9-12 World History Resources
The CSSE is not able to recommend curriculum to address the state standards; each district must decide what materials to use to meet the benchmarks.
General Websites
for Social Studies:
MN Organizations:
csse.mnhs.org
Center for Social Studies Education (CSSE)
http://www.mcss.org/ - Minnesota Council for the Social Studies
http://www.teachingcivics.org/ - Learning Law and Democracy Foundation
http://www.mcee.umn.edu/ - Minnesota Council on Economic Education
http://lt.umn.edu/mage/ -Minnesota Alliance for Geographic Education
http://education.mnhs.org/educators - Minnesota Historical Society
http://mnche.wordpress.com/ - Minnesota Council for History Education
http://mnhum.org/ - Minnesota Humanities Center
World History sites:
http://worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu/ - comprehensive curriculum for high school world history course, lesson plans, resources
https://www.bighistoryproject.com/bhplive
The Big History Project is a free online course that tells the story of our universe and our humanity.
The World History Association: http://www.thewha.org
Journal of World History: http://www.historycooperative.org/jwhindex.html
World History Connected: http://www.historycooperative.org/whcindex.html
"Bridging World History": Professional Development Course from Annenberg Media. Includes units from Human Migration to
Globalization, world history activities, and an audio glossary. http://www.learner.org/courses/worldhistory/
This document was created by educators working with the Minnesota Center for Social Studies Education (CSSE), a collaboration between the
Minnesota Department of Education and the Minnesota Historical Society. Visit csse.mnhs.org for more information or to offer feedback.
9-12 World History Resources
The CSSE is not able to recommend curriculum to address the state standards; each district must decide what materials to use to meet the benchmarks.
World History sites:
Middle Ground Journal. This is a collection of academic and peer-reviewed essays on various world history subjects.
http://www2.css.edu/app/depts/HIS/historyjournal/index.cfm
National History Education Clearinghouse. Collections of teaching materials, historical content and best practices. Also includes a
blog and information on professional development. http://teachinghistory.org
Center for History and New Media, George Mason University. Provides links to lesson plans, archival collections online, and tools
to aid in classroom or research activities. Also includes a section about Digital History: merging historical skills and content with
digital resources. http://chnm.gmu.edu/
Best of History Web Sites, an EdTechTeacher.org resource. Comprehensive, annotated list of links to history resources, archives
and teaching ideas, categorized by time period, from pre-history to modern history. Also includes sites on oral history, maps and
games. http://www.besthistorysites.net/
International World History Project: World History From The Pre-Sumerian Period To The Present; A Collection Of World History
Related Essays, Documents, Maps and Music. http://history-world.org/index.html
Stanford History Education Group - Reading Like A Historian, Lesson Plans and Primary Sources – 30+ World History Plans
available. http://sheg.stanford.edu/
**NOTE: Based on data collected from a survey on Standards Implementation, the list of Resources below contains the benchmarks identified by
classroom teachers are being most needed. A list of Resources for all of the World History benchmarks is being developed.
This document was created by educators working with the Minnesota Center for Social Studies Education (CSSE), a collaboration between the
Minnesota Department of Education and the Minnesota Historical Society. Visit csse.mnhs.org for more information or to offer feedback.
9-12 World History Resources
The CSSE is not able to recommend curriculum to address the state standards; each district must decide what materials to use to meet the benchmarks.
Code
Benchmark
Resource with Annotation
Pose questions about topics in
history; suggest possible
answers and write a thesis;
locate and organize primary
and secondary sources;
analyze them for credibility
and bias; corroborate
information across the
sources; use sources to
support or refute the thesis;
and present supported
findings.

http://www.dbqproject.com/
Provides a structured process for analyzing
primary source documents, thesis development,
and evidence-based writing. Commercial source

http://sheg.stanford.edu/world
Provides lessons about historical thinking skills.

http://www.ebeckman.org/toussaint-lesson/
Teacher-designed site that includes blogs and
lessons.
9.4.1.2.2
Evaluate alternative
interpretations of historical
events; use historical evidence
to support or refute those
interpretations.

