TED Talk Historical Judgment Unit 1 - Power | 2-Week Curriculum

Teach two focused weeks of historical judgment with Unit 1 - Power.

This no-prep Grades 9-12 unit uses 8 short public TED/TED-Ed videos as anchors for complete 50-minute lessons. Students judge powerful rulers by weighing achievements against coercion, propaganda, source bias, institutional change, and long-term consequences.

Try a real lesson free: Ugly History: Witch Hunts - FREE sample lesson

FREE planning preview: Download the Full Curriculum Educator Planning Guide

Want all six units plus the Week 13 culmination? See the Complete Full Curriculum

Videos Included - Unit 1 Power

Every title links directly to the public YouTube video.

1. History vs. Augustus - Peta Greenfield & Alex Gendler
2. History vs. Cleopatra - Alex Gendler
3. History vs. Egypt’s "most powerful" pharaoh - Jessica Tomkins
4. History vs. Henry VIII - Mark Robinson and Alex Gendler
5. History vs. Russia’s most infamous empress - Carolyn Harris
6. History vs. Genghis Khan - Alex Gendler
7. History vs. Andrew Jackson - James Fester
8. History's deadliest king - by Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja

Classroom Use at a Glance

• Length: 2 instructional weeks / about 10 class days
• Video lessons: 8
• Assessments: W01, W02, U01
• Lesson design: complete 50-minute lesson structure around each short video
• Best uses: world history, U.S. history, social studies, civics, humanities, whole-class instruction, sub plans, review, enrichment, make-up work, or independent study

What's Included

• 8 complete TED video lesson sets
• W01, W02, U01 assessment Teacher Guides and generated student/quiz derivatives
• Teacher Guides with learning targets, vocabulary, structured viewing, discussion prompts, answer keys, and standards alignment
• Digital and print Student Worksheets
• Self-Graded Quizzes
• Multiple Choice Quiz Print versions
• Start Here PDF with shared-folder access instructions

Guidance & Summary

• Each short video becomes a full lesson rather than a passive viewing worksheet.
• Students separate evidence from inference, compare competing interpretations, weigh context without using context as an automatic excuse, and make defensible historical judgments.
• Questions emphasize changed-cue reasoning and transfer rather than simple recall whenever appropriate.
• Assessment banks let teachers select items for class time, review, retakes, or differentiation.

Differentiation Options

• Preview only essential vocabulary and allow replay of difficult sections.
• Use partner discussion before written response when students need oral rehearsal.
• Assign selected assessment-bank items rather than every item when time is limited.
• For advanced students, require counterarguments, alternative interpretations, source-limit analysis, or explicit criteria for judgment.

New Optional Video Companion (used with YouTube)

The free Classroom Video Guide Companion Chrome extension can automatically pause YouTube at question timestamps and display prompts during viewing. It can make whole-class, small-group, and independent video lessons easier to facilitate. The curriculum works normally without the extension.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are the videos included?
No. The exact public YouTube videos are linked above.

Does this unit include the full-course Capstone and cumulative Final?
No. Those full-course-only resources are included in the Complete Full Curriculum.

Can I use this with Google Classroom?
Yes. The controller-generated workflow includes digital student materials and self-graded quiz support.

Independent resource notice: TED/TED-Ed videos are not included. This is an independent educator-created companion curriculum and is not affiliated with or endorsed by TED.