Middle School History Curriculum for Homeschool, Grades 6–9
For a parent teaching history at home to a child in Grades 6–9, the XXL History Teaching Bundle provides a year of material from ancient Greece and Rome through the Middle Ages, the early modern era and modern history to the Cold War. Answer keys and rubrics let you check work even on periods you never studied yourself, and editable files let you adjust tasks to your child.
See the full history year →The XXL History Teaching Bundle – Grades 6 to 9 ($249.90) gives homeschooling families a history year from ancient Greece and Rome to the Cold War and European integration, plus source analysis and critical thinking skills. Each unit includes informational texts, differentiated worksheets, source tasks, creative writing, editable files, answer keys and rubrics. It is a digital download. It makes no claim to meet any state homeschool, credit or transcript requirement.
The resources
XXL History Teaching Bundle, Grades 6–9
Start with the first resource; the others are optional add-ons. Open any cover for the full contents and price.
XXL History Teaching Bundle – Grades 6 to 9 | Complete Curriculum
World History: Complete Curriculum Bundle: Projects, Activities & Lessons (1000+ pages)
XXL Medieval History Bundle – Black Death, Feudalism & Society
Complete History Teaching Bundle: Lesson Plans, Worksheets & Resources Teachers
Teach-Life-Balance: The Complete Time-Saving Course for Teachers (incl. Planner, Guides & Templates)
The real problem
What makes middle school history hard to teach at home
In the elementary years, homeschool history can be stories, library books and museum trips. Middle school asks for more. Your child should start reading longer texts, comparing sources and writing explanations, and you are expected to know enough about feudalism, the Reformation or the Cold War to guide that work. Many parents feel confident in some periods and lost in others. Planning is another weight. Without a classroom calendar, it is easy for history to slip behind math and reading, or to stretch one favorite topic for months. Assessment is awkward too: when there is one student, it is hard to know whether an answer is strong for their age or just adequate. And if you teach several children, you may want material that works across a range of ages without buying separate programs. What helps is a complete sequence you can follow, clear answers to check against, rubrics that tell you what good written work looks like, and files you can shorten or extend for one learner.
Why it fits
How the bundle fits a home setting
The bundle was written for classrooms, but several features work well with one or a few learners at home.
- Informational texts give you and your child a shared starting point for each period.
- Answer keys let you check work confidently on periods outside your own knowledge.
- Rubrics show what a strong written answer looks like at this age.
- Editable files let you trim a classroom task to suit one learner's pace.
- Differentiated worksheets help siblings of different ages work on the same topic.
- Creative writing tasks fit naturally into a home day that mixes history and language arts.
Getting started
Getting started at home
A suggested approach for the first few weeks. Adjust to your family's schedule.
- Choose your starting periodMost families start with ancient Greece and Rome and move forward. If your child already covered ancient history, you might begin with the Middle Ages instead.
- Set a weekly history rhythmPick fixed history days each week so the subject does not slide behind math and reading. A predictable rhythm matters more at home than a long weekly total.
- Read together, then work aloneRead the informational text together and talk about it, then let your child complete the worksheet independently. Check it with the answer key afterward and talk through any mistakes.
- Try one source task earlyUse a source task in the first weeks and talk through who made the source and why. Source discussions are a strength of one-to-one teaching.
- Keep samples of written workSave creative writing and source answers marked with the rubric. If your state asks for records, you will have examples, though you must check what is actually required.
What to buy
What homeschool families should buy
The XXL History Teaching Bundle at $249.90 is the choice for a full Grades 6–9 history year at home. If you want a broader world history focus with more projects and country studies, compare the World History Complete Curriculum Bundle ($249.90). If your budget is tight or you mainly need lesson plans and source activities for Grades 5–9, the Complete History Teaching Bundle costs $69.90. A child who loves the Middle Ages might enjoy the XXL Medieval History Bundle ($19.99) as an extra. Teach-Life-Balance ($89.90) is written for classroom teachers, so it may be less relevant at home.
Honest limits
What it does not do for homeschoolers
The bundle does not meet, or claim to meet, any state homeschool law, credit, transcript or accreditation requirement; check your state's rules yourself. Many tasks were written for classrooms, so some group activities will need adapting for one child. It does not include a daily lesson calendar or grading records. If you teach in a co-op or share files with another family, message Teach Lessons first. Within 7 days, if it does not suit your child, you can exchange it for store credit of equal value; there is no cash refund.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
Does it meet my state's homeschool requirements or standards?
No such claim is made. The bundle is written for history in Grades 6 to 9, but it is not endorsed by any authority and does not claim to meet state homeschool law, credit, transcript or accreditation requirements. Check your state's rules and, if needed, compare the content with any subject lists your state publishes.
I am not confident in history. Can I still teach it?
The informational texts and answer keys are there to help. You can read the text alongside your child and use the keys to check answers, which also refreshes your own knowledge. The rubrics show what strong written work looks like at this age, so you are not left guessing whether a paragraph is good enough.
Can I use it with two children of different ages?
Differentiated worksheets let two children work on the same topic at different levels, as long as both fall roughly in the Grades 6 to 9 range. You can read the text together and then give each child the worksheet version that suits them. Younger siblings may need extra support or simpler material.
What about group activities?
Some tasks were written for classrooms of many students. Turn discussions into conversations between you and your child, and adapt group tasks into individual ones using the editable files. Debates and role plays can work with a parent taking the other side, which many children enjoy.
Can I use it in our co-op?
The licence covers your own teaching. For a co-op class or sharing files with other families, send Teach Lessons a short message first and explain how many families or students are involved. Otherwise each family needs its own purchase, which keeps the arrangement clear for everyone in the group.
Do I need special software?
No. The files download right after purchase and can be printed or used on a computer with standard software. The link also stays in your customer account under Orders, so you can download again if you change computers during the school year. Printing a period at a time keeps the paper pile manageable at home.
A history year you can teach at the kitchen table
Look through the periods and unit components on the product page before you plan your homeschool year.
See the full history year →