Traditional courses offered by the LLC

Traditional courses are taken independent of parallel history or literature studies and include history, literature, writing, and many electives in both full-year and semester-course format.

While we are passionate about the classical model of education, we realize that the classical model isn't a good fit for every family. Perhaps you plan to use dual enrollment for your high schooler's last year and don't want to follow a strict classical, trivium-based model, studying history all four years of high school. Or, you may be unfamiliar with classical education and looking for live, online classes taught from a biblical worldview. Whatever your situation, we are here to help with stand-alone history, literature, writing, and elective courses that allow your student to receive a deep understanding of the material from a biblical worldview without parallel study requirements.

NOTE: If you are impacted by the pandemic and are uncertain about whether you will homeschool for the entire school year, contact us about making arrangements to enroll in our year-long classes for only the first semester. We would be happy to work with you to find a solution for your family.

RHETORIC HISTORY COURSES

WORLD HISTORY

This is a full-year rhetoric survey course of world history from Creation through the present. By reading rich living books, students will explore the major themes throughout history and how the past directly affects their lives today. This Socratic discussion course may include review games, student presentations, quizzes, forum participation, etc.

Age: Minimum age 14. Recommended for 9th - 12th graders.

Required Resources:
Recommended Book List coming soon

American hISTORY

This is a full-year rhetoric survey course of U.S. history from the colonial period through the present. By reading rich living books, students will explore America's foundation and think deeply about the ideas that shaped her into the nation she is today. This Socratic discussion course may include review games, student presentations, quizzes, forum participation, etc.

Age: Minimum age 14. Recommended for 9th - 12th graders.

Required Resources:
Recommended Book List HERE

RHETORIC LITERATURE COURSES

WORLD LITERATURE

In this full-year course, students will learn and develop their literary analysis skills while reading poetry, story and drama by a variety of authors from the ancient and medieval world through the modern era. Some of the literature explored in this course will include the poetry of The Bible; the epic poems of The Odyssey by Homer, The Aeneid by Virgil, and The Divine Comedy by Dante; the stories of Les Misérables by Victor Hugo and All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque; and the play The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov. Students will also examine the worldviews of the authors and of their time periods, comparing them with a biblical worldview. This Socratic discussion course may include review games, student presentations, quizzes, and dramatic reading.

Age: Minimum age 14. Recommended for 9th - 12th graders.

Required Resources:
Recommended Book List HERE

AMERICAN LITERATURE

In this full-year course, students will learn and develop their literary analysis skills while reading poetry, story and drama by a variety of American authors from the early American period through postmodernism. Some of the literature explored in this course will include the poetry of Longfellow, Poe, and Frost; the stories of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Pearl by John Steinbeck, and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee; the plays of The Crucible by Arthur Miller and The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams; and the short stories of Flannery O’Connor and William Faulkner. Students will also examine the worldviews of the authors and of their time periods, comparing them with a biblical worldview. This Socratic discussion course may include review games, student presentations, quizzes, and dramatic reading.

Age: Minimum age 14. Recommended for 9th - 12th graders.

Required Resources:
Recommended Book List HERE

BRITISH LITERATURE

In this full-year course, students will learn and develop their literary analysis skills while reading poetry, story and drama by a variety of British authors from the Middle Ages up through the modern era. Some of the literature explored in this course will include the poetry of Wordsworth, Blake, Coleridge, Shelley, Bryon and Keats; the stories of Paradise Lost by John Milton, Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, Animal Farm by George Orwell, and The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien; and the plays of Much Ado About Nothing, Henry V, and King Lear by William Shakespeare. Students will also examine the worldviews of the authors and of their time periods, comparing them with a biblical worldview. This Socratic discussion course may include review games, student presentations, quizzes, and dramatic reading.

Age: Minimum age 14. Recommended for 9th - 12th graders.

Required Resources:
Recommended Book List HERE

WRITING & GRAMMAR COURSES

rhetoric WRITING 9

This course is designed as an entry-level high school writing course for freshmen and sophomores. Students will study elements of style, rhythm, mechanics, structure, and content in a variety of genres. For each genre covered, students will receive instruction, collaborate with classmates online, submit drafts to their instructor, and receive personalized feedback on ways to improve their writing. Unlike our classical writing courses, there is NOT a parallel history study requirement for this course. Instead, students will write about contemporary issues.

Typical genres covered in the Rhetoric Writing 9 Course: Expository Essay, Analytical Essay, Descriptive Essay, Persuasive Essay, Compare/Contrast Essay, Narrative Essay, Personal Profile, Essay Tests, Research Paper, Playwriting, Multi-Media Presentation.

Note: Assignments for this course are typically due Thursday 5:00 PM ET.