http://sheg.stanford.edu/world
(See above)
9.4.3.9.2
Describe the characteristics of
the Swahili, Ghana and Mali
Songhai cultures in Africa,
including trade across longer
distances and the impact of
Islam. (Post-Classical and
Medieval Civilizations and
Expanding Zones of Exchange:
600-1450)

https://www.diigo.com/list/erbeckman/Mediev
al+West+Africa/3fhlvi7td

http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/

Swahili City States
Developed by Michigan State University. Divided
into units, modules and lessons.
9.4.1.2.1
Lesson Plan with Annotation
http://sheg.stanford.edu/world
Sample lessons that address this benchmark
 Expansion of the Islamic Empire
 Invasion of Nanking
This document was created by educators working with the Minnesota Center for Social Studies Education (CSSE), a collaboration between the
Minnesota Department of Education and the Minnesota Historical Society. Visit csse.mnhs.org for more information or to offer feedback.
9-12 World History Resources
The CSSE is not able to recommend curriculum to address the state standards; each district must decide what materials to use to meet the benchmarks.

Mali Empire - Afropedea
Wiki site that, “seeks articles and information
from the descendants of the African diaspora.”

Songhai (Songhay) Empire - Afropedea
Wiki site that, “seeks articles and information
from the descendants of the African diaspora.”

http://www.bu.edu/africa/outreach/resources/k
ingdoms/
Boston University’s African Studies Center site.
Some background information, primary sources,
and links to other sources.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/featu
res/storyofafrica/index.shtml

http://www.pbs.org/wonders/fr_e5.htm
PBS, Wonders of the African World: Timbuktu

Importance of Salt
Mankind the History of Us All - video clip

http://www.learner.org/courses/worldhistory/u
nit_video_11-2.html (Mali Empire)
Part of Annenberg Learning site, within Unit 11,
“Early Empires.”
This document was created by educators working with the Minnesota Center for Social Studies Education (CSSE), a collaboration between the
Minnesota Department of Education and the Minnesota Historical Society. Visit csse.mnhs.org for more information or to offer feedback.
9-12 World History Resources
The CSSE is not able to recommend curriculum to address the state standards; each district must decide what materials to use to meet the benchmarks.
Code
9.4.3.9.3
Benchmark
Compare and contrast the
cultures of China (Yuan/
Mongol and Ming) and Japan
(Heian and early Shogunates),
including the consolidation of
belief systems. (Post-Classical
and Medieval Civilizations and
Expanding Zones of Exchange:
600-1450)
Resource with Annotation

http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/mongols/
Asia for Educators site of Columbia University;
contains extensive background information and
links.

http://www.colorado.edu/cas/tea/index.html

http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/tps/1000ce.htm#
yuan (Yuan)
Asia for Educators site of Columbia University;
contains extensive background info and links.

http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/tps/1000ce_jp.ht
m (Japan)
Asia for Educators site of Columbia University;
contains extensive background info and links.

http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/tps/1000ce.htm#
ming (Ming)
Asia for Educators site of Columbia University;
contains extensive background info and links.

http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/eastasia/easta
siasbook.asp#Imperial China
Lesson Plan with Annotation
This document was created by educators working with the Minnesota Center for Social Studies Education (CSSE), a collaboration between the
Minnesota Department of Education and the Minnesota Historical Society. Visit csse.mnhs.org for more information or to offer feedback.
9-12 World History Resources
The CSSE is not able to recommend curriculum to address the state standards; each district must decide what materials to use to meet the benchmarks.
Code
9.4.3.9.4
9.4.3.9.6
Benchmark
Analyze the impact of Indian
Ocean trade on the cultures in
South and Southeast Asia.
(Post-Classical and Medieval
Civilizations 3. World History
and Expanding Zones of
Exchange: 600-1450)
Analyze the factors that led to
the emergence and expansion
of the multi-ethnic Aztec and
Inca empires in the Americas.
(Post-Classical and Medieval
Civilizations and Expanding
Zones of Exchange: 600-1450)
Resource with Annotation

http://www.indianoceanhistory.org/
Interactive maps and sample lesson plans.

http://www.theworldeconomy.org/impact/The_
Trading_World_of_the_Indian_Ocean.html
Access to some statistical information online;
print resource is available to order.

http://www.learner.org/courses/worldhistory/u
nit_video_10-1.html
From Annenberg Learner - contains selected
images and maps. This link directs you to a
video segment on ‘The Indian Ocean World’.

http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/india/indiasbo
ok.asp
Fordham University Internet Indian History
Sourcebook - great site for primary sources.

