Ambleside Online/House of Education Online Year 10

Please be advised that these booklists and curriculum suggestions are incomplete without a thorough understanding of Charlotte Mason's ideas and methods. We cannot emphasize enough that you take time to familiarize yourself with her philosophy by reading her books.

Exam Questions

This is a collection of some of the best resources for this time period. Even Advisory members aren't able to cover all of these with their own students and have to be selective. Feel free to pick and choose from among these suggestions. (If this looks overwhelming for your student, you might consider plan B - a lightened load for year 10. See it here).

History studied in Year 10: 1805 - 1901/02

First, a note of reassurance--when you first begin reading through Year 10, you will inevitably feel overwhelmed. But as you begin to break down the subjects and select from the options, it WILL become less overwhelming to you. Hang in there! Keep in mind that this is a collection of some of the best resources for this time period. Even Advisory members aren't able to cover all of these with their own students and have to be selective. Please feel free to pick and choose from among these suggestions.

High school is hard work. Students should be encouraged to approach it as though it's their first full-time job, and parents must remain involved -- even as the child is maturing toward independence and becoming capable of taking over some of the decision making and record keeping. Some students already have specific career goals in mind that can be integrated into their school work, while college-bound students will need to tailor their studies to meet university admissions requirements. (Read about high school credits here.)

Now for a word about books, and the design of Year 10 . . .

Selecting the best books is a challenge that increases with each successive school year. High school students are journeying across the bridge into adulthood, and the books they should read at this level reflect the adult world. While previewing the content of mountains of books for the HEO high school years, we've been constantly aware that we cannot predict how far across that bridge other people's children may be. Families vary greatly in their views on sheltering, protecting and preparing for adulthood, so it would be futile for us to attempt to be the censor or guardian (the bridge troll?) for all House of Education Online scholars. We set a very high standard for HEO materials, and we've gone the extra mile and beyond to create and provide a Year 10 prototype that reflects excellence. However by no means do we claim to have done all the work for you! It remains the homeschool parent's job, most particularly on the high school level, to assume full responsibility for matching your child's sensitivities and sensibilities, and your family's standards, with the books you select for study.

In the booklist below, we've offered a few notes on potential concerns in certain books, but it goes without saying that we have not noted every potential concern in every book. Please understand that the absence of a comment does not mean the absence of anything your particular family might find offensive or inappropriate.

For these and other reasons, the HEO high school Years are designed not as a single curriculum list (like the preceding Years), but rather as what we fondly call the HEO "Salad Bar" approach. In many subject areas, we offer a variety of options for you to choose among (or you may substitute your own). The final product will be your design. Those who still prefer the comfort of a single booklist may simply select "Option One" where options are presented.

We feel that this Year 10 book list is in keeping with Charlotte Mason's principles, but it isn't the only possible way to "do" CM in high school. You are free to use it en toto, piecemeal, or simply as an example to consider.

To arrive at the best high school plan for your child, expect to burn some midnight oil, dig a little more than you did to prepare for the younger grades, and make more personal choices. You should budget time over a few weeks to focus on previewing and selecting books. Look on the bright side: you'll emerge from this process more conversant and familiar with the era and books your student is about to cover -- and discussion is so vital for students in the upper grades. You'll also be more sympathetic to your hardworking young scholar!

As you devise your own Year 10 curriculum, whether using our book suggestions or your own substitute titles, it's useful to keep a page count in mind. Charlotte Mason's students covered approximately 1600-2000 pages in a term by Year 10, using about 40 different books. This loose guideline will help you gauge whether your own academic load is in keeping with Miss Mason's.

Before beginning Year 10, please do yourself one very smart favor: zealously pursue some teacher preparation time for yourself. It's a little investment that will pay you back double every single school day. We suggest you read (or reread) volume 6 of Charlotte Mason's six volume set. We suggest rereading it every single year of high school. Volume 5 may also be helpful to you. Both are available online, as free e-texts. You'll also find it useful to scan the sample Programmes from Miss Mason's own PNEU school, which are linked from the AmblesideOnline homepage. Forms V and VI are the ones relevant to Year 10. You'll find a wealth of helpful articles at Ambleside Online, so plan to spend a few evenings exploring the site. It's also helpful to have on hand a good current book on homeschooling through high school. And you'll find terrific support on the HEO email list - please subscribe and participate!

Blessings to you, and happy high schooling!
The Advisory

YEAR 10 BOOKLIST AND SALAD BAR

History studied in Year 10 is 1815-1901/02.

Note: One asterisk * means a book will be used in Term One. Two asterisks ** means Term Two, and three *** means Term Three. Books with no asterisks may either be used all three terms, or scheduled at your discretion..

Formatted etexts for Year 10 can be accessed by joining the etext email list.

BIBLE
HISTORY
BIOGRAPHIES
GEOGRAPHY
GOVERNMENT AND ECONOMICS
CITIZENSHIP
CURRENT EVENTS
WORLDVIEW
LITERATURE
POETRY
GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION
RECITATION
COPYWORK/DICTATION
MATH
SCIENCE
NATURE STUDY
LOGIC
ART
MUSIC
FOREIGN LANGUAGE
HEALTH
LIFE AND WORK SKILLS
FREE READING

BIBLE

The Bible - Read and narrate from the Bible, using a plan of your own preference, or follow this suggestion for this year:
* 2 Corinthians, Ephesians
** 1 Kings, Proverbs
*** 2 Kings, Jonah, Amos

If you are just starting with us, consider beginning Bible with these books:
* Luke; Acts; James
** Matthew; Mark; Galatians
*** Genesis; Job

Atlas of the Holy Land
Bible Maps | Bible timeline | Study questions with nice maps |
Commentary of your choice

Charlotte Mason had her students reading a commentary. We suggest you use what fits best with your family's belief system, keeping in mind that this year should be a bit meatier than previous years.
One option is Matthew Henry's commentary.
Other commentaries are available at Christian Classics Ethereal Library.

