Grade 7 Lesson at a Glance: Chapter 18, Lesson 1

Houghton Mifflin Social Studies
Across the Centuries

Lesson at a Glance
Chapter 18, Lesson 1: A New Order of Ideals (pp. 476-479)

The Big Idea
Framework Concept: Rights During the Age of Enlightenment, Europeans began to apply reason not only to science but to the social and political world, with new ideas about government and human rights.

Tell students that during the Age of Enlightenment, many people began to accept that reason and logic, rather than tradition or religious belief, were the keys to understanding the world and creating a better society. Discuss how this new way of thinking changed European society. Ask students to discuss the pros and cons of a society that prizes tradition, and of a society that values reason and critical thinking.

Lesson Outline
Use the Lesson Outline to preview the content of the lesson. You may wish to print it for your students as a guide during reading.

Check for Understanding

Explain that the philosophes, or thinkers, of the 1700s often published their ideas in pamphlets. Ask students to create a pamphlet in which they take the part of a philosophe explaining Enlightenment ideas about science, society, and government.
Have students create a chart showing the five key thinkers mentioned in this lesson and their important new ideas.

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