8th grade · Social Studies · Unit 8 of 13
Renaissance & Reformation
New art, ideas and printing
What your child practices
The rebirth of art and learning in Italy, how the printing press spread ideas, the Reformation, and how questioning led to new science.
Alabama Course of Study content standard: 8.9; 8.10 · the Renaissance in Italy and northern Europe, and the Reformation
How we explain it
Children can open this short lesson before they practice.
- The Renaissance was a rebirth of interest in ancient Greek and Roman learning, art and ideas, starting in Italy.
- Humanism focused on human abilities, reason and education.
- The printing press made books faster and cheaper than copying by hand, which helped new ideas, including the Reformation, spread.
Example: Why did the printing press help the Reformation spread? Before printing, books were copied by hand, slowly. The press made many copies quickly and cheaply. More people could read new religious ideas. Answer: It made books and pamphlets cheap and fast to share.
Renaissance & Reformation in Alabama
In the Alabama Course of Study, this is unit 8 of 13 in 8th grade Social Studies, after Crusades & the Black Death and before Exploration & Exchange.
Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
What is humanism?
- A belief that learning is useless
- A form of farming
- A way of thinking that focuses on human abilities, reason and education
- A belief that only kings matter
A way of thinking that focuses on human abilities, reason and education
Hint: Renaissance humanists studied literature, history and the arts.
Question 2
Andreas Vesalius, in 1543, changed medicine by…
- painting the Sistine Chapel
- discovering the Americas
- publishing detailed drawings of the human body based on careful study
- inventing the thermometer
publishing detailed drawings of the human body based on careful study
Hint: He showed that some older medical books contained mistakes.
Question 3
Which was a lasting result of the Reformation?
- Christianity in Europe split into Catholic and Protestant churches.
- Printing was abandoned.
- Everyone joined the same church.
- The Church became wealthier.
Christianity in Europe split into Catholic and Protestant churches.
Hint: Different churches formed, and religious disagreements shaped politics for centuries.
Question 4
Who is credited with writing in 1543 that the Earth moves around the Sun?
- Nicolaus Copernicus
- Marco Polo
- Gutenberg
- Aristotle
Nicolaus Copernicus
Hint: Copernicus challenged the long-held belief that the Sun circled the Earth.
Question 5
What did Martin Luther do in 1517?
- He painted the Sistine Chapel.
- He invented the printing press.
- He sailed to the Americas.
- He published criticisms of Church practices, starting the Reformation.
He published criticisms of Church practices, starting the Reformation.
Hint: His Ninety-five Theses led to new Christian churches (Protestant).
Question 6
Put these events in order, earliest first.
- 🐀The Black Death reaches Europe (1347)
- 📜Luther's Ninety-five Theses (1517)
- 📚Gutenberg's printing press (about 1450)
- 🔭Galileo observes Jupiter's moons (1610)
The Black Death reaches Europe (1347) → Gutenberg's printing press (about 1450) → Luther's Ninety-five Theses (1517) → Galileo observes Jupiter's moons (1610)
Hint: The Black Death (1347–1351) came first, then the printing press (about 1450), the Reformation (1517), and Galileo's telescope observations (1610).