Course Outline

 

Kindergarten:

 

Course Overview

The kindergarten History program teaches basics of world geography with the seven continents. Students will:

• Explore the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, the frozen expanses of Antarctica, and the grasslands and rain forests of Africa

• Learn what it is like to climb the Andes and ride with the gauchos

• Become familiar with the landmarks, people, and stories of many countries in Europe and Asia, as well as North America, including Canada and Mexico

• Learn about American History through biographies of famous figures, from Christopher Columbus and the Pilgrims to Thomas Jefferson and Sacagawea, from Harriet Tubman and Susan B. Anthony to Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt, from Thomas Edison and the Wright brothers to Cesar Chavez and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Course Outline

Our World

• Develop basic geographic awareness of the continents, major oceans, and directions

• Learn to use a simple globe and map

Australia: The Land Down Under

• Locate and explore Australia, and become familiar with its land, people, and wildlife

Europe: Many Countries, Many Stories

• Locate and explore Europe, and become familiar with its countries, people, traditions, monuments, and stories

Asia: The Asian Adventure

• Locate and explore Asia and become familiar with its land, wildlife, people, cities, monuments, and stories

An African Safari

• Locate and explore Africa, and become familiar with its varied geography and climate

• Discover the various ways people and animals have adapted, and learn stories from different cultures

South American Scenes

• Locate and explore South America, become familiar with human and animal life in the rain forest and the pampas, and visit Rio de Janeiro

Antarctica: The Frozen Continent

• Locate and explore Antarctica, and become familiar with the land and wildlife on the world's coldest continent

North America: From Maple Leaf to Cactus Branch

• Locate and explore North America, and become familiar with its land, people, national symbols, and cultural heritage

America the Beautiful

• Develop geographic awareness of the major features of the United States from the song America the Beautiful

The First Americans

• Explore the different cultures and ways of life of Native Americans from the Eastern Woodlands, Plains, and Southwest

A New World

• Become familiar with major historical figures and events surrounding European exploration and settlement of North America, including Christopher Columbus and the Pilgrims

Becoming Our Own Nation

• Learn the significance of the American flag

• Identify major historical figures, events, and songs associated with the Revolutionary War and the early years of the United States

A Nation Grows Up

• Identify major figures, real and legendary, in the westward expansion of the United States

Liberty and Justice for All

• Understand the significance of the Civil War

• Become familiar with reform movements of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries for African Americans, women, and deaf people

America on the Move

• Become familiar with pioneer life, the building of railroads, and immigration

• Learn about the significance of the Statue of Liberty

Doers and Dreamers

• Identify major inventors and social innovators, and understand their impact on American society

Let Freedom Ring

• Recognize major figures, issues, and achievements in the twentieth-century civil rights movement

 

1st Grade:

 

Course Overview

This course kicks off a program that, spanning the elementary grades, provides an overview of world geography and history from the Stone Age to the Space Age. Through lively stories and activities, students will:

• Meet nomadic children in ancient Mesopotamia who settle in the Fertile Crescent

• Explore the great pyramids in ancient Egypt, and meet mighty pharaohs such as King Tut

• Learn about the historical origins of Judaism through stories of Abraham, Joseph, Moses, and David

• Learn about the origins of democracy in ancient Greece, as well as the first Olympic games, the Trojan War, Alexander the Great, and the marvelous myths of the ancient Greeks

• Visit ancient India and hear stories of the historical origins of Hinduism and Buddhism

• Travel down great rivers in ancient China, hear the wisdom of Confucius, and witness the building of the Great Wall

 

Course Outline

Getting Around This Great Big World

• Reinforce basic geographic awareness using simple maps and globes

• Learn about the work of historians and archaeologists

Early Civilizations

• Understand how nomadic people settled down and started villages and cities

• Recognize achievements of early kingdoms in Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt

The Rise of Ancient Empires

• Become familiar with the historical origins of Judaism

• Learn more about civilization in Mesopotamia

Ancient Kingdoms Rise and Fall

• Become familiar with the rise and fall of Mesopotamian, Israeli, and Egyptian empires

Ancient Greece Part I: The Land and the Myths

• Become familiar with the geography, people, and myths of ancient Greece

Ancient Greece, Part II: From Athens to Alexander

• Recognize the significance of democracy

• Recognize the contrast between Greek and Spartan cultures

• Follow the life and campaigns of Alexander the Great

Ancient India

• Learn about the geography and history of ancient India

• Become familiar with the historical origins of Hinduism and Buddhism

Ancient China

• Learn about the geography of China

• Study early leaders in Chinese history

• Learn about the discoveries of silk and paper, the building of the Great Wall, and the development of Chinese writing

 

2nd Grade:

Course Overview

Second graders continue their investigation (spanning grades 1–4) into history from the Stone Age to the Space Age. Through lively stories and activities, second graders will:

• Explore ancient Rome and meet Julius Caesar

• Learn about the beginnings of Christianity during the Roman Empire

• Hear stories of the raiding and trading Vikings

• Appreciate the achievements of early Islamic civilization

• During the early Middle Ages in Europe, meet knights in armor, and hear stories of St. George, Robin Hood, and Joan of Arc

• Visit the medieval African kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai

• Travel the Silk Road across China, and meet the powerful emperor, Kublai Khan

• Learn about the fighting samurai and the growth of Buddhism and Shintoism in feudal Japan

 

Course Outline

Getting Around This Great Big World

• Practice with simple maps and globes to reinforce geographic awareness

• Begin to understand the work of historians and archaeologists

Ancient Rome

• Locate Rome on a map

• Learn about Rome's mythical and historic origins

• Explore life in Rome and Roman gods, goddesses, and myths

From Caesar to Augustus

• Understand the significance of the Roman republic

• Become familiar with the rise, rule, fall, and legacy of Julius Caesar

Roman Empire and Roman Peace

• Learn about Rome under the rule of Augustus Caesar and subsequent emperors

• Understand the historical beginnings of Christianity

• Learn about the relocation of the Empire's capital to Byzantium

Byzantium Rises

• Recognize the contributions of Rome to modern civilization

• Identify the eastern part of the Roman Empire as the Byzantine Empire

• Explain the contributions of Justinian and Theodora

Rome Divides and Falls

• Recognize the significance of Attila the Hun

• Understand how Rome fell to invading warrior tribes

• Discover Rome's lasting contributions to society

• Explore Constantinople

The Early Middle Ages in Western Europe

• Explore the early settling of England and France

• Discover the legendary saga of King Arthur and his court at Camelot

• Learn about the role of monasteries in preserving knowledge

The Rise of Islam

• Become familiar with the origins of Islam

• Learn about major figures, events, and cultural achievements of the Islamic Empire

A World in Turmoil

• Learn about Charlemagne's struggle to unify European tribes

• Explore the Vikings' lives, beliefs, and heroes

• Learn that Vikings raided, conquered, and settled lands on both sides of the Atlantic

The Feudal World

• Become familiar with the concept of feudalism

• Learn about the knight's code of chivalry and about real and legendary acts of honor, courage, and courtliness

Crusades Abroad and Changes in Europe

• Become familiar with real and legendary heroes from the Crusades and the Hundred Years War

• Understand the significance of the terrible plague that swept Europe

Medieval African Empires

• Explore the rich, varied lands and people of medieval Africa

• Follow the travels of Ibn Battuta through Asia, Africa, and the Mediterranean

Medieval China

• Learn about life during the Sui, Tang, Sung, and Yuan dynasties

• Become familiar with the major figures and architectural feats in Chinese history

• Learn about the discoveries of the compass and porcelain, and the development of Chinese trade with Europe

Feudal Japan

• Learn about the history and governance of feudal Japan and about the samurai's code

