 years = millennia

9. Converting Years to Centuries • In history, you may hear or read that an event took place in the 15th century or the 20th century. For these time references to make sense, you’ve got to know what dates they refer to. As you’ve seen on the previous slide, the 20th century does not refer to the 2000s as you might automatically assume. It refers to the 1900s.

10. Converting Years to Centuries • How do you convert form a century to a year and vice versa? • By understanding dates, it’s easy to convert for one to the other. One less than the number of the century---- In this case, 19 + 1 = 20, so this date is in the 20th century. 1945 Represents which year in the century --- in this case, the 45th year.

11. Remember • If the year ends in 01-99, the century is one more than the first two digits. • Ex. 1973 19 + 1 = 20th century. • If the year ends in 00, the century is the same as the first two digits. • Ex. 2000 20 = 20th century.

12. Time Lines

13. A time line helps you see the big picture, whether it represents a few months or a few thousand years. A time line is a visual representation of a period of time. It is marked off in equal intervals that show when events occurred and how each event relates to the other events that happened during that period.

14. The period of time covered by the time line is called the time span. Time span can be calculated by subtracting the beginning date from the ending date. Look at the time line below. Its time span is 1600 – 1450 or 150 years. Time Span Beginning Date Ending Date 1450 1600 1500 1550

15. The equal divisions on the time line are called time interval. To calculate a time interval, subtract the start of an interval from the end of an interval. If the first interval starts with 1450 and ends with 1500, the time interval would be 50 years (1500 – 1450) Time Span Beginning Date Ending Date 1450 1600 1500 1550 Time Interval

16. 1504 1450 Michelangelo completes statue of David Gutenberg invents the printing press with movable type 1595 1513 Shakespeare writes Romeo and Juliet Machiavelli writes The Prince 1450 1500 1550 1600 1519 1505 Magellan begins his voyage around the world da Vinci completes Mona Lisa 1492 Columbus arrives in the New World

17. Seeing the events in order as they relate to other events of the period helps you develop chronological thinking. That term just means that you remember history in the order that it happened. The graphic makes the dates much easier to sort than if they were simply given in a list.

18. 1450 1450 Gutenberg invents the printing press with movable type 1492 Columbus arrives in the New World 1500 1504 Michelangelo completes statue of David 1505 da Vinci completes Mona Lisa 1513 Machiavelli writes “The Prince” 1519 Magellan begins his voyage around the world 1550 1595 Shakespeare writes “Romeo and Juliet” 1600

19. One thing you will notice is that when several events occur close together, it’s easier to put them on a vertical time line than on a horizontal one. • The information is the same, and the analysis is the same. The only change is in the direction the time line runs.

20. Tables

21. Another way to organize dates and events is to use a table. A table is divided into columns and rows. Columns go down and rows go across. The placement of information in a table shows relationships between the facts.

22. Major Events of the Renaissance Title Headings Rows Columns

23. When you have only a few facts that are related to a central theme, it’s easier to use a graphic organizer to present the information than a table. A graphic organizer uses geometric shapes to show how a few facts or ideas are related to a central theme. The information is placed inside the shapes, and lines are drawn to show the relationships.

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