1st Timer of Big History Project Teaching Looking to Launch August 2025

Hey, Torin Warner , what an exciting journey you are about to begin!

I remember when I started BHP I was curious and eager and so excited! But I was also stressed and nervous and overwhelmed!

First, There are some gurus who know BHP inside and out, or know MS inside and out-- or both! If they are still active in the community, they will have lots of resources for you.

Laura Massa  ERIN CUNNINGHAM 

Zachary Cain  Meaghan Mihalic 

Next, 

The MOST important thing to always keep in mind about BHP is the NARRATIVE.

BHP is the origin story of the universe as we know it, through scientific discovery. There is no way to detail 13.8 billion years of history, so BHP focuses on the milestones of development. They are called "Thresholds of Increasing Complexity". Something happened in the universe that was so impactful that it made a "forever change". And each time a new threshold occurs, it is more complex than the one before.

There will be lots and lots of lessons for each unit and/or threshold. There will also be some repetition of content as it is presented in different modalities-- articles, videos, graphics, activities. The intention is NOT to use them all. Pick and choose what you think will go well with your set of learners, mix up the modalities as needed from unit to unit, and don't be afraid to streamline. The most important part is to keep the narrative for how goings-on in the universe are connected to each other, and how WE are connected to the universe.

While you are waiting to hear back from some other folks, start exploring.

Each unit has a blue hammer icon that says "teaching tools" by the title. That will take you to lots of good places.

If you click on each lesson part (ie 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, etc) gives you a step by step view.

Happy learning!

Once you look around, be sure to come back with more questions and comments!

I can do 3.   Send me a note on discord, I am Scaturo.

Torin Warner Hello!  You got the full package of info from Donnetta Elsasser - She's the one here in this forum who has taught BHP the most probably.  I've taught the course in a unique way, in trimesters.  That's 12 week classes.  So I can help with some abbreviated lessons, or some "quick fixes" if you will.  I'm attaching a few things from the early part of my course to get you started, you can DM me, or reach out in this forum.  I can share more with you if you email me at bryandibble@selahschools.org

With my team, we also did things related to Claim Testers right at the beginning of the term, I really think that's important because you can refer back to it with every lesson and every unit.  Claim testers big at the start and the other thing we did early on is focus on what it means to be human?  Claim Testers, the concept of being human and origin stories were our first three weeks of a term.  Then we'd get into the Big Band and the rest of the thresholds. 

Threshold Moments BHP 8 Thresholds Big History Slides

Threshold 1 Quiz/Game Questions

Threshold 1 Slide Show with videos

Threshold 2 Quiz/Game Questions

Threshold 2 & 3 Writing Vocab Table Tent Card

Congratulations! BHP has changed how I teach! It really is a special class for that reason! I echo all Donnetta has shared here! I also think that once you have the BHP narrative down, it helps ground everything else. I recommend picking up a copy of Maps of Time: An Introduction to Big History by David Christian. Not only is it a good intro to the course, but it also does a really nice job encapsulating the idea of scale!

The OER community is one of the best places to collaborate and get new ideas/materials! Please do not hesitate to post if you find yourself stuck on a certain lesson, topic or unit! 

Welcome to the amazing experience that is teaching Big History @Torin Warner! Like you, I also teach middle school (6th grade). When I started using the materials, I felt a little overwhelmed at the sheer amount of activities, articles, and videos available. What I like is that each year has looked slightly different as I adapt and change things to meet the needs of my students. It keeps me on my toes and keeps things fresh!

One suggestion I have is to come up with an organizational system to keep track of what resources and lessons you are doing. In my case, I have a table where one column shows the amount of class periods I will use, the middle contains teaching gols, guiding questions, links to slide decks or handouts, and the final column is where I record reflections or ideas for how I would modify the activities in the future. With the pace of teaching, this has been invaluable to help me remember things as I start a new year.

I would echo what @Donnetta Elsasser stated about the narrative. Using that as a through line to show the increasing complexity of the universe through threshold moments helps tie everything together. My students often ask - ‘Is this science or history class?” and it sort of becomes a running joke throughout the year because the content is so interdisciplinary. They really start to grasp the idea that our most accurate understanding of the past is achieved with multiple experts from a variety of fields. I think it makes them appreciate history even more!

The revamp of BHP has genuinely streamlined the thresholds, and I’m looking forward to incorporating these resources (which means less modifying to tailor the content to 6th graders-huzzah!). I would look at each unit and think about where you can make things exciting for your students to get them to connect. For example, I built off of the History of Me Activity by having students create a timeline of their lives. The twist? Instead of listing all of the dates, they come up with three “periods” that they can chunk their lives into. When they share, they paint he rationale. This helps them scale-switch to think about big picture instead of small details. It also makes for an awesome bulletin board at the start of the year.

I don’t want to get too wordy here, but feel free to to reach out if you want to see examples of activities or have specific questions on other ways I’ve tweaked things.

Welcome Torin Warner to this wonderfulf community of dedicated teachers! It is very excited to learn that you are going to dive into Big History, a fabulous curriculum that has excellent rapport with my students. 

Here is the first unit slide deck I use including videos and visuals. The OER contains many resources for you to choose, adapt, and taylor to our your own needs.

During this weekend I will share with you guidance for projects and rubrics that work well with my students. Let me know if you have any questions.

Torin Warner the OER has updated and modified the site. I am exploring the changes for Big History and found valuable resources to add this coming year. 

You requested activities and rubrics. One of my favorites is the Museum Project that students prepare in groups. It is without hesitation one of the memorable moments in the course. This is how I do it and this is the rubric I use to grade it. I also include the Collaboration Rubric to make students accuntable for their work. 

Because the OER has changed, I encourage you to explore the new set of activities to use with the Museum Project. It is extremely useful if you want to guide your students in developing different skills to learn about a civilization. This is the link to peruse the options.

Thanks Meagan that was really helpfull! the history of me activity sounds very engaging! I definetly want to reach out again

Hi Bryan! thank you for sharing those resources!

A whole unit slide deck! thank you Laura really appreciate it! heads up it came through as a pdf but im pretty sure i can convert it.