Suggested Devotional Reading
* Knowing God by J.I. Packer - 1973, timeless classic about the presence, peace, power and person of God, how to enjoy him and find renewal in him.
** The Attributes of God by A. W. Pink
*** The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis OR Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan

HISTORY

[Note: We do not wish to appear to imply that a full and complete study of American History is mandatory for non-Americans. Because of the influence the US has had on world events, we do believe that some understanding of the histories of England and the US is necessary for everybody; however, the depth of that coverage is an individual choice. Students from other countries should have a more thorough exposure to their own national history than our suggested options offer, and we encourage all HEO users to seek excellent books on their own history and heritage. However, as we lack the resources and time to choose histories for other countries, we leave this responsibility to our foreign users. Please be bold in making the curriculum fit your own needs.]

A book you might find helpful for reference while studying this era (both for yourself as a teacher, and for your student to use): The Cambridge History of English and American Literature (An Encyclopedia in Eighteen Volumes).

We particularly recommend the following sections:
Volume XI: English, The Period of the French Revolution
-The following sections suit Term One:
--- III. Bentham and the Early Utilitarians
---IV. William Cowper
---V. William Wordsworth
---VI. Samuel Taylor Coleridge
---Skip chapters VII through XIV.
---XV. Entire chapter
Volume XII: The Romantic Revival (All chapters apply to this period.)
Volume XIII: The Victorian Age, Part I (All chapters apply.)
Volume XIV: The Victorian Age, Part II (All chapters apply.)
Plus, the American Literature section, Later National Literature:
---Part I
---Part II
---Skip Part III.

Many AO/HEO parents find Truthquest History guides to be a tremendous help for enriching discussion of the big picture of history with their children. Somewhat reminiscent of the kinds of lesson preparation materials Charlotte Mason provided her PNEU teachers, they may be used to supplement whichever history books you choose. Two guides fit the Year 10 era: Age of Revolution 2 (1800-1865) and Age of Revolution 3 (1865-2000) in the NEW Truthquest editions published after 2003 (these have full-color covers). Those who already own the original Age of Revolution editions with the old pink covers would use AOR 3 (1800-1865) and AOR 4 (1865-2000). The 1865-2000 guide can be used again in HEO Year 11. [The contents of the newer editions of these two volumes is virtually identical to the old pink editions, but the author has announced plans to release revised editions in late 2004.] For more information see their website.

And lastly, for general reference, an 1800's timeline.

Make a century chart of the period studied. See reprint from PR July 1910. Continue to add entries to your Book of the Centuries. Instructions for making your own are at Ambleside Online. Students at this level in the PNEU schools made summaries of dates and events, referred to maps as they read their history, and made century charts.

See these helpful Parents Review articles:
Book of the Centuries
The Teaching of Chronology
The Correlation of Lessons

HISTORY OPTIONS:

We think it best to select Churchill's The Great Democracies plus one of the American history books listed below, but some may prefer to choose one of the following options over the Churchill book. Choosing two American History books would probably be overkill.

OPTION ONE:
The Great Democracies by Winston Churchill, which is Volume 4 of his 4 volume set, A History of the English Speaking Peoples. This has recently gone out of print, but is widely available through used book sites such as AddAll.com, and often available at auction on eBay. (Note: PLEASE contact Barnes & Noble Publishing and strongly suggest (beg, plead, cry) that they republish their lovely slipcased edition of this set!) Separate volumes may be available from Barnes and Noble. (don't get the one edited by Henry Steele Commager, it's abridged) Churchill offers a broader overview of the time period. Americans and those who desire a more complete picture of the American Civil War (which is covered in Term 2) will prefer an additional option. One alternative would be to use the Churchill book alone for terms 1 and 3, and substitute an American history book to be used alone for term 2. The breakdown for this book is given further below under each term's history.

OPTION TWO:
A History of the American People by Paul Johnson. Johnson's book is an easier read than Morison's (more engaging), perhaps more editorial in places. Juicier than either Churchill or Morison. Johnson is fond of America. Year 10 students would read: Term 2 (or terms one and two if the book is being used instead of Churchill rather to supplement Churchill): All of Part 3; Part 4 up to the part on Andrew Johnson and Reconstruction Term 3: Part 4, the concluding section on Andrew Johnson and Reconstruction; Part 5, just the beginning few pages, concluding at Theodore Roosevelt and His Golden Age (the last sentence read will be " . . . Parker carrying Southern States only."

OPTION THREE:
Oxford Book of American History by Samuel Eliot Morison. Factual, detailed, scholarly. Year 10 students would read: Chapters XXV thru XLIII (19 chapters total) in Term II (or terms I and II if members wish to use it INSTEAD of Churchill's book rather than alongside of Churchill's book). Term III: Chapters XLIV thru XLIX.

OPTION FOUR:
A Basic History of the United States by Clarence B. Carson. Carson (a history professor) has a scholarly tone, and approaches his topic from a libertarian, probably Christian, point of view. This is a five volume series, available through used booksellers or currently in print from Bluestocking Press as a six-volume series. Available on cassette from www.blackstoneaudio.com , who offer a considerable discount to homeschoolers (order by phone for discount). Term 2: volume 2, the final few pages, picking up where Year 9 left off; Volume 3 chapters 1-8. Term 3: Volume 4, chapters 1-6; chapter 7, concluding after the Panama Canal section.