• Become familiar with the Shinto religion, haiku, and a popular Japanese folktale

 

3rd Grade:

 

Course Overview

Continuing their investigation (spanning grades 1–4) into history from the Stone Age to the Space Age, third grade students will:

• Explore the Renaissance, and meet Petrarch, da Vinci, Michelangelo, Gutenberg, Galileo, and more

• Journey through the Age of Exploration with Dias, da Gama, Magellan, and more

• Get to know the Maya, Aztecs, and Incas

• Visit civilizations in India, Africa, China, and Japan

• During England's Golden Age, meet Elizabeth I, Sir Walter Raleigh, and William Shakespeare

• Explore Jamestown, Plymouth, and the thirteen colonies in Colonial America

• Learn about the American Revolution

Course Outline

Where Do We Go from Here?

• Learn how to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report information from a spatial perspective

• Learn how to analyze the spatial organization of people, places, and environments on the earth's surface

• Understand that people create regions to interpret the earth's complexity

Background to the Renaissance

• Define "Renaissance" as rebirth, referring to a rebirth of interest in the classical civilizations of Greece and Rome

• Describe Greece and Rome as civilizations that valued learning, reason, and human striving and potential

• Characterize the Middle Ages as a dangerous time and an Age of Faith

• Identify Christianity as Europe's dominant faith

• Describe the late Middle Ages as a time when writers, thinkers, and artists rediscovered classical models

The Italian Renaissance

• Identify Italy (with its numerous competing city-states) as the place where the Renaissance began

• Identify Florence, Venice, and Rome as centers of Renaissance learning

• Recognize that artists and scholars were inspired by ancient Greece and Rome

• Describe the Renaissance ideal of a well-rounded individual (Renaissance man)

• Identify key figures, characteristics, and accomplishments of the Italian Renaissance

The Renaissance Elsewhere and the Reformation

• Identify the invention of the printing press as key to the spread of Renaissance ideas and ideals

• Recognize Italy's role in spreading Renaissance ideas to northern Europe

• State that strong monarchs emerged in England, France, and Spain

• Identify key artistic and scientific advances in northern Europe

• Define the Reformation as a split within Christianity

• Identify Martin Luther as a German monk who led the Reformation

• Know that the Reformation created political and religious splits in Europe

Moving from One World to Another

• Locate and identify mountain ranges around the world

• Identify selected mountain peaks on several continents

• Explain the purpose of the scale on a map

• Use the scale on a mp to measure the distance between places

• Name agricultural product maps as maps that show where crops are grown, and animals are raised

• Use an agricultural product map to get information

• Understand how to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report information from a spatial perspective

• Recognize the patterns and networks of economic interdependence on Earth's surface

• Identify how physical systems affect human systems

The Age of Exploration

• Describe the Renaissance as an age of exploration and discovery

• List key advances in navigation that made voyages of discovery possible (for example, caravel, compass, and astrolabe)

• Identify European motivations for voyages of discovery

• Recognize Portugal and Spain as the leading powers of this time

• Identify key individuals and their important voyages

The World They Found

• Recognize that different civilizations and cultures inhabited the Americas before the arrival of Europeans

• List the Maya, Aztecs, and Incas as three major pre-Columbian civilizations, and describe some of their skills and abilities

• Describe the motivations of the Spanish in the New World

• Characterize the conflict of Spanish and Native American civilizations as a clash of civilizations in which the Spanish conquered the Aztec and Inca empires

• Identify key figures in the conflict: Moctezuma, Cortés, Atahualpa, Pizarro, and las Casas

Looking East: Ottomans and Mughals

• Describe the Ottoman and Mughal empires as large and expanding Muslim empires during the Renaissance

• Locate the Ottoman and Mughal empires on a map

• Describe the Ottomans as rivals for trade and territory with European countries such as Spain and Portugal

