World history units
Each unit below is a complete set of lessons with a narrative outline, a primary-source packet, and map work. The level column suggests a typical audience, but experienced learners are free to move at their own pace.
| Unit | Era | Period range | Level | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| River Valley Civilizations | Ancient | c. 3500-1200 BCE | Foundation | Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus Valley |
| Ancient Egypt | Ancient | c. 3100-30 BCE | Foundation | Kingship, religion, and monumental building |
| Classical Greece | Classical | c. 800-146 BCE | Intermediate | City-states, philosophy, and democracy |
| The Roman Republic and Empire | Classical | c. 509 BCE-476 CE | Intermediate | Law, citizenship, and imperial rule |
| Ancient China and India | Classical | c. 600 BCE-500 CE | Intermediate | Dynasties, trade, and belief systems |
| The Silk Road | Classical to medieval | c. 200 BCE-1400 CE | Intermediate | Trade, cultural exchange, and disease |
| The Byzantine Empire | Medieval | c. 330-1453 CE | Foundation | Continuity of Roman rule in the East |
| Medieval Europe | Medieval | c. 500-1500 CE | Intermediate | Feudalism, the church, and the Magna Carta |
| Islamic Civilizations | Medieval | c. 610-1500 CE | Intermediate | Caliphates, learning, and global exchange |
| The Age of Sail | Early modern | c. 1400-1800 | Advanced | Oceanic exploration and global contact |
| The Industrial Revolution | Industrial | c. 1750-1900 | Advanced | Mechanization, cities, and labor |
| World Wars and the Modern World | Modern | 1914-present | Advanced | Global conflict, decolonization, and institutions |
How units are ordered
Theme, not just date. The catalog follows chronology for the most part, but it also groups units by theme so that related events can be studied together. The Silk Road, for example, spans both the classical and medieval eras, yet it appears as one continuous unit because the trade network is best understood as a single story. Similarly, the Byzantine Empire is studied alongside medieval Europe even though it preserved many traditions of Roman antiquity. This thematic ordering helps students see connections that a purely year-by-year list might hide.
Global scope of the curriculum
The map below illustrates the regions and trade routes covered across all twelve units in the catalog.
Each unit identifies the geographic regions it covers and provides a base map for students to annotate with borders, trade routes, and key sites. A student studying the Silk Road unit, for instance, will label Samarkand, Dunhuang, Antioch, and Constantinople before tracing the overland and maritime branches of the network.