Age of Enlightenment World History PowerPoint & Notes

Define the Enlightenment and identify when it began and reached its height.

Name each of the six featured political thinkers and state their key belief, such as Locke's natural rights or Montesquieu's separation of powers.

Recognize major Enlightenment-era developments, including the salons, key scientific discoveries, and the American and French Revolutions.

Insert portrait images for each thinker and event before presenting — the slides currently include placeholder prompts such as 'Insert an image of Thomas Hobbes here.'

Distribute the fill-in-the-blank outline before starting the slideshow so students can complete it as each section plays, since its blanks follow the same order as the presentation.

Pause at each of the five built-in think-pair-share slides to let students discuss with a partner before sharing out, since the lesson is structured around that discussion routine.

Historical content recall — students record and later recall each thinker's name and core belief from direct instruction, such as Voltaire's stance on religious and political freedom.

Comparative analysis — students weigh several thinkers' beliefs against each other to answer which had 'the most important belief or idea' during a think-pair-share.

Cause-and-effect reasoning — students connect Enlightenment ideas to the American and French Revolutions that followed them.

Collaborative discussion — students practice think-pair-share, forming and defending an opinion with a partner before sharing with the class.