A new way of looking at the world!
HSS California State Standard 7.8.1
 Learning
Objective: Students will be able to
explain what the Renaissance is and how
Humanism changed Europe’s way of thinking.
 Activating
prior knowledge...
 refers
Rome.
to the cultures of Ancient Greece and
 Period
between the Roman Empire and the
Re-Birth of Europe.
 Not very many new ideas about art or
literature.
 People did NOT think for themselves, and
followed strict social structures and beliefs.
 French
for “Re-birth”. This is the re-birth of
classical culture and art in Europe after the
Dark Ages. Centered in Italy.
 Embraces a new way of thinking called
“Humanism.”
 The
word renaissance means “re-birth”.
What was reborn during the Renaissance?
 A. Interest in Christianity
 B. The Byzantine Empire
 C. Interest in classical culture
 D. The Islamic religion
 The
word renaissance means “re-birth”.
What was reborn during the Renaissance?
 C.
Interest in classical culture
 Where
 A.
did the Renaissance take place?
Germany
 B. Italy
 C. Byzantine Empire
 D. Greece
 Where
 B.
did the Renaissance take place?
Italy
 The
new way of thinking during the
Renaissance was called_______________.
 Humanism
 Humanists
formed a belief in the importance
of the individual .
 Humanism also valued classical culture.
 Name
of a poet who was one of the first
Humanists.
 Loved books. Believed people could learn by
reading on their own.
 Studied classical literature.
Make an inference:
 If Petrarch studied classical literature, what
kinds of books would he have read?
 Classical
 (Recall
books from Greece or Rome.
from 6th grade: These may have
included the works of people like Aristotle,
Plato, or Homer.)

Humanists believe
that people have the
ability to think for
themselves and
create their own life.
People can do this
apart from social
class or family.
King
Nobles.
lords
Knights
Peasants
FREE TO THINK!
NOT STUCK IN THIS PYRAMID!
 Why
were humanist beliefs so different from
medieval thinking and feudalism?
 A’s
tell B’s
 B’s tell A’s
 Now
I will select someone will explain to the
class.
 Humanists
focused on the present. The
Church focused on the afterlife.
 Humanists believed people should use their
own minds and question everything. The
Church believed people should follow its
teachings without question in order to save
their souls.
 Do
you think Humanist ideas might have
caused a conflict with the Church? Why?
 Predict:
What might the Church’s reaction
be to these new ideas?
 In
order to further study the potential of
human beings, people can study the
HUMANITIES:
 areas of study that focuses on human life
and culture, such as: history, literature,
and ethics.
 (Artists in the Renaissance will also
encourage the study of the human body as
well as the mind.)
 In
what way do your studies at school
embrace humanist ideas?
 A’s
tell B’s
 B’s tell A’s
I
will now choose someone to share with the
class.
 How
was Europe’s thinking re-born (changed)
from Medieval Times to the Renaissance?
 A’s tell B’s
 B’s tell A’s
 I will now choose people to share with the
class.