KidUniversity › Curriculum › Grade 9

Grade 9 curriculum

A full 180-day school year in 4 courses: English 9, Algebra 1, Biology and World History. Every unit and lesson is listed below. Unit 1 of every course is free to try, and KidUniversity Plus unlocks the rest for your whole family.

  • 4 courses
  • 88 units
  • 632 lessons
  • 88 unit tests

Grades 9 to 12 also get SAT® and ACT® prep.

English 9

23 units · 157 lessons · 23 unit tests · 180 school days

Try Unit 1 free
Unit 1FREE

Reading Closely: Evidence and Inference

7 lessons + unit test

How do careful readers prove what a text says and suggests?
  1. Making Inferences From Details
  2. Explicit and Implicit Meaning
  3. Choosing the Strongest Evidence
  4. Quoting and Paraphrasing Evidence
  5. Inferring Setting and Mood
  6. Drawing Conclusions Across a Passage
  7. Close Reading Informational Text
  8. Unit 1 Test: Reading Closely: Evidence and Inference
Unit 2

The Short Story: Plot and Structure

8 lessons + unit test

How do authors arrange events to create tension and surprise?
  1. The Elements of Plot
  2. Types of Conflict
  3. Foreshadowing
  4. Flashback and Nonlinear Order
  5. Pacing and Suspense
  6. Irony and Surprise Endings
  7. Openings That Hook the Reader
  8. Mapping a Complete Story
  9. Unit 2 Test: The Short Story: Plot and Structure
Unit 3

The Short Story: Characterization

7 lessons + unit test

How do authors make characters feel real, complicated and alive?
  1. Direct and Indirect Characterization
  2. Character Motivation
  3. Round, Flat, Static and Dynamic Characters
  4. Foils and Character Relationships
  5. Character Change: "The Story of an Hour"
  6. Characterization Through Dialogue
  7. How Characters Develop Theme
  8. Unit 3 Test: The Short Story: Characterization
Unit 4

Point of View and Narration

6 lessons + unit test

How does who tells a story change what the story means?
  1. First-Person Narration
  2. Third-Person Limited and Omniscient
  3. Second Person and Multiple Narrators
  4. Unreliable Narrators
  5. Perspective and Cultural Experience
  6. How Point of View Shapes Meaning
  7. Unit 4 Test: Point of View and Narration
Unit 5

Theme and Objective Summary

7 lessons + unit test

How do stories carry messages about life, and how do we summarize them fairly?
  1. Topic vs. Theme
  2. Finding Theme Through Conflict and Change
  3. Symbols and Motifs
  4. Theme in "To Build a Fire"
  5. Writing an Objective Summary
  6. Comparing Themes Across Texts
  7. How a Theme Develops Over a Text
  8. Unit 5 Test: Theme and Objective Summary
Unit 6

Vocabulary: Roots and Affixes

7 lessons + unit test

How can word parts help us unlock words we have never seen?
  1. Prefixes
  2. Suffixes and Parts of Speech
  3. Latin Roots: Carrying, Breaking, Building
  4. Greek Roots: Life, Time and Sound
  5. Latin Roots: Belief, Truth and Voice
  6. Word Families in Academic Writing
  7. Using Reference Tools
  8. Unit 6 Test: Vocabulary: Roots and Affixes
Unit 7

Poetry: Figurative Language

7 lessons + unit test

How do poets use comparison and imagery to say more than literal words can?
  1. Simile and Metaphor
  2. Extended Metaphor
  3. Personification
  4. Imagery
  5. Hyperbole, Understatement and Paradox
  6. Symbolism in "The Road Not Taken"
  7. Tone and Word Choice
  8. Unit 7 Test: Poetry: Figurative Language
Unit 8

Poetry: Sound and Form

7 lessons + unit test

How do the sound and shape of a poem help create its meaning?
  1. Rhyme and Rhyme Scheme
  2. Alliteration, Assonance and Consonance
  3. Onomatopoeia and Repetition
  4. Rhythm and Meter
  5. The Sonnet
  6. Free Verse
  7. Poetic Forms and Stanzas
  8. Unit 8 Test: Poetry: Sound and Form
Unit 9

Grammar: Phrases

6 lessons + unit test

How do phrases add detail, variety and precision to sentences?
  1. Phrases vs. Clauses
  2. Prepositional Phrases
  3. Appositive Phrases
  4. Participial Phrases and Dangling Modifiers
  5. Gerund and Infinitive Phrases
  6. Absolute Phrases
  7. Unit 9 Test: Grammar: Phrases
Unit 10

Grammar: Clauses and Sentence Types

7 lessons + unit test

How do clauses combine to build clear, varied sentences?
  1. Independent and Dependent Clauses
  2. Adjective Clauses
  3. Adverb Clauses
  4. Noun Clauses
  5. Four Sentence Structures
  6. Fragments, Run-ons and Comma Splices
  7. Sentence Combining and Variety
  8. Unit 10 Test: Grammar: Clauses and Sentence Types
Unit 11

