7th Grade Terms List – World History
Ms. Lockso
2013-2014
This vocabulary list is compiled of all terms students need to know during this year (as determined by Trumbull County, based on the state standards). Students will be responsible for knowing and using these terms throughout the year. There will be activities to help learn and practice them as well as being included on our weekly quizzes. A final test will be given at the end of the year over all of them.
Terms with definitions:
- Civilization - relatively high level of cultural and technological development; point which writing and keeping written records is attained
- Culture - learned behavior of a group of people including beliefs, languages, institutions, organizations and material goods (such as tools, homes, clothes, food, etc.)
- Cultural Practices - patterns of behavior accepted by a society
- Cultural Products - items created by a society; can be tangible (able to touch - such as books, tools, clothes) or intangible (not able to touch - such as plays, music stories)
- Cultural Perspectives - opinions accepted as being right or true (AKA belief systems)
- Cultural Advancements/Innovations - new ideas or knowledge to continue the growth or success of a society or to make life better within a society
- Cultural Legacies - advancements made and then handed down from past generations; gifts to the future from past cultures
- Cultural Borrowing - taking of ideas and/or products from another culture to use within own, or to build on/adapt for own use
- Social Classes - groups of people who hold similar positions in society, share similar wealth and receive similar respect from other members of society
- Gender Roles - different powers given to men and women in each society
- Historical Eras - noteworthy time periods studied by men and women in each society
- Historical Events - noteworthy events that are studied by historians
- Economic Characteristics - traits pertaining to the culture's economy including how wealth is gained or lost, trade, specialization, taxation, etc.
- Social Characteristics - traits pertaining to how people interact and communicate
- Political Characteristics - traits pertaining to government and its interactions with citizens
- Enduring Impact - having a long lasting effect on the world
- Significance - importance
- Relevant - related to the matter at hand
- Reliability - amount of dependability someone/thing has
- Essential Characteristics - the "must know" facts about a person, place or event (to describe or explain)
- Norms - patterns or traits taken to be typical in the behavior of a social group; accepted routines
- Values - moral or philosophical ideals held to be true
- Frame of Reference - set of accepted values which an individual or group uses to evaluate behaviors or actions
- Belief System - opinions or beliefs of a person or culture which influence viewpoint (see cultural perspective)
- Viewpoint - opinion based on one's frame of reference and perspective
- Deity - god or goddess
- Monotheism - belief in only one deity
- Polytheism - belief in more than one deity
- Technology - science applied by a group or culture to improve industry or lives with material comforts
- Conflict - disagreement resulting from opposing needs, wishes or beliefs
- Conquest - the act or process of conquering (to gain or take over by force)
- Invasion - the act of invading (entering for conquest or to spread)
- War - opposition between two groups; a conflict with death and destruction on both sides
- Trade - to give one thing in exchange for another (either monetary - using money; or barter - using products or services)
- Cost-Benefit Analysis - looking at the positive outcomes and weighing if they are worth the time, effort, and expense of the activity
- Systems of Labor - organization of workers within a society
- Specialization - making of only some types of goods or services based on the productive resources available in a region
- Interdependence - directly depending on each other
- Endowment - permanent gifts; gifts by nature
- Supply & Demand - amount of available product and how badly it is wanted
- Productive Resource - resource or material used to make goods and services (Including natural resources, human resources and capital goods)
- Natural Resources - materials found in nature (can be renewable or nonrenewable) including air, forests, water, minerals and fossil fuels
- Human Resources - productive resource consisting of the talents and skills of human beings that contribute to the production of goods and services
- Capital Goods - productive goods consisting of human-made materials needed to produce goods and services (including buildings, machinery, equipment and tools)
- Scarcity - lacking in number compared to the demand
- Trade Agreement - contract or treaty between parties wanting to trade, outlining products, costs, profits, timetables, etc.
- Trade Barriers - items blocking the ability to trade easily and freely
- Tariffs - taxes or fees on products being imported or exported
- Impede - interfere with or slow the progress of
- Diffusion - spread of people, ideas, technology and products among places through cultural borrowing
- Physical Features/Characteristics - natural aspects of a place or a quality of the Earth's surface
- Human Features/Characteristics - an aspect of a place or a quality of the Earth's surface constructed by people
- Region - area sharing common physical or cultural characteristics
- Physical Region - areas that share the same climate, plant & animal life or landforms (physical features)
- Cultural Region - areas that share the same cultural characteristics such as language, history or religious beliefs
- Physical Map - map showing the Earth's physical features such as landforms and elevations
- Historical Map - map showing specific events or time periods of history
- Citizens - persons meeting the requirements of a given society to allow them to have certain rights
- Voting Qualifications - criteria to be allowed to vote
- Rights - power, privileges, freedoms to which citizens are entitled
- Responsibilities - duties that need to be carried out, actions one is accountable or answerable for
- Civic Participation - taking part in government
- Civic Disobedience - refusal to obey government demands or commands
- Political Power - the control given to the government or those working within or associated with the government leaders
- Political Process - the series of steps and issue concerning the government must follow
- City-State - self-ruling area consisting of a city and surrounding territory all under one government
- Anarchy - state of lawlessness
- Radical - extreme; describing someone who believes major political or social changes are necessary
- Theocracy - form of government led by religious leaders
- Monarchy - form of government led by royalty such as a king, queen or chief
- Kingdoms - community or major territory having a monarchial form of government headed by a king or queen
- Totalitarian - strict control of all aspects of life by the government rule
- Direct Democracy - government in which all citizens have an equal vote on all issues before a decision in made
- Democratic vs. Direct Democracy - allowing citizen participation in government compared to all citizens having to take an active part in government
- Republic - form of government where people hold the power by voting for representatives (AKA representative democracy)
- Representative Democracy - form of government in which citizens vote for representatives (officials) to make decisions on issues (AKA republic)
- Imperialism - policy used by strong countries to gain social, political and economic control over foreign territories
- Empire - major political unit having a large amount of territory under single authority
- Feudalism - political system of Western Europe during the Middle Ages, based on the relationship of lords to vassals
- Manorialism - economic system of Western Europe during the Middle Ages, based on the manors being self-sufficient
- Mercantilism - economic system developed as feudalism decayed to unify and increase the power and wealth of a nation by strict government regulations over the entire economy
- Crusades - series of holy wars fought between Christians and Muslims during the 11th-13th centuries
- Magna Carta - document giving freedoms (civil or personal rights) to English nobles that King John I was forced to sign in 1215
- Bill of Rights - summary of basic privileges and rights guaranteed to people against violation by the government (first ten amendments to our constitution)
- Renaissance - transitional period in Europe between the Middle Ages and modern times; started in Italy in the 14th century and lasting until the 17th century; marked with a rebirth of classical art, architecture and humanism
- Humanism - philosophy of the Renaissance era, focusing more on the importance of humans and less on the divine
- Reformation - 16th century religious movements started by Martin Luther; rejection or modification of Roman Catholic Church which led to the establishment of the Protestant Church
- Divine Right - prior to 17th century and Enlightenment many people believed that God gave a monarch the right to govern/rule the citizens
- Enlightenment - movement of the 17th/18th century when people started to question Divine Right; tried to use reasoning and scientific thinking to understand and explain the world
- Colonialism - a system where one country extends its control over foreign dependencies especially for economic benefit
- Columbian Exchange - trading of plants, animals, and diseases from explorations and colonization of the new world
