Curriculum Map

World Cultures

Travel from ancient river valley civilizations to our interconnected modern world. Explore geography, world religions, government systems, economic models, and the human story of cultural exchange. TEKS §113.18 aligned.

14 Units

Early Units (Foundation)

Building Skills

Advanced Concepts

Capstone/Synthesis

What Is Culture?

Explore the elements that make up every human culture and discover the universal patterns that connect societies across the globe.

3-4 days

Geography's Five Themes

Master the five themes of geography and discover how location, place, human-environment interaction, movement, and region shape every culture on Earth.

3-4 days

Ancient River Valley Civilizations

Discover how four great civilizations — Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus Valley, and ancient China — rose along rivers and invented the foundations of modern life.

4-5 days

Classical Greece and Rome

Explore how ancient Greece invented democracy and philosophy while Rome built a republic, a legal system, and an empire that shaped the modern Western world.

4-5 days

Medieval and Renaissance Europe

Trace Europe's journey from the collapse of Rome through the feudal Middle Ages to the explosive creativity of the Renaissance.

4-5 days

Civilizations of Asia

Explore the magnificent civilizations of China, India, and Japan — from the Great Wall to the Taj Mahal to the samurai code — and discover how Asian innovations shaped the entire world.

4-5 days

Civilizations of Africa

Discover the powerful kingdoms of Mali, Songhai, and Great Zimbabwe, and learn how African trade networks connected an entire continent to the wider world.

3-4 days

Civilizations of the Americas

Explore the Maya, Aztec, and Inca civilizations — three powerful societies that built cities, empires, and achievements rivaling anything in the Old World.

3-4 days

World Religions and Belief Systems

Compare the world's major religions and belief systems, understanding what each teaches, where each began, and how faith has shaped civilizations throughout history.

4-5 days

Government Systems Around the World

Compare democracy, monarchy, and authoritarian government systems, and examine how different societies have answered the fundamental question of who gets to rule.

3-4 days

Economic Systems and Global Trade

Compare traditional, market, command, and mixed economies, and explore how trade has connected and transformed cultures throughout history.

3-4 days

Human Rights and Global Citizenship

Explore the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, examine what it means to be a global citizen, and analyze how individuals and communities fight for justice.

3-4 days

Technology, Innovation, and Cultural Change

Trace how transformative inventions — from the printing press to the internet — have reshaped societies, and examine why technology changes cultures in ways no one predicts.

3-4 days

The Connected World: Globalization

Examine how trade, migration, technology, and culture have connected the world into a single global system — and debate whether globalization helps everyone or mostly benefits the powerful.

3-4 days

Learning Progression

This course is designed to be taken sequentially. Earlier units establish foundational concepts that later units build upon. While you can explore units in any order, following the numbered sequence provides the most coherent learning experience.