Drama: Reading Romeo and Juliet

8 lessons + unit test

How does a play tell a story through dialogue, action and performance?
  1. The Elements of Drama
  2. The Prologue
  3. Reading Shakespeare's Language
  4. Act 1: The Feud in the Streets
  5. Light and Dark Imagery
  6. Soliloquy, Monologue and Aside
  7. Friar Laurence and the Foil
  8. The Turning Point: Act 3, Scene 1
  9. Unit 11 Test: Drama: Reading Romeo and Juliet
Unit 12

Drama: Tragedy and Dramatic Choices

7 lessons + unit test

Who or what is to blame when a tragedy unfolds?
  1. Tragedy and the Tragic Hero
  2. Fate vs. Free Will
  3. Dramatic Irony in Acts 4 and 5
  4. Time and Haste
  5. Comic Relief and the Nurse
  6. Page, Stage and Screen
  7. Theme in Romeo and Juliet
  8. Unit 12 Test: Drama: Tragedy and Dramatic Choices
Unit 13

The Epic: The Odyssey

8 lessons + unit test

What makes a hero, and what does the journey home teach?
  1. What Is an Epic?
  2. Epithets and Epic Similes
  3. The Cyclops: Cunning and Pride
  4. Temptation: The Lotus-Eaters and the Sirens
  5. Scylla and Charybdis: The Leader's Choice
  6. Homecoming: Disguise and Loyalty
  7. The Test of the Bow
  8. The Hero's Journey Then and Now
  9. Unit 13 Test: The Epic: The Odyssey
Unit 14

Myth and Its Echoes

6 lessons + unit test

Why do ancient myths still shape the stories and words we use today?
  1. What Myths Do: Prometheus
  2. Persephone and the Seasons
  3. Daedalus and Icarus
  4. Myths Across Cultures
  5. Allusions to Myth in Everyday Language
  6. Modern Retellings of Myth
  7. Unit 14 Test: Myth and Its Echoes
Unit 15

Vocabulary: Context and Connotation

6 lessons + unit test

How do context and connotation shape what words really mean?
  1. Context Clues
  2. Context Clues in Literature
  3. Denotation and Connotation
  4. Shades of Meaning
  5. Figurative Meaning and Idioms
  6. Multiple-Meaning and Academic Words
  7. Unit 15 Test: Vocabulary: Context and Connotation
Unit 16

Informational Texts: Central Ideas and Structure

7 lessons + unit test

How do nonfiction writers organize and develop their ideas?
  1. Central Idea and Supporting Details
  2. How Ideas Develop and Connect
  3. Text Structures
  4. How Paragraphs Build an Argument
  5. Word Choice in Nonfiction
  6. Reading Data in Informational Texts
  7. Comparing Accounts in Different Media
  8. Unit 16 Test: Informational Texts: Central Ideas and Structure
Unit 17

Argument: Claims, Evidence and Reasoning

7 lessons + unit test

How can we tell whether an argument deserves to be believed?
  1. Claims, Reasons and Evidence
  2. Types of Evidence
  3. Evaluating Relevance and Sufficiency
  4. Logical Fallacies, Part 1
  5. Logical Fallacies, Part 2
  6. Counterclaims and Rebuttals
  7. Fact, Opinion and False Statements
  8. Unit 17 Test: Argument: Claims, Evidence and Reasoning
Unit 18

Rhetoric and Seminal Speeches

7 lessons + unit test

How have speakers used language to move people and change history?
  1. Ethos, Pathos and Logos
  2. Rhetorical Devices
  3. Patrick Henry: "Give Me Liberty"
  4. The Declaration of Independence
  5. The Gettysburg Address
  6. Frederick Douglass: "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?"
  7. Susan B. Anthony and "We, the People"
  8. Unit 18 Test: Rhetoric and Seminal Speeches
Unit 19

Punctuation: Commas, Semicolons and Colons

7 lessons + unit test

How does punctuation guide readers through our ideas?
  1. Commas in Series and Compound Sentences
  2. Commas After Introductory Elements
  3. Commas With Nonessential Elements
  4. Semicolons
  5. Colons
  6. More Comma Rules
  7. Editing for Punctuation and Spelling
  8. Unit 19 Test: Punctuation: Commas, Semicolons and Colons
Unit 20

Parallel Structure and Style

6 lessons + unit test

How do balanced, concise sentences make writing clearer and stronger?
  1. Parallel Structure in Lists
  2. Parallelism With Paired Conjunctions and Comparisons
  3. Parallelism for Rhetorical Power
  4. Concise Writing
  5. Active and Passive Voice
  6. Formal Style and Consistent Tone
  7. Unit 20 Test: Parallel Structure and Style
Unit 21

Writing: Thesis Statements and Organizing Arguments

7 lessons + unit test

How do writers build an argument that a reader can follow and trust?
  1. Writing a Strong Thesis
  2. Thesis Statements for Literary Analysis
  3. Introductions and Hooks
  4. Building Body Paragraphs
  5. Transitions and Cohesion
  6. Addressing Counterclaims in Your Essay
  7. Conclusions and Revision
  8. Unit 21 Test: Writing: Thesis Statements and Organizing Arguments
Unit 22

