Exploring World History
Complete High School World History Curriculum
Are you looking for a world history curriculum for your high school student that is complete and easy to use? Exploring World History covers all periods of history—ancient, medieval, and modern—from the perspective of faith in God and respect for His Word. It offers a thorough survey of Western civilization with significant coverage of Latin America, Africa, and Asia.
High School Credit
Author Ray Notgrass designed the curriculum for students to use successfully anytime in high school--9th grade, 10th grade, 11th grade, or 12th grade. It combines the flexibility and richness of a literature-based unit study approach with the simplicity of a textbook-based approach.
Daily lessons guide your student through the history of the world, highlighting key events, people, and places. With the lessons already planned, your student can use the curriculum independently.
If you use the course as written, your student can earn one year of credit in three high school subjects: World History, English, and Bible. However, the course is flexible, so you can adjust the assignments as needed to fit your student's schedule and needs.
- The World History credit involves reading the lessons and the original documents (and answering the questions in the optional Student Review if desired).
- The English credit involves completing several writing assignments, including one research paper, and reading the assigned literature, poems, and short stories in In Their Words.
- The Bible credit involves reading large portions of the Bible and completing the Bible study lesson for each unit.
What's Included
The Exploring World History Curriculum Package includes everything you need for a successful study.
- Two beautiful hardbound books feature narrative lessons with hundreds of colorful photographs and historic illustrations.
- A book of primary source documents reveals what people were thinking and feeling in the past.
- Weekly project ideas include a writing assignment and two other creative assignments such as building a model, cooking, making a video, or volunteering.
- Literature reading and Bible study assignments are part of the English and Bible credits.
We suggest twelve literature titles that coordinate with the lessons and enhance your student's understanding of different time periods and parts of the world. We also offer optional review activities and tests.
Watch our intro video and keep reading to learn how the curriculum works, see sample lessons, and read what parents are saying.
Quick Overview
Exploring World History is designed to be easy to use for parent and student. Each of the 30 weekly units has an introduction that features a summary of the material covered, a list of lessons, Bible memory work, books required for that unit, and suggested writing assignments and hands-on projects. Each of the 150 daily lessons (five lessons per week) includes the history text and the assignments for that day. A focused student can direct his own study, and the parent can offer as much interaction as needed. Depending on how fast your student reads and how much time he spends on the unit projects, he may need an average of two to three hours for each daily lesson.
If you prefer a video overview, watch author Ray Notgrass explain how the components work together as he walks you through a sample unit from the curriculum.
What's In the Curriculum Package
The Exploring World History Curriculum Package includes these three books:
Exploring World History Part 1
This book has 75 lessons for the first semester that start with ancient history. It shows how the people and events of the Bible connect with other ancient civilizations. This volume covers ancient Greece, ancient Rome, and the coming of Christ and establishment of the Church. It concludes with units on the middle ages in Europe after the decline of Rome.
Exploring World History Part 2
This book has 75 lessons for the second semester covering history from the Renaissance and Protestant Reformation to the 21st century. In addition to units focused on Western civilization, separate units focus on how developments in Africa, Asia, and Latin America have shaped those regions in modern times.
In Their Words
This collection of original documents, speeches, poems, and stories from different periods in history supplements the lessons.
Optional Resources
We offer an optional Student Review Pack to help measure your student's understanding of the material. We also offer a literature package with twelve recommended titles.
Student Review Pack
The Student Review book features daily review questions, literature review questions, and Bible commentary. The Quiz and Exam Book includes a quiz for each unit and six exams. The Answer Key includes all the answers needed for the course.
Literature Package
The Literature Package includes the twelve books assigned as part of the English credit. The collection includes five novels, a play, three biographies, and three other nonfiction works.
What the Lessons Are Like
Exploring World History is divided into 30 units with five lessons each. The units go through history from Creation to the present in roughly chronological order, though some units focus on a particular part of the world over a broader period of time. Your student can complete the curriculum in one year by doing one lesson per day for 150 days during your school year.
Your student can read the daily lessons and follow the instructions independently. You as the parent can be involved as much or as little as you desire.
Reading one lesson will take about 20 minutes per day. At the end of each lesson is a list of assignments like this:
Depending primarily on how fast your student reads, he or she may need a total of two to three hours per day to complete the additional readings and work on the weekly project.
Watch author Ray Notgrass explain how the components of Exploring World History work together as he walks you through a sample unit from the curriculum.
We recommend twelve works of literature that complement the lessons in Exploring World History. These books are not essential for understanding the lessons, but each one adds a valuable perspective on a different time period.
