Page 12 - Class Catalog 2017

also need reliable home internet access for the short stories & poems we will be reading this year. Teacher:
Emily Bolthouse Recommended Donation of $10 per weekly class session

History and Literature Through the Centuries (American History and Literature, 1600-Present). This series of classes
walks students through the pages of world history and world literature in four-year cycles, but accommodates grades
th
th
5 - 12 simultaneously, broadly dividing classes between two of the classical model’s stages of development: the
th
th
th
Dialectic (or Logic) stage, roughly 5 or 6 -8 grade, fluent readers who have naturally started making connections
between the academic disciplines and demanding the reasons behind the facts, and the Rhetoric stage, strong readers in
high school. The classes are designed to reduce confusion in homeschooling by unifying the family in a single historical
period, allowing for family conversations that slide naturally around common themes and topics, but at different levels
of complexity, depending on the ages of the children in the family. The classes themselves allow for weekly, simple and
systematic practice of sentence and paragraph structures and styles, and guided discussions and presentations with and
before peers. The at-home assignments are easily adapted to all middle school and high school writing abilities, using
the natural abundance of historical and literary topics in class to practice and develop narrative, expository and
persuasive writing skills. High school classes assume a basic knowledge of the structure of a simple, 5-paragraph
expository essay and a 9-paragraph persuasive essay, or that the student is in a separate writing class, actively learning
these structures. Guidance for writing an optional, 7-10 page, persuasive research paper will be offed to high school
students who desire the practice. This year, we will be studying American history and literature; next year, we will
progress to Modern World History and Literature, 1600-Present; then we will cycle back to the ancients. The History and
Literature Through the Centuries classes are designed to be taken together at each level, but may be taken separately.
Middle School (Dialectic) American Literature will not be offered this year.

Core text for high school classes only (to be used as a reference for structure and style, not for writing prompts, which
will come from class topics): Kane, Thomas S. The New Oxford Guide to Writing. New York: Oxford U, 2007.
Optional high school research paper text: Rozakis, Laurie. Schaum's Quick Guide to Writing Great Research Papers. New
York: McGraw-Hill, 2007.

A historical atlas of the United States is helpful, but is not required.

Supplies: A 2-inch three-ring binder, 4-10 dividers, 5X5 graph paper, loose-leaf notebook paper, pencils/pens, colored
pencils.

fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th,meddle
• Dialectic American History (5th-8th). Middle School (Dialectic) American History takes advantage of the middle
school student’s developing ability to ask and answer analytical questions and organize information. The core
text is encyclopedic to provide a framework in which students will master the fundamentals of inquiry by
exploring topics that particularly interest them. In class, we will review and solidify important dates and facts,
share our research, and discuss how the topics of American history relate to each other, how to avoid other
people’s mistakes, and Americans who inspire us to godly action. Core Text: DK Smithsonian Children’s
Encyclopedia of American History. Core Text: DK Smithsonian Children’s Encyclopedia of American History.
Supplies: A three-ring binder, 10 dividers, 5X5 graph paper, loose-leaf notebook paper, pencils/pens, colored
pencils. Teacher: Laura Keifer Recommended Donation of $10 per weekly donation
ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, high
• Rhetoric-stage American History (9th-12th). High School (Rhetoric) American History (and American Literature)
takes advantage of the burgeoning adult’s desire to formulate their own opinions and assert them. The core
history text is narrative; its author claims to have clearly stated his own opinions for the reader’s evaluation. In
addition, he has sprinkled the text with insightful questions about underlying principles that drive historical
events. In class, we will review important dates and facts, share maps and primary source images, discuss the
truths we glean from the text, great American speeches and articles, (and our literature) and refine our opinions
about America and our history to the point that we are able to clearly, tactfully, thoughtfully, and memorably