• Recognize Hinduism and Islam as two faiths present in India

• Identify key places and people in the Ottoman and Mughal empires: Istanbul, Agra, the Süleymaniye mosque, the Taj Mahal, Süleyman, Akbar, and Shah Jahan

Africa, China, and Japan

• Describe the growth of European trade with Africa, China, and Japan

• Understand the impact of New World exploration on the development of a transatlantic slave trade

• Locate the kingdoms of Benin, China, and Japan on a map

• Recognize that both China and Japan closed themselves to the west in this period

• Identify key places, dynasties, people, and products of the three areas: Benin, brass work, the Niger River, Beijing, the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the Ming Dynasty, silk and porcelain, the Tokugawa shogunate, and Francis Xavier

England's Golden Age and Beyond

• Identify the reign of Elizabeth I as a golden age, or time of cultural and political flourishing

• Describe England as an increasingly strong nation-state under Elizabeth I

• Identify Spain as England's main rival

• State that England began to explore and colonize North America

• Identify Shakespeare as England's most famous bard

• Recognize historic English concern for defense of liberties in quarrel with James I and the Glorious Revolution

The America They Found and Founded

• Recognize that different cultures inhabited North America before the arrival of Europeans

• List the Pacific Northwest, desert, Plains, and Eastern Woodland peoples as major cultures, and describe some of their skills and abilities

• Describe various motivations of the English who came to the New World World (for example, gold, religious freedom, land, and freedom from imprisonment)

• Explain that many people with maverick ideas came to the British colonies in North America

• Identify key figures and events in early settlement: John Smith, Pilgrims, Puritans, William Penn, Quakers, James Calvert, Catholics, and James Oglethorpe

• Identify the physical and human characteristics of places

• Recognize the characteristics, distribution, and migration of human populations on the earth's surface

• Observe the processes, patterns, and functions of human settlement

• Understand how physical systems affect human systems

• Learn how to apply geography to interpret the past

The American Revolution

• Describe the North American colonies as proud of their English heritage of liberty

• Explain that American colonists had made laws for the colonies in their own assemblies

• Explain why American patriots believed that being taxed by Parliament was an attack on their liberty

• Identify key events and figures in the American Revolution: Paul Revere's ride; the battle of Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill; the Declaration of Independence; winter at Valley Forge; French aid; Yorktown; George Washington; John Adams; and Thomas Jefferson

• Describe the result of the American Revolution as independence from England and the formation of a modern republic

America: Present to Past

• Discover the geography of the original thirteen colonies

 

4th Grade:

 

Course Overview

Concluding their investigation (spanning grades 1–4) into history from the Stone Age to the Space Age, fourth grade students turn to the study of the modern world. They will:

• Learn about the Age of Enlightenment and the Scientific Revolution, and meet Isaac Newton and Benjamin Franklin

• Become familiar with James Madison and American constitutional government, as well as Napoleon in France

• Learn about various revolutions in Latin America

• See how great changes—nationalism, industrialism, and imperialism—shaped, and sometimes shattered, the modern world, leading to the two world wars

• Study many inventors and innovators who achieved great advances in communication, transportation, medicine, and government

Course Outline

Finding Your Way Around the World

• Maps, Scales, and Finding Our Place

• The Shape of the Land

• Grids Show the Way

Introducing the Modern World: The Scientific Revolution

• What's So Modern About the Modern World?

• William Harvey Gets to the Heart of Things

• What's Under That Microscope?

• A Fly on the Ceiling: The Story of Cartesian Coodinates

• Young Isaac Newton

• A New Kind of Knight

• Curious Ben Franklin

• Diderot's Revolutionary Encyclopedia

Two Democratic Revolutions

• John Locke Spells Out the Laws of Good Government

• Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence

• James Madison and the US Constitution

• George Washington and the American Presidency

• The US Constitution: Three Branches of Government

• The US Constitution: Checks and Balances

• Rumblings of Revolution in France

• Storming the Bastille!

