# Designing a Curriculum for the Forgotten Classics



## th_Wolverine (Apr 15, 2013)

Dear Homeschool moms: (soon to be, currently, or in an age bygone)
What sort of things do you look for when finding a curriculum for a certain course? I'm toying with the idea of creating some course kits for studying a few classic works to fall under the umbrella of Social Studies, Humanities, and/or History, but as I've only BEEN homeschooled and never on the TEACHING end, what are some things you look for? What features do you like? What don't you like?
The idea that's been tickling my mind is to take a classic work (like sun tzu's art of war) and add an introduction and applications case study (ie why Vietnam was lost before we even got there, or why D-Day was so successful) and include things like test booklet, activity booklet, teachers guide, and any extra stuff (for instance the chinese game "Goban" is a perfect illustration of the philosophy of sun tzus leadership strategy so it would be a homework activity to learn and play a few games throughout the course) It would be designed as an in depth study over a semester (or 80 short and consise lessons) with two options: a middle school level option and a highschool level option
All that and eventually a dvd or streaming program with video lessons would be a kit, at least some day in the future. But to start out it would just be all the books and materials. 

thoughts? I'm just spitballing some ideas out there and want to know what it is you all look for and do when YOU design a curriculum!


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## SLFarmMI (Feb 21, 2013)

If you Google "study units" for your chosen literature, you will find lots of options. Take a look at some of those and they will give you a jumping off point.


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## Clayjunky (Nov 23, 2016)

Great question and I'm happy to give some suggestions. I'm a semi-retired former HS Art Teacher and Principal, currently a PT Educational Consultant. I have crafted many course curriculums over my career and can offer a few tips. 

*Review the State benchmarks for courses you wish to offer and adapt to your liking. There are numerous courses offered (in most states) that emphasize the classics, not just language art courses either. I designed a curriculum and taught an art course on Asian Expressions, included everything from Haiku to origami. 

You absolutely have creative license but you also want to ensure your instruction is aligned with state standards and expected student growth outcomes. Although there may not be any formal review from the local school district regarding what you're [email protected] home, this is a heathy measure to afford your child the minimum expectations of peers in public schools. Obviously homeschool offers many benefits beyond public school, however, I had dozens of students come to my school (an alternative school for academically delayed kids) following years of homeschooling because the curriculums taught at home lacked integrity and rigor, was thrown together with little planning and as a result they were "behind" compared to their peers when they tried to re-enter public education. Even if you plan to homeschool k-12 I'd suggest putting eyes on what other kids are expected to know and assess your children frequently to ensure they are not falling behind. My school was 6-12, it was heartbreak as the administrator to tell a parent/student that even though they had great intentions with homeschooling, their child was years behind their peers and would be starting public school a grade or more behind. I will be homeschooling our girls when we move and can't stress enough the value of assessing your kids and ensuring they are learning on par with existing standards. Politics/philosophy and public school views aside, if kids aren't competitive with their peers, the child suffers the consequences, be it when trying to enter the work force, military service or post secondary education. 

I see you're in TN (which is where we are moving to start our homestead and TN's website is - https://www.tn.gov/education/topic/academic-standards

* The Art of War would marry well into numerous courses in political science, humanities, social science, literature/language arts or even elective courses. 


*Utilize the internet! It's rare to create an original course, most likely someone has published something similar that can assist you, or you may be able to utilize in its entirety. I'm sure Homeschool sites offer this info to purchase but every curriculum you can think of is out there for free, just takes a little time to research it and customize to your needs. Discovery Education is a great website, their assessments are used nationwide in many districts to measure student growth and they offer free resources to the public. A quick search came up with an existing lesson plan that you may find useful on The Art of War. 
http://www.discoveryeducation.com/teachers/free-lesson-plans/the-art-of-war.cfm

*Student engagement/technology - again use the Internet, they're countless resources, anything from lesson plans and assessment design tools to interactive review games that allow teachers to customize the content to their liking. Kids learn best when instruction is engaging, has real-world application and they're able to identify with it. If you would like specific sites I can put a list together. 


* utilize unit planning. 80 lessons over a semester, according to current research, shows may kids learn better over extended time - knowledge mapping of lessons that are 3-5 days in length and allow a cumulative approach to learning with time for processing and demonstration of key concepts and understanding. "Daily" lessons are no longer the norm, units are. Daily "essential questions" are common practice, basically stating on the board or anywhere for the child to see the expected learning outcome for the day. What will the child know, how will they learn it and how will they prove they know it. 

Good Luck and if I can help, feel free to email me @ [email protected]


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## kyweaver (Nov 30, 2009)

+1 to following state benchmarks. Lots of homeschoolers get angry when they go back to school and find that their kid isn't up to speed. 
Make sure that all information you provide is accurate. I've seen lots of curricula that teach outdated, heavily biased, or just plain wrong information.


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