According to Susan Wise Bauer, history is a story that should be told chronologically, and I agree. Whatever your ideologies, you should work chronologically, starting where your beliefs allow.
There are many opinions on how you should divide history into manageable sections. One idea is to break it in to four-year blocks. That way, by the twelfth grade, you will have covered history three times, going a little more in depth each time.
Another great way to cover history is by using a "spine."
The history spine will be just that� the "spine" of your history lessons. Using a spine is a simple, but effective way to teach. You simply pick one book (or a series of books, each covering a different period in history) and use that as your "text book," following along chronologically. When using a history spine as apposed to units, you will still want to incorporate some of the same steps into your planning. I couldn�t imagine a history lesson without at least a few trips to the library!
For a History spine, we love The Usborne Internet-Linked Encyclopedia of World History.
History units are a great way to make history come alive! The best way to plan a history unit is to break it down into steps. Here is an example of just how to follow the steps.