OPTION FIVE:
A Short History of Western Civilization by Sullivan et al - David Hicks, author of Norms and Nobility, recommended this. For those interested, the chapters corresponding to Year 10 are: Terms 1 and 2: chapters 42-47; Term 3: chapters 48-53. These last are less equivalent than the other books because his chapter break downs do not line up so nicely. Sullivan's book has a nice feature at the end of chapter; he lists titles for additional reading, generally fictional books, classics that go with that time period. That is a lovely option in a history book.

HISTORY ASSIGNMENTS BY TERM:

TERM ONE

Churchill Users (The Great Democracies) read the first seven chapters, or approximately 8 pages a week. This section covers The British Empire from 1815 to around 1860 or so (and one or two Australian chapters have us romping breathlessly through all of Australia's European history up to the 1860's). Please note that in the first chapter there is coverage of the queen being tried for adultery in a very ugly and very public trial..

OR, read the corresponding pages from your chosen history book (Morison, Johnson, Sullivan). This term covers 1815-1860.

Supplemental Historical Reading:

* ** Arguing About Slavery, The Great Battle in the United States Congress by William Lee Miller (Strongly recommended as a must-read. This book is about more than the Civil War or slavery; it's a window into how our government works. It shows all the various views and perspectives and special interests that go into decision-making in our legislature, all seen through the evolution of one issue through a long period of time. The drama of John Adams and his fight in the Senate is every bit as worthy a read as a life of Wilberforce. This book is indispensable for all Americans. It covers three decades before the Civil War, and gives a great deal of food for thought about Constitutional Freedoms. Read a blog post about this book here.)

Speeches and Source Documents:

Read all of the following documents (most of which are brief, but important), scheduling them where they appropriately fall in your studies. We hope to provide directions for scheduling these documents in their appropriate place in each term's reading schedule, when we have time to focus on that task. Perhaps one of our users can volunteer for this task and contribute that information (hint, hint!).

The Holy Alliance Treaty September 26, 1815
The Catholic Emancipation Act - site includes newspaper articles of the time, a link to the act itself, and politicians' quotes for and against.
The Peel Web - Incredibly rich mine of information on the Corn Laws and their repeal. Report of Cobden's maiden speech may be of particular interest. Richard Cobden was one of the founders of the Anti-Corn-Law League. He made many important speeches against the Corn Laws after he became a Member of Parliament; this "maiden speech" as an MP is well worth your student's attention.
Peel's resignation speech 1846
Web of English History has fantastic primary sources at such as Disraeli's speech in favor of Chartism, and Macaulay's speech against it. These are only suggestions. Bookmark this website and refer back to it frequently for further documentary sources for term one.
Prince Albert's Exhibition, a newspaper article report from the time: The Illustrated London News, No. 479 (vol.xviii), Saturday, 28 June 1851
Giuseppe Garibaldi - A speech he made to his soldiers
Select from the list of Irish accounts of the Irish famine
William Bennet's Narrative of Six Weeks in Ireland Site is gone, but the book is online here
Accounts of English Mill workers

TERM TWO

Churchill users read chapters 8 through 14
OR, read the corresponding pages from your chosen history book(s). This Term covers 1816-1865 America.

Supplemental Historical Reading:

Complete Arguing About Slavery by William Lee Miller (Again, strongly recommended; one of the most important books for this Year.)

Killer Angels by Michael Shaara -- Some language; powerful Civil War novel by a popular author of well-written historical war novels.

Speeches and Source Documents:

Missouri Compromise - 1820 - really neat scan of the actual document and a transcription of the document.
The 1850 compromise included the end of the slave trade in Washington, DC
Dred Scott Decision - 1857
Lincoln's goals for the war, as stated in a letter to Horace Greely
Emancipation Proclamation - 1863
Confederate Constitution
Causes for Secession - We could only find official State documents stating reasons for secession for Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas. If anybody knows of others online, please let us know.
Ordinances of secession

Optional resources:
Lincoln-Douglas debates click on a city on the map to read the debate that took place there. North American Slave Narratives
Diary of A Tar Heel Confederate Soldier by L. Leon
A Woman's Wartime Journal An Account of the Passage over Georgia's Plantation of Sherman's Army on the March to the Sea, as Recorded in the Diary of Dolly Sumner Lunt (Mrs. Thomas Burge)
Leaven for doughfaces or, Threescore and ten parables touching slavery. By a former resident of the South. Author: [Lyman, Darius] 1821?-1892.
Mary Chestnut's diary of life in the South
The Heir of Slaves An Autobiography (Electronic Edition).William Pickens, b. 1881
Slave narratives - Includes some audio files.

TERM THREE

Churchill users read the final chapters of The Great Democracies, OR, read the corresponding pages from your chosen history book(s). Term Three covers 1865-1901/02.

Supplemental Historical Reading:

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West by Dee Alexander Brown

Speeches and Source Documents:

The Berlin Conference of 1885 (15 November 1884 - 26 February 1885) or try here
Report of the Joint Committee on Reconstruction 1866
Andrew Johnson's Proclamation of Amnesty for South (also are many other Reconstruction era source documents to select from here)
Gladstone's speech to his constituents on the accomplishments of the administration
Disraeli's speech on the Reform Bill
British Missionary Letters urging annexation of South Sea Islands

BIOGRAPHIES

Biographies of the following people are particularly relevant for Year 10 students. Please choose at least one per term.

