Compelling Question
In what ways did Gutenberg’s printing press impact change in Europe and the world?
What exactly were Johannes Gutenberg's inventions and innovations? How did it impact the printing process?
The Arab Spring, Black Lives Matter, the 2016 Presidential Campaign, are all recent events, which were driven by social media. Though Twitter was only recently invented, the movement of technology-driven mass communication began in the mid-1400s when Johannes Gutenberg invented movable type and the printing press. The Printing Press Inquiry Unit focuses on the technology of mass communication, beginning with paper, typeset, and the printing press, and ends with social media apps like Twitter. Students will analyze primary and secondary source documents and engage in hands-on Formative Performance Tasks as they explore the connections between mass communication technology and the dissemination of ideas that promote social, cultural, political and economic change.
Teacher Background Information
The downloadable background information provides an extensive timeline of the printing press, with highlights on woodblock printing, movable type, papermaking, and Gutenberg’s inventions. It contains insight on scriptorias and how books were written and copied by hand prior to the printing press, and gives examples of illuminations and miniatures. In addition, there is information on Gutenberg’s press, from his vision of the press itself, on typeset and molds, as well as what types of books were printed. Finally the PDF provides context on the vernacular used, the diffusion of printing, and the knowledge and information revolution.
DownloadFormative Performance Tasks
- Create an “owner’s manual” for the Gutenberg Printing Press. Include all the steps necessary to produce a 48-page document.
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Create a pad of personally monogrammed writing paper in the style of Gutenberg printing. Use potatoes to carve character blocks and some version of an inkball to apply ink to the raised characters. Finally, use glue and/or string to bind the pages together.
Featured Sources
Formative Performance Tasks
- Create a map showing the spread of Lutheranism and the distribution of printing presses across Europe in the 16th century. Explain the geographic evidence for a correlation between printing and religion in the 16th century.
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Write a letter from the perspective of a woman in 16th century Bavaria describing the differences between her life and the life of her grandmother who was born a century earlier.
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Formative Performance Tasks
- Create illustrated “how to” instructions for some task that may be unknown to many of your classmates (could be “owner’s manual” from FPT #1), and duplicate them for half the class. Now try to teach the task in class and observe the differences between the students with and without the printed instructions. Based on this experience, describe the impact of the printing press on medical training.
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Create a museum exhibit illustrating the use of art in 15th and 16th century printing. Identify specific pieces produced in and around the regions of Europe that housed printing presses.
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Formative Performance Tasks
- In conjunction with your school cafeteria, create a special lunch menu. Design, duplicate, and distribute to every student a flyer advertising the special menu. Compare the impact of your flyer with that of printed handbills in the 15th and 16th centuries.
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Design and create a student almanac. Include information that you think would be most useful to you and your peers. How does your creation compare with the almanacs of the 15th and 16th centuries?
Featured Sources
Additional Sources
STEM Interdisciplinary – Classroom Paper Recycling: From TryEngineering, “Lesson focuses on how engineers and others have developed and improved the manufacturing of recycled paper”
View LinkSTEM Interdisciplinary – Graphics: Calculating Color: From TryEngineering, “In a digital world we take color for granted. Through off-computer activities, students learn the difference between additive and subtractive color, and how images are generated on screen and transferred to physical print.”
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Museum Partners
