Reformation, Exploration and Absolutism: An Early Modern Unit, Grades 7–9
For a middle school early modern unit covering the Reformation, exploration and absolutism, the XXL History Teaching Bundle gives Grades 7–9 classes informational texts, source tasks, differentiated worksheets and rubrics for each topic. The units link religious upheaval, overseas voyages and the rise of powerful monarchs, and they sit within a Grades 6–9 bundle that also covers the periods before and after.
See the early modern units →The XXL History Teaching Bundle – Grades 6 to 9 ($249.90) includes early modern era units on the Reformation, exploration and absolutism. Each unit has informational texts, differentiated worksheets, source tasks, creative writing, editable files, answer keys and assessment rubrics. A skills strand on source analysis and historical judgment supports the unit, and the bundle also contains ancient, medieval, modern and contemporary periods for a full year.
The resources
XXL History Teaching Bundle, Grades 6–9
Start with the first resource; the others are optional add-ons. Open any cover for the full contents and price.
XXL History Teaching Bundle – Grades 6 to 9 | Complete Curriculum
World History: Complete Curriculum Bundle: Projects, Activities & Lessons (1000+ pages)
XXL Medieval History Bundle – Black Death, Feudalism & Society
Complete History Teaching Bundle: Lesson Plans, Worksheets & Resources Teachers
Teach-Life-Balance: The Complete Time-Saving Course for Teachers (incl. Planner, Guides & Templates)
The real problem
Why the early modern era gets squeezed
The early modern era is the hinge between the medieval world and modern history, and it is often the most rushed part of a middle school year. Teachers linger on knights and the plague, then jump to factories, and the three centuries in between shrink to a worksheet on Columbus. That leaves students without the connections that explain later events. The Reformation is about more than a monk and a church door. It involves printing, authority, and princes who saw a chance to gain power. Exploration is about more than ships. It involves trade, competition between states and encounters that had devastating consequences for people in the Americas and Africa, which must be taught factually and respectfully. Absolutism shows how monarchs gathered power that earlier kings never had. These three topics make sense together, but only if students see the links. Thirteen-year-olds also need help with the religious vocabulary and with sources such as pamphlets, maps and royal portraits, which carry arguments of their own.
Why it fits
How the early modern units hang together
The three topics can be taught as one connected block about authority, contact and power.
- Reformation units help students see how religious challenge also became a political question.
- Exploration units cover voyages and their consequences in a factual, balanced way.
- Absolutism units show monarchs gathering power that bridges medieval and modern government.
- Source tasks with maps, portraits and pamphlets train students to read arguments in images and texts.
- Differentiated worksheets help with the religious and political vocabulary of the period.
- Creative writing lets students take the view of a reformer, sailor or courtier.
Getting started
A suggested sequence for the block
One way to run the early modern unit. Spend more or less time on each topic as your course requires.
- Recall the medieval church and lordsOpen with a short review of feudal society and the church's role in medieval life. Students need that picture of lords, peasants and clergy to understand what the Reformation and absolutism later changed.
- Teach the Reformation as a power shiftUse the informational texts and worksheets, then a source task. Ask students who gained and who lost authority as new religious ideas spread, and why rulers took sides.
- Treat exploration from several sidesTeach the motives and routes of exploration alongside its effects on the people encountered. Keep the discussion factual and give students sources from more than one perspective where available.
- Connect to absolutismShow how wealth from trade and the end of religious unity helped monarchs build stronger states. A royal portrait makes a good source for discussing image and power.
- Close with a linking taskAsk students to write how the three topics connect, and mark it with one rubric. This gives you evidence that they see the era as a whole.
What to buy
What to buy for an early modern unit
The XXL History Teaching Bundle at $249.90 is the right purchase if the early modern unit is part of a longer course, because the medieval units before it and the modern units after it are included. If your course places the age of exploration and the Enlightenment within world history, compare the World History Complete Curriculum Bundle ($249.90), which covers both along with indigenous peoples. If you want a broader, low-cost supplement, the Complete History Teaching Bundle ($69.90) has lesson plans and source activities for Grades 5–9. Teach-Life-Balance ($89.90) is a separate course on managing workload.
Honest limits
Limits to plan around
The early modern units cover the Reformation, exploration and absolutism; they are not a full study of the Renaissance, the Ottoman Empire or the Enlightenment, which you may need to add. The units are sold only as part of the XXL bundle. The bundle makes no alignment claim, so check it against your own requirements. Topics involving colonization need your judgment about sources and discussion. Team use requires a short message to Teach Lessons first. Within 7 days you can exchange it for store credit of equal value; there is no cash refund.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
Is it aligned to state standards?
No. It is written for history in Grades 6 to 9 and makes no alignment or endorsement claim with any state, national or district framework. Check the early modern units against your requirements, particularly if your course expects the Renaissance, the Ottoman Empire or other non-European empires, and plan to add material where the bundle does not reach.
How is exploration and its impact on Indigenous peoples handled?
Exploration is taught as part of the early modern era with informational texts and source tasks. The approach is factual and balanced, covering motives as well as consequences. Review the material in advance and add perspectives your course requires, for example sources from the peoples Europeans encountered, so students do not see the period from one side only.
Is the Reformation too religious for a public school class?
It is taught as history: why ideas spread, how printing helped them travel and how they changed political power. The focus is on events and their consequences, not on promoting or criticizing any belief. Setting that expectation with students at the start helps keep discussions respectful in a religiously mixed class.
Can students in Grade 7 manage the vocabulary?
Differentiated worksheets give younger readers more support with terms such as indulgence, monarchy and colony. Front-loading key vocabulary with the informational texts before source work also helps. A word wall that grows through the unit gives seventh graders a reference they can use in written answers.
Does it include the Renaissance?
The listed early modern topics are the Reformation, exploration and absolutism. If your course requires a Renaissance unit on art, humanism and city-states, plan to add one. It fits naturally just before the Reformation, since many students will meet printing and new ideas there first.
How quickly can I start?
Right away. The files download right after purchase, and the link also stays in your customer account under Orders. You can prepare the Reformation materials first and set up exploration and absolutism while the first topic is underway, which spreads the preparation over several weeks instead of one long weekend.
Give the early modern era the time it deserves
Open the product page to see the early modern units and the periods that surround them.
See the early modern units →