Writing: Citing and Using Evidence

7 lessons + unit test

How do writers use sources honestly and effectively?
  1. Integrating Quotations
  2. MLA In-Text Citations
  3. Works Cited Basics
  4. Evaluating Sources
  5. Avoiding Plagiarism
  6. Research Questions and Gathering Sources
  7. Using Evidence in Informative Writing
  8. Unit 22 Test: Writing: Citing and Using Evidence
Unit 23

Year in Review

5 lessons + unit test

How do the skills of reading, analysis and writing work together?
  1. Review: Short Stories and Narration
  2. Review: Poetry and Drama
  3. Review: Epic, Myth and Informational Texts
  4. Review: Argument and Rhetoric
  5. Review: Grammar, Vocabulary and Writing
  6. Unit 23 Test: Year in Review

Algebra 1

22 units · 158 lessons · 22 unit tests · 180 school days

Try Unit 1 free
Unit 1FREE

Expressions and the Real Numbers

7 lessons + unit test

How do we write and simplify expressions that describe real situations?
  1. The Real Number System
  2. Order of Operations
  3. Writing Expressions from Words
  4. Evaluating Expressions
  5. Properties of Operations
  6. Combining Like Terms
  7. The Distributive Property
  8. Unit 1 Test: Expressions and the Real Numbers
Unit 2

Solving Linear Equations

7 lessons + unit test

How can we find the value that makes an equation true?
  1. One-Step Equations
  2. Two-Step Equations
  3. Multi-Step Equations
  4. Variables on Both Sides
  5. No Solution or Infinitely Many
  6. Equations with Fractions and Decimals
  7. Writing Equations to Solve Problems
  8. Unit 2 Test: Solving Linear Equations
Unit 3

Formulas, Ratios and Units

7 lessons + unit test

How do we rearrange formulas and use units to solve real problems?
  1. Literal Equations
  2. Rearranging Formulas
  3. Ratios and Proportions
  4. Percents and Percent Change
  5. Unit Rates and Conversions
  6. Dimensional Analysis
  7. Accuracy and Rounding
  8. Unit 3 Test: Formulas, Ratios and Units
Unit 4

Linear Inequalities and Absolute Value

7 lessons + unit test

How do we describe and find all the values that meet a limit?
  1. Inequalities and Their Graphs
  2. Solving One-Step Inequalities
  3. Multiplying or Dividing by a Negative
  4. Multi-Step Inequalities
  5. Compound Inequalities
  6. Absolute Value Equations
  7. Absolute Value Inequalities
  8. Unit 4 Test: Linear Inequalities and Absolute Value
Unit 5

Functions

7 lessons + unit test

What makes a relationship a function, and how do we read one?
  1. Relations and Functions
  2. Function Notation
  3. Domain and Range
  4. Graphs of Functions
  5. Key Features of Graphs
  6. Increasing, Decreasing and Constant
  7. Functions in Context
  8. Unit 5 Test: Functions
Unit 6

Slope and Rate of Change

7 lessons + unit test

How do we measure how fast one quantity changes compared with another?
  1. Rate of Change from Tables
  2. Slope from Two Points
  3. Slope from a Graph
  4. Types of Slope
  5. Direct Variation
  6. Slope as a Rate
  7. Average Rate of Change
  8. Unit 6 Test: Slope and Rate of Change
Unit 7

Linear Equations and Their Graphs

8 lessons + unit test

How can one equation describe every point on a line?
  1. Slope-Intercept Form
  2. Graphing Lines
  3. Point-Slope Form
  4. Standard Form and Intercepts
  5. Writing an Equation from Two Points
  6. Parallel and Perpendicular Lines
  7. Horizontal and Vertical Lines
  8. Comparing Linear Functions
  9. Unit 7 Test: Linear Equations and Their Graphs
Unit 8

Linear Models and Sequences

7 lessons + unit test

How can linear functions model patterns and real situations?
  1. Linear Models in Context
  2. Interpreting Slope and Intercept
  3. Sequences as Functions
  4. Arithmetic Sequences
  5. Explicit and Recursive Formulas
  6. Transforming Linear Functions
  7. Inverse of a Linear Function
  8. Unit 8 Test: Linear Models and Sequences
Unit 9

Absolute Value and Piecewise Functions

7 lessons + unit test

How can a function follow different rules for different inputs?
  1. The Absolute Value Function
  2. Translating Absolute Value Graphs
  3. Stretching and Reflecting
  4. Piecewise Functions
  5. Evaluating Piecewise Functions
  6. Step Functions
  7. Piecewise Models in Context
  8. Unit 9 Test: Absolute Value and Piecewise Functions
Unit 10

