Hillsdale K-12 American History & Civics Curriculum

The Hillsdale K-12 American History & Civics Curriculum is a collection of lesson plans for teaching American history (kindergarten through 12th grade) and civics and government (6th through 12th grade), published by Hillsdale College and offered at no cost.

Last updated: 2026-10-29 · Every Homeschool Editorial Team

At a glance

Method	Classical / traditional; primary-source driven, content-rich sequenced instruction
Worldview	Faith-neutral (Every Homeschool classification); the Hillsdale K-12 office's Our Work page describes an American classical education that offers "a firm grounding in civic virtue" and cultivates moral character, and the pages we read state no faith position
Grades	K-12 for American history; 6-12 for civics and government
Formats	Free download after a free account sign-up (Terms of Use); printed edition sold separately; free online course for teachers
Cost tier	Free to download; print editions are sold separately
Parent intensity	4 (in our assessment, the parent plans and teaches the lessons)
ESA-common	Not applicable to the free download; eligibility of print editions and supplementary purchases was not verified
Accredited	Not applicable; Hillsdale describes it as a collection of lesson plans, assessments, and primary sources
Established	Updated in 2026 for America's 250th anniversary
Website	k12.hillsdale.edu

Our scoreboard (1-5)

Criterion	Score	One-line reason
Academic rigor	4	In our assessment, substantive history and civics content with a classical posture; the curriculum covers American history and civics only, so math and science need other programs
Ease of teaching	2	In our assessment, the parent is the teacher; the lesson plans supply topics, stories to tell, questions to ask, and sample assignments and assessments, and the publisher describes its lesson plans as K12-American-History/">guidance for teachers rather than dictates
Content quality	5	Primary-source driven lessons in a unit sequence, developed by Hillsdale College professors and experienced K-12 teachers
Flexibility	5	In our assessment, flexible: a free download after account sign-up, organized by unit and grade band, and Hillsdale's K-12 at Home page recommends other publishers' programs for subjects the curriculum does not cover
Value for money	5	Free to download; print editions are sold separately.
Worldview scope	3	In our assessment, no faith position is stated on the pages we read, but the American-founding-centered civic frame has a point of view
Visual/design	4	Redesigned in the 2026 update
Support resources	3	The K-12 Education Office lists a phone number and email address for questions; the curriculum site also has an online course for teachers

Who the publisher is

Hillsdale College is a private liberal arts college, founded in 1844, in southern Michigan. The college's K-12 Education Office advises a network of over 50 affiliated classical schools that the College does not own or operate, and provides curriculum, training, and resources for public schools, private schools, and families, including the K-12 American History & Civics Curriculum.

The curriculum is a complete collection of lesson plans, developed by Hillsdale College professors and experienced K-12 teachers, with primary-source driven lessons organized in units by grade band.

In our assessment, Hillsdale College's institutional profile is conservative in the American sense and classical-liberal in the philosophical sense. The K-12 office's Our Work page describes "a firm grounding in civic virtue" and the cultivation of moral character, and the pages we read state no faith position. In our assessment, a family looking for a Christian American-history curriculum that integrates Scripture should look elsewhere; a family looking for a substantive, primary-source-based American-history curriculum may find one here whatever its faith.

The core pedagogy

In our assessment, the program is classical and traditional in posture and content-rich in substance, and the curriculum is strongest where Hillsdale's institutional expertise is deepest: American history, civics, the Western canon, and the liberal arts. The American History & Civics Curriculum covers history and civics, not math or natural science; Hillsdale's K-12 at Home page recommends other publishers' programs for other subjects, such as Singapore Math for math.

The first feature is the primary-source-driven lesson: the publisher describes the curriculum as primary-source driven and says it contains "supplementary primary sources, maps, images, and videos". In our assessment, the curriculum relies on primary sources to carry the lessons. In our assessment, this is a legitimate classical approach, and it asks a parent or teacher to read the sources and lead a conversation about them.

The second mechanic is sequenced progression across the grades. The American history lessons are organized in four grade bands: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. The publisher says students learn about American history from the colonies through the Civil War at four different times during their K-12 years, each time increasing in depth, and the 6-8 and 9-12 bands continue through recent American history. The unit The American Founding (1763-1789) appears in each of the four grade bands, so a student who works through the full sequence studies the founding four times.

The third mechanic is teacher training. Hillsdale offers a free online course for teachers (up to 4 hours of professional development credit), a K-12 Classical Education Podcast, and free online courses taught by Hillsdale College faculty. These are not mandatory, but in our assessment they substantially upgrade a parent's ability to teach the material. The office also runs Hillsdale K-12 at Home, a website that provides "videos, podcasts, and resources to help parents support classical education at home."

What they do exceptionally well

Primary sources in the lessons. The curriculum includes student-ready primary sources.

Free. The curriculum is offered at no cost through a simple sign-up process, with American history lessons for kindergarten through 12th grade and civics lessons for grades 6 through 12.

Classical sequencing done at institutional scale. In our assessment, Hillsdale has the bench of faculty, the institutional memory, and the production resources to do what a single author cannot, publish and maintain a coherent K-12 sequence across history and civics. The updated curriculum for America's 250th anniversary in 2026 is offered in a refreshed, redesigned format with additional resources, alongside a free online course for teachers.

Teacher training and video supplements. Hillsdale's free online courses include Constitution 101, The Federalist Papers, Revolutionary America, and Shakespeare titles.

What they do poorly

Parent preparation. The lesson plans provide lists of content topics, stories to tell, and questions to ask of students, "Keys to the Lesson" for teachers, student-ready primary sources, and sample assignments, activities, and assessments, and the publisher describes them as guidance for teachers rather than dictates. In our assessment, the parent still does the reading, pacing, and discussion, and for a homeschool parent with limited time and no background in American history, the parent load is substantial. The curriculum is free, but the parent's time is not.

Who it fits / who it doesn't

• Pick the Hillsdale K-12 American History & Civics Curriculum if: you want a free, primary-source driven American history and civics spine for a K-12 homeschool; you are comfortable reading the source documents yourself and leading discussions about them; you want a content-rich classical approach without a specific religious confession attached; you value the ability to mix-and-match with math, science, and language programs from other publishers; you are willing to make use of the free Hillsdale online courses to bolster your own background.

• Skip the Hillsdale K-12 American History & Civics Curriculum if: you want a fully scripted, turnkey, all-subjects K-12 curriculum you can run with minimal preparation (the curriculum covers American history and civics, and Hillsdale's K-12 at Home page recommends curricula from other publishers for homeschool parents); you are looking for a Christian American-history curriculum that integrates Scripture; you prefer a social-history-first or revisionist approach to American history; your teaching availability is severely limited and you cannot commit to reading primary sources before discussion; you want live instruction.

Cost honest assessment

The full American history and civics curriculum is offered at no cost through a simple sign-up process, as of October 2026. It is distributed from Hillsdale's curriculum site, where a printed edition is also available to order.

Compared to Notgrass History (the Exploring America high school course, with the curriculum package listed at $125.00 and the bundle at $275.00 as of October 2026) or BJU Heritage Studies (sold as video courses and textbook kits), the Hillsdale curriculum is offered at no cost. The download provides lesson plans with student-ready primary sources and sample assignments, activities, and assessments; in our assessment, it has fewer student workbook pages and parent scripts than those programs, which is the trade. In our assessment, families who use the free download pay no cash for it and may spend considerably more time on lesson preparation.

ESA eligibility notes

The curriculum is free to download, and Hillsdale also sells print editions of the lesson plans. Arizona's ESA statute lists curricula and supplementary materials among the expenses an account may pay. Utah's statute lists textbooks, curricula, or other instructional materials among scholarship expenses. Families should confirm with their program administrator whether any print or supplementary purchase is eligible.

Alternatives

• Notgrass History, a family would pick Notgrass over Hillsdale if they want a high school American history course that the publisher describes as open-and-go with minimal parent prep and taught from a Christian worldview, with all assignments included right in the lesson text (Notgrass FAQ).
• Memoria Press, a family would pick Memoria Press over Hillsdale if they want a classical curriculum from one publisher, with products listed for preschool through twelfth grade and subjects that include Latin, logic and rhetoric, literature and poetry, and math, rather than assembled around a free history spine.
• Sonlight, a family would pick Sonlight over Hillsdale if they want a Christian homeschool curriculum with American History and World History programs and Instructor's Guides.