History is not a fixed set of facts, but a dynamic process of interpretation. You’ll analyze how historians’ perspectives shift over time and how cultural values influence what is considered significant. Using the story of Emperor Augustus as a case study, you’ll analyze different historical sources to see how interpretations change depending on the questions historians investigate. 

In this unit, you’ll investigate how early humans adapted to powerful environmental forces, especially climate change. You’ll trace the evolution of hominins, the global migration of Homo sapiens, the lifeways of foragers, and the rise of symbolic thinking through early art.

Along the way, you'll practice thinking like a historian: asking big questions, analyzing competing interpretations, and evaluating different kinds of evidence. At the heart of the unit is a mystery: Why did the Neanderthals go extinct while Homo sapiens survived? And what can their story teach us about our own? 

Final Project: Explain Why The Neanderthals Went Extinct

In this unit, you’ll investigate one of the most important turning points in human history: the invention of farming. Was it humanity’s greatest breakthrough—or its greatest mistake? Through stories of innovation, adaptation, and survival, you’ll explore how agriculture reshaped where people lived, what they ate, how they worked, and who held power.

But these changes didn’t come without cost. You’ll examine how farming led to inequality, disease, environmental strain, and new forms of dependence and consider why, even with these problems, humans didn’t turn back. Along the way, you’ll learn how historians interpret the past, analyze facts and opinions, and evaluate different arguments.

Final Project: An Advertisement For Farming Or Foraging

Civilizations aren’t just collections of cities—they’re systems made up of interdependent parts. In this unit, you’ll study how the first major civilizations—Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus Valley, and China—survived, grew, and sometimes collapsed. You’ll use the Universal Systems Model to understand how these societies took in resources (inputs), organized labor and institutions (processes), produced outcomes like cities and technology (outputs), and responded to crises (feedback).

Through stories, artifacts, laws, and maps, you’ll explore the values, challenges, and structures that shaped each society. You’ll also practice key historical thinking skills: analyzing primary sources, identifying different types of support, and writing CER arguments to explain your ideas.

Final Project: Essay

This unit explores how African societies used language, art, and symbolism to communicate identity, beliefs, and values across generations.

You’ll investigate how historians interpret artifacts, scripts, oral traditions, and genetic evidence to reconstruct stories from the past, even when the original meaning is unclear. You’ll practice reading evidence, evaluating uncertainty, and comparing interpretations.

Along the way, you’ll deepen your skills in fact vs. opinion analysis, CER writing, and visual synthesis through tools like infographics and Padlet. 

Final Project: Create An Object With A Message That Will Last 2,000 Years.

In this unit, you’ll explore how ancient empires like the Akkadian, Persian, Athenian, and Mauryan used a mix of hard power (military and economic force) and soft power (culture, diplomacy, law) to expand and maintain control. Through primary sources, and guided analysis, you’ll evaluate whether governance and stability came more from strength or from ideas, values, and communication. 

You'll develop skills in source analysis, historical questioning, research tracking, and visual communication.

Final Project: Essay