Systems: Graphing and Substitution

7 lessons + unit test

How do we find the values that make two equations true at once?
  1. What a System Is
  2. Solving Systems by Graphing
  3. Number of Solutions
  4. Solving by Substitution
  5. Substitution After Rearranging
  6. Writing Systems from Word Problems
  7. Break-Even and Comparing Plans
  8. Unit 10 Test: Systems: Graphing and Substitution
Unit 11

Systems: Elimination and Inequalities

7 lessons + unit test

How do we solve systems efficiently and describe regions that meet several limits?
  1. Elimination by Adding or Subtracting
  2. Elimination with Multiplying
  3. Choosing a Method
  4. Mixture and Value Problems
  5. Graphing Linear Inequalities
  6. Systems of Linear Inequalities
  7. Modeling with Constraints
  8. Unit 11 Test: Systems: Elimination and Inequalities
Unit 12

Exponent Rules

7 lessons + unit test

How do the rules of exponents let us simplify very large and very small numbers?
  1. Product of Powers
  2. Quotient of Powers
  3. Power of a Power and of a Product
  4. Zero and Negative Exponents
  5. Scientific Notation
  6. Rational Exponents
  7. Simplifying with All the Rules
  8. Unit 12 Test: Exponent Rules
Unit 13

Exponential Functions

8 lessons + unit test

How do quantities grow or shrink by the same percent over and over?
  1. Linear vs Exponential Patterns
  2. Exponential Functions and Their Graphs
  3. Exponential Growth
  4. Exponential Decay
  5. Compound Interest
  6. Geometric Sequences
  7. Growth Factors and Percent Rates
  8. Comparing Linear and Exponential Growth
  9. Unit 13 Test: Exponential Functions
Unit 14

Polynomials

7 lessons + unit test

How do we add, subtract and multiply expressions with many terms?
  1. Polynomial Vocabulary
  2. Adding and Subtracting Polynomials
  3. Multiplying a Monomial by a Polynomial
  4. Multiplying Binomials
  5. Special Products
  6. Multiplying Polynomials
  7. Polynomials in Context
  8. Unit 14 Test: Polynomials
Unit 15

Factoring

8 lessons + unit test

How can we rewrite a polynomial as a product, and why is that useful?
  1. Greatest Common Factor
  2. Factoring x² + bx + c
  3. Factoring with Negative Terms
  4. Factoring ax² + bx + c
  5. Difference of Squares
  6. Perfect Square Trinomials
  7. Factoring by Grouping
  8. Factoring Completely
  9. Unit 15 Test: Factoring
Unit 16

Quadratic Functions and Their Graphs

7 lessons + unit test

What does the graph of a quadratic look like, and what do its features tell us?
  1. Parabolas and Their Features
  2. Graphing y = ax²
  3. Vertex Form and Transformations
  4. Standard Form and the Axis of Symmetry
  5. Finding the Vertex
  6. Factored Form and x-Intercepts
  7. Interpreting Quadratic Graphs
  8. Unit 16 Test: Quadratic Functions and Their Graphs
Unit 17

Solving Quadratics: Factoring and Square Roots

7 lessons + unit test

How do we find where a quadratic equals zero, and what do those solutions mean?
  1. Solving Quadratics by Graphing
  2. The Zero Product Property
  3. Solving by Factoring
  4. Solving by Square Roots
  5. Writing Quadratics from Their Roots
  6. Projectile Problems
  7. Area Problems
  8. Unit 17 Test: Solving Quadratics: Factoring and Square Roots
Unit 18

Completing the Square and the Quadratic Formula

7 lessons + unit test

How can we solve any quadratic equation, even one that won't factor?
  1. Making Perfect Squares
  2. Solving by Completing the Square
  3. Vertex Form by Completing the Square
  4. The Quadratic Formula
  5. The Discriminant
  6. Choosing a Solving Method
  7. Quadratic Models in Context
  8. Unit 18 Test: Completing the Square and the Quadratic Formula
Unit 19

Comparing Models and Nonlinear Systems

7 lessons + unit test

How do we choose the right kind of function for a situation, and where do two different functions meet?
  1. Linear, Quadratic or Exponential?
  2. First and Second Differences
  3. Comparing Functions in Different Forms
  4. Linear-Quadratic Systems
  5. Solving f(x) = g(x) with Graphs
  6. Combining Functions
  7. Choosing a Model
  8. Unit 19 Test: Comparing Models and Nonlinear Systems
Unit 20

Radicals

7 lessons + unit test

How do we simplify and work with square roots and other radicals?
  1. Square Roots and Cube Roots
  2. Simplifying Square Roots
  3. Multiplying Radicals
  4. Adding and Subtracting Radicals
  5. Dividing and Rationalizing
  6. Rational and Irrational Numbers
  7. Solving Radical Equations
  8. Unit 20 Test: Radicals
Unit 21

Statistics: One-Variable Data

7 lessons + unit test

How do we summarize a data set with a few numbers and a picture?
  1. Measures of Center
  2. Range and Interquartile Range
  3. Box Plots
  4. Dot Plots and Histograms
  5. Standard Deviation
  6. Shape and Outliers
  7. Comparing Data Sets
  8. Unit 21 Test: Statistics: One-Variable Data
Unit 22

