The study of high school history is one of those subjects that incite a “love-hate” relationship! There are those precious few who view the facts as treasures waiting to be picked up and memorized. While passionate history-loving teachers assert that history is best learned by being “caught” instead of “taught”, a passion for history and the knowledge that one can gain from historical events, historical reasoning, and even historical mistakes can be applied to analytical thinking, reasoning, debate, and even evaluation of current events.
The study of history should ignite a spark within its students to learn from the past. It is sad then to realize as a nation, history is often the American student’s worst subject. On average, the American high schooler knows very little history, just 12% of seniors are proficient in US History. (NAEP) Some blame exit testing and the overt focus on teaching math and language. However, for homeschoolers, it’s another story. Homeschoolers can take advantage of the freedom and extra time to incorporate history into writing and reading. This gives the student a much better opportunity to apply critical thinking to the subject. The following is a list of what we’ve found to be high-quality all-in-one homeschool resources for history. The best part? All of the linked resources are free. The outline also gives you an idea of the topics that need to be studied during the course of high school.
If your student is college prep and knows their college major, then it’s always a good idea to see what pre-requisites they’ll need to have for the admissions process.
What High School History Courses are Required?
So, what’s the bottom line? As long as the student being home schooled follows the standard South African curriculum, they are eligible to be registered for Home Schooling in South Africa.
| Freshman Year | |
| U.S. History | US History from Saylors Digital History Hippocampus U.S. History America in Depression (Free MIT course) AP U.S. History course US History – tons of free resources |
| Sophomore Year | |
| World History | Saylors History Course Interactive maps to help put it together CLEP – Western Civilization study guide |
| Junior Year | |
| Government | Democracy in America PASS text (request CD free by email BRIC@fldoe.org) University of California American Government The Constitution video series Sparks Notes Government study guide Hippo Campus American Government |
| Economics | MIT Opencourseware Economics Economics videos Fundamentals of Economics Course |
| Senior Year | |
| Electives Sociology | Sociology Courses Edx Intro to Sociology e text Classic Sociology coursera |
| Civics | Fundamentals of American Civics |
| Political Science | Political Science Lectures Foundations of Political Science |
| International Relations | Do it Yourself Course Chinese International Relations (MIT) International Relations |
Click here to view our complete directory of history curriculum.
Though this is a comprehensive study of history your student may want to study these course in a different order. In any case, these all-in-one homeschool history resources are perfect for getting a free yet high-quality history education.