Reading the literature is part of earning the English credit. If your student has already read one of the assigned books, or you want to choose a different book for any reason, you can substitute a different book.
Part 1
- Units 3-5: The Cat of Bubastes (G. A. Henty)
- Unit 8: The Art of War (Sun Tzu)
- Unit 10: Julius Caesar (William Shakespeare)
- Units 13-14: The Imitation of Christ (Thomas à Kempis)
Part 2
- Units 16-18: Here I Stand (Roland Bainton)
- Units 19-20: A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens)
- Units 21-22: North and South (Elizabeth Gaskell)
- Units 23-24: The Hiding Place (Corrie Ten Boom)
- Unit 25: Animal Farm (George Orwell)
- Units 26-27: Bridge to the Sun (Gwen Terasaki)
- Units 28-29: Cry, the Beloved Country (Alan Paton)
- Unit 30: The Abolition of Man (C. S. Lewis)
Read sample lessons and see sample pages from the student review materials with these PDF files.
Table of Contents / Introduction
Guide for Parents and Answer Key
Grounded in the Scriptures
Quality But Affordable
"Our daughter Hannah is in 9th grade and is loving World History! We have struggled to find a History curriculum that is not only quality but affordable, Christ-centered and thorough. The way that Bible, Literature and History are tied together and discussed is wonderful. The schedule has been invaluable, as Hannah is able to mark off what she has done and keep herself on track." (Idaho)
Excited About What She Was Learning
"My daughter grew spiritually this year. I attribute a lot of her growth to [Exploring World History]. Ray Notgrass taught this history in such a way that she learned to look at history from God's perspective, which helps her to interpret current events in light of God's word. She came to me every day so excited about what she was learning about God and His ways." (Oklahoma)
Captured Their Interest
Ray Notgrass is a follower of Jesus and a veteran homeschooling father. He met his wife, Charlene, at Middle Tennessee State University in the political science department. After graduating they were married in 1974. Ray went on to earn master's degrees in history and New Testament. Ray and Charlene are lifelong history lovers and began writing homeschool curriculum in 1999. They enjoy classic literature, traveling together, and spending time with their children and grandchildren.
Complete High School World History Curriculum
Are you looking for a world history curriculum for your high school student that is complete and easy to use? Exploring World History covers all periods of history—ancient, medieval, and modern—from the perspective of faith in God and respect for His Word. It offers a thorough survey of Western civilization with significant coverage of Latin America, Africa, and Asia.
High School Credit
Author Ray Notgrass designed the curriculum for students to use successfully anytime in high school--9th grade, 10th grade, 11th grade, or 12th grade. It combines the flexibility and richness of a literature-based unit study approach with the simplicity of a textbook-based approach.
Daily lessons guide your student through the history of the world, highlighting key events, people, and places. With the lessons already planned, your student can use the curriculum independently.
If you use the course as written, your student can earn one year of credit in three high school subjects: World History, English, and Bible. However, the course is flexible, so you can adjust the assignments as needed to fit your student's schedule and needs.
- The World History credit involves reading the lessons and the original documents (and answering the questions in the optional Student Review if desired).
- The English credit involves completing several writing assignments, including one research paper, and reading the assigned literature, poems, and short stories in In Their Words.
- The Bible credit involves reading large portions of the Bible and completing the Bible study lesson for each unit.
What's Included
The Exploring World History Curriculum Package includes everything you need for a successful study.
- Two beautiful hardbound books feature narrative lessons with hundreds of colorful photographs and historic illustrations.
- A book of primary source documents reveals what people were thinking and feeling in the past.
- Weekly project ideas include a writing assignment and two other creative assignments such as building a model, cooking, making a video, or volunteering.
- Literature reading and Bible study assignments are part of the English and Bible credits.
We suggest twelve literature titles that coordinate with the lessons and enhance your student's understanding of different time periods and parts of the world. We also offer optional review activities and tests.
Watch our intro video and keep reading to learn how the curriculum works, see sample lessons, and read what parents are saying.
Quick Overview
Exploring World History is designed to be easy to use for parent and student. Each of the 30 weekly units has an introduction that features a summary of the material covered, a list of lessons, Bible memory work, books required for that unit, and suggested writing assignments and hands-on projects. Each of the 150 daily lessons (five lessons per week) includes the history text and the assignments for that day. A focused student can direct his own study, and the parent can offer as much interaction as needed. Depending on how fast your student reads and how much time he spends on the unit projects, he may need an average of two to three hours for each daily lesson.
If you prefer a video overview, watch author Ray Notgrass explain how the components work together as he walks you through a sample unit from the curriculum.