Statistics: Two-Variable Data

8 lessons + unit test

How can we tell whether two variables are related, and use that relationship to make predictions?
  1. Two-Way Tables
  2. Relative Frequencies
  3. Scatter Plots and Association
  4. Lines of Fit
  5. Interpreting a Line of Fit
  6. Residuals
  7. The Correlation Coefficient
  8. Correlation and Causation
  9. Unit 22 Test: Statistics: Two-Variable Data

Biology

22 units · 158 lessons · 22 unit tests · 180 school days

Try Unit 1 free
Unit 1FREE

Life and the Nature of Science

7 lessons + unit test

How do biologists decide what is alive, and how do they test their ideas?
  1. What Makes Something Alive
  2. Questions and Hypotheses
  3. Designing a Controlled Experiment
  4. Reading Data and Graphs
  5. Measurement and the Metric System
  6. Microscopes and Magnification
  7. Levels of Organization
  8. Unit 1 Test: Life and the Nature of Science
Unit 2

The Chemistry of Life

7 lessons + unit test

What chemistry makes life possible?
  1. Atoms, Elements and Isotopes
  2. Chemical Bonds
  3. Chemical Reactions and Energy
  4. The Special Properties of Water
  5. Solutions and Concentration
  6. Acids, Bases and pH
  7. Buffers in the Body
  8. Unit 2 Test: The Chemistry of Life
Unit 3

Biomolecules and Enzymes

7 lessons + unit test

What are living things built from, and how do enzymes keep cells running?
  1. Carbon: The Backbone of Life
  2. Carbohydrates
  3. Lipids
  4. Proteins
  5. Nucleic Acids
  6. Enzymes and Activation Energy
  7. What Affects Enzyme Activity
  8. Unit 3 Test: Biomolecules and Enzymes
Unit 4

Cell Structure

8 lessons + unit test

How do the parts of a cell work together to keep it alive?
  1. The Cell Theory
  2. Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Cells
  3. The Nucleus and Ribosomes
  4. The Endomembrane System
  5. Mitochondria and Chloroplasts
  6. The Cytoskeleton, Cilia and Flagella
  7. Plant Cells and Animal Cells
  8. Why Cells Stay Small
  9. Unit 4 Test: Cell Structure
Unit 5

Membranes and Transport

7 lessons + unit test

How does a cell control what goes in and what comes out?
  1. The Phospholipid Bilayer
  2. Diffusion
  3. Osmosis
  4. Hypertonic, Hypotonic and Isotonic
  5. Facilitated Diffusion
  6. Active Transport
  7. Endocytosis and Exocytosis
  8. Unit 5 Test: Membranes and Transport
Unit 6

Photosynthesis

7 lessons + unit test

How do plants capture the energy of sunlight and store it in food?
  1. ATP and Autotrophs
  2. The Photosynthesis Equation
  3. Pigments and Light
  4. The Light-Dependent Reactions
  5. The Calvin Cycle
  6. What Limits Photosynthesis
  7. C4 and CAM Plants
  8. Unit 6 Test: Photosynthesis
Unit 7

Cellular Respiration

7 lessons + unit test

How do cells release the energy stored in food?
  1. Respiration Overview
  2. Glycolysis
  3. The Krebs Cycle
  4. The Electron Transport Chain
  5. Fermentation
  6. Respiration and Exercise
  7. Photosynthesis and Respiration Compared
  8. Unit 7 Test: Cellular Respiration
Unit 8

The Cell Cycle and Mitosis

7 lessons + unit test

How does one cell become the trillions of cells in your body?
  1. Why Cells Divide
  2. Chromosomes
  3. The Cell Cycle and Interphase
  4. The Stages of Mitosis
  5. Cytokinesis
  6. Regulating the Cell Cycle
  7. Cancer: When Control Fails
  8. Unit 8 Test: The Cell Cycle and Mitosis
Unit 9

DNA Structure and Replication

7 lessons + unit test

How is genetic information stored and copied so accurately?
  1. The Search for the Genetic Material
  2. The Double Helix
  3. Base Pairing Rules
  4. DNA Replication
  5. Replication Enzymes and Proofreading
  6. Genes, Chromosomes and Genomes
  7. How DNA Is Packed
  8. Unit 9 Test: DNA Structure and Replication
Unit 10

RNA and Protein Synthesis

8 lessons + unit test

How does a cell turn the code in DNA into working proteins?
  1. The Central Dogma
  2. RNA and DNA Compared
  3. Transcription
  4. RNA Processing
  5. The Genetic Code
  6. Translation
  7. From Protein to Trait
  8. Practice: DNA to Protein
  9. Unit 10 Test: RNA and Protein Synthesis
Unit 11