Robert E. Lee (perhaps Virginia's General - Robert E Lee and the Civil War by Albert Marrin)
Stonewall Jackson
Abraham Lincoln: The Story of Abraham Lincoln by Mary Hamilton, or The Boys' Life of Abraham Lincoln by Helen Nicolay. Other options: Abraham Lincoln by W. Thayer is more conversational in tone, but twice as long; Commander in Chief by Albert Marrin, or, for those who can't get enough of Lincoln and would like a longer biography, A Short Life of Abraham Lincoln Condensed from Nicolay & Hay's from which the Boys' Life of Lincoln appears to have been condensed. This site has Lincoln resources.
Jane Austen
Florence Nightingale
Thomas Edison
Michael Faraday
Queen Victoria by Sarah Tytler online in two short volumes: (volume 1) (volume 2) (Many biographies of Queen Victoria were previewed, and this was preferred by far over the others.)
Great Britain and Her Queen by Anne E. Keeling is drier, but shorter, and focuses on how Victoria's reign affected Great Britain, as opposed to personal anecdotes.
* The Spirit of the Age by William Hazlitt -- a collection of short, stand alone biographies of the movers and shakers of the time period for term one.
** Frederick Douglass' autobiography and/or his essays and other writings from this site
Davy Crockett's autobiography expunged of unsuitable parts by John Abbott
*** Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington
Unconditional Surrender - US Grant and the Civil War by Albert Marrin
Beacon Lights of History by John Lord. See Val Jacobsen's website for a review of this series The series is now online. Beacon Lights contains many short biographies. We do not recommend them all, but you may wish to choose one or two of interest to you and your student. The biographies you choose will probably depend upon the interests or affinities of your student.
--Volume XV (not yet online) also contains study questions on each chapter. These may be of use for narration assignments. Chapters worth further consideration:
--Volume XIII - Term 1: Sir Walter Scott, Lord Byron, Thomas Carlyle, Lord Macaulay. Terms 1-3: Tennyson.
--Volume XIV - Term 1: Wagner. Term 2: John Ericson.
--Volume X - The entire volume; most of these biographies fit Term 3.
--Volume XII - Term 2: Jackson, Clay, Webster, Calhoun.

GEOGRAPHY

The list of Geography book selections below will carry through all four HEO high school years. Please plan accordingly.

Miss Mason's students at this level were expected to "know from Atlas something about foreign regions coming most into note in the newspaper, and in connection with history etc. studied. Summarize readings by memory maps on blackboard."

If you wish to match your geography to the time period for year 10, we suggest you choose from the following:

Eothen by Alexander Kinglake

*** The Oregon Trail by Francis Parkman

For those who wish their geography to be more up-to-date (you may, of course, combine options, using a geography book contemporary to Year 10 one term and a more modern text in another term), select from our list of geography options.

Map Drills
Ten minutes of map drills each week - websites available. Geosafari (available now on CD-rom) would be sufficient.
Locate places from the day's reading on a map
Explore foreign places relevant in news and current events. (See our notes about The World and I under current events. This is a rich resource for this purpose also.)
Many countries have a tourism department, and writing to their embassies for free brochures, maps, and other travel information might be an inexpensive way to supplement geography studies.

GOVERNMENT AND ECONOMICS

* Evaluating Books: What Would Thomas Jefferson Think About This? by Richard Maybury
* The Law (1848) by Frederic Bastiat here or here
** The Vision of the Anointed: Self-congratulation as the Basis for Public Policy by Thomas Sowell, preferred, or Controversial Essays by Thomas Sowell (PDF files with commentary at Hoover Institution)
*** On Liberty by John Stuart Mill
*** Graves of Academe by Richard Mitchell

Economics--if you need a stronger emphasis on economics in Year 10, you can add Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville - a classic.

CITIZENSHIP

Ourselves by Charlotte Mason, approximately 22 pages per term. This book will continue through all the remaining years of HEO curriculum. This is the 4th volume of Mason's 6 Volume Series, currently in print. This year: pages 1-67 of Book 2. If you don't own CM's Series but prefer a 'hard copy' to an online text, used copies of Volume 4 can be found online, or you can purchase Book 2, Self-Direction, the second half of Volume 4, as a separate paperback book. Also available in a modern English paraphrase that can be read online or purchased.

Plutarch's Lives - follow the schedule posted at Ambleside Online.

* Character is Destiny by Russell Gough Currently in print, for sale at amazon.com

** One Blood by Ken Ham, Carl Wieland; Don Batten - Terrific book exposing the evolutionary roots of racism and the flaws in racist thinking. Online with study guide at AIG; video also being added to site.

*** Sesame and Lilies by John Ruskin

CURRENT EVENTS

Charlotte Mason had students at this level read the daily news and keep a calendar of events. We suggest students choose the most important 2 or 3 stories of the week and re-write them in their own words as a chronicle of the year, making the heading of each page something like "This Week in History, September 1st, 2003." Parents: pre-read and filter current events materials (on the web, or in print) as necessary, due to the potential for coverage and topics of an explicit nature, even from conservative sources. We've listed some possible options here.

Web blogs are an important new media form. News is being reported there, in some cases, faster and more accurately than other, older media forms. Students should learn about them, find one they trust, and check is regularly. However, we recommend that parents first become familiar with blogs and visit the one(s) their children will frequent. We suggest several poliblogs here, but parents should know that not every message on these blogs will be 'child-friendly' and often have ads that include scantily clad women. Also, most blogs link to a multitude of other blogs and sites that may not be child-friendly.

Comments posted on blogs can be considered a new media equivalent of a letter to the editor, and students should learn how to communicate well on blogs.

WORLDVIEW

** The Deadliest Monster by Jeff Baldwin - A highly recommended literary worldview study contrasting the books "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" and "Frankenstein."
*** How Should We Then Live by Francis Schaeffer (The video series of the same title offers a strong supplement to the book.)

