Where to begin teaching BHP?

That looks like a great activity, and I like getting students outside and moving! I noticed there's some math involved. Do you do this with the students? I worry it would scare my kids and they would lose interest before we got to the field.

Wow! This is very helpful. Thank you so much for sharing, Laura Massa !

Hi Kerry Lynn ! I tend to take it nice and slow in the beggining of the school year to build on important BHP skills that come in handy throughout the course. We take our time learning how to Claim Test and engage in Three Close Reads activities early on in the course. Because I have a slow start to really hone in on these skills, I think I probably have a slower pacing than most for the first few Thresholds. Right now- this is what my pacing looks like: 

• September: Unit 0 (Skill Building + Easter Island Mystery- a must to get students to apply the skills they just learned and spark their interest in interdisciplinary mysteries). 
• October:  Threshold 1 
• November: Threshold 2 
• December: Threshold 3
• January: Threshold 4 
• February: Threshold 5 
• March: Threshold 6 
• April: Threshold 7 
• May: Threshold 8 (half the month) , other half of month- start BHP Project 
• June: BHP Projects

I SO appreciate reading your response, Adriane Musacchio because I always feel a bit sheepish about how long the first unit takes me. It's a good reminder that it's totally worthwhile to spend some time establishing the skills. Spend time to save time, right?! What are the BHP projects? I'm curious!

I totally get that feeling Meaghan Mihalic ! To be honest, last year was the first year I didn't feel that because I repaced. (I used to do Thresholds 6-8 in 1 month- if you could imagine that!). Spread out along 3 months is SO nice! I know others take more time on it though. Either way works to be honest! In my school, my students take BHP alongside Global History- so Units 6-8 are covered there anyway (just in a slightly different way than how BHP covers these topics). 

The BHP Projects that I do are the Little Big History Projects.  I will say, though the actual projects that are on tri-fold boards are done in May and June, I do roll the project out early in the year. That way, students are spending time thinking about and researching their topics as we go through each threshold. 

Ahhh, now I understand what you mean by BHP project.  Truth be told, I have actually not done LBH, but that's a goal for this year to use as a culminating project. I'd love to pick your brain on how you sequence it out Adriane Musacchio 

Of course! Since I started teaching BHP in 2019, and went through different models during the pandemic- I’ve rolled the LBH project out several different ways. Feel free to reach out! I highly recommend trying it out. It’s a great way to have students apply what they have learned in BHP (threshold knowledge) to a topic they are interested in. An important research skill to build at any age ! 

I am always so impressed by your pacing, Bryan Dibble ! Whenever I feel crunched for time, I find calm in looking at how much you cover in a short period of time. I also am just now realizing that you spend a bit more time on threshold 8 and the future than you do on the earlier thresholds. Anything in particular that you like covering in those two thresholds?