Mutations and Gene Regulation

7 lessons + unit test

What happens when DNA changes, and how do cells decide which genes to use?
  1. Point Mutations
  2. Frameshift Mutations
  3. Chromosomal Mutations
  4. Causes of Mutations
  5. Gene Regulation in Bacteria
  6. Gene Regulation in Eukaryotes
  7. Differentiation and Stem Cells
  8. Unit 11 Test: Mutations and Gene Regulation
Unit 12

Meiosis

7 lessons + unit test

How do sex cells form, and why is every child genetically unique?
  1. Haploid and Diploid
  2. Meiosis I
  3. Meiosis II
  4. Crossing Over
  5. Independent Assortment and Variation
  6. Mitosis and Meiosis Compared
  7. Nondisjunction
  8. Unit 12 Test: Meiosis
Unit 13

Mendelian Genetics

8 lessons + unit test

How can we predict which traits offspring will inherit?
  1. Mendel and His Peas
  2. Genes, Alleles, Genotypes and Phenotypes
  3. Monohybrid Punnett Squares
  4. Probability in Genetics
  5. Test Crosses
  6. Dihybrid Crosses
  7. The Product Rule
  8. Genetics Problem Solving
  9. Unit 13 Test: Mendelian Genetics
Unit 14

Complex Inheritance and Pedigrees

7 lessons + unit test

What happens when inheritance doesn't follow Mendel's simple rules, and how do families track traits?
  1. Incomplete Dominance
  2. Codominance and Blood Types
  3. Polygenic Traits and Environment
  4. Sex-Linked Traits
  5. Reading Pedigrees
  6. Analyzing Pedigrees
  7. Human Genetic Disorders
  8. Unit 14 Test: Complex Inheritance and Pedigrees
Unit 15

Biotechnology

7 lessons + unit test

How do scientists read, copy and change DNA, and what should we do with that power?
  1. Selective Breeding
  2. DNA Extraction and Restriction Enzymes
  3. Gel Electrophoresis
  4. PCR
  5. Recombinant DNA and GMOs
  6. CRISPR Gene Editing
  7. Sequencing, Forensics and Ethics
  8. Unit 15 Test: Biotechnology
Unit 16

Evidence for Evolution

7 lessons + unit test

What evidence shows that living things share common ancestors and change over time?
  1. Darwin's Big Idea
  2. The Fossil Record
  3. Dating Rocks and Fossils
  4. Homologous, Analogous and Vestigial Structures
  5. Embryos and Molecules
  6. Biogeography
  7. Reading Evolutionary Trees
  8. Unit 16 Test: Evidence for Evolution
Unit 17

Natural Selection and Population Change

7 lessons + unit test

How do populations change over time, and how do new species form?
  1. How Natural Selection Works
  2. Fitness and Adaptation
  3. Patterns of Selection
  4. Gene Pools and Allele Frequencies
  5. Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium
  6. Genetic Drift and Gene Flow
  7. Speciation
  8. Unit 17 Test: Natural Selection and Population Change
Unit 18

Classification

7 lessons + unit test

How do scientists organize millions of species, and what does that tell us about how they are related?
  1. Why Scientists Classify
  2. Scientific Names
  3. Taxonomic Ranks
  4. Dichotomous Keys
  5. Cladograms
  6. The Three Domains
  7. The Kingdoms and Viruses
  8. Unit 18 Test: Classification
Unit 19

Ecosystems and Energy Flow

7 lessons + unit test

How does energy from the sun move through living things in an ecosystem?
  1. Levels of Ecology
  2. Producers, Consumers and Decomposers
  3. Food Chains and Food Webs
  4. Trophic Levels and the 10% Rule
  5. Ecological Pyramids
  6. Biomes and Aquatic Ecosystems
  7. Productivity and Energy Budgets
  8. Unit 19 Test: Ecosystems and Energy Flow
Unit 20

Cycles of Matter

7 lessons + unit test

How are water, carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus recycled through living and nonliving parts of Earth?
  1. Matter Cycles, Energy Flows
  2. The Water Cycle
  3. The Carbon Cycle
  4. Humans and the Carbon Cycle
  5. The Nitrogen Cycle
  6. The Phosphorus Cycle
  7. Nutrient Pollution and Dead Zones
  8. Unit 20 Test: Cycles of Matter
Unit 21

Populations and Communities

7 lessons + unit test

What controls the size of populations, and how do species in a community affect each other?
  1. Population Density and Distribution
  2. Exponential and Logistic Growth
  3. Carrying Capacity and Limiting Factors
  4. Competition and Predation
  5. Symbiosis and Group Behavior
  6. Ecological Succession
  7. Biodiversity and Human Impact
  8. Unit 21 Test: Populations and Communities
Unit 22

Human Body Systems and Homeostasis

8 lessons + unit test

How do the body's systems work together to keep conditions inside you stable?
  1. Homeostasis and Feedback Loops
  2. The Digestive System
  3. The Circulatory System
  4. The Respiratory System
  5. The Nervous System
  6. The Endocrine System
  7. The Immune System
  8. Body Systems Working Together
  9. Unit 22 Test: Human Body Systems and Homeostasis