Under review: * Thinking Like A Christian (the Teaching Textbook, not the student journal), a condensed version of Understanding the Times which many families find more user-friendly. For more info, see http://www.lifewaystores.com

For more options, additional list, most of which haven't been read by any of the Advisory, is here.

LITERATURE

Shakespeare - Continue with Ambleside Online Rotation. Leithart's book Brightest Heaven of Invention--a Christian study guide for 6 Shakespeare plays: Henry V, Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Macbeth, The Taming of the Shrew, and Much Ado About Nothing.

Miss Mason directed students at this level to keep a Common-place Book for passages that strike them particularly; to learn a hundred lines of poetry; and to be able to give some account of what they have read in each book, with sketches of the chief characters.

History of English Literature for Boys and Girls by H.E. Marshall - Chapters 77-85 (Scott to Tennyson.) Purchase from Kelly Kenar, who typed this e-text for the use of HEO. Postage at lulu.com is automatically set to UPS ground which is expensive, but you can choose media mail which is substantially cheaper. (Note - if you purchase this book, we request that you purchase from the link provided, as other publishers' reprints of this book have used Kelly's hand-typed etext for their own profit.)
Simond's Literature - Select readings from chapters 3-6.

* Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (can be spread over three terms and into the summer if necessary)

* Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe - may need some teacher guidance; its historical significance merits its importance in term 1. For those interested in finding out more factual data behind the book, Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote a defense of her famous novel: Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin, also available through Bluestocking Press.

** Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (Please do not shy away from this book based on the way popular horror movies have grossly revised it. Do please give this book a try. If what you know about Frankenstein is based on a movie, you will be very pleasantly surprised.)
** Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
(The Deadliest Monster by Jeff Baldwin is scheduled for Worldview Studies this term and goes with term two's literature selections)
*** Silas Marner by George Eliot
*** Moby Dick by Herman Melville

ESSAYS

Essays may be used for dictation work. After studying essays, students should be prepared to tackle writing essays on subjects they choose. One possible usage is to have students read an essay on Monday, outline it on Tuesday, rewrite it from their outline on Wednesday, and polish up that rough draft on Thursday. Note: In PNEU's Form III, a paragraph was dictated; in Form IV, selections were occasionally written from memory. You might occasionally assign the student's mastered work for the dictation lesson. Forms V and VI also wrote: "A good precis. Letter to The Times on topics of the day. Essays on subjects taken from the term's work in History and Literature and Economics; or, write on a picture studied, or on some aspect of nature."

Students should read an essay every other week. Choose 18 essays for the year from the following suggestions or supplement with your own choices.

Essays by Montaigne (most of these aren't posted online individually, but are included in collections of essays):
1. That It Is Folly to Measure Truth and Error by Our Own Capacity
2. Of Solitude
3. Of the Inequality Among Us
4. Of Repentance
Dover sells a collection of 8 essays that includes these four for two dollars. Not all essays are appropriate for students.
Complete Montaigne essays online

Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson:
1. Art
2. Nature
More essays by Emerson
Interesting Christian perspective on Self-Reliance and Emerson in general

Essays by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch from On the Art of Writing - Lectures Delivered in the University of Cambridge, 1913/14
1. The Practice of Writing
2. Interlude: On Jargon
3. Some Principles Reaffirmed
4. On Style

Essays by Frederick Douglass
1. Reconstruction
2. An Appeal to Congress for Impartial Suffrage
3. My Escape From Slavery

Essays by G.K. Chesterton from Tremendous Trifles; complete collection is online
1. A Piece of Chalk
2. On Lying in Bed
3. The Twelve Men
4. The Diabolist
Also by G.K. Chesterton:
5. What is Right With the World

NOTE:
Three essays are scheduled under Government/Economics:
Term 3: Essay on Liberty by John Stuart Mill
Term 1: The Law by Frederic Bastiat
Pick four essays from this collection
Term 3: Graves of Academe by Richard Mitchell
And one essay is recommended under Citizenship:
Sesame and Lilies by John Ruskin
These can also count toward the total of 18 essays for the Year.

Other possibilities:

The Moral Obligation to be Intelligent by John Erskine 1927
Books and Bookmen by Ian MacLaren
Library of Economics and Liberty: William Legget's Essays in Jacksonian Political Economy:
--True Functions of Government
--The Reserved Rights of the People
--The Despotism of the Majority
--The Morals of Politics

Essays by C.S. Lewis

POETRY

Check online sites such as Librivox for free audio readings of poems; this is a growing project and more poems are online every month.

OPTION ONE:
Term 1: Samuel Taylor Coleridge 1772-1834; download 23 poems here.
Term 2: Elizabeth Barrett Browning 1806-1861 and Robert Browning 1812-1889. This page of suggested poems is enough to take you through at least 31 readings.
Term 3: Ralph Waldo Emerson 1803-1882; Walter Whitman 1819-1892; Suggested selections here.

OPTION TWO:
Use the Oxford book of English Verse, edited by Arthur Quiller Couch. This is a poetry anthology Charlotte Mason used; excellent (a classic!), and online in a searchable format. The Victorian era was a rich one; some poets will have to be skipped. Which version?
We suggest one option would be:
* Begin with Percy Bysse Shelly and read: Shelley; Thomas Hood; Macaulay; Elizabeth Barrett Browning
** Read the poems of Ralph Waldo Emerson; Edgar Allen Poe; Robert Browning; Tennyson if you haven't done Tennyson with us in year 7; Emily Bronte; Walt Whitman
*** Matthew Arnold; William Allingham through George Meredith; Lytton; Morris; Swinburne; Robert Bridges through Stevenson; Yeats. Add to the above this anthology of American poets, selecting poets that fit the time period.

