Alabama Social Studies SS24.7.3a

Social Studies7th GradePre-History and the Neolithic Revolution

The Standard

SS24.7.3: Analyze how historians organize human history and events, including the use of calendars.

Describe multiple methods for organizing and labeling periods of time, including differentiating between the BC/AD and BCE/CE notations.

2024 Alabama Course of Study: Social Studies

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students put dates in order on a timeline and group them by century or named period, such as the Neolithic. They match BC with BCE and AD with CE. They explain that the labels use different terms but the numbered years stay the same.
What Mastery Looks Like: A student places 800 BCE before 200 BCE and groups dates by century or period. They relabel 800 BCE as 800 BC and AD 200 as 200 CE without moving either date.
Common Misconceptions: Students may think BC and BCE use different starting points. They may put 800 BCE after 200 BCE because 800 is larger, or add a year zero between 1 BCE and 1 CE.
How to Assess It: Exit ticket: Put 500 BCE, 200 BCE, and AD 300 in order. Rewrite the first and last dates using the other notation, then name the century of AD 300.

Lesson moves

Lay out a yarn timeline with date cards; students place the cards in order and pair matching BC/BCE and AD/CE dates.
Ask: Did 400 BCE happen before 200 BC, and how do you know? Have students write a two-sentence answer.
Give groups Paleolithic, Neolithic, and Bronze Age cards; have them race to order the periods and sort sample dates by century.
Hand students a mock museum label reading 'Pottery, 2500 BCE'; have them rewrite it using BC and explain what changed.

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