High School World History: Resources for Students, Teachers and Parents
Studying world history provides important perspectives on the past and offers direction for the future. Our High School World History Web Guide connects you to the best online content for study guides and links to original documents, educational activities and much more. Bring history alive in the classroom and at home with our High School World History Web Guide.
Expand All Guide SectionsStudent Resources for High School World History
In high school you’re expanding your knowledge about the world, learning about different cultures and exploring different periods that have shaped where you sit today. The Web sites in this section can help you find what you need for your everyday homework and for those important class projects. We’ve even included a few links to fun activities for when you finish your schoolwork.
Dulcinea's Insight
- Anyone can post information on the Internet, but not everyone is trustworthy or credible. If you’re going to use sites not included in this Web guide, pay attention to the Web address of the sites where you get your information. Sites that end with “.gov” and “.edu” are generally trustworthy; “.org” Web sites vary, so be careful. Don’t trust information you get from chat rooms and be wary of sites that end in “.com” or “.net.”
- Ask your teacher or school librarian for a list of preferred resources for bigger projects. They’ve usually done the research already, and may have specific Web sites that they want you to use.
Dulcinea's Picks
For world history research projects and essays …
HyperHistory
presents hundreds of timelines categorized into several topics. The navigation is clear and easy: choose a time period from the right sidebar and the timeline appears in the central box. The timelines all contain links to additional information outside the Web site that you might also find helpful.
The BBC’s History site
provides abundant resources for European history, particularly the history of Great Britain. Read what it was like to live in England during World War II, explore ancient history or brush up on your kings and queens. Check out the “Historic Figures” for short biographies on important players. This site also offers educational games that challenge your knowledge.
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s
“For Students” site walks you through the Holocaust as either a survivor or as someone who perished. You’ll find original documents, interactive maps, and even a module where you follow a prisoner’s life. You also have access to loads of information for a class project or presentation. Beware, however, this site contains some graphic photos.
For world history homework help …
Fact Monster’s
“Homework Center” is a great reference for all your world history questions. Look for maps, important documents, information about population and government structure, funny laws, timelines, and more. Visit the Fact Monster homepage for games and even blogs.
Jiskha
is the place to go for fast answers and homework help from more than 200 experts who volunteer every day to assist students like you. Simply post your question and one or more Jiskha-certified teachers will respond, sometimes in as little as an hour. There’s also an extensive directory of helpful articles and links.
For fun when your homework is done …
TravelPod
has a fast-paced geography game that quizzes students on locations of world capitals. Browse the list of other challenges to be quizzed on the location of popular cities, “Flags of the World,” and more.
Best of History Web Sites
offers games listed by historical period. There are several interesting challenges here that are both fun and informative. Many of the games take some time to play or solve, so make sure your work is done first.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
helps you explore world culture and history through art. The many interesting activities here include dancing with famous painter Edgar Degas and exploring the museum’s many other collections.
Teaching Resources for High School World History
There are so many fantastic world history resources online that, as a teacher, your biggest problem may be choosing which to use in your classroom. That’s why we’re here. This section tells you what to look for and what to avoid, and showcases the best Web sites for lesson plans, curricula and enrichment.
Dulcinea's Insight
- Don’t get fooled into paying for resources. Although some pay sites offer dependable content, you’re just as likely to find great stuff somewhere else. Museums, government entities, universities and well-known broadcast media all offer excellent resources at no charge and are often more engaging than pay-site material.
- High school is a good time to hone your students’ investigative skills and teach them to think like historians. The Web is full of primary resources that your students can use as artifacts that, when put together, tell a whole story.
- There are many great references throughout findingDulcinea.com that can greatly enrich the world history experience in your classroom. For a bit of history each day, try out the On this Day feature in our “Beyond the Headlines” section.
Dulcinea's Picks
For world history lesson plans and curricula …
PBS
maintains a top-notch site for educators. Although this site can be intimidating at first glance, it’s very functional and easy to use. Choose a grade level and subject matter from the dropdown menus to get a list of several thoughtful lesson plans, many of which include printable copy masters.