POETRY STUDY:
Possible title still under review: How to Read a Poem by Burton Raffel

GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION

The Book on Writing: the Ultimate Guide to Writing Well by Paula LaRocque

See the Essay options for Year 10 for four excellent essays by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch from "On the Art of Writing: Lectures Delivered in the University of Cambridge, 1913-1914" which can serve dual duty for this subject also.

Note: Most students in Year 10 will have the SAT barrelling down on them, and will need to focus on preparing for the essay portion of that test. As for assigning research papers, we leave this to parental discretion. A student should learn to cite sources properly; however, it takes very little time to learn how to do this. Students should already have become proficient at writing from previous schoolwork such as narration.

If your student hasn't yet had any formal grammar lessons, use Our Mother Tongue: An Introductory Guide to English Grammar by Nancy Wilson, scheduling approximately 16 chapters per term.
OR, if you have Jensen's Grammar, work through that this year.
OR, Dr. Robert Einarrson's Grammar Handouts that Karen Glass so highly recommended have been replaced with a free downloadable textbook and workbook called Traditional English Sentence Style and teaches grammar through literature. This is an excellent book and should be used for students who have already completed Our Mother Tongue or Jensen's. It "promises not only to teach you about grammar, but also to show you the 'grammar secrets' of some of the great writers of English." Details are here.

Assign 3 to 5 written narrations each week, varying the assignments among subjects, and assigning some narrations to be written from readings done earlier in the week. [Example: On Tuesdays, the student would read the scheduled Literature, news of the week, historical or allegorical subjects, etc. Then on Thursdays, the student would write a narration of one of those readings.] Narration can be done in many ways: poetic, in answer to an essay-style question, straight narration, narration in letter-writing form, and many other creative ways. Write verses (perhaps using metre of poems set for this term) on current events and characters in the term's reading, upon heroic deeds, or on seasonal scenes. Write Narrative poems on striking events.
Karen Glass: Paradigm Online Writing Assistant is a whole online free course about writing four kinds of essays. I haven't explored the whole thing, but I like what I've seen so far. I'm not sure the link I've given you would be the best link for us to use (it's a little confusing), but it is the link to the beginning of the first lesson. At the top of the page, you can see the progression of the whole course.
Purchase a good English handbook. An Advisory favorite is The Little, Brown Handbook by H. Ramsey Fowler and Jane E. Aaron. Some may find Writer's Inc. more user friendly.

AO's Language Arts Scope and Sequence for this level is here.

RECITATION

Memorize each term:
2 Bible passages of about 20 verses each
2 Psalms (whole chapters)
2 Hymns
2 Poems (or 50 lines) from the term's poets
1 passage from the term's Shakespeare play.

Scripture suggestions:
* 2 Corinthians 6; Ephesians 4
** Proverbs 1-4; Hebrews 8
*** Amos 5:1-24; 1 Peter 2
OR, choose your own .

2 Psalms (whole chapters) per term. You may choose your own, or assign these:
* Psalm 19 and Psalm 111
** Psalms 121 and Psalm 122
*** Psalm 145 and Psalm 118
OR, you may choose selections from previous Year.

2 Hymns per term. You may choose from the hymn selections for each term, or choose your own.

4. 2 Poems (or 50 lines) per term from that term's poets. Suggestions:
* First stanza from Kubla Khan
* Last six stanzas of The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner
** Sonnets from the Portuguese, #43, How Do I Love Thee by Elizabeth Browning
** First two stanzas of Rabbi Ben Ezra by Robert Browning
*** The Rodora by Ralph Waldo Emerson
*** When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer by Walt Whitman

Shakespeare - selected passages, all terms. Bartlett's Familiar Quotations is a helpful tool for looking for quotable sections from various plays of Shakespeare, especially quotes from the various plays which appear in various other literature. Bartlett's 10th edition is online here or here or here.

Poetry - a poem by that term's poet, all terms.

COPYWORK/DICTATION

COPYWORK

Include selections from Shakespeare, the Bible, poetry and other sources. These selections may be the same ones used for recitation.

This is a good year to begin a personal quote book.

DICTATION

The student studies two or three pages of dictation material per week, from which the teacher dictates several paragraphs or sections. Students should have the opportunity to study the passage carefully for spelling, punctuation and form before they are required to write it from dictation. At this level, you may wish for your student to alternate between taking dictation in the traditional way by hand, and with a word processor (an added benefit here is the spellchecker function, which can be a useful teaching tool and actually functions in a manner complementary to CM's spelling methods.)

Dictation selections may be drawn from sources such as the term's prose, poetry and Bible readings. You may also occasionally choose to assign selections from well-written journalism sources to exemplify a more technical and factual style of writing. However, choose carefully as newspapers and magazines are often poorly written. Examples of worthy sources might include World Magazine, and columnists such as Peggy Noonan, William F. Buckley, William Raspberry, Charles Krauthammer, Cal Thomas, George Will, and Thomas Sowell, most of whom are accessible from www.drudgereport.com (site will need screening by parent; daily entries are increasingly and disturbingly non-family-friendly). Another good resource for exemplary journalism is http://www.opinionjournal.com from the Wall Street Journal. Writers from these sources are prolific and skilled at the craft of writing. The New Yorker magazine is known for being expertly written and edited, but may require parental previewing.

You may also select among these essays for dictation work. These provide a good starting point for the essay form of writing. After two or three terms of studying Lamb's essays, students should be prepared to tackle writing essays on subjects they choose. One possible usage is to have students read an essay on Monday, outline it on Tuesday, rewrite it from their outline on Wednesday, and polish up that rough draft on Thursday.

