It's the revolutionary world history study guide just for middle school students from the brains behind Brain Quest. Everything You Need to Ace World History . . . kicks off with the Paleolithic Era and transports the reader to ancient civilizations-from Africa and beyond; the middle ages across the world; the Renaissance; the age of exploration and colonialism, revolutions, and the modern world and the wars and movements that shaped it. The BIG FAT NOTEBOOK™ series is built on a simple and irresistible conceit-borrowing the notes from the smartest kid in class. There are five books in all, and each is the only one book you need for each main subject taught in middle school: Math, Science, American History, English, and World History. Inside the reader will find every subject's key concepts, easily digested and summarized: Critical ideas highlighted in marker colors. Definitions explained. Doodles that illuminate tricky concepts. Mnemonics for a memorable shortcut. And quizzes to recap it all. The BIG FAT NOTEBOOKS meet Common Core State Standards, Next Generation Science Standards, and state history standards, and are vetted by National and State Teacher of the Year Award-winning teachers. They make learning fun, and are the perfect next step for every kid who grew up on Brain Quest. Workman Publishing is a New York-based publisher of award-winning nonfiction for adults and children. Hi! These are the notes from my world history class. Oh, who am I? Well, some people said I was the smartest kid in class. I wrote everything you need to ace WORLD HISTORY, from the FIRST HUMANLIKE CREATURES to the INTERNET AGE, and only the really important stuff in between-you know, the stuff that's usually on the test! I tried to keep everything organized, so I almost always: - Highlight vocabulary words in YELLOW - Color in definitions in green highlighter - Use BLUE PEN for important people, places, dates, and terms - Doodle a pretty sweet Trojan Horse and whatnot If you're not loving your textbook and you're not so great at taking notes in class, this notebook will help. It hits all the major points. (But if your teacher spends a whole class talking about something that's not covered, go ahead and write that down for yourself.) Now that I've aced world history, this notebook is YOURS. I'm done with it, so this notebook's purpose in life is to help YOU learn and remember just what you need to ace YOUR world history class. CONTENTS Unit 1: The FIRST HUMANS: PREHISTORY-3500 BCE 1. The First Humans and the Paleolithic Era 3 2. The Neolithic Era 17 Unit 2: FIRST CIVILIZATIONS: 3500 BCE-300 CE 31 3. Mesopotamia 32 4. Ancient Africa 43 5. The Phoenicians and t he Israelites 65 6. Ancient India 73 7. Ancient China 90 8. Ancient Greece 105 9. Ancient Rome 126 Unit 3: The MIDDLE AGES:400 CE-1500 CE 145 10. The Byzantine Empire 146 11. The Rise of Islam in t he Middle Ages 151 12. Early Civilizations of t he Americas 159 13. Medieval India 170 14. The Golden Age of China 177 15. Medieval Japan 185 16. Europe in t he Middle Ages 193 17. The European Crusades in t he Muslim World 205 Unit 4: RENAISSANCE and REFORMATION: 1350-1650 213 18. The Renaissance Begins 214 19. The Reformation 224 Unit 5: The AGE of EXPLORATION: 1400-1800 235 20. Europe Sets Sail 236 21. Europe Explores Asia (or Tries to) 248 22. American Colonies 255 Unit 6: REVOLUTION and ENLIGHTENMENT: 1500-1865 265 23. The Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment 266 24. Monarchies Rise in Europe 277 25. The American Revolution 287 26. The French Revolution 297 27. Nationalism A cross Europe and Independence Moveme...