http://www.slideshare.net/gsill/aztec-incacomparison
PowerPoint comparing Aztec and Inca empires.

http://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plan/aztecsmdash-mighty-warriors-mexico#section-16847
Lessons for elementary, but lots of good links.

http://www.aztec-history.com/aztecempire.html
Lesson Plan with Annotation

Indian Ocean Treaties Lesson Plan:
Whose Ocean Is It? The Right of
Discovery vs. ‘Mare Liberum’
(Freedom of the Seas) in the First
Global Era and Beyond.
http://www.indianoceanhistory.org/

Tea Goes Global Lesson Plan: Tea
Goes Global - Patterns of Migration,
Trade, and Conquest in the Indian
Ocean Over Time.
http://www.indianoceanhistory.org/

PBS Video: The Story of India.
Episode 3 Lesson Plan, The Winds of
Trade.
http://www.pbs.org/thestoryofindia/
teachers/lessons/3/

Spheres of Interaction in the
Americas Lesson Plan:
http://worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu/
units/five/landscape/Era05_landscap
e6.php

The Aztecs: A Pre-Columbian History
- Lesson Plans developed by the YaleNew Haven Teachers Institute:
This document was created by educators working with the Minnesota Center for Social Studies Education (CSSE), a collaboration between the
Minnesota Department of Education and the Minnesota Historical Society. Visit csse.mnhs.org for more information or to offer feedback.
9-12 World History Resources
The CSSE is not able to recommend curriculum to address the state standards; each district must decide what materials to use to meet the benchmarks.
Student-friendly site developed by a research
student about Aztec history who also consulted
experts in the field.
9.4.3.10.3
Describe the impact of
interactions and negotiations
between African leaders and
European traders on longdistance trade networks.
(Emergence of the First Global
Age: 1450-1750)

http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/19
99/2/99.02.01.x.html
Thorough website about the Aztecs; developed
by Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute.

http://www.crystalinks.com/inca_civilization.ht
ml Well-organized website for essential
information about the Incan empire.

African Slave Trade as Industry, Mankind The
Story of All of Us Episode 8/12 Treasure, 32:30 39:00, Queen Nzinga
Mankind the Story of All of us – YouTube video
clip

Abolition Project – British

The Code Noir
An edict issued by Louis XIV essentially defining
the condition of slavery.

http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/africa/africasb
ook.asp#The Impact of Slavery
Fordham University Internet African History
Sourcebook - great site for primary sources.

The Columbian Exchange
The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American
http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculu
m/units/1999/2/99.02.01.x.html

The Achievements and Challenges of
Peru - Lesson Plans developed by
teachers:
http://www.worldtrek.org/odyssey/t
eachers/perulessons.html

Exploring Africa - Lesson Plans and
guidelines developed by teachers:
http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/
This document was created by educators working with the Minnesota Center for Social Studies Education (CSSE), a collaboration between the
Minnesota Department of Education and the Minnesota Historical Society. Visit csse.mnhs.org for more information or to offer feedback.
9-12 World History Resources
The CSSE is not able to recommend curriculum to address the state standards; each district must decide what materials to use to meet the benchmarks.
History website - contains primary sources and
useful information.
9.4.3.12.5
Identify major developments
in science, medicine, and
technology; analyze their
benefits and dangers. (A Half
Century of Crisis and
Achievement: 1900-1950)

http://www.planetseed.com/relatedarticle/20th
-century-and-drugs-treat-sicknesses
Article on 20th century history of medicine

http://www.planetseed.com/relatedarticle/20th
-century-and-role-technology
Article on development of technology in
medicine 20th century.

http://www.unesco.org/bpi/science/content/pr
ess/anglo/6.htm
Timeline - 100 year timeline of
scientific creativity

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/eventi
ndex.html
Timeline of people and scientific discoveries
(good links to add’l info)

The Manhattan Project Lesson Plan exploring the role of technology in
society: http://hti.osu.edu/historylesson-plans/united-stateshistory/the-manhattan-project

The Automobile as a Vehicle of Social
and Cultural Change Lesson Plan exploring the role of technology in
society: http://hti.osu.edu/historylesson-plans/united-stateshistory/the-automobile
This document was created by educators working with the Minnesota Center for Social Studies Education (CSSE), a collaboration between the
Minnesota Department of Education and the Minnesota Historical Society. Visit csse.mnhs.org for more information or to offer feedback.