Age: Minimum age 14.

Prerequisite: Students should be able to write a strong paragraph, comprised of rich, cohesive sentences, be able to combine those paragraphs into a unified report, and be ready to handle the depth of analysis and synthesis required for high school-level essay writing.

Required Resources:

Writing Aids

RHETORIC WRITING 10

Coming 2021-2022 School Year

Students will study elements of style, rhythm, mechanics, structure, and content in a variety of genres. For each genre covered, students will receive instruction, collaborate with classmates online, submit drafts to their instructor, and receive personalized feedback on ways to improve their writing. Unlike our classical writing courses, there is NOT a parallel history study requirement for this course. Instead, students will write about contemporary issues.

Typical genres covered in the Rhetoric Writing 10 Course: Expository Essay, Analytical Essay, Persuasive Essay, Compare/Contrast Essay, Narrative Essay, Essay Tests, Biography Research Paper, Poetry, Multi-Media Presentation, Websites.

Note: Assignments for this course are typically due Thursday 5:00 PM ET.

Age: Minimum age 14.

Prerequisite: Rhetoric Writing 9 or permission from the LLC.

Required Resources:

Writing Aids

ADVANCED rHETORIC WRITING 11

This advanced writing course covers genres such as literary analysis, short story, and various essays. Students will study elements of style, rhythm, mechanics, structure, and content. For each genre covered, your student will receive online instruction, collaborate with classmates online, submit drafts to their instructor, and receive personalized feedback on ways to improve their writing.

Typical genres covered in the Advanced Rhetoric Writing 11 course: Analytical Essay, Essay Tests, Essay of Opposing Ideas, Cause/Effect Essay, Essay of Definition, College Essay, Literary Analysis Essay, Personal Response to Literature, Literary Analysis Research Paper, Short Story, Poetry, and Multi-Media Presentations.

Note: Assignments for this class are typically due Thursday 5:00 PM ET.

Age: Minimum age 16.

Prerequisite: Students must either be recommended by an LLC writing teacher (preferably after successfully completing a previous LLC rhetoric writing course) or must submit an essay for review to be admitted into this course. Contact director@lampstandlearningcenter.com for more details about this process. Students must have previously studied or currently be studying literary analysis at a high school level—preferably with the LLC. Students should be familiar with the study of form, literary devices, themes, and character analysis. Since the major project for this advanced writing course will be a lengthy literary analysis paper, it is crucial that students be experienced in literature analysis.

Required Resources

Writing Aids

ADVANCED RHETORIC WRITING 12

This advanced writing course covers genres such as literary analysis, historical fiction, research papers, and various essays. Students will study elements of style, rhythm, mechanics, structure, and content. For each genre covered, students will receive online instruction, collaborate with classmates online, submit drafts to their instructor, and receive personalized feedback on ways to improve their writing.

Typical genres covered in the Advanced Rhetoric Writing 12 course: Analytical Essay, College Essay, Cause/Effect Essay, Essay of Definition, Persuasive Essay, Essay Tests, Personal Response to Literature, Classical Comparison Paper, 2 Research Papers, Historical Fiction, Multi-Media Presentation

Note: Assignments for this class are typically due Thursday 5:00 PM ET.

Age: Minimum age 16.

Prerequisite: Students must either be recommended by an LLC writing teacher (preferably after successfully completing Advanced Rhetoric Writing 11) or must submit an essay for review to be admitted into this course. Contact director@lampstandlearningcenter.com for more details about this process. Students must have previously studied or currently be studying literary analysis at a high school level—preferably with the LLC. Students should be familiar with the study of form, literary devices, themes, and character analysis. Since the major project for this advanced writing course will be a lengthy classical comparison paper, it is crucial that students be experienced in literature analysis.

Required Resources

Writing Aids

DIALECTIC WRITING 7

Students will begin the school year reviewing how to write strong sentences and paragraphs with vivid words and appropriate mechanics, followed by a variety of genres that will focus on crafting well-written reports. For each genre covered, students will receive instruction, collaborate with classmates online, submit drafts to their instructor, and receive personalized feedback on ways to improve their writing. Unlike our classical writing courses, there is NOT a parallel history study requirement for this course. Instead, students will write about contemporary issues.

Typical genres covered in the Dialectic Writing 7 Course: Parts of Speech, the Writing Process, Graphic Organizers, Sentences & Paragraphs, Reports, Descriptive Writing, Persuasive Writing, Expository Writing, Informal Outlines, Research Reports, Newspaper Writing, Book Reports, Multi-Media Presentations.

Note: Assignments for this course are typically due Friday 5:00 PM ET.

Age: Minimum age 12. Recommended for 7th - 9th graders.