• Farewell, Louis XVI: From Monarchy to Republic

• The Terror

• The Rise of Napoleon

• Washington's Farewell: Stay Out of Europe's Wars

• Napoleon: Lawgiver and Emperor

• Waterloo!

Latin American Revolutions

• Haiti Went First: Toussaint L'Ouverture

• Spanish America and Seeds of Independence

• Miguel Hidalgo: Father of Mexican Independence

• Simón Bolivar: The Liberator

• Liberating the South: San Martíin and O'Higgins

The Industrial Revolution

• James Hargreaves and the Spinning Jenny

• James Watt and the Steam Engine

• Fulton and McAdam: A Revolution in Transportation

• Americans Climb Aboard

• The First Factories

• Capitalism and New Wealth

• Charles Dickens: From Boy to Author

• Karl Marx in London

• The Great Exhibition

The Growth of Nations

• A New Kind of Czar: Peter the Great

• Catherine the Great

• Nicholas Nixes Change

• Greece Against the Ottoman Empire

• The New American Nationalism

• One Nation or Two?

• The Civil War Makes One Nation

• Lincoln's Leadership

• The Brothers Grimm in Germany

• Bismark Unites Germany

• Garibaldi Fights for a United Italy

• The Olympics Revived

The Age of Imperialism

• Livingstone and Stanley in Africa

• The French and the Suez Canal

• Rudyard Kipling: Author and Advocate for Empire

• Germany's "Place in the Sun”

• "A Splendid Little War”: The Spanish-American War

Can Do! An Age of Breakthroughs and Enterprise

• Louis Pasteur

• Speeding It Up: Telegraphs, Sewing Machines, and Typewriters

• The Wizard of Menlo Park: Thomas Edison

• Alexander Graham Bell and the Telephone

• Carnegie and Steel

• Mr. Eiffel Builds a Tower

• Henry Ford Makes Cars Affordable

• Marconi and the Radio

• First in Flight: Orville and Wilbur Wright

• The Panama Canal

Mostly Hard Times: War, the Roaring 20s, and Depression

• The Great War Begins

• In Flanders Fields

• Lafayette, We Are Here!

• Dashed Hopes

• Russia's Dethroned and Lenin Rising

• From Lenin to Stalin

• American Women Get the Vote

• The Roaring 20s

• Charles Lindbergh and Advances in Flight

• Fleming and Penicillin: Advances in Medicine

• The Great Depression

World War II

• The Rise of Dictators

• Hitler's Gamble

• Nazi Blitzkrieg and Axis Expansion

• Churchill Leads Embattled Britain

• The Holocaust

• Pearl Harbor and United States Entry into the War

• D-Day, and Victory in Europe

• The Atomic Bomb and V-J Day

Rebuilding a Better World

• Lending a Hand with the Marshall Plan

• Formation of the United Nations

• End of Empires: Gandhi in India

• The Cold War and the Berlin Wall

• Mao Zedong in China

• Defeating Polio

• A Computer Revolution

• We Will Go to the Moon

• A Polish Pope and Eastern Europe

• The End of the Cold War

 

5th Grade:

 

American History A:

 

Course Overview

The first half of a detailed two-year survey of the history of the United States, this course takes students from the arrival of the first people in North America through the Civil War and Reconstruction. Lessons integrate topics in geography, civics, and economics. Building on the award-winning series A History of US, the course guides students through critical episodes in the story of America. Students investigate Native American civilizations; follow the path of European exploration and colonization; assess the causes and consequences of the American Revolution; examine the Constitution and the growth of the new nation; and analyze what led to the Civil War and its aftermath.

Course Outline

The Earliest Americans

• History and A History of US

• Maps and Directions

• Grids (optional)

• North American Beginnings

• Cliff Dwellers

• Indians of the Northwest

• Touring the Continent

• The Plains Indians

• The Mound Builders

• The Eastern Woodland Indians

European Exploration

• Navigating Uncharted Waters

• Discovering New Lands

• Columbus Journeys On

• The Spanish Conquest

• Ponce de León and Coronado

• More Conquistadors

• The French Explore America

• From England to America

Thirteen Colonies, Part 1

• A Beginning in Virginia

• John Smith and Jamestown

• Tobacco and Turning Points

• Conflict

• Pilgrims and Promises

• What’s a Puritan?

