World History I

7th Grade World History I surveys the story of the human past from the period before written records (prehistory) through the fourteenth century.

The course is organized chronologically and, within broad eras, regionally. Students examine change over time, including the development of religion, philosophy, the arts, and science and technology.

Geography concepts and skills are introduced as they appear in the context of the historical narrative. Students explore what archaeologists and historians have learned about the earliest hunter-gatherers and farmers and then study the four river valley civilizations.

They also study the origins of Confucianism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism and the eras in which they developed. The second half of the course traces the history of classical Greece and Rome, the Byzantine Empire, and the origins of Christianity and Islam, continuing to the fourteenth century in Europe, North Africa, and East Asia. Students develop and refine historical thinking skills by practicing document and art analysis, conducting research, and analyzing events from multiple perspectives. They also practice map reading skills, study how historians draw conclusions about the past as well as what those conclusions are, and connect past events to today’s world.