Note: In PNEU's Form III, a paragraph was dictated; in Form IV, selections were occasionally written from memory. You might occasionally assign the student's mastered recitation work for the dictation lesson.

MATH

Continue your math program; for some options, see this page.
Euclid's Elements

SCIENCE

Apologia science materials by Dr. Jay Wile. (read Susan Wise Bauer's review of Apologia here.) Read the suggested course sequencing at http://www.highschoolscience.com to determine what will work best for the needs of your student, based on interest and math level. If a student missed out on the Ambleside science selections and nature study rotation, General Science should be considered as a starting point with Apologia materials; otherwise start with Physical Science. Read through Jay Wile's website, especially "course sequencing" to see what will work best for the needs of your student based on interest and math level. If financial resources are a concern, any of their science courses may easily be stretched to two years.
Another possible option: BJU Press Science, which schedules Physical (basic) science in 9th grade, Biology in 10th grade, Chemistry in 11th grade, and Physics in 12th grade. The Advisory has not used this yet. Some have recommended BJU Biology, Apologia Chemistry and Apologia Physics.

Microbe Hunters by Paul deKruf (chapters 3-8 this year, book will be finished next year)

Six Easy Pieces: Essentials of Physics Explained by Its Most Brilliant Teacher by Richard P. Feynman. These chapters, one per term:
* Atoms in Motion
** Basic Physics
*** The Relation of Physics to Other Sciences

NATURE STUDY

Keep flower and bird lists of species seen, select a special study for outdoor work, and continue to maintain nature notebooks.

The Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock - Continue to use as in previous years with the Ambleside Online curriculum.

Walden by Henry David Thoreau

Henri Fabre's works on insect observations (online at Gutenburg or Online Books; Fabre texts with photos)
Select one of the following Fabre works from the above link:
Bramble-Bees and Others
The Life of the Caterpillar
The Life of the Fly, With Which Are Interspersed Some Chapters of Autobiography
The Mason-Bees
More Hunting Wasps
The Wonders of Instinct: Chapters in the Psychology of Insects

Other possibilities:
The Great Astronomers by Robert S. Ball

LOGIC

How To Read a Book by Mortimer Adler (may be saved for a later year) - Please be sure to get the revised edition, and read only Part 3 this year. This breaks down to five chapters for the year, seven weeks to get through each chapter. This is slow, but this material is weighty and should give much material for reflection and discussion. The revised version was written by both Mortimer J. Ader And Chares Van Doren. If Van Doren is not a co-writer, it's the older book. It was revised in 1972, but later books may not be called "revised." The version to use has five chapters in part 1; 7 chapters in part 2; 7 chapters in part 3; and two chapters in part 4. The unrevised edition may have fewer parts. If you read part 3 in Year 9, then complete the book this year with part 4. This book was scheduled at a slow pace throughout Years 7-10, but if you're just starting in Year 10, plan accordingly; consider reading this book aloud with your student.

The Fallacy Detective by Nathaniel Bluedorn and Hans Bluedorn

How to Read Slowly by James Sire

Possible title still under review - Critical Thinking in United States History by Critical Thinking Press

DRAWING AND ART

Choose one of these three options (Parents may wish to screen all options for nudity.)

The Story of Painting by H. W. Janson - The Chapter titled The Age of Machines. (note: this book is best suited for the earlier years of Ambleside's House of Education)
The History of Art by H. W. Janson In print. Assign the chapters in your Janson edition that cover the Year 10 period. In Janson's Fifth Edition, cover Chapters 1-3 of Part Four: 1 - Neoclassism and Romanticism, 2 - Realism and Impressionism, and 3 - Post Impressionism, Symbolism and Art Nouveau.
The Arts by Hendrik Van Loon - this book is OOP (out of print), but worthy of an exception to our usual exclusion of OOP books from the curriculum. For Year 10, read chapter 49 to the end of the book.

Continue the artist rotation posted at Ambleside Online.

Work on drawing skills. Illustrate a scene from reading of your choice once a week, more as desired.

MUSIC

Continue composer rotation posted at Ambleside Online.

Music lessons on instrument of choice.

Singing:
Foreign language - 3 songs each term (Charlotte Mason did 3 in French and 3 in German).

Hymns:
Continue to follow the Ambleside rotation each term. Carols would do for the Winter term.

Three Folk Songs in English - In addition to continuing the Folk Song rotation at Ambleside Online, your student will enjoy learning these songs that fit well with this year's history:
When Johnny Comes Marching Home, 1863.
Buffalo Gals, 1848
Simple Gifts, 1848
Dixie, 1859
John Brown's Body, 1860
Poverty Knock , origin uncertain (please preview and edit the verses as your family sees fit) term three
The Ballad of General Ludd, 1811

Folk Songs by Stephen Foster (1826-1864)
Arguably the most important songwriter of the era, and perhaps the first to understand the power of folk music as a tool for social reform. Don't miss these!
~Suggested songs: Old Folks at Home, Old Kentucky Home, Hard Times Come Again No More (a recent version by James Taylor, Mark O'Connor and Yo Yo Ma is on the CD "Appalachian Journey"), Beautiful Dreamer, Oh Susanna, Jeannie With the Light Brown Hair, I Would Not Die in Springtime.
Helpful Links:
~ PBS produced a special on Stephen Foster, and has a companion website where you can listen to Foster's music:
~Interesting biographical information about Foster and the historical significance of his music, as well as lyrics to all his songs:
~Helpful notes on individual Foster songs:

FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Begin or continue Latin.
Continue with any previous foreign language studies. (Charlotte Mason's students were learning three languages at this level.) A good English/appropriate foreign language dictionary is also recommended.
You might find that your foreign language studies cover enough grammar to be counted as English Grammar as well.

