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GRADE LEVEL
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THE GREAT BOOKS ACADEMY:
A CONCISE CURRICULUM OVERVIEW
(Please use the scroll bars to view entire chart)
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PRINCIPAL COURSES AVAILABLE
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ADDITIONAL COURSES AVAILABLE
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Literature ("Good" & Great Books)
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Language Arts
&
Foreign Language
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Music
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Fine Arts
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Socratic Discussion Group
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Math
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Science
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Philosophy for Children
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History
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Geography
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Cartography
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NURSERY
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Nursery Rhymes,
Fairy Tales
7 books
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Introduction to
the ABC's
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Classical Baby
Cassette/CD
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Simple Art
Projects for
Children
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N/A
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Introduction
to Numbers
One to Ten
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N/A
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N/A
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N/A
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N/A
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N/A
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PRESCHOOL
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Rhymes, Fairy
Tales and Stories
9 books
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Learning and
writing the
ABC's
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Mozart Makes
You Smarter
Cassette/CD
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Appreciation and
Production
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N/A
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Numbers
One to Ten
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N/A
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N/A
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N/A
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N/A
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N/A
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KINDERGARTEN
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Fairy Tales,
Rhymes &
Stories
10 books
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Learning to
read and write
simple words
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The Mozart
Connection
Cassette/CD
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Appreciation and
Production
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N/A
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Numbers and
Concepts
1-100
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N/A
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Reasoning about
Thinking
&
Language
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N/A
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N/A
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N/A
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1st GRADE
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Fairy Tales,
Adventures and
Stories
10 books
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Grammar,
Phonics,
Writing
Foreign Language
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Learning the
Recorder Book
& Recorder
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Appreciation,
History and
Production
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N/A
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Addition and
Subtraction
Story Problems
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Stars, Seasons,
Animal Habits,
Earth & Moon
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Reasoning about
Thinking
&
Language
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N/A
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N/A
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Maps, Globes
Oceans &
Continents
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2nd GRADE
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Little House books,
Fairy Tales and Stories
12 books
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Grammar,
Phonics,
Writing
Foreign Language
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Rhythm & Melody &
7 CDs
Practice/Play
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Appreciation,
History and
Production
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N/A
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Multiplication &
Division
Story Problems
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Animals, Life,
Earth, Solar
System
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Reasoning about Thinking
&
Language
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Ancient Near East
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N/A
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States, Compass,
Map Grid
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3rd GRADE
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Adventure, Tales,
Poetry, Fiction
12 books
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Grammar,
Phonics,
Writing
Foreign Language
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Classical Kids,
5 CD/Cassettes
& Practice/Play.
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Ancient Egypt
Arts and Crafts
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Classics text
& Discussion
30 min.
Biweekly
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Multiplication &
Division
Story Problems
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Life, Earth and
Physical Sciences
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Wonder at the World,
Make-believe & Reality
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Ancient Egypt
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Geography of
Ancient Egypt
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Hemisphere,
Scale, Grid,
Map Facts
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4th GRADE
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Adventure, Tales,
Travel, Fiction
12 books
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Grammar,
Vocabulary,
Spelling,
Foreign Language
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Meet the Great Composers
2 CDs & Practice/Play
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Ancient Greece
Arts and Crafts
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Classics text & Discussion
30 min.
Biweekly
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Computation, Fractions, Problem Solving
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Life, Earth and Physical Sciences
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Wonder at the World, Make-believe/ Reality
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Ancient Greece
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Geography of Ancient Persia & Greece
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Satellite Images, Scale, Time Zones
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5th GRADE
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Tarzan, Fiction, Westerns, Henty
18 books
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Grammar,
Vocabulary,
Spelling,
Foreign Language
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Famous Composers
11 Cassettes & Practice/Play
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Ancient Rome
Arts and Crafts
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Classics text
& Discussion
45 min.
Biweekly
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Ratios,
Square Roots, Geometric
Formulas
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Life, Earth and Physical Sciences
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Basic Reasoning
&
Ethics
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Ancient Rome
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Geography of Ancient Rome
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Tropics, Arctic, Circles, Adv. Map Skills
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6th GRADE
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Dickens, Henty Alcott, Cooper, Irving
22 books
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Grammar,
Vocabulary,
Spelling,
Foreign Language
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World's Greatest Composers
8 CDs
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Art History, Skills and Appreciation
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Classics text
& Discussion
45 min.
Biweekly
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Ratios, Percents
Problem Solving
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Life, Earth and Physical Sciences
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Basic Reasoning
&
Ethics
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World History
The Middle Ages to 1492
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Europe & Byzantium
Middle Ages
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Ocean Maps, Weather, Cartograms
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7th GRADE
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Stevenson, Shakespeare, Kipling
22 books
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Grammar,
Vocabulary,
Spelling,
Foreign Language
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Enjoyment of Music
4 Cassettes & Practice/Play
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Art History, Skills and Appreciation
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Classics text
& Discussion
60 min.
