Full course description
Course Description
World History A is the first semester in a two-semester series that surveys global history from the dawn of civilization to the dawn of the information age. Students will investigate the rise and fall of empires throughout time to better understand how political power, culture, and trade impact societies. In World History A, students will track the evolution from early river valley civilizations to the rise and fall of the classical civilizations of the Mediterranean, India, and China. Finally, the semester culminates with the rise of post-classical empires in the Middle East, Asia, and Europe. Students will have the opportunity to develop skills, such as making comparisons, determining causation, and analyzing change over time.
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS)
UTHS courses are designed in alignment to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) which define the skills and content to be taught in each course and grade level in the state of Texas.
Semester Topics
- Unit 1: Pre-History, The Neolithic Revolution, and Civilizations
- Unit 2: River Valley Civilizations
- Unit 3: Classical Greece
- Unit 4: The Roman Empire
- Unit 5: Classical China
- Unit 6: Classical India
- Unit 7: Post-Classical – The Rise of Islam
- Unit 8: Post-Classical – Asia
- Unit 9: Post-Classical – Middle Ages Europe
Course Objectives
Upon completing this course, you will be able to—
- explain the impact of systematic agriculture on human life, leading to the creation of the River Valley Civilizations;
- identify the impact of political and legal ideas contained in Hammurabi’s Code;
- describe the major political, religious/philosophical, and cultural influences that Greece had on human history;
- compare the causes and effects of the collapse of Classical Empires;
- identify and explain the development of Buddhism and Hinduism and their influence on Classical Indian civilization;
- explain the political, economic, and social impact of Islam on the Middle East;
- describe the spread of knowledge and religion via the Gold-Salt Trade;
- analyze how the Silk Road facilitated the spread of ideas and trade;
- summarize the changes resulting from the Mongol invasions of China, Russia, and the Islamic world;
- describe the factors that led to the development of the political/social system of feudalism and the economic system of manorialism and explain the characteristics of each system.
Required Course Materials
Please visit the Computer Requirements page to view minimum device, internet, and application requirements for all UT High School courses. Generally, a desktop or laptop device five (5) years or newer with access to an office suite, such as Microsoft Office or Google Workspace, will be adequate to participate in most UTHS courses.
Unless otherwise noted, students are responsible for purchasing or securing all the following course materials:
- Textbook: A textbook is not required for this course.
- Interactive Notebook: A paper or digital composition book is acceptable. For paper composition books, please also have the following items on hand:
- Pens or Pencils
- Tape or Glue
Course Organization
Students must complete the course in sequence: You will not be able to access the next unit until all work in the preceding unit is completed. You may take your final exam only after completing all units and submitting all graded assignments.
- Units: Each unit includes multiple lessons and graded assignments as well as ungraded practice quizzes to help you check your understanding of the material.
- Summative Assessments: Each course includes two online, virtually proctored summative assessments testing your understanding of the material presented in the preceding 2-3 Units.
- Format: Online, Multiple-choice
- Time Allowed: 1 hr 30 min
- Final Exam: Each course includes an online, virtually proctored final exam testing your knowledge of all material presented in the course.
- Format: Online, Multiple-choice
- Time Allowed: 3 hrs 20 min
Course Grade Weighting
Your final course grade is calculated by weighting the three assignment groups displayed in the table below:
| Assignment Group | Total Assignments | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Graded Assignments | 12-18 | 50% |
| Summative Assessments | 2 | 25% |
| Final Exam | 1 | 25% |
Online Proctored Exams
All course exams, including both summative assessments and the final exam, must be completed online. Students must test online with Proctorio and are required to add the Proctorio extension to either their Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome browser—installation instructions are provided in the student's course. Proctorio uses a student's computer, web camera, and microphone to record video of both the student and their desktop during the exam. Then, UTHS instructors review the student's exam video data collected by Proctorio. Only authorized UTHS staff and instructors can view the exam recordings. Student data is not shared with any persons or organizations outside of UTHS and are deleted after one year. We encourage you to visit Proctorio's Data Security and Privacy site pages to learn more about how we protect student date.