HEALTH

Schedule regular exercise of some sort. (One Advisory suggestion: For routine fitness, Living Arts' Pilates videos/DVD's offer a challenging but enjoyable 30 minute mat workout that will benefit the entire family. Instructor Ana Caban gives clear and concise verbal cues that even young children can follow with a little guidance (even a 3 yob! ;-) and the background music is neither loud nor distracting. Start with the Beginning Mat Workout video/DVD, which explains the basics, before advancing to the Intermediate Mat Workout. Available at most major bookstores and fitness stores.)

Study nutrition. You may wish to consider books by Shonda Parker, a Christian homeschooling mother and certified herbalist.

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made by Paul Brand; preview this first. (see notes here) If you use the book this Year, you might look at how the book was divided over the year by looking at Year 8's 36-week schedule.

LIFE AND WORK SKILLS

Charlotte Mason had students do house or garden work, make Christmas presents, pursue useful crafts, sew, cook, and learn first aid. She also suggested that the student help darn and mend garments from the wash each week and sew for charity (serving at a soup kitchen would also work).

We suggest that over the course of high school, your student might do the following (a rough guideline would be to choose about three of these per year for the next four years):

Learn to cook using a basic cookery book such as Joy of Cooking, one of Sue Gregg's cookbooks, or whatever you have on hand.
Learn CPR and first aid (This can also be counted for Health.)
Learn to balance a checking account
Learn to read a map
Read a book about Small Engine Repair
Take a course in Driver's Ed
Work with an Election Campaign
Learn to garden and/or yard care
Change a flat tire
Use jumper cables
Pump gas, change the oil and plugs on a car
Make some simple furniture
Lay a tile floor
Paint a room
Some basic home repair and maintenance
The Walls Around Us by David Owen is a well-written book about how our houses are built, but it needs some previewing or parental editing.

Miss Mason frequently recommended Scouting tests (Parents' Review, May 1920) and said that all girls should take the First Aid and Housecraft Tests. We suggest that all students learn CPR and First Aid. Scouting or 4-H are other options to consider.

DOMESTIC SCIENCE OPTIONS:
Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House by Cheryl Mendelson (excellent resource for all homes)
The Hidden Art of Homemaking by Edith Schaeffer
Do I Dust or Vacuum First? by Don Aslett
books by Emilie Barnes
Get More Done in Less Time by Donna Otto
Speed Cleaning by Jeff Campbell
Who Says it's a Woman's Job to Clean? by Don Aslett
(These last two may be particularly useful with boys.)

MONEY MANAGEMENT
Books by Larry Burkett
The Tightwad Gazette books

FREE READING

In no particular order

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Hard Times by Charles Dickens
Persuasion by Jane Austen
The House of Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
The Importance of Being Earnest a play by Oscar Wilde (The recent movie was well done with one exception of one scene that contains some nudity and is repeated in a flashback a couple times.)
Glimpses of the Moon by Edith Wharton
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Gilbert and Sullivan, HMS Pinafore and others (Check out the plays on video. You really can't read a musical.) Plays also available at The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive
A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope
The Book of the Dun Cow by Walter Wangerin, 1979
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
*** Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
*** The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells
*** Ramona by Helen Hunt Jackson
Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad - a good boy title; sad, but a great story about honor, about doing the right thing, about being responsible for those in your care, about recovering lost honor.
Hospital Sketches by Louisa May Alcott (her letters home detailing her experiences as a Civil War nurse)
Bess Streeter Aldrich - A Lantern In Her Hand. A White Bird Flying, Mother Mason. Wonderful character-building books for girls.
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope
The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain
* Mr. Midshipman Easy (or others) by Frederick Marryat
* The Bible in Spain by George Henry Borrow
Lavengro, The Scholar, The Gypsy, The Priest by George Henry Borrow
The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County by Mark Twain
The Babus Of NayanJore a short story by Rabindranath Tagore
Bret Harte - select from his many works online (consider Luck of the Roaring Camp)
Willa Cather - Death Comes for the Archbishop, O Pioneers, My Antonia
G.K. Chesterton any and all; all his books are wonderful!
C.S. Lewis: The Great Divorce, The Screwtape Letters, Til We Have Faces
P. G. Wodehouse Some readers may be uncomfortable with the alcohol consumption in his books, a reflection of differing standards of culture and time. Read these for the superb humor and Wodehouse's remarkable knack for simile.
Dorothy Sayers mysteries
Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come by John Fox, Jr

Sir Walter Scott:
If the student has not yet read Rob Roy, we suggest that you begin with it.
* The Bride of Lammermoor - East Lothian, 1695
* The Pirate - Shetland and Orkney Islands, 1700
* The Black Dwarf - The Lowlands of Scotland, 1706 (Jacobites)
** Rob Roy - The Jacobites
** Heart of Midlothian - Time of George II. (Porteous Riots)
** Waverley - The Jacobites
** Redgauntlet - Time of George III.
** Guy Mannering - Time of George III
** The Surgeon's Daughter - Fifeshire, Isle of Wight, and India (1780)
*** The Antiquary - Scotch Manners, last decade of the 18th Century
*** St. Ronan's Well - Near Firth of Forth, 1812

Many thanks to David Hicks, author of Norms and Nobility, for his kind permission to draw from his work and ideas. For more information please see the amazon.com link to the 1999 edition of his book.

Last update Oct 15, 2006