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A Typical High School Plan
If you’re homeschooling a high school student for the first time, you might find it encouraging to learn you can determine your own graduation requirements. On the other hand, you might find the flexibility daunting, and wonder where to start. This was written for those in the second category.
What follows is a suggested plan for four years of high school. This is simply a jumping-off point, which can be customized at will. This plan was designed with a college bound student in mind, and consists of 23 credits (including four electives). In this plan, a credit is equal to approximately 100 hours of study.
If your student will not be attending college, his time might be better spent on courses relating to his intended trade, instead of mathematics above Algebra 1. One or two credits of science might be sufficient for this type of student. If the choice is writing or literature, always choose to hone those writing skills, because they will be of value in any chosen trade or profession.
Students should earn one credit in each of the following courses during each of these high school years:
Freshman
- General Math or Algebra 1
- Earth Science
- Geography
- Writing, Advanced Grammar
Sophomore
- Algebra 1 or 2
- Biology
- Economics, Government
- Writing, Speech
Junior
- Algebra 2 or Geometry
- Chemistry
- American History
- Writing, American Literature
Senior
- Geometry or higher math
- Physics
- World History
- Writing, English Literature
In addition, at some point during the four high school years, a student should earn:
PE – 1 credit
Fine arts – 2 credits
Electives – 4 credits
Approximately one-half credit of health should be included as part of the science or P.E. curriculum. It is suggested that at least one elective be foreign language study for those who are college bound, and that all students are computer proficient.
For more information on planning for high school homeschooling
About Kelly
Kelly Stone is owner of The Homeschooler's Curriculum Swap, the oldest used curriculum site on the Internet. She is a homeschooling mom of six children, ages 8 through 29. The eldest three children have graduated from the family's homeschool high school. Kelly lives in Oregon, where she is a freelance writer and online marketing representative.
October 9, 2012
I'm a little surprised this plan doesn't suggest any AP courses for college-bound homeschoolers. All the admission counselors I spoke with at the college fair this fall recommended that we find a way to take AP or dual-credit classes to be able to compete with the public-schooled students for admission. I did find a site that offers AP classes for homeschoolers, but we haven't signed up for any yet: http://www.aphomeschoolers.com/