How To Write Your Own Homeschool Curriculum: Tenth Grade

Starting with the core subjects is probably the best method, as they will better prepare your child for progression to higher grades.

Math - Tenth grade math is extremely important if your child is planning on attending university or college in the future. By this point they should already be doing or prepared to be doing roots, polynomials and basic algebra, getting ready to proceed into calculus. A textbook is the best source of exactly what concepts a tenth grade student should be learning, as well as providing reviews of concepts learned in ninth grade. Choose the textbook used in schools in your area if possible, or review several from different sources, to get a feel for the book and ensure it is suitable to work with. From there, divide all the chapters up into sets of several lessons each, and teach one a day. It is important that mathematical concepts be learned thoroughly and reviewed often, lest they cripple the student in later years.

English - Tenth is the grade in which essays should be explored. Your child should have already done terminology work in the previous two grades, so carefully review or teach the basic terms of literature and language, most importantly, grammar and sentence structure. Once this knowledge is cemented, plan lessons for the learning of APA essay writing format, a complicated style that will consume quite some time and take a fair amount of practice to achieve correctly. The student must learn to cite references and correctly format bibliographies. The MLA style can also be touched on briefly.

There are hundreds of excellent literary works available for high school, and fortunately many of them can be studied at varying grade levels. Short stories or novels are both acceptable, and a drama or two is recommended. In-depth book reviews can be obtained both online and offline to help you choose, or you can reference the list of possible book selections made to area high schools. Three novels and one or two plays, one of which is Shakespearean, is fairly standard and acceptable for this grade level.

At this point, exploring creative writing with your child is also an option, while still teaching basic language and literature. It is far easier to become comfortable with the essay styles if you have had a chance to explore your own writing, not to mention novels studied at this level tend to be longer and more advanced than what is covered in lower grades.

Science - At this point, the student should be moving away from General science and into Lab sciences, in particular if they will be eventually progressing into post-secondary education. It should be the student's choice whether he wants to begin chemistry, biology, earth sciences or physics (or another lab science that meets post-secondary requirements), though biology is by far the easiest to teach if one does not possess a science degree, especially without a lab. General Science at this point would touch on all three major lab subjects as well as giving some attention to astronomy, geology and reviewing basic concepts that arose in earlier grades. Thoroughly investigate possible textbooks for General to ensure that they cover all the areas you want your student to be familiar with, whereas for a lab science the textbook will already be very in-depth in that subject. (Also, a General course usually covers the entire book, whereas half of a lab science book may be held over for Grade 11 study.)

History - Here, you have the option of covering a certain country, time period, or other varieties of specialized study. Often it is best to start with a historical study of your own country overall, moving onto World History in Grade 11 or 12.

Geography - As with History, this is likely the first time your student has gone in-depth into Geography in several years, so begin with regional Geography before moving on to World Geography in a later grade.

Second Language - Unfortunately, it is difficult to homeschool in a second language unless you are very familiar with that language yourself, or obtain a tutor. Spanish, French and German are all very popular options here and can be an excellent asset later in life, so if you are able to provide schooling or continue schooling in a second language, do make an effort to do so - it will benefit the child in the long run.

Many other courses are available to you for the rest of your curriculum, including but not limited to: art, music, computer science, physical education, home economics, sewing, creative writing, sociology, speech, linguistics, woodworking, and more. Focus on subjects that are both practical and interesting to the student, and allow them to choose what personal development areas they will study. Work at an even and brisk pace - your student has the ability to stop you any time for further clarification. Let them be involved in the planning of their school year, and your lessons are sure to be a success.