Prerequisite: Students should be able to write a strong paragraph, comprised of rich, cohesive sentences, and be ready to handle the research and synthesis required for middle school-level writing.

Required Resources:

Writing Aids

DIALECTIC WRITING 8

Coming 2021-2022 School Year

Students will begin the school year reviewing how to write strong sentences and paragraphs with vivid words and appropriate mechanics, followed by a variety of genres that will focus on crafting well-written reports. For each genre covered, students will receive instruction, collaborate with classmates online, submit drafts to their instructor, and receive personalized feedback on ways to improve their writing. There is NOT a parallel history study requirement for this class.

Typical genres covered in the Dialectic Writing 8 Course: Parts of Speech, the Writing Process, Graphic Organizers, Sentences and Paragraphs, Reports, Descriptive Writing, Persuasive Writing, Compare/Contrast Writing, Informal Outlines, Short Stories, Poetry, Research Reports, Book Reports, Multi-Media Presentations.

Note: Assignments for this course are typically due Friday 5:00 PM ET.

Age: Minimum age 12. Recommended for 7th - 9th graders.

Prerequisite: Dialectic Writing 7 or LLC permission.

Required Resources:

Writing Aids

DIALECTIC GRAMMAR INTENSIVE

Building on grammar skills, students will learn and apply the basic components of grammar on a weekly basis. Typical topics for the Dialectic Grammar Intensive: review of the eight parts of speech, dialogue, irregular and regular verbs, in-depth work with types of pronouns, adverbs, and nouns, clauses and phrases, gerunds, dictation, diagramming sentences, outlining, mechanics and vocabulary.

This course is a semester-long course that is offered both in the Fall and Spring

Note: Assignments for this class are typically due Friday 5:00 PM ET

Age: Minimum age 12. Recommended for 7th - 9th graders.

Required Resources:

UPPER GRAMMAR WRITING AND GRAMMAR: LEVEL 1

Full Year Course
Focusing on grammar and writing, students will learn and apply the basic components of writing on a weekly basis. Students will meet once a week online and then be provided daily exercises to complete the remainder of the week. Individual daily work will include: review and application of concepts taught in class and daily writing exercises, including dictation and diagramming of sentences. Topics for the writing assignments will not be year-specific to the Tapestry curriculum; therefore, students can participate in class regardless of where they are in their history and literature studies.

Typical topics for UG Level 1: understanding and applying the eight parts of speech, dictionary skills, capitalization rules, quotations, dictation, diagramming sentences, writing sentences, developing paragraphs, book reports, giving directions, narrative paragraphs, outlining, poetry and friendly letter writing.

Note: Assignments for this class are typically due Monday at 5:00 PM ET

Age: Minimum age 10-11. Recommended for 4th & 5th graders

Required Resources:

UPPER GRAMMAR WRITING AND GRAMMAR: LEVEL 2

Full Year Course
Building on grammar and writing skills, students will learn and apply the basic components of writing on a weekly basis. Students will meet once a week online and then be provided daily exercises to complete the remainder of the week. Individual daily work will include: review and application of concepts taught in class and daily writing exercises, including dictation and diagramming of sentences. Some research will be required at this level. Topics for the writing assignments will not be year-specific to the Tapestry curriculum; therefore, students can participate in class regardless of where they are in their history and literature studies. This is a wonderful class for preparing a student to move to the dialectic level of study.

Typical topics for UG Level 2: review of the eight parts of speech, constructing four types of sentences: simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex, dialogue, capitalization rules, irregular and regular verbs, in-depth work with types of pronouns, adverbs, and nouns, dictation, diagramming sentences, outlining, summarization, book reports, biography writing, personal narrative, graphic organizers, persuasive writing, and poetry.

Note: Assignments for this class are typically due Monday at 5:00 PM ET.

Age: Minimum age 11-12. Recommended for 5th & 6th graders

Required Resources:

ELECTIVE COURSES

u.s. GOVERNMENT

In this one-semester, 1/2 credit rhetoric course, students will study the development of democracy from a Christian worldview. This course begins with an overview of the philosophical ideology of the Founding Fathers and its importance in the materialization of the United States and its government today. Students will study founding documents in their historical context including the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and the Federalist Papers. The successes and failures of this unique form of government will also be studied through the lens of Alexis de Tocqueville's important work, Democracy in America.

Students who take this course will understand how our government was formed with a Scriptural basis, as well as be prepared to become prayerfully involved in our government at any level.

Prerequisites: Previous study of modern history at the dialectic or rhetoric level is recommended. If this prerequisite is not met, some additional readings in history may be necessary for full comprehension.

