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Human population. It took 200,000 years for us to reach 1 billion and only 200 years to reach 7 billion. And in 1100CE, the world population was only about 368 million, close to the population of the United States today. Check out this simulation of population through time from the American Museum of Natural History.

Holocaust survivor Reva Kibort remembers the starvation and death that surrounded her in the Polish concentration camp, Demblin,  for this PBS Newshour episode of My Brief but Spectacular Career. Kibort says that she was one of eleven kids at the camp and that she was the oldest. This clip might be terrific for any unit on the Holocaust.

Here's a fun history of the Mongols, in song!

Here's a terrific simulation of the changes in African and Middle Eastern empires from the ancient era to the present. Changes in control of the Middle East are as amazing as those in Africa.   Watch as control of the Middle East passes from the Achaemenid Empire in about 400 BCE to the Seleucid, Parthian, Sassanid, Rashidun Caliphate (did not know about this one), Ummayad Caliphate, Abbasid, Saffafids,  Seljuqs, Ilkanate and the Timurids in 1370.

Here's a great podcast all about Ottoman history. It includes episodes on the Tanzimat reforms ,  Islam in West Africa, the Indian Ocean ,  and art of the Quran , to name just a few. You can stream some of the recent episodes online but you have to play older episodes on iTunes where you can also subscribe to the podcast. Most of the podcasts run about 30 minutes. In the art of the Quran, the host takes you through the  Freer Sackler Museum exhibit  which closed in October last year. And the podcast about Islam in West Africa begins with a discussion explaining how Islam came into West Africa.

Here is an excellent video lecture on the mita system from another teacher. It runs about 30 minutes and offers a great overview. I learned stuff about the mita system that I did not know, mainly that it lasted until the end of colonization. I played the first 5 or 10 minutes in class for students and then posted it on classroom. The same professor also has a lecture on the encomienda system as well.

Here is a good reenactment of the unification of Germany from the Learning Corporation of America.  It's dated and a bit corny but does a terrific job of reviewing Bismarck's central role in developing German nationalism through blood and iron.  The documentary reviews the three critical wars--Prussia's attack on Denmark to gain the German-speaking territories of Schleswig-Holstein, Prussia's defeat of the Austrian empire, and the crushing defeat of France in the Franco-Prussian War. The film runs just under 30 minutes

Here is a slave trade data base that uses thousands of documents to show much of that trade. Developed by historians Historian David Eltis and David Richardson, the data base includes information on almost 36,000 voyages. You can search the data base for particular voyages, examine estimates of the trade, or even explore African names. I explored estimates of the slave trade. A table shows the number of slave voyages by country between 1501 and 1825. You'll see that Spain sponsored far more voyages than any other country.  A timeline shows the the number of voyages by year and maps show the source of embarkation and disembarkation. The map is interactive and you can click specific areas and a menu pops up showing the sources and number of slaves disembarking at specific location in the America. The site work work for an interesting webquest.

Teaching Islam ? Want to understand the Muslim world better? Good travel books tell us a lot about the rich Muslim tradition and a lot of great history! Tim Mackintosh-Smith, a British, Yemen-based writer and lecturer put together five travel books that we might consider. The Travels of Ibn Battutah by Ibn Battutah (edited by Tim Mackintosh-Smith) The Road to Oxiana by Robert Byron A Year Amongst the Persians by Edward G Browne The Sindbad Voyage by Tim Severin Night and Horses and the Desert by Robert Irwin (editor) Mackinstosh-Smith reviews each of the books here and explains what makes a good travel writer.