One of the ways that I've carried out those activities over the years is by having students look through digital archives of images and then sharing their favorite images on a Padlet wall. Along with the image I ask students to share a question that they have about it. Here are three good places to find historical images.
All the materials for the class, including the videos, are available online at www.bighistoryproject.com.
The courses focuses on eight key turning points in history, which it labels as thresholds. The thresholds are the Big Bang, Stars Light Up, New Chemical Elements, Earth and the Solar System, Life on Earth, Collective Learning, Agriculture, and the Modern Revolution.
The goal of Gates, Christian, and Bain is to develop and expand the class across the nation. They are working to align it to Common Core curriculum standards.
Google Earth can help you bring a world of information alive for your students. It can be used with all grade levels, and the possibilities are endless with your imagination! Students can use Google Earth to explore topics like the progress of human civilization, the growth of cities, the impact of civilization on the natural environment, and the impact of natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina. Teachers can use Google Earth demos to get their students excited about geography beyond the static map, or use different Google Earth layers to study transportation, demographics, economics, and in specific local or exotic contexts.