9th grade · Social Studies · Unit 11 of 16
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.
New York State Learning Standards learning standard: 9.9a; 9.9b · the Renaissance, humanism and the printing press, and how the Reformation divided Western Europe
How we explain it
Children can open this short lesson before they practice.
- The Renaissance brought new art and writing: Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa; Shakespeare wrote plays and poems.
- The printing press made pamphlets and Bibles in large numbers, spreading Reformation ideas fast.
- Questioning led to new science: Copernicus wrote in 1543 that Earth moves around the Sun.
Example: How did the printing press help the Reformation spread? Before printing, books were copied by hand. Presses made many copies quickly and cheaply. Answer: Pamphlets and Bibles could be printed in large numbers
Renaissance & Reformation in New York
In the New York State Learning Standards, this is unit 11 of 16 in 9th grade Social Studies, after Maya, Aztec & Inca and before Belief Systems Compared.
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
How did the printing press help the Reformation spread?
- Pamphlets and Bibles could be printed in large numbers.
- Books were banned.
- Presses were rare.
- Nobody could read.
Pamphlets and Bibles could be printed in large numbers.
Hint: Luther's ideas reached thousands of people quickly.
Question 2
The Scientific Revolution encouraged people to…
- test ideas with observation and experiments
- stop studying nature
- accept traditions without question
- ban the printing press
test ideas with observation and experiments
Hint: Evidence, not just authority, became the basis of knowledge.
Question 3
Before the printing press, how were books made in Europe?
- Copied by hand, which was slow and costly
- Printed by machine
- Read aloud from tablets only
- Made in factories
Copied by hand, which was slow and costly
Hint: A single book could take months to copy.
Question 4
Renaissance artists used linear perspective to…
- avoid using color
- make flat paintings look three-dimensional, with depth
- make paintings smaller
- paint only portraits
make flat paintings look three-dimensional, with depth
Hint: Lines that meet at a distant point make a picture seem to go back in space.
Question 5
Who is credited with writing in 1543 that the Earth moves around the Sun?
- Marco Polo
- Gutenberg
- Aristotle
- Nicolaus Copernicus
Nicolaus Copernicus
Hint: Copernicus challenged the long-held belief that the Sun circled the Earth.
Question 6
Put these events in order, earliest first.
- 🐀The Black Death reaches Europe (1347)
- 📚Gutenberg's printing press (about 1450)
- 📜Luther's Ninety-five Theses (1517)
- 🔭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).