Video Discussion Questions
History
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
1. Who are the significant leaders in European history? What traits do they have in common?
2. What traits or circumstances distinguish them?
3. What pivotal events have shaped European history? How do these events continue to shape Europe?
4. Name some significant European inventions. Where are they used today?
SEGMENTS
Paris: Designing a City
Pre-viewing question
Describe the geography of France where Paris is located.
Post-viewing question
What measures did city developers take to create modern-day Paris? What challenges did the engineers overcome?
France
Pre-viewing question
Who was Napoleon Bonaparte? What are his well-known accomplishments and experiences?
Post-viewing question
What conditions existed in France that allowed Napoleon’s rise to power? Why couldn’t he maintain leadership of France?
Germany
Pre-viewing question
Explain the circumstances that gave rise to the Berlin Wall.
Post-viewing question
When and why did the Berlin Wall come down? What did the crumbling of the wall represent to all Germans?
Galileo & the First Telescope
Pre-viewing question
Who was Galileo? When and where did he live?
Post-viewing question
What did Galileo study? Why were his ideas considered radical at the time?
Pre-viewing question
Where and when did Leonardo da Vinci live? What are his best-known accomplishments?
Post-viewing question
What were da Vinci’s areas of expertise? Why is it ironic that his artwork has gained him the most notoriety?
Victor Hugo & Les Misérables
Pre-viewing question
When did the French Revolution take place? How did its outcome affect French society?
Post-viewing question
Who wrote Les Misérables? What themes does the novel explore? How do they reflect problems in 19th-century France?
Europe’s Middle Ages
Pre-viewing question
What is feudalism? What social classes existed under this system?
Post-viewing question
How did the peasants and knights help preserve power for the nobility?
Peter the Great Turns Russia West
Pre-viewing question
Who was Peter the Great? Why is he well known?
Post-viewing question How did the building of St. Petersburg improve the lives of Russians?
Poland: Warsaw’s Ghetto Uprising
Pre-viewing question
What tragic events are part of modern Polish history?
Post-viewing question
How did the Jews in Poland try to defend themselves from the Nazis? What effect did World War II have on the population of Poland?
Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina
Pre-viewing question
Where is Kosovo? What role has the United Nations played in Kosovo since 1999?
Post-viewing question
What effects have the landmines used by Serbs and ethnic Albanians in Kosovo had on the nation? How is the area being made safe?
Remembering the Holocaust
Pre-viewing question
What is the Holocaust? When and where did it take place?
Post-viewing question
Why did the Nazis kill the Jews and other minority groups? How did this genocide come to an end?
Russia in Crisis
Pre-viewing question
When was Nicholas II the czar of Russia? What events led to the end of his regime?
Post-viewing question
What was Bloody Sunday? What was the October Manifesto? What roles did both events play in the onset of the Russian Revolution?
Culture
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
What are the primary elements of culture? Select one element and analyze how it is unique in different parts of Europe.
How do cultures of European countries vary? What geographic features and historic events are responsible for the differences?
Which examples of classic Greek and Roman culture are visible in Europe and Russia? Why have these elements survived?
SEGMENTS
The Vatican
Pre-viewing question
Where is the Vatican located? What type of political entity is it?
Post-viewing question
Why is Vatican City an independent city-state? If it were affiliated with a country, how would its governance be different?
Russia
Pre-viewing question
What was the U.S.S.R.? When did it collapse? What countries replaced it?
Post-viewing question
What are the main differences between communist and capitalist systems? How has the dissolution of communism in Russia affected the lives of its people?
London’s Suburbs
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What natural resources are abundant in Europe and Russia? How do their successful use and exportation affect local economies?
What roles did imperialism and slavery play in European history? What were the consequences for Europe’s economies? What were the consequences for the conquered countries’ economies?
What effect does the ethnic composition of Eastern Europe have on its current economy? Is international intervention improving this region economically?
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Sweden
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