The Center for History and New Media
helps you teach history like a historian. The Center focuses on using primary sources to understand how history is written. As such, you’ll find access to abundant documents, paintings, photographs and art as well as instructions on how to use them in your classroom. Use the “Teaching Sources” link to read case studies written by other teachers for inspiration.
EDSITEment
is hosted by the National Endowment for the Humanities and offers interesting lessons that are searchable by grade level and subject. If you’re the kind of teacher who prefers to go deep on certain issues, this site is for you.
SCORE
(Schools of California Online Resources for Education) provides a database searchable by keyword, grade and California Social Studies Standard. It’s not just for California teachers, though. There are abundant lesson plans and a wealth of student-generated material that can act as models for your students to follow.
For world history reference and other resources …
Exploring Ancient World Cultures
provides excellent resources for studying the ancient world. The site provides an overview of ancient history that answers the question, “Why Study Ancient World Cultures?” The eight thumbnails at the top of the page are linked to resources that include original texts, timelines and scholarly essays.
The World History Archives
connects you to hundreds of documents that present history from a non-Eurocentric viewpoint. The links are organized by world region, making navigation easy, or you can search by keyword. Use these documents to broaden you students’ perspectives of important world events.
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s
“For Teachers” offers everything you need to teach the Holocaust. Access original documents, engaging lessons and even professional development material. Browse the “Exemplary Lessons Initiative” section for excellent ideas and examples of how to use these resources.
Resources for High School World History Parents
As a parent, it can be a challenge to keep up with what your teens are studying in school. We’ve found Web sites that can give you a better idea of what your kids are learning and provide useful, age-appropriate resources you can use to help them further their studies at home.
Dulcinea's Insight
- There are many ways that parents can integrate world history into their children’s lives outside school. Taking trips to museums (real or virtual), discussing current events, encouraging curiosity—these all benefit your teen’s development into an adult.
- A museum doesn’t have to be about history to be a good source of history lessons. For example, the Web site of the Metropolitan Museum of Art has a “Timeline of Art History” linked to art resources from around the world for various time periods. Its “Explore and Learn” section has interesting activities for students such as dancing with Edgar Degas and the museum’s many other collections.
- One of the best ways to help your teenager is to ask her history teacher what the class is studying and supplement those subjects at home. The other sections of this Web guide will be of particular interest to many parents and can provide inspiration for ways to get your child interested in world history.
- If you’re homeschooling your children, you might spend some time browsing the “Teaching Resources for High School World History” section of this Web guide. For many more Web sites that can help you with homeschooling in a variety of ways, see our findingDulcinea Homeschooling Web Guide.
Dulcinea's Picks
For world history educational standards …
SCORE
(Schools of California Online Resources for Education) provides the best overview of the key concepts your high schooler should be learning. This is a great place to start organizing your thoughts about how you want to supplement and enhance your child’s world history education. Note, however, that if you browse the rest of the SCORE site you may find the surfing somewhat difficult.
FunBrain’s
“Standards Finder” tells you what students in a particular subject and grade level should be learning. Although this might not line up exactly with what your child is learning in school, it can provide some ideas for at-home material that might be helpful to your child.
For enrichment activities and history resources you can use at home …
World History Archives
links you to history documents covering all areas of the globe, differentiating itself from the many Europe-focused history Web sites. The links are categorized by region, making navigation easy, or you can search using keywords. The documents you find here can help broaden your teen’s perspective on important world issues.
Learning Curve
is hosted by The National Archives of the U.K. and provides loads of European history resources including original documents and educational games. First-time users may want to start with “How to use this site” for instructions, while veterans can jump straight to the Index of topics or choose from a list of “Quick links” on the homepage.
Kennesaw State University’s Educational Technology Center
maintains several great links to world history resources covering all areas of the globe. All the links take you to external sites that include “WebQuests,” original documents and “hotlists” of other great material.
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