Class information & descriptions

mid-high courses

Mid-high year 1 courses

MH Human Anatomy & Oceanography - Y1

  • Science reveals the intricate design, order, and diversity of the Creation.  This year we have the pleasure of looking at the human body in detail, studying each system. You will marvel at how “fearfully and wonderfully we are made.” In oceanography, we will focus on the physical environment, including the ocean bottom, ocean features, sea water composition and ocean currents. The plants and animals that make up this delicate balance are also part of our study. Dissections are also included in the biweekly Zoom meetings. Latin & Greek roots are also a part of the program and help with learning scientific vocabulary.

  • Life Science for Christian Schools, Bob Jones University Press, 2nd edition

    Earth Science for Christian Schools, Bob Jones University Press, 2nd Edition

MH Ancient History - Y1

  • History focuses on the key people and events through which we see God’s Hand and purpose.  Students read and take notes with an emphasis on understanding the ideas and movements behind the events.  We begin with the beginnings of history as recorded in Genesis and move through the Renaissance.  Instruction about research and organizing a research paper is given, and each student researches and writes a research paper on a topic of their interest. Map work is also a significant part of the program as the students learn the geography associated with each historical period studied.

  • Textbook:  History of the World in Christian Perspective, A Beka Books, 4th edition

MH Literature - Y1

  • Students study complete classics in Literature.  The five key elements of literature, plot, setting, theme, style, and character are evaluated in each work.  Wonderful principles from God’s Word are instilled through the trials and triumphs of the characters.  Students and parents alike enjoy reading the classics.

    The recommended editions correspond to the page numbers referenced in the instructional videos and assigned vocabulary. If not available, any edition can be used. We also reference chapters and sections in the book.

  • Men of Iron by Howard Pyle, unabridged, Dover Publications, 2018

    Silas Marner by George Eliot, Barnes & Noble Classic, 1996

    Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, Folger Edition, 1992

    Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott, Bantam Classic, 2006

Mid-high year 2 courses

MH Physical Science & Zoology - Y2

  • Science reveals the intricate design, order, and diversity of the Creation. We study many elements of Astronomy, Physics, machines, and physical laws. The study of Zoology focuses on the various groups of animals: insects, mammals, insects, arthropods, birds, fish, and amphibians.

  • Textbook:  Matter & Motion Abeka Book

MH Modern History - Y2

  • History focuses on the key people and events through which we see God’s Hand and purpose. Students read and take notes with an emphasis on understanding the ideas and movements behind the events. We begin with the Renaissance and move through the Reformation and into the Enlightenment. A study of the Modern Age with the World Wars and the period up to the present concludes the class. Students are taught how to prepare classroom presentations and a speech. Instruction about research and organizing a research paper is given, and each student researches and writes a research paper on a topic of their interest.

  • Textbook:  History of the World in Christian Perspective

    Martin Luther:  The Great Reformer by J. A. Morrison

MH Literature - Y2

  • Students study complete classics in Literature.  The five key elements of literature, plot, setting, theme, style, and character, are evaluated in each work.  Wonderful principles from God’s Word are instilled through the trials and triumphs of the characters.  Students and parents alike enjoy reading the classics.

  • Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stenvenson

    Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

    Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare

    The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

Mid-high year 3 courses

MH Geology & Botany - Y3

  • Science focuses one semester on Geology and the basic concepts of volcanism, sedimentary deposition, and metamorphism. The impact of igneous intrusion, folding and faulting of rock layers, and the effect of water and wind erosion including stream and beach erosion as well as glacial action is developed in this course. Students will be able to recognize many of the basic rocks and minerals as well as using topographic maps and recognizing topographic features. Botany is the focus of the other semester. Students will learn about plant life and the importance of plants in the interactions with the ocean and land regions or biomes. Leaf recognition and tree study are particular areas of focus. Students will develop a leaf collection and an understanding of taxonomy and the binomial nomenclature system.

  • Life Science for Christian Schools, Bob Jones Univ. Press, 2nd edition

    Earth Science for Christian Schools, Bob Jones Univ. Press, 2nd edition

    Handbook of Nature Study, Comstock (recommended only)

MH American History - Y3

  • History focuses on the key people and events through which we see God’s Hand and purpose. Students read and take notes with an emphasis on understanding the ideas and movements behind the events. We begin with the Renaissance and move through the Reformation and into the Enlightenment. A study of the Modern Age with the World Wars and the period up to the present concludes the class. Students are taught how to prepare classroom presentations and a speech. Instruction about research and organizing a research paper is given, and each student researches and writes a research paper on a topic of their interest.

  • America Land I Love, A Beka Book

    The Journals of Lewis & Clark, edited by John Bakeless

    George Whitefield, God’s Anointed Servant in the Great Revival of the Eighteenth Century, by Arnold Dallimore

    Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt

MH Literature - Y3

  • Students study complete classics in Literature. The five key elements of literature, plot, setting, theme, style, and character are evaluated in each work. Wonderful principles from God’s Word are instilled through the trials and triumphs of the characters. Students and parents alike enjoy reading the classics.

  • Hans Brinker or The Silver Skates by  Mary Mapes Dodge

    Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

    Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

    Henry IV, Part 1 by William Shakespeare, Folgers Edition

high school courses

ALGEBRA 1

  • This course covers all that is expected in a good first year Algebra Course, including evaluating expressions, solving equations and mastering word problems. Skills include working with quadratic equations, polynomials, radicals, exponents, ratios and inequalities. The key elements that set RGES mathematic courses apart are the clear and extensive explanations and the volume of example problems shown step-by-step on the instruction videos. In addition, every problem from the homework is worked out on the video tapes with additional oral explanation whenever it seems needed. This is an extraordinary course, designed to have all the student will need for success in an on-line math program.

  • Algebra I by Paul A Foerster, Classics Edition.

ALGEBRA 2

  • This course covers functions and relations, solving linear and quadratic functions, exponential and logarithmic functions, as well as both rational and irrational functions.  It continues with higher degree functions, complex numbers and trigonometric functions.  It lays a thorough foundation for higher mathematics.  The key elements that set RGES mathematic courses apart are the clear and extensive explanations and the volume of example problems shown step-by-step on the instruction videos.  In addition, every problem from the homework is worked out on the video tapes with additional oral explanation whenever it seems needed.  This is an extraordinary course, designed to have all the student will need for success in an on-line math program.

  • Online Open Source textbook (free)

    link provided at the start of class

pre-algebra

  • Coming Fall 2024

EARTH SCIENCE AND GEOLOGY

  • This course consists of an earth science semester focused on general topics such as water, weather, land formations and creation science.  The second semester is a detailed study of general geology including landforms, mineralogy, fossils and rock structures. 

  • Textbook:  Earth and Space Science  Abeka Book.

    The Geology Book by John D. Morris, PