Summary
In this interactive session, explore how OER Project: Big History helps middle school students investigate 4.5 billion years of change through a geographic lens. From plate tectonics and biomes to trade routes, migration, and industrialization, participants will examine how physical landscapes shape human possibility.
Presenters will model strategies for teaching Big History at key “thresholds” of complexity while aligning instruction to the National Geography Standards. Attendees will engage with classroom-ready materials and collaborate on ways to integrate spatial thinking into interdisciplinary history courses.
Join us to explore how teaching on geography’s “fall lines” can help students see the powerful connections between Earth’s evolution and the human story—and better understand the forces shaping our shared future.
Session Focus
Middle School/Junior High | Human and Cultural Geography | Curriculum and Instruction
Conference Room
Byrd
Meet the Presenter
Bennett Sherry is a senior content manager at OER Project, where he helps develop content for all courses, including the creation of a series of political and thematic world maps. Bennett holds a PhD in history from the University of Pittsburgh and has undergraduate teaching experience in world history, human rights, and the Middle East. Bennett writes about refugees and international organizations in the twentieth century.
Chelsea Katzenberg, Bridgette O’Connor, and Bennett Sherry
