High School Enhanced Courses

This year-long course continues to build on the sequential review and development of grammar and communication skills in writing. An evaluation of world literature develops analytical skills using examples of short stories, the novella, the novel, poetry, allegory, and drama selected from a variety of periods and authors. These and other texts frame the students’ vocabulary comprehension through contextual application. A research paper using appropriate style, format, and documentation will analyze a social issue from a historical, biblical, and literary perspective. Students are guided with biblical truths to develop the skills necessary to honor God through excellence in the written and spoken word.

This year-long course provides an engaging overview of world literature from ancient and modern cultures. Students read major works of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and drama and evaluate the historical context, author’s influence, and literary impact of the works. These and other texts frame the students’ vocabulary comprehension through contextual application. Students study all steps of the development of a research paper and then utilize the learned skills to produce a well-structured research paper comparing or contrasting literary works. Students are guided with biblical truths to develop the skills necessary to honor God through excellence in the written word.

This year-long course will equip students to become more mature writers who are able to clearly and properly express themselves through academic and creative writing. Students will dig far beyond the surface meaning of a text and see the purpose, creativity, and significance of various types of literature. The literary focus is on numerous periods of American Literature in poetry, short stories, personal diaries, nonfiction essays, a novel, and drama. Students will develop a persuasive research paper. Students are guided with biblical truths to develop the skills necessary to honor God through excellence in the written and spoken word.

This year-long course provides an overview of British Literature from the Anglo-Saxon era, the Enlightenment, and the Industrial Revolution, up to and including the Modern Period. This course covers major works of fiction, poetry, and drama. Students will discover the historical content, authorial influence, and literary impact of these works. Using these texts, students will strengthen their writing and vocabulary skills and then be guided in developing an argumentative research paper. Students are guided with biblical truths to develop the skills necessary to honor God through excellence in the written and spoken word.

This semester-long course provides an overview of both microeconomics and macroeconomics, including a discussion on the relationship between worldviews and economic theory. Students will be presented with free-market microeconomic theory as it relates to the nature of property and property ownership, the laws of supply and demand, profits and incentives, and the morality of markets. The section on macroeconomics will cover the role of civil government in the economy and discuss topics such as taxation and fiscal policy, tariffs, and minimum wage laws. Students will also be introduced to the principles of a biblical work ethic and learn how the fall of man impacts economics.

This semester-long course will evaluate the foundation of American Government and focus on training students to be effective citizens. The course will pay particular attention to the purpose and roles of government officials and organizations and will emphasize the United States Constitution. Students will learn the importance of government as a way of restraining sin, preserving order, and protecting the life, liberty, and property of all individuals.

This year-long course provides an overview of American history from early exploration to the present. It examines the development of the American republic with special attention paid to the political, intellectual, economic, and cultural influences on the development of the United States as an exceptional nation in a global context. In addition, students will analyze the founding documents and major events of American history from the perspective of a biblical worldview, with an emphasis on events such as the Great Awakening and the biblical principles that were essential to the nation’s founding.

This semester-long course provides an overview of the history, geography, and government of the Commonwealth of Virginia from the 16th century to the present. Students will learn the contributions the Commonwealth has made to the progression of American History in areas of law, government, education, economics, and religion. The course includes a focus on the importance of Christianity and religious freedom to the growth of the American nation.

This year-long course surveys early African, American, Asian, and European cultures from Creation to the establishment of early societies in the Americas. Students will also study the geography of ancient civilizations in an attempt to understand their patterns of behavior, including religion, science, economy, and government. The course uses the Bible as a historical source to complement primary source historical research and study to reveal God as the prime architect in human history and Jesus Christ as central to that history.

This year-long course provides an overview of Earth’s places, cultures, and environments. The course will provide an overview of geographical study, including climate, weather, regions, and resources, and delve into a detailed analysis of Earth’s world regions. Students will gain map skills, learn about different cultures, analyze the economic and political systems of various nations, and discover the wonders of God’s creation through the study of physical geography.

This year-long course surveys African, American, Asian, and European cultures from the Renaissance to modern times. The course includes units on the Reformation, exploration, the economic and scientific revolutions, the Enlightenment, industrialization, the world wars, and the contemporary world. Students will read various primary sources to learn history straight from the words of those who lived it, and the course’s biblical approach will demonstrate that man, though made in the image of God, is innately sinful, has limitations, and is in need of redemption.

This year-long course introduces the students to topics that explore higher mathematic principles and skills. The student will investigate and solve problems that use both real numbers and variables. The skills learned will be used to solve real-life problems to help students function better in the world around them. An emphasis will be placed on solving equations, including linear, quadratic, inequalities, multistep, and variations. Factoring and graphing will be used to solve a variety of equations and systems of equations. Also, skills related to exponents, statistics, and probability will be explored and related to practical application. Students will have access to engaging multimedia video lectures, notes pages for each lesson summarizing the video content, practice problems, and assessments. All video lessons include a transcript and closed captioning in English and Spanish.

This year-long course builds on the material covered in Algebra 1 with more detail and added subject matter. It develops advanced algebra skills such as solving systems of equations, advanced polynomials, imaginary and complex numbers, and quadratics. Students will develop skills related to these as well as linear systems in two and three dimensions, matrices, rational expressions, and conic sections (their properties and equations). Students will expand their knowledge of functions, including exponential, radical, and logarithmic varieties. Students will have access to engaging multimedia video lectures, notes pages for each lesson summarizing the video content, practice problems, and assessments. All video lessons include a transcript and closed captioning in English and Spanish.

