Grade or classHistory Foundation: Reading world history
- What your child learns
- Students who read English books but lack background knowledge read world history in order, from ancient civilizations to today, and write about it.
Social Studies & History
Your child reads English texts on history, society, and economics and uses evidence to say and write what they think.
Your child reads world history era by era, then answers history questions with evidence, in writing that grows from a single paragraph to a long history essay.
Social studies and history at a glance
What your child learns in each grade
*Hover over or tap a card to see the details and its link.
Grade or classG2–5: World History Class
- What your child learns
- Your child answers history questions with evidence, writing anything from a single paragraph to history essays and independent research.
Grade or classG1–5: School social studies
- What your child learns
- A side-by-side look at the social studies units taught in each grade at US, UK, and IB elementary schools.
Grade or classG6–8: School social studies
- What your child learns
- A side-by-side look at the social studies courses taught in each grade at US and UK schools and in the IB MYP.
Grade or classG9–12: School social studies
- What your child learns
- A side-by-side look at social studies and history courses in AP, IB, IGCSE, A Level, and the Korean curriculum.
History Foundation world history class
History Foundation: Reading and writing about world history in order
Students who can read English books but lack the background knowledge and evidence for essays and debates read world history era by era.
- Era: Ancient civilizations and empires
What your child works on: Your child lays out the causes and effects of events in ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greek democracy, and the Roman Empire, and writes answers to questions.
- Era: The Middle Ages and the Renaissance
What your child works on: Your child looks at how religion and power were tied together and how society changed.
- Era: The Age of Revolutions
What your child works on: Your child compares the background, structure, and lasting impact of the American, French, and Industrial Revolutions.
- Era: The modern world
What your child works on: Your child learns about the world wars and modern history and compares them with problems in society today.
- Era: Advanced activities (recommended after the regular course)
What your child works on: Your child writes an essay comparing two eras or events, rebuts the opposing argument with evidence, then takes part in a final debate and gives a presentation.
What your child reads and writes in each class, in order
- Read The Story of the World to get the big picture of an eraStory Input
- Find key concepts like power and tradeConcept Extraction
- Work through questions like "Why did it happen?" and "What if things had been different?"Thinking Questions
- Write a logical paragraph on a worksheetAcademic Writing
- Present and debate their own opinionSpeaking & Debate
Your child writes in PEE structure
For a question like "Was the Roman Empire successful?", your child writes their own view (Point), historical facts (Evidence), and an explanation that connects the two (Explanation).
Assessment
A rubric assesses two areas, Knowing and Understanding and Investigating, and you receive the results in a History Report.
Moving on to competitions and research papers
Students who finish the advanced activities can go on to prepare for the John Locke Institute Essay Competition, Model UN (MUN) debates, or the IB Extended Essay (the IB research paper).
World History Class for ages 9–12
World History Class: From a single paragraph to a history essay
A one-on-one class for students ages 9–12 who read at a high level in English and ask "why?" a lot, but need practice turning their thoughts into logical writing.
A reading and writing test before the class sets the length and difficulty of the writing, and students who are ready go on to write history essays of 600–1,000 words.
- Step: 1Writing practice: Paragraph: Write a complete paragraph
- Step: 2Writing practice: Claim & Evidence: Make a claim and back it up
- Step: 3Writing practice: Cause & Effect: Explain causes and effects
- Step: 4Writing practice: Compare & Contrast: Find similarities and differences
- Step: 5Writing practice: Perspective Analysis: Analyze different points of view
- Step: 6Writing practice: Argument & Counterargument: Argue a claim and respond to counterarguments
- Step: 7Writing practice: Historical Essay: Write a history essay
- Step: 8Writing practice: Independent Research: Research a question on their own
Eras and history questions your child explores
Civilizations and empires
Early civilizations, Greece, Alexander, Rome: "Why do civilizations rise and fall?" "Why did Rome fall?"
Ideas and connections
World religions, the Silk Road, the Mongols, the Black Death: "Were the Mongols destroyers, or did they connect the world?"
Exploration and encounters
The Renaissance, the Age of Exploration, Columbus: "Was Columbus an explorer or a conqueror?"
Revolution and progress
The Enlightenment, revolutions, the Industrial Revolution, imperialism: "Did the Industrial Revolution make life better?"
War and the modern age
World Wars I and II and the atomic age: "Could World War I have been prevented?"
Steps in your child's independent research
- Choose a research question
- Gather sources
- List sources with a summary and evaluation of eachAnnotated Bibliography
- Form a central claimThesis
- Build the argument with evidence
- Finish the final project
Research projects
Your child turns the research into a paper, documentary, exhibit, or presentation and adds it to their portfolio. Students who are ready can go on to NHD (National History Day)–style research or argumentative essay competitions like the John Locke Institute Essay Competition.
Books and sources your child reads in World History Class
| Book or material | What your child learns from it |
|---|---|
| A Little History of the World (E. H. Gombrich) | Your child reads it at home every week to get the big picture of world history. |
| Historical Evidence Pack (sources compiled for class) | The core class material: primary and secondary sources, maps, speeches, and photos chosen for each question and adapted to your child's level. |
| Reading Like a Historian (a history reading curriculum from the US Digital Inquiry Group) | Your child uses it to practice comparing several sources and judging which argument is more convincing. |
| Supplementary reading | Your child also reads Horrible Histories, The Story of Science, the Who Was? / What Was? series, Steve Sheinkin's Bomb, and other books chosen to match each topic. |
Primary sources are records made at the time of an event; secondary sources are later writing by people who studied it.
Sample class: Was Alexander really "great"?
Reading at home
Your child reads the chapter on Alexander in Gombrich's A Little History of the World before class.
Comparing viewpoints in sources
Your child reads a map and two or three short primary sources and compares the Greek view with that of the Persians and the people Alexander conquered.
Building an evidence chart
Your child sorts evidence on the scale of conquest, spread of culture, destruction of cities, and treatment of local people into for and against columns.
Writing in the last 20–30 minutes
Your child first acknowledges what's fair in the other side's view, then writes in Claim, Evidence, Reasoning order.
School social studies by grade
Grade levels and course names can vary by school.
*Click to expand the details.
G1–5Elementary social studies at US, UK, and IB schools
G6–8Social studies at US and UK schools and in the IB MYP
G9–12AP, IB, IGCSE, A Level, and Korean social studies and history courses
Enrollment
What we'll go over in consultation
| What to settle | Details |
|---|---|
| Reading and homework | Which books your child reads at home each week, and how much homework there is |
| Number of classes | Whether to add the advanced activities after the History Foundation regular course, and the total number of classes |
Comparing school social studies in grades 1–5