World History Project Guide
WORLD HISTORY COURSE GUIDEContentsWhy teach OER Project: World History? .............................................................................................................2Overview of OER Project: World History Courses .............................................................................................2Course Problem and Learning Objectives ...........................................................................................................3Course Frames .....................................................................................................................................................3Course Structure and Materials...........................................................................................................................4Standards Alignment ............................................................................................................................................5Skills .....................................................................................................................................................................5Assessment ..........................................................................................................................................................7Support and contact information .........................................................................................................................8OER Project: World History (WH) is a high-school history curriculum like no other. Easily aligned to your state’s social studies standards, WH provides you with the tools to turn every student into a young historian.
2World History Course GuideWhy teach OER Project: World History?Each school, district, and state is distinct in its approach to world history. That’s why we’ve designed world history courses that give you the flexibility to meet your specific requirements. Choose from our three offerings—Origins, 1200, or 1750—or pick and choose lessons or materials from each. We also offer an AP®version, designed to align with the Modern World History: Course and Exam Description. Click here to learn more. Whatever course you choose, you and your students will have access to the content, tools, and essential skills woven throughout the curriculum.Our approachEncourage inquiry-based learning: Lesson plans and activities allow students to explore historical causes, impacts, and potential solutions.Focus on skills: WH courses emphasize eight core skills:• Reading• Writing• Claim testing• Sourcing• Causation• Comparison• Contextualization• Continuity and change over timeInspire interest: Articles, videos, graphic biographies, activities, and more, all designed to engage students at many levels.Overview of OER Project: World History CoursesThe “Flavors” of World HistoryWorld-history standards vary widely among states. With that in mind, we offer three WH periodizations: Origins to the Present, 1200 to the Present, and 1750 to the Present. Each version of the course includes carefully scaffolded units and lessons that you can use throughout your school year. Our world-history course materials (activities, readings, videos, writing assessments, and more) will support your students in drawing a line from the past to the present, with an eye to the future.Which Periodization Is Right for You?If your state standards start with early humans, the WH Origins course is the best choice. If your state standards begin a bit later in history, the WH 1200 course provides more context for the massive worldwide changes that manifested around 1450 CE. The WH 1750 course is best for teachers in states like California and New York, where state world-history standards begin around the year 1750 CE. Do you need more flexibility than the full WH courses provide? Feel free to use materials from all three versions to create your own scope and sequence for the year. Check out the individual course overviews to learn more about each course: Origins, 1200, 1750.Course Goals1. Develop an understanding of the role history plays in shaping our present and future.2. Build critical-thinking skills needed to consider important questions, gather and analyze evidence, and build informed arguments in a way that is applicable across disciplines.3. Engage in meaningful historical inquiry through analysis of a wide range of materials from different perspectives.