This year-long course builds on principles of geometry, algebra, trigonometry, and other prior mathematics courses to take students into the world of limits, derivatives, and special computational techniques such as the power rule and differentiation. It is an important prerequisite for many educational programs in engineering and science. The student will also explore topics related to sequences, series, and the fundamental theorem of calculus as well as differential equations. Students will have access to engaging multimedia video lectures, notes pages for each lesson summarizing the video content, practice problems, and assessments. All video lessons include a transcript and closed captioning in English and Spanish.

This year-long course combines the skills of algebraic thinking with the abstract concepts of plane geometry to give a good foundation in mathematical logical thinking and the skills needed to develop sequential proofs. Students will explore and practice inductive and deductive reasoning, the Pythagorean Theorem, properties and principles related to polygons, and a more detailed look at trigonometric ratios. Students will have access to engaging multimedia video lectures, notes pages for each lesson summarizing the video content, practice problems, and assessments.

This year-long course will begin with a review of essential algebraic concepts and expand to include more advanced algebraic and trigonometric concepts needed for Calculus and higher mathematics. Students will review such topics as exponents, functions, radicals, polynomials, factoring, and complex numbers. The student will then study material related to trigonometric identities, systems of equations and matrices, and graphing everything from linear and quadratic functions to vectors and polar coordinates. Concepts such as absolute value, synthetic division, and radical expressions will be coupled with real-life applications of trigonometric functions, combinations, and probability. Students will have access to engaging multimedia video lectures, written examples for each lesson summarizing the video content, practice problems, and assessments.

This year-long course provides an overview of the structure and function of the human body, God’s ultimate creation. Students learn the terminology related to the structure of body systems and how structure facilitates healthy body functioning. Students analyze the impact of disease or injury on how the body works. All major body systems are reviewed. Students engage with lab activities and demonstrations to support the lessons and are expected to research and write on various assigned topics. While a good foundational course for students who wish to pursue medicine, physiology, or other allied health fields later, this course provides a strong understanding of the bodies given to each of us by God as a temple of the Holy Spirit.

In this year-long course, students study living organisms and their place in the created world. Students review foundational science concepts, molecular and cell biology, cell processes, DNA, and genetics. Students compare various living organisms in a survey of classification and kingdoms, including microbiology. Additional units of study include biomes, ecosystems, and the balance of God’s created world and man’s responsibility to steward it well. The final section of the course introduces the major systems of the human body, God’s perfect creation. Students engage with lab activities and demonstrations supporting the lessons and research and write on various assigned topics. Students analyze the contrasting beliefs of a secular view of science and the scriptural truth of Creation to determine how nature and life align with God’s creation and sustaining presence.

This full-year course provides an overview of the atom and the molecular-level properties and interactions in the created world. Students learn the properties of matter, atomic structure, and basic atomic bonding and then apply this understanding to the mathematical and conceptual groundwork of more complex molecular interactions. Emphasis is placed on student analysis and critical thinking related to scientific investigations, demonstrations, and lab exercises. Students are exposed to the perfection and order of God’s creation as they investigate the laws and patterns that govern chemistry in the natural world.

This year-long course allows students to explore the Earth and its place in the universe. Students examine the earth’s structure, topography, rocks, minerals, weather, natural events, oceans, and climate and how these have contributed to the planet’s geologic history. Earth’s specific and deliberate position in the universe is examined so that students can analyze the rationale behind the scriptural truth of Creation and the secular explanations of how and when Earth began. Students are expected to write a researched essay to contrast a secular view with a biblical view related to the geologic impact of Noah’s Flood. Students use a customized at-home lab kit to complete lab experiments and activities in conjunction with the course. This course requires the purchase of an at-home physical lab kit in order to perform the labs for this course. A lab fee will be assessed automatically during Financial Check-In, and the fee is also listed on the fees page. The kit will be shipped from the first day of class and should arrive at your home within the first two weeks after the course start date. Please ensure that an accurate shipping address is on file during Financial Check-In as that will be the address to which the lab kit is shipped.

This year-long foundational course allows students to explore the physical and mathematical relationships that describe the world God created. The first semester of this course focuses on Newtonian mechanics and the laws of the physical world related to work, motion, gravity, types of energy, and power. The second semester covers pendulums, sound and light waves, electricity and magnetism, particle and solid-state physics, and other applications of physics in the modern world. Virtual demonstrations and lab exercises require students to apply the theories they learn practically. This course requires strong mathematical skills. Students discover the perfection and order of God’s creation as they investigate the laws and patterns that govern physics in the natural world.

This year-long course includes mastery of basic concepts of the Spanish language with an introduction to intermediate grammatical concepts. Using web-based technology, students will begin this exciting journey of learning a second language. Students will build language skills and learn about various Spanish-speaking countries and their cultures. Students will use and develop their language skills through listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Additionally, students will learn more about their own faith by reading the Bible in Spanish and analyzing Bible stories.

This year-long course builds on the fundamental language elements taught in Spanish I and continues to focus on the four language skills, which are reading, writing, speaking, and listening in the target language. Through this course, students broaden their knowledge of Spanish grammatical structures and vocabulary, allowing them to freely communicate ideas using various tenses. Students are challenged through their lessons and assignments to improve and further develop their language skills and their comprehension of Spanish. Students are also introduced to native aspects of Spanish-speaking cultures, which allow connections to be made with their own culture. Lastly, throughout this course, students examine the target language’s grammar and applied usage, along with culture through a biblical worldview as they explore and learn about topics related to adolescents.

This World Religions course introduces the student to an overview of today’s many religions. The student will understand that a person’s beliefs and worldview can significantly impact how he/she lives. The student will explore the fact that because there are many unique and distinct viewpoints, it can be hard to distinguish the definitive roots of those belief systems. This course will guide the student to understand existing and past religions and faiths better. The course will give students a holistic overview of each of the existing primary faiths of the world, along with the origin, key texts, primary beliefs, and current status of each, giving the student a deeper understanding of how religions are formed and continue to flourish.