World History

21 units · 159 lessons · 21 unit tests · 180 school days

Try Unit 1 free
Unit 1FREE

Thinking Like a Historian

7 lessons + unit test

How do historians know what happened long ago, and how sure can they be?
  1. History and Chronology
  2. Primary and Secondary Sources
  3. Sourcing a Document
  4. Context and Perspective
  5. Corroborating Evidence
  6. Archaeology and Material Evidence
  7. Cause, Effect, Continuity and Change
  8. Unit 1 Test: Thinking Like a Historian
Unit 2

Early Humans and the Neolithic Revolution

7 lessons + unit test

How did learning to farm change the way humans lived?
  1. Human Origins in Africa
  2. Paleolithic Life
  3. Spreading Across the Globe
  4. The Neolithic Revolution
  5. Early Farming Villages
  6. How Farming Changed Society
  7. What Makes a Civilization?
  8. Unit 2 Test: Early Humans and the Neolithic Revolution
Unit 3

Mesopotamia

8 lessons + unit test

How did people between two rivers build the world's first cities and empires?
  1. Rivers of the Fertile Crescent
  2. Sumerian City-States
  3. Cuneiform and the Epic of Gilgamesh
  4. Gods, Temples and Ziggurats
  5. Sargon and the First Empire
  6. Hammurabi's Code
  7. Assyria and Babylon
  8. Phoenician Traders and the Alphabet
  9. Unit 3 Test: Mesopotamia
Unit 4

Ancient Egypt and Kush

8 lessons + unit test

How did the Nile shape the civilizations of Egypt and Kush?
  1. The Gift of the Nile
  2. Unifying Egypt: Pharaohs and Dynasties
  3. The Old Kingdom and the Pyramids
  4. Religion and the Afterlife
  5. Hieroglyphs and the Rosetta Stone
  6. The Middle and New Kingdoms
  7. Daily Life and Society in Egypt
  8. Nubia and the Kingdom of Kush
  9. Unit 4 Test: Ancient Egypt and Kush
Unit 5

The Indus Valley and Early China

8 lessons + unit test

How did early civilizations in South and East Asia organize their cities and justify their rulers?
  1. Geography of the Indus Valley
  2. Harappa and Mohenjo-daro
  3. Indus Trade and Unsolved Mysteries
  4. The Vedic Age
  5. China's Rivers and Geography
  6. The Shang Dynasty and Oracle Bones
  7. The Zhou and the Mandate of Heaven
  8. The Warring States Period
  9. Unit 5 Test: The Indus Valley and Early China
Unit 6

Early Greece and the City-States

7 lessons + unit test

How did geography and new ideas about citizenship shape the Greek city-states?
  1. The Geography of Greece
  2. Minoans and Mycenaeans
  3. Homer and the Greek Dark Age
  4. The Polis and Greek Colonies
  5. Sparta
  6. Athens and the Birth of Democracy
  7. Greek Religion and the Olympic Games
  8. Unit 6 Test: Early Greece and the City-States
Unit 7

Persia and the Persian Wars

7 lessons + unit test

How did Persia govern the largest empire the world had yet seen, and why did the Greeks resist it?
  1. Cyrus the Great
  2. Darius and Imperial Government
  3. The Royal Road
  4. Zoroastrianism
  5. The Persian Wars: Marathon
  6. Thermopylae, Salamis and Plataea
  7. The Parthians and Sasanians
  8. Unit 7 Test: Persia and the Persian Wars
Unit 8

Classical Greece and Alexander

8 lessons + unit test

Why do the ideas of a few small Greek city-states still matter today?
  1. Pericles and the Golden Age of Athens
  2. Greek Drama, Art and Architecture
  3. Socrates, Plato and Aristotle
  4. Greek Science and Medicine
  5. The Peloponnesian War
  6. Alexander the Great
  7. The Hellenistic World
  8. The Legacy of Greece
  9. Unit 8 Test: Classical Greece and Alexander
Unit 9

The Roman Republic

7 lessons + unit test

How did Rome govern itself as a republic, and why did the republic fall?
  1. Geography and the Founding of Rome
  2. How the Republic Was Governed
  3. Patricians, Plebeians and the Twelve Tables
  4. The Punic Wars
  5. The Crisis of the Republic
  6. Julius Caesar
  7. Augustus and the Birth of the Empire
  8. Unit 9 Test: The Roman Republic
Unit 10

The Roman Empire

8 lessons + unit test

How did Rome hold together a vast empire for centuries, and why did the western half fall?
  1. The Pax Romana
  2. Daily Life in the Roman Empire
  3. Roman Engineering and Architecture
  4. Roman Law and Citizenship
  5. Christianity in the Roman Empire
  6. The Crisis of the Third Century
  7. Diocletian and Constantine
  8. The Fall of the West and Rome's Legacy
  9. Unit 10 Test: The Roman Empire
Unit 11