Age: Minimum age 14. Recommended for mature 9th graders - 12th graders.

Required Resources:

Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville
Several original source documents available for free on the internet (links provided by the teacher)

ECONOMICS

In this one-semester, 1/2 credit rhetoric course, students will study the choices that societies make regarding the production, distribution, and consumption of goods. We explore the economic principles of production, supply and demand, competition, inflation, and saving from a Christian worldview, and show the link between economic freedom and political and individual freedom by encouraging free-enterprise capitalism and moral responsibility with money. Students will be graded based on assignments, quizzes, discussion participation, projects, and periodic exams. Appropriate for all rhetoric-level students.

Prerequisite: Previous study of modern history at the dialectic or rhetoric level is recommended. If this prerequisite is not met, some additional readings in history may be necessary for full comprehension.

Age: Minimum age 14. Recommended for mature 9th graders - 12th graders.

Required Resources:

Economics: Work and Prosperity by Russell Kirk
Economics Quiz and Test Book

health & Nutrition

This one-semester high school health and nutrition course based on Apologia Science’s Exploring Creation with Health and Nutrition will explore the physical, nutritional, emotional, social and spiritual aspects of growing into a healthy adult from both a biblical and scientific perspective. The following topics will be discussed: the human body systems, common health related concerns and conditions, temperaments, physical influences on thoughts and feelings, emotional issues, mental illness, human value, culture, gender roles, families, socialization, decision making skills, boundaries, contentment, communication and conflict resolution skills, senses, genetics, digestion, macronutrients, micronutrients, a healthy diet, physical fitness, exercise, sleep, and spiritual health. Reproductive anatomy and physiology are covered including accurate illustrations and descriptions. Marriage, sexuality, pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases are discerningly explained, along with alcohol and drug abuse, depression, pornography and other topics necessary for our young people to understand for godly navigation to and through adulthood. All of these topics are handled gently and respectfully from a biblical perspective, but parents should evaluate their young adult’s emotional and spiritual maturity prior to enrollment in the course. Prior or current enrollment in Biology is beneficial, but not required. Students will be graded based on discussion participation, assignments, quizzes, projects submitted from the Student Notebook, and periodic exams. Students will need to be able to scan and submit projects from their Student Notebook. Appropriate for all rhetoric-level students.

Age: Minimum age 14. Recommended for mature 9th graders - 12th graders

Required Resources:

Exploring Creation with Health and Nutrition Text ISBN: 1940110343
Exploring Creation with Health and Nutrition Student Notebook ISBN: 9781940110356

introductory logic

Introductory Logic is a one-year course for dialectic and rhetoric students that explores logical thought. The course covers basic terms used in logical thought and argument, explores different types of statements and their relationships, the use of syllogisms, and informal fallacies. The course uses Introductory Logic by James Nance and Douglas Wilson, and will consist of lecture, class activities, homework assignments, quizzes, and exams.

Age: Minimum age 12. Recommended that student has already studied or is concurrently studying Algebra I.

Required Resources:

Introductory Logic by James Nance and Douglas Wilson (5th edition)
Introductory Logic: Test and Quiz by James Nance and Douglas Wilson (3rd edition)

intermediate logic

Intermediate Logic is a one-semester rhetoric-level course that covers logical thought and the tools of argument. The students will learn to use truth tables and proofs of validity for syllogisms, how to derive an argument's conclusions from its premises, and how to apply all these skills to real-life thinkers and writers wherever they encounter them. The course uses Intermediate Logic, by James Nance and Douglas Wilson, and will consist of lecture, class activities, homework assignments, quizzes, and comprehensive exams.

Age: Minimum age 14.

Prerequisite: Completion of Introductory Logic is recommended but not required. If the student has not taken Introductory Logic, some outside study may be required.

Required Resources:

Intermediate Logic - Student by James Nance and Douglas Wilson (5th edition)
Intermediate Logic: Test & Quiz by James Nance and Douglas Wilson (5th edition)

personal finance

This one-semester, 1/2-credit spring rhetoric course equips high school juniors and seniors with the biblical principles and processes to shape their financial decision making. Combining sound resources from Ron Blue Institute to teach them various principles with a fun fantasy finance project, students not only learn about how to handle their resources wisely, but they get to put it into practice by "living" a fantasy life throughout the semester--complete with researching their living expenses and income growth potential, making and maintaining a budget, rolling with the inevitable punches that God (or in this case, their teacher) throws at them, and saving and investing for the future.

Age: Minimum age 16. Recommended for mature 11th graders - 12th graders.

Required Resources:

Biblical Financial Planning, from Ron Blue Institute ($25 licensing fee paid to the LLC to cover this material. This fee is in addition to the tuition fee for the course.)