1. Five AP World History Themes
Help to organize historical information
Help to get the “big picture”
Can assist in seeing similarities and differences, and continuities and changes in history. In theory, all characteristics and events in history fall into one or more of these 5 themes.

2. Theme 1: Interaction Between Humans and the Environment
How the environment shapes human societies
How humans impact/use the environment (pollution, deforestation, natural resources, etc.)
Technology that helps humans conquer the environment
Diseases and their impacts
The larger the population, the greater the human influence on the environment, especially after the Industrial Revolution
Eventually, human conservation/protection of the environment

3. Theme 2: Development and Interaction of Cultures
Origins, uses, spread, and adaptation of ideas, beliefs, and knowledge within and between societies
By identifying the cultural characteristics of a society, we can better identify what makes them similar and different from other cultures around the world
By analyzing the culture of a society over time, we can better understand major changes to belief systems in a society, along with the causes and effects of those changes

4. Theme 3: State-Building, Expansion, and Conflict
Understanding and comparing different types of governments over time, and how those governments change
Different types of states (civilizations, empires, nations, etc) and comparisons between them
Relationships between various states, including diplomacy, warfare, exchanges economically and culturally, and international organizations
Understanding how the development of a state is related to that states culture, environment, social structures, forms of production, and gender roles

5. Theme 4: Creation, Expansion, and Interaction of Economic Systems
Patterns and systems that humans have developed to produce, distribute, and consume goods and services
Major changes in economic systems over time (rise of farming, industrial rev. etc.)
Development and transformation of labor systems over time (slavery, job specialization, free labor, working class, etc.)
Effects of trade systems including increased communication, cultural and technological diffusion, migration, and creation of new societies

6. Theme 5: Development and Transformation of Social Structures
Relationships between humans, how societies develop ways of grouping/organizing their people.
Societies often group themselves based on kinship (families by blood), religion, and hierarchies of gender, race, wealth, and class.
Understand the causes and effects of how these social structures and practices are created, maintained, and transformed over time

7. Easy to remember right? Or, we can remember SPICE
Pass out SPICE charts!
On the SPICE chart, write down the theme name next to the category you think it best matches.

8. Works Cited College Board Norma Marsh Google Images
World History For Us All