Classical India

7 lessons + unit test

How did India's classical empires unite a diverse land and advance human knowledge?
  1. The Geography of South Asia
  2. Varna, Jati and Social Order
  3. The Mauryan Empire
  4. Ashoka
  5. Kingdoms and Trade Between Empires
  6. The Gupta Golden Age
  7. Indian Mathematics, Science and Medicine
  8. Unit 11 Test: Classical India
Unit 12

Imperial China

8 lessons + unit test

How did Chinese dynasties build a lasting state, and what did China give the world?
  1. The Qin Unification
  2. Legalism, the Great Wall and the Terracotta Army
  3. Han Government and the Civil Service
  4. Han Achievements
  5. The Period of Disunion
  6. The Sui and Tang Dynasties
  7. Song Dynasty Innovations
  8. From the Yuan to the Ming
  9. Unit 12 Test: Imperial China
Unit 13

The Spread of World Religions

8 lessons + unit test

What do the world's major belief systems teach, and how did they spread?
  1. Judaism
  2. Hinduism
  3. Buddhism
  4. Confucianism
  5. Daoism
  6. Christianity
  7. Islam
  8. How Belief Systems Spread
  9. Unit 13 Test: The Spread of World Religions
Unit 14

The Byzantine Empire

7 lessons + unit test

How did the eastern Roman Empire survive for a thousand years after the fall of the West?
  1. Constantinople
  2. Justinian and Theodora
  3. Justinian's Code
  4. Hagia Sophia and Byzantine Culture
  5. The Eastern Orthodox Church and the Schism of 1054
  6. Byzantium, the Rus and Their Neighbors
  7. The Fall of Constantinople
  8. Unit 14 Test: The Byzantine Empire
Unit 15

The Islamic World

8 lessons + unit test

How did Islam grow from a faith in Arabia into a civilization that stretched across three continents?
  1. Arabia Before Islam
  2. Muhammad and the Beginnings of Islam
  3. The First Caliphs and the Sunni–Shia Split
  4. The Umayyad Caliphate
  5. The Abbasids and Baghdad
  6. Science, Mathematics and Medicine
  7. Al-Andalus
  8. Turks, Crusaders and the Rise of the Ottomans
  9. Unit 15 Test: The Islamic World
Unit 16

African Kingdoms

8 lessons + unit test

How did trade, faith and geography shape the great kingdoms of Africa?
  1. The Geography of Africa
  2. Bantu Migrations
  3. Aksum
  4. Ghana and the Gold–Salt Trade
  5. Mali and Mansa Musa
  6. Songhai and Timbuktu
  7. The Swahili Coast
  8. Great Zimbabwe
  9. Unit 16 Test: African Kingdoms
Unit 17

The Americas

8 lessons + unit test

How did the peoples of the Americas build complex societies suited to their environments?
  1. The Olmec and Early Mesoamerica
  2. Maya City-States
  3. Maya Writing, Mathematics and Calendars
  4. The Aztec and Tenochtitlan
  5. Aztec Society and Religion
  6. Societies of North America
  7. The Inca Empire
  8. Inca Roads, Quipu and Machu Picchu
  9. Unit 17 Test: The Americas
Unit 18

Medieval Europe

8 lessons + unit test

How did Europe rebuild order after Rome's fall, and what forces transformed it by 1500?
  1. The Franks and Charlemagne
  2. Invasions and Feudalism
  3. Manors and Peasants
  4. The Church in Medieval Life
  5. The Crusades
  6. Towns, Trade and Guilds
  7. Magna Carta and Parliament
  8. The Black Death and the Hundred Years' War
  9. Unit 18 Test: Medieval Europe
Unit 19

The Mongols

7 lessons + unit test

How did nomads from the steppe build the largest land empire in history, and how did it change Eurasia?
  1. Life on the Steppe
  2. Genghis Khan
  3. The Mongol Way of War
  4. The Khanates
  5. Kublai Khan and the Yuan Dynasty
  6. The Pax Mongolica
  7. The Decline and Legacy of the Mongols
  8. Unit 19 Test: The Mongols
Unit 20

Trade Networks

7 lessons + unit test

How did trade routes by land and sea connect Afro-Eurasia, and what traveled along them besides goods?
  1. The Origins of the Silk Roads
  2. Goods, Ideas and Faiths on the Silk Roads
  3. Monsoon Winds and the Indian Ocean
  4. Ports and Peoples of the Indian Ocean
  5. Trans-Saharan Trade
  6. Ibn Battuta and Marco Polo
  7. The Voyages of Zheng He
  8. Unit 20 Test: Trade Networks
Unit 21

The Renaissance

8 lessons + unit test

Why did a rebirth of classical learning begin in Italy, and how did it change Europe and the world by 1500?
  1. Why the Renaissance Began in Italy
  2. Humanism
  3. Florence and the Medici
  4. Renaissance Artists
  5. Machiavelli and Renaissance Politics
  6. The Printing Press
  7. The Northern Renaissance
  8. The World Around 1500
  9. Unit 21 Test: The Renaissance

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