What's In the Curriculum Package
The Exploring World History Curriculum Package includes these three books:
Exploring World History Part 1
This book has 75 lessons for the first semester that start with ancient history. It shows how the people and events of the Bible connect with other ancient civilizations. This volume covers ancient Greece, ancient Rome, and the coming of Christ and establishment of the Church. It concludes with units on the middle ages in Europe after the decline of Rome.
Exploring World History Part 2
This book has 75 lessons for the second semester covering history from the Renaissance and Protestant Reformation to the 21st century. In addition to units focused on Western civilization, separate units focus on how developments in Africa, Asia, and Latin America have shaped those regions in modern times.
In Their Words
This collection of original documents, speeches, poems, and stories from different periods in history supplements the lessons.
Optional Resources
We offer an optional Student Review Pack to help measure your student's understanding of the material. We also offer a literature package with twelve recommended titles.
Student Review Pack
The Student Review book features daily review questions, literature review questions, and Bible commentary. The Quiz and Exam Book includes a quiz for each unit and six exams. The Answer Key includes all the answers needed for the course.
Literature Package
The Literature Package includes the twelve books assigned as part of the English credit. The collection includes five novels, a play, three biographies, and three other nonfiction works.
What the Lessons Are Like
Exploring World History is divided into 30 units with five lessons each. The units go through history from Creation to the present in roughly chronological order, though some units focus on a particular part of the world over a broader period of time. Your student can complete the curriculum in one year by doing one lesson per day for 150 days during your school year.
Your student can read the daily lessons and follow the instructions independently. You as the parent can be involved as much or as little as you desire.
Reading one lesson will take about 20 minutes per day. At the end of each lesson is a list of assignments like this:
Depending primarily on how fast your student reads, he or she may need a total of two to three hours per day to complete the additional readings and work on the weekly project.
Watch author Ray Notgrass explain how the components of Exploring World History work together as he walks you through a sample unit from the curriculum.
We recommend twelve works of literature that complement the lessons in Exploring World History. These books are not essential for understanding the lessons, but each one adds a valuable perspective on a different time period.
Reading the literature is part of earning the English credit. If your student has already read one of the assigned books, or you want to choose a different book for any reason, you can substitute a different book.
Part 1
- Units 3-5: The Cat of Bubastes (G. A. Henty)
- Unit 8: The Art of War (Sun Tzu)
- Unit 10: Julius Caesar (William Shakespeare)
- Units 13-14: The Imitation of Christ (Thomas à Kempis)
Part 2
- Units 16-18: Here I Stand (Roland Bainton)
- Units 19-20: A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens)
- Units 21-22: North and South (Elizabeth Gaskell)
- Units 23-24: The Hiding Place (Corrie Ten Boom)
- Unit 25: Animal Farm (George Orwell)
- Units 26-27: Bridge to the Sun (Gwen Terasaki)
- Units 28-29: Cry, the Beloved Country (Alan Paton)
- Unit 30: The Abolition of Man (C. S. Lewis)
Read sample lessons and see sample pages from the student review materials with these PDF files.
Table of Contents / Introduction
Guide for Parents and Answer Key
Grounded in the Scriptures
Quality But Affordable
"Our daughter Hannah is in 9th grade and is loving World History! We have struggled to find a History curriculum that is not only quality but affordable, Christ-centered and thorough. The way that Bible, Literature and History are tied together and discussed is wonderful. The schedule has been invaluable, as Hannah is able to mark off what she has done and keep herself on track." (Idaho)
Excited About What She Was Learning
"My daughter grew spiritually this year. I attribute a lot of her growth to [Exploring World History]. Ray Notgrass taught this history in such a way that she learned to look at history from God's perspective, which helps her to interpret current events in light of God's word. She came to me every day so excited about what she was learning about God and His ways." (Oklahoma)
Captured Their Interest
Ray Notgrass is a follower of Jesus and a veteran homeschooling father. He met his wife, Charlene, at Middle Tennessee State University in the political science department. After graduating they were married in 1974. Ray went on to earn master's degrees in history and New Testament. Ray and Charlene are lifelong history lovers and began writing homeschool curriculum in 1999. They enjoy classic literature, traveling together, and spending time with their children and grandchildren.
Exploring World History Purchase Options
Are you ready to experience all that Exploring World History has to offer? Order today with confidence. If you are not satisfied for any reason, we offer a full money-back guarantee.
Use the product links below to order online or call 1-800-211-8793. If you have any questions about choosing the right options for your child, please call, text, or email us.