World History Sub Plans for the Whole Year

World History · Sub plans

If you want a stock of world history lessons a substitute can run without you, the World History: Complete Curriculum Bundle gives you 70+ resources and over 1,000 pages for Grades 6–10. Its structured workbooks are built for students to work through steadily, which is what a sub day needs, and the topics run from early civilizations to the Cold War, so there is something to match wherever you are in the year.

See the bundle for sub plans →

Structured workbooksSuit independent work on sub days

70+ resourcesEnough to file a sub folder per era

Print or screenDigital download, ready right away

Quick answer

For world history sub plans that last a whole year, the World History: Complete Curriculum Bundle ($249.90) covers Grades 6–10 with 70+ resources and more than 1,000 pages. Structured workbooks, timeline activities and source analysis tasks can be pre-printed by era, from early civilizations to the Cold War, so a substitute hands out material that matches your current unit. It downloads immediately after purchase.

The resources

World History Complete Curriculum Bundle, Grades 6–10

Start with the first resource; the others are optional add-ons. Open any cover for the full contents and price.

World History: Complete Curriculum Bundle: Projects, Activities & Lessons (1000+ pages)

Grades 6–10$249.90

Teach-Life-Balance: The Complete Time-Saving Course for Teachers (incl. Planner, Guides & Templates)

All grades$89.90

The real problem

Why world history sub days usually go wrong

Most emergency sub plans in a history room are a word search, a video or a generic reading with no link to what the class was doing the day before. Students notice, treat the day as a free period, and you lose the lesson. The deeper problem is matching. If your class is halfway through the Enlightenment and the sub folder holds an Ancient Egypt worksheet from September, the substitute either uses it anyway or improvises. Neither helps. A useful sub plan for world history needs three things. It has to sit close to the current unit, so students keep moving forward. It has to be readable without a teacher explaining context, which means the background is on the page rather than in your head. And it has to produce something you can check the next morning, so the day counts. Substitutes are often not history teachers and should not be asked to lead a discussion about the causes of the First World War or interpret a primary source for the class. They need something they can hand out, time and collect. Building that for every era you teach takes hours you would rather spend on regular planning, and it is usually the first thing that slips when the year gets busy.

Why it fits

What makes the bundle work for substitute days

Not every resource suits a sub day, but several of the bundle's formats do, and they cover every era it lists.

Structured workbooks have a predictable layout students can follow without a teacher explaining each step.
Timeline activities are self-contained and work as a solid review task for any era.
Source analysis tasks produce written answers you can collect and check the next day.
Visual literacy tasks give a substitute a calm, focused activity built around images or maps.
Topics from early civilizations to decolonization let you match a sub lesson to your current unit.
Print once, then reuse from a labeled folder for the rest of the year and the next.

Getting started

Building your sub folder in one afternoon

These steps are a suggested way to turn the bundle into a ready sub system. You choose the resources; the bundle does not come pre-sorted as sub plans.

Make one folder per eraSet up folders for early civilizations, the age of discovery, the Enlightenment, the World Wars, the Cold War and decolonization. Whatever unit you are in, the matching folder is ready to go.
Pick two independent tasks per folderIn each folder, place one workbook section and one timeline or visual literacy task. Choose pieces students can complete with the instructions on the page alone.
Write a one-page cover noteFor each folder add a short note: what to hand out, how long to allow, where finished work goes. Keep it simple enough for a non-history substitute.
Keep answer keys out of the folderStore keys and any marking notes separately so you can check the work yourself. Students should not see the answers lying in the sub tray.
Refresh the folder each quarterWhen you move to a new era, check that its folder is printed and stocked. A five-minute check each quarter keeps the system usable all year.

What to buy

Enough for sub days, or more than you need

If you teach world history across Grades 6–10, the World History: Complete Curriculum Bundle ($249.90) gives you sub material for every era plus your regular lessons, which is the point: one purchase serves both. If you only want a small emergency stock, the Complete History Teaching Bundle ($69.90, Grades 5–9) is a lighter option with lesson plans and source activities. Teach-Life-Balance ($89.90), a separate course with a planner and templates, may help if sub planning is part of a wider workload problem.

See the full contents on the product page →

Honest limits

What a substitute still needs from you

The bundle does not include written sub instructions or a sub calendar; you choose the resources and write the cover note. Some tasks, especially project tasks, need a history teacher to launch and are not suited to a sub day. No standards alignment is claimed, so check that sub tasks fit your course. If colleagues want to use the same folders, contact Teach Lessons first, as the licence covers your own teaching. If the bundle is not a fit, you can exchange it within 7 days for store credit of equal value, not cash.

Good to know

Frequently asked questions

Are these sub lessons aligned to standards?

No standards alignment or endorsement is claimed. The resources are written for Grades 6–10. Because sub days should continue your regular unit, check that the tasks you put in each folder match what your course requires for that era, and adjust the selection if your framework names specific content.

Can a non-history substitute run these?

The structured workbooks, timeline activities and visual literacy tasks are the best picks for that, because the instructions and content are on the page. Leave a short cover note with timing and what to collect. Avoid project tasks and source debates for sub days, since those need a teacher who knows the material.

Will students actually work, or treat it as a free day?

That depends partly on your routine, but material that continues the current unit and produces written answers you will check helps a lot. Tell the class before you are out that the sub work counts and will be checked. A visible link to their regular work keeps the day from feeling like a break.

Can I use these for long-term absences too?

For a longer absence, a substitute will need more than folders: a sequence, some explanation and possibly grading. The bundle has enough material to cover several weeks of one era, but you would need to set the order and leave guidance. For a day or two, the folder system is simpler.

Do I get everything at once?

Yes. It is a digital download. You receive a link by email after purchase, and the files are also in your customer account under Orders. You can print all your sub folders in one go. Nothing is mailed, and there is no waiting period. Print the folders you need for the current era first and leave the rest for later in the year.

Can the whole department share the sub folders?

The licence is for your own teaching. If your department wants to keep a shared sub bank from these resources, send Teach Lessons a short message first so they can tell you how team use works. The material may not be posted publicly or passed to other schools.

Have a sub plan ready for every era

Open the product page, check the topic list against your units, and build your folders this week.