Unit Checkpoint
Demonstrate mastery of medieval and early modern history concepts.
Checkpoint Questions
Question 1: What was feudalism?
Answer
A social and political system where lords owned land and peasants worked it in exchange for protection.
Question 2: What time period is considered the "Middle Ages"?
Answer
Approximately 500-1500 CE, between the fall of Rome and the Renaissance.
Question 3: What was the Renaissance?
Answer
A cultural rebirth in Europe (14th-17th century) marked by renewed interest in art, learning, and classical Greek and Roman ideas.
Question 4: Who wrote the 95 Theses and started the Protestant Reformation?
Answer
Martin Luther in 1517.
Question 5: Name one Renaissance artist or thinker.
Answer
Examples: Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Galileo, Shakespeare.
Question 6: What motivated European exploration in the 15th-16th centuries?
Answer
Gold, God, and Glory - desire for wealth, spreading Christianity, and gaining fame/power.
Question 7: What was the Columbian Exchange?
Answer
The transfer of plants, animals, diseases, and ideas between the Old World and New World after 1492.
Question 8: How did the printing press change European society?
Answer
It allowed ideas to spread quickly, increased literacy, and helped spread Reformation ideas and Renaissance knowledge.
Question 9: What was a major negative effect of European exploration on Native Americans?
Answer
Diseases like smallpox killed millions of indigenous people who had no immunity.
Question 10: How did the Reformation change the religious map of Europe?
Answer
It created new Protestant denominations and split Western Christianity, with northern Europe becoming largely Protestant and southern Europe remaining Catholic.
Self-Assessment
- 8-10 correct: Excellent! Ready for next unit.
- 6-7 correct: Good! Review missed concepts.
- Below 6: Review lessons before continuing.