Middle School World History Curriculum for Long-Term Subs and Leave Cover
If you are filling a grades 6–8 world history position during a teacher's leave, this curriculum gives you 190+ no-prep resources from early civilizations to global interactions, with primary sources, maps and timelines built in. You can pick up at whatever era the class reached and keep teaching historical thinking, not just reading chapters aloud, for as long as the leave lasts.
See the history curriculum →World History Complete – Middle School is a digital grades 6–8 curriculum with 190+ resources, from $149.90. A long-term substitute can teach early civilizations, classical civilizations and belief systems, medieval worlds, early modern cultural exchange and global interactions, using primary and secondary sources, maps and timelines. Lessons are no-prep and sequenced, so you can enter at the era the class has reached.
The curriculum
World History Complete – Middle School, Grades 6–8
Start with the full curriculum. The other resources below are optional add-ons. Open any cover for the full contents and price.
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Civics Complete – Ready-to-Use Curriculum for Middle School Civics
The real problem
Picking up world history halfway through the timeline
World history runs on chronology, and a leave rarely starts at a clean break. You might arrive when one class is finishing ancient Egypt and another has just started classical Greece, with a test the absent teacher wrote but never gave. Students forget earlier eras quickly, so you have to bridge back while still moving forward. Middle schoolers also need more than names and dates. Reading a textbook section and answering questions works for a few days, then attention collapses. The work that keeps them engaged, such as analyzing a primary source, reading a map or arguing about cause and consequence, is also the work that takes the most preparation to set up. A sub without a history background may not know which sources fit which era. There is a lot of ground to cover. If the leave runs a semester, you could be responsible for several civilizations, and the returning teacher will expect the class to be close to where it should be. Without a sequence to follow, it is easy to linger on one era and leave a gap no one notices until the end of the year.
Why it fits
How the curriculum keeps the timeline moving
Its size and structure are what make it practical for a sub who has to cover a lot of history in a fixed window.
- 190+ resources span early civilizations through global interactions, so you can enter at any era.
- Primary and secondary source lessons give students real historical thinking work, not just reading.
- Map and timeline activities help students reconnect a new era to the ones they already studied.
- Cause and consequence, continuity and change lessons give each era a question to argue about.
- Lessons on belief systems and cultural exchange add depth beyond political events.
- Differentiated worksheets support readers who struggle with dense historical texts.
Getting started
The first two weeks in a history classroom
One suggested way to begin a leave in middle school world history. Adapt it to where each section stopped.
- Build a class timeline on day oneHave students place the eras they have already studied on a timeline. It is a quick review and shows you whether the class actually remembers what the plans say they covered.
- Locate each section in the sequenceMatch each class to the right era in the curriculum. If sections are at different points, teach from the same structure so your preparation carries across classes.
- Introduce a primary source routineUse one primary source lesson early and repeat the same routine each week: who made it, when, why, and what it tells us. Students gain confidence when the steps stay the same.
- Pair every era with a mapStart each new civilization with a map activity. Students locate it, connect it to geography, and have a visual anchor before reading begins. Rivers and coastlines often explain a lot.
- Finish with a short argumentClose week two with a written historical argument on cause and consequence. It gives you a meaningful grade and shows the returning teacher how students are thinking.
Which version
Which version, and when to combine
The $149.90 version includes all 190+ resources, which is plenty for most leaves. The $189.90 version adds the Teach-Life-Balance course with planning templates and guides for your own workload; it does not add history content. If the position also includes civics, which is common in middle school social studies, Civics Complete – Middle School pairs well, and TEACHMORE15 gives 15% off when you buy both. The World History Complete Curriculum Bundle with 1000+ pages is also in the store if you need more depth for a long leave.
Honest limits
What it leaves to you and the school
This product is a curriculum, not a textbook. Your school's text and any unit tests the absent teacher planned remain separate, and you decide how to combine them. Video documentaries are not part of the package. Compare the eras and topics with your state's social studies framework, since world history coverage by grade differs between states. If colleagues on your team want to use it, message Teach Lessons first. If the purchase does not suit your leave, you can exchange it for store credit of equal value within 7 days.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
Does it follow my state's social studies standards?
We do not claim that it is approved, adopted or aligned to any state's social studies standards. It is written for U.S. middle school world history and covers historical thinking and content from early civilizations to global interactions. States assign eras to grades differently, so check it against your state framework and your district's pacing.
What if the class is mid-unit when I arrive?
You can use the curriculum as a full sequence or pick individual units, so find the matching era and continue from there. A timeline or map review in the first days helps students reconnect. If the absent teacher left a test, you can teach the relevant lessons first and give it when the class is ready.
I am not a history teacher. Will I manage?
The lessons are structured and include answer keys, and the source and map activities have clear steps. Read ahead a day so you know the era. Many subs find history easier than they expected once they have a routine for sources, because the questions repeat even when the content changes.
How much of the year can 190+ resources cover?
It depends on your schedule and how deeply you go, so there is no set number of weeks. With content from early civilizations through global interactions, though, the curriculum is built to support a full course. A semester-long leave is well within its scope. If the class moves faster than expected, the larger World History bundle in the store adds depth.
Can I combine it with the school's textbook?
Yes. Many subs use the textbook for background reading and the curriculum for source analysis, maps, timelines and arguments. That pairing gives students both content and skills, and it keeps you consistent with what the returning teacher expects. Use the textbook's timeline as a cross-check so the eras line up with what students already have in their notes.
How do I get the files?
After purchase you receive an email with a download link right away, and the files are stored in your customer account under Orders. You can print or project them the same day, so you can start teaching the next morning. A sensible first print job is a map and timeline activity for the era each section is studying, ready for day one.
Keep the class moving through history
The product page lists everything in the 190+ resource world history curriculum.
See the history curriculum →