• Waterways or Waterwheels

• Thankful for Feasting (optional)

Thirteen Colonies, Part 2

• Breaks with Tradition: Roger Williams

• Breaks with Tradition: Anne Hutchinson and Mary Dyer

• Visiting Salem

• Elsewhere in New England

• The Middle Colonies

• Toleration Triumphs

• Benjamin Franklin: An American Renaissance Man

• Colonization Heads South

• A Visit to Williamsburg (optional)

• Colonial Life in the South

• Triangles of Trade

Road to Revolution

• Peter’s Press (optional)

• The French and Indian War

• Looking West

• Boone Went Over the Mountain (optional)

• The Stamp of English Rights

• Give Us Liberty!

• The Boston Massacre

• The Shot Heard Round the World

• Map Skills

• A Continental Congress

• The Fighting Begins

• Will You Sign? 

• Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

The American Revolution

• John and Abigail Adams

• Decisions

• Best Friends

• Challenges for the Continental Army

• Turning Points

• Sweet Surrender

• What Did It All Mean?

The Constitution

• Confederation and Constitutions

• The Northwest Ordinance

• Thomas Jefferson: A Man for All Time

• James Madison and a Philadelphia Summer

• An Important Compromise

• We the People

• Ratification!

• Mason Makes His Mark (optional)

• The Constitution: Branches and Balances

• The Constitution: What Does It Say?

• The Bill of Rights

A New Nation

• The Father of His Country and Ours

• The Well Resorted Tavern

• Parties and Change

• Capital Ideas

• Adams Takes the Helm

• Who Will Decide?

• The Louisiana Purchase and More

• An Expedition

• A Powerful Orator, and the Great Tekamthi (optional)

• Another War!

• By the Dawn's Early Light

• The Monroe Doctrine

• Andrew Jackson: An Uncommon Man

• The First Six Presidents (optional)

A New Age and New Industries

• Revolutionary Inventions

• Transportation and Travel

• Steaming

• Cities Grow All Around

• Mills and Mines

• Writing a Document-Based Essay

Americans Take New Land

• Write On, Sequoyah!

• Trails of Tears

• Movement and Migration

• Westward Ho!

• Shakers and Movers

• Don't Forget to Write (optional)

• Manifest Destinies

• Remember More Than the Alamo

• More and More States

• The Mexican War

• Rushing for Gold

Reform and Reflection

• Reforming a Nation

• Achieving Their Potential

• Writing in America

• Write Every Time (optional)

• Art in America

• Made in America (optional)

Slavery and Sectionalism

• Slavery in a Free Country

• Can a Compromise Work?

• Frederick Douglass: A Voice Against Slavery

• Clay, Calhoun, and Webster Speak Out

• Another Compromise

• Where is Justice?

• Not Really a Railroad Underground

• More on the Underground Railroad (optional)

• Is It Ever Okay? (optional)

• Against Slavery: Harriet Beecher Stowe

• Against Slavery: John Brown

• Abraham Lincoln: Larger Than Life

The Civil War

• An Uncivil War

• It Begins

• North Versus South

• Generals North and South

• The War Moves Out to Sea

• Through the Eyes of Mathew Brady (optional)

• Proclaiming Emancipation

• Fighting More Than a War

• Gettysburg and Vicksburg

• Important Words

• Almost Over

• Hope and Sorrow

Reconstruction

• Tragedy

• Now What?

• High Hopes

• Guarantees

• Write About It

• New Era, New President

• Executive Efforts

• Legislative Labors

• Single-Minded Stevens

• A President on Trial

• Turning Back