Biweekly
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Pre-Algebra or
Algebra 1/2
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Life Science
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Basic Logic I
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World History
1492 to Present
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Europe, Discoverers, New World
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N/A
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8th GRADE
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Twain, Dickens,
Verne, Henty,
Doyle
23 books
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Grammar,
Vocabulary,
Spelling,
Foreign Language
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Enjoyment of
Music
4 Cassettes &
Practice/Play
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Art History,
Skills and
Appreciation
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Classics text
& Discussion
60 min.
Biweekly
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Algebra I
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Earth Science
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Basic Logic II
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U.S. History
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Geography
of the
United States
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N/A
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FRESHMAN YEAR
9th GRADE
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Great Books
Ancient Greeks
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N/A
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N/A
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N/A
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Great Books
Ancient Greeks
2 Hours
Weekly
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Geometry or
Algebra II
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Physical Science
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Included in
Great Books
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Included in
Great Books
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Included in
Great Books
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Included in
Great Books
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SOPHOMORE YEAR
10th GRADE
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Great Books
Ancient Romans
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N/A
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N/A
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N/A
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Great Books
Ancient Romans
2 Hours
Weekly
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Algebra II &
Trigonometry
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Biology
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Included in
Great Books
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Included in
Great Books
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Included in
Great Books
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Included in
Great Books
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JUNIOR YEAR
11th GRADE
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Great Books
Medievals
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N/A
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N/A
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N/A
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Great Books
Medievals
2 Hours
Weekly
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The Calculus
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Chemistry
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IIncluded in
Great Books
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Included in
Great Books
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Included in
Great Books
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Included in
Great Books
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SENIOR YEAR
12th GRADE
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Great Books
Moderns
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N/A
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N/A
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N/A
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Great Books
Moderns
2 Hours
Weekly
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Mathematics
A Human Endeavor
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Physics
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Included in
Great Books
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Included in
Great Books
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Included in
Great Books
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Included in
Great Books
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NOTES
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Literature
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Language Arts
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Music
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Fine Arts
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Socratic
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Math
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Science
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Philosophy
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History
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Geography
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Cartography
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N/A = Not available for this grade level. Note: If this course was not completed in prior grades, it may be done now.
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The elementary (N-8th grade) Literature Program is taken entirely from the "Good Books" list compiled by Dr. John Senior. The 9th-12th grade program consists of selections of
the Great Books, selected principally by Dr. Mortimer J. Adler with additions for the Medievals by Drs. Quinn, Senior, Nelick.
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We
recommend the study to fluency in a foreign language, beginning in 1st grade (especially the ancient inflected languages -Greek and Latin). Our diploma requires proficiency in any one foreign language.
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Music,
drama and dance can be characterized as the fine symbolic arts, because they consist variously of notes, words and figures. Music, drama and dance (or some form of gymnastics) classes may easily be found in most locales, and are encouraged. We recommend that students learn to play at least one musical instrument reasonably well, for recreation, self-expression
, and to learn control of the emotions and passions.
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Drawing, painting, sculpture (or modeling), and crafts may be characterized as fine material arts, meaning that what is required is to make or transform some material thing.
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The Socratic Discussion Groups are not sequential prior to 9th grade, and may be
begun profitably at any year or time. From 9th-12th grades, they are sequential and students need to begin at the beginning, with the 9th grade readings only, regardless of their grade levels in other subjects.
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Mathematics at the elementary level should be taught with many connections with the real
world and real human problems, not as a purely abstract set of formulae. Most textbooks, including those we selected (for want of any better) insufficiently connect math to reality for youngsters.
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We
do not recommend science as a separate subject before 4th (or even 7th grade). Prior to that time a few "wonders" might be demonstrated, such as the constellations and resonance in music, but only phenomena which are simple should be considered. Field trips, simple experiments and stories of early discoveries and scientists should begin to be read and reenacted in these years. This is the age of wonder and contact with the beauties of nature, not excessive analysis. Our texts selected for this year are largely selected due to their beautiful images, interesting presentations, and for such simple projects which are described therein. But we encourage an even more "poetic" approach to science at the early grades.
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This
course is age appropriate and a wonderful training in the liberal art of thinking. Dr. Peter Redpath, a member of the Great Books Academy Board, taught this course for years and highly recommends it. The Great Books course in grades 9-12 integrates education in reasoning, logic, rhetoric and ethics.
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This
course follows the chronological order of history. The early grades are largely stories, heavily illustrated to help provide a sense of time. In the early grades literature often teaches history best. Grade 6 includes a more mature, though brief recapitulation of ancient history. The Great Books include much history, integrated into the readings, beginning with the Greek historian, Herodotus.
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Our Geography course is based on National Geographic's 100+ years of issues, indexed and on CDs, with Lesson Plans developed by the Academy to run parallel with the history
course grades. Geography gives us the setting of
human events all over the planet and their relatedness to nature, the environment, weather, scarce resources and the common struggles of mankind, engendering a mutual respect. It may be studied profitably even in the earliest grades. Unlike social studies, it is not an attempt to abolish history, but compliments it.
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Like
our Geography course, our Cartography (Map skills) course is a National Geographic product of the finest quality, (copyrighted 2000 A.D.). It therefore ties in well with the Geography and history courses.
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