What’s IncludedThis curriculum includes the Teacher’s Guide and a Student Workbook. The Teacher’s Guide is the only essential piece. The workbook is included because many families find it useful, but it is entirely optional.

Subject areas covered: ancient history, world civilizations, archaeology, Earth science, engineering, materials science, physics, biology, astronomy, and writing systems.

Recommended grade: range: 2 through 7 (adaptable for younger or older learners with guidance from the Tips for Different Learners section).

Seat time: Approximately 2 to 5 hours per week depending on which optional components are included.
Prerequisites: None. This curriculum follows Stardust to Storytellers: Prehistory, but no prior knowledge of that course is required.

Week-by-WeekThe table below shows the essential question, civilizations covered, and science focus for each week. Use it to plan ahead, identify areas where your learner already has background knowledge, and see how concepts build across the year.

Week	Essential Question	Civilizations Covered	Science Focus
1	What is civilization, and how do we know about the past?	Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus Valley, China	Reasoning from evidence; stratigraphy; dating methods
2	What can artifacts tell us, and who owns the past?	Greece, Nigeria (Benin), Egypt, various Native American nations	Chemistry of preservation and decay
3	Why settle near rivers?	Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus Valley, China (Huang He)	Water cycle, erosion, sedimentation
4	How did humans domesticate animals?	Mesopotamia, Central Asia, Andean South America, Southeast Asia	Selective breeding, trait inheritance, adaptation
5	How did humans farm and feed large populations?	Egypt, Mesopotamia, Aboriginal Australia, Inca	Soil composition, decomposition, photosynthesis
6	How did geography shape civilizations?	Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, China, Indus Valley	Biomes, ecosystems, climate and terrain
7	How did people move water?	Rome, Persia, Egypt, Mesopotamia	Force and simple machines
8	How did societies solve water scarcity?	Persia, Nabataean Arabia, Rome in North Africa	Evaporation, condensation, groundwater
9	How did people build for their environments?	Egypt, Southwest Native Americans, Rome, Mesopotamia	Materials science; physical vs. chemical change
10	How did ancient engineers build large structures?	Rome, Mesopotamia, Greece, Persia	Compression, tension, arches and domes
11	How were pyramids built, and why?	Egypt, Nubia (Kush), Maya, Aztec	Inclined planes; work and force
12	Why did humans invent writing?	Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, Maya	Information encoding; language systems
13	How was knowledge recorded and preserved?	Egypt, Inca, West Africa, Maya	Decomposition; why some materials survive
14	How did writing systems spread?	Phoenicia, Greece, Rome, Egypt	Technology transfer; pattern recognition
15	How did humans measure and track time?	Egypt, Mesopotamia, Maya, Babylon	Earth-sun geometry; rotation and revolution
16	How did astronomy shape civilization?	Mesopotamia, Egypt, Aboriginal Australia, Maya, Britain (Stonehenge)	Observation, navigation, celestial patterns