Homeschooling High School: 10th Grade Plan

Has your student completed 9th grade and you are looking to find a suitable curriculum for the next year?

When we were searching for curriculum for my 10th grader, we decided to follow in the vein of our 9th grade keeping our main goals in mind. (You can find more information about general high school goals in Homeschooling a High Schooler.) Let me share with you how we decided to choose our particular 10^th grade curriculum in hopes that you will find it helpful for your own planning.

What Is the Best Homeschool Curriculum?

As there are almost infinite resources available for creating a curriculum for your high schooler, in Homeschooling High School: 9th Grade Plan we focused on simplifying the whole process and described five basic curriculum options that are available for homeschoolers. Also, we have determined that “the best curriculum” really means “the best for you” as the best on the market may not be the best fit for your student. Therefore, when putting together your 10^th grade curriculum, keep in mind your child’s learning style as well as your family dynamics and financial situation.

Our 10^th Grade Plan

Language Arts

1. Literature: Analyzing & Interpreting Literature CLEP Exam

With a firm foundation of Fundamentals of Literature by BJU Press in 9^th grade, we determined to continue in a similar vein and prepare for Analyzing & Interpreting Literature CLEP Exam. This proved to be both a challenge as well as a great blessing. In preparation for this exam we studied from the following curricula:

1. We purchased REA’s official CLEP Analyzing & Interpreting Literature study book. It is easily available online for as little as $4. We found it to be invaluable for the following reasons:

• • It includes a straightforward study of the literary terminology and samples of how to dissect the text.
  • It includes 3 full-length practice exams accompanied by detailed explanation of why the particular answer is correct while the other ones are not.
  • The practice exams give the student an excellent pre-official test experience of how it “feels” to take the actual test as well as provide specific information about the areas the student still needs to focus on.

2. My son took an online course at Modern States and received the following:

• • FREE video and text preparation.
  • FREE online test questions similar to those in the actual test but different from the REA’s study book.
  • FREE CLEP exam voucher.
  • REIMBURSEMENT for the college test center fee.

3. We purchased one month of InstantCert membership in order to get more practice, which proved to be very profitable.

(You can read more about this exam in How to Pass Analyzing & Interpreting Literature CLEP Exam.)

2. Writing: Research Projects

Originally, we were planning on following our 9^th grade path and continue with Composition: Structure and Style for Students by IEW. However, year two of this curriculum was not made available on the market that particular year. In order to fill the gap without completely changing the curriculum that we had been following since 4^th grade, we focused on various research projects. This gave my son lots of writing practice while following the same methodology he had been used to. (You can read more about this adventurous approach in How to Teach Homeschool Writing Without a Curriculum in High School.)

3. Grammar: Analytical Grammar: a Systematic Approach to Language Mastery

Originally, we were going to continue our grammar studies with Easy Grammar Ultimate Series: 180 Daily Teaching Lessons by Easy Grammar Systems. However, we chose to make a switch to Analytical Grammar: A Systematic Approach to Language Mastery by R. Robin Finley. Even though this curriculum is slightly more rigorous than the previous one, it helped my son to understand grammar on a much deeper level than ever before. If you asked him whether he enjoyed grammar in 10^th grade, his answer would not be especially positive. Nevertheless, he began to understand concepts that were very difficult for him in the past and his grammar skills have improved beyond my expectations.

4. Spelling: Phonetic Zoo Spelling Level C by IEW

As we were quite happy with this curriculum in 9^th grade (Level B), we took the next step and purchased Level C (the final level of this particular spelling program). This phonics-based program uses auditory input to ensure that the correct spelling of each word is absorbed by the brain in the right sequence. The audio allows students to work independently much of the time, while allowing for the repetition needed for mastery. [Please note, my son is a very strong auditory learner so this curriculum was a perfect fit for him. It proved to be even a better option than some of the best multisensory programs available on the market.]

Math

Algebra II by Math-U-See

(Honors lessons are available in the curriculum if one chooses to utilize them.)

As we were very pleased with Plain Geometry by Math-U-See, we decided to follow up with Algebra II. The lessons in this curriculum are very proficient but at the same time easy to understand. Each lesson starts with a short teaching video that is then supported by an extensive textbook and workbook which provides enough practice to master the problems. Each unit also includes review lessons that allow students to continue practicing problems from previous lesson. Therefore the material retention is quite high. We enjoyed this curriculum very much and can highly recommend it.

Science

Exploring Creation with Biology by Apologia

Biology was the first class in high school that my son took outside of his home environment. We found a local co-op that focused primarily on academics and offered a biology class taught by a professional biologist. We could not have been happier. The teacher was outstanding and most of the classes involved experiments or dissections. This detailed and rigorous curriculum gave my 15-year-old an excellent foundation to pass the biology CLEP exam. [You can read more about this exam in How to Take Biology CLEP Exam in High School.]

Disclaimer: We strongly DO NOT RECOMMEND this curriculum for home self-study unless you, as a homeschool teacher, are very scientifically minded. It is a very text-facts heavy class and will overwhelm a typical (as well as advanced) high school student. However, if presented by a teacher who is able to separate the essential information from the non-essential, the course has tremendous benefits. [Please read a detailed review of this curriculum in Exploring Creation with Biology.]

Biology CLEP Preparation Programs

In order to prepare for the Biology CLEP exam (College-Level Examination Program), my son tackled two online programs:

1. Modern States online course that provided him with free video classes, test preparation materials, test questions to practice, free exam voucher, and reimbursement for the college test center fee.
2. InstantCert.com test preparation practice that reinforced already learned information.

Health by Abeka

This is actually a 9^th grade curriculum that we did not manage to cover in 9^th grade. However, I wanted my son to understand the basics of health before he left high school. This one semester course gave him a scientific overview of developing a healthy body, maintaining personal health, administering first aid, preventing diseases, etc. It was a fun course to take.

Social Studies

World History Detective by the Critical Thinking Co.

After completing U.S. History Detective in the 8th grade, we decided to turn to the same publisher for the world history in the 10th grade. World History Detective by the Critical Thinking Co. provides short, interesting and thorough information and encourages independent studies with little input from the teacher. There are no lesson plans needed for this curriculum.

Western Civilization I & II CLEP Preparation Programs

As with the Biology CLEP exam, my son took the same two online programs for his Western Civilization CLEPs – Modern States and InstantCert.com. In addition to these, we purchased REA’s official CLEP Western Civilization I study book to practice complete exams and gain more confidence. I must note here though that we skipped this book for Western Civilization II. Not because it would not be valuable or profitable, but we concluded that the online programs were sufficient for the second exam. He passed both of them without any difficulties.

Bible

Devotionals by Living a Mighty Faith by Angus Buchan & Devotions for a Deeper Life by Oswald Chambers

In addition to rather intensive Bible reading and Bible studies, we devoted quite significant time to studying two daily devotional books. Living a Mighty Faith by Angus Buchan and Devotions for a Deeper Life by Oswald Chambers provide a young person with foundational principles of a Christian walk that can be applied to their daily lives.

Keyboarding (Elective)

Rapid Typing

This free online touch typing program was very easy to follow and gave my son a solid foundation for his future. However, I really hesitate to recommend this program to others due to its choice of language, which does not necessarily align with Christian beliefs. I am sure there are other keyboarding programs of the same technical value that provide a better choice of language.

Which curriculum have you used in 10^th grade and would recommend to others? Please share with us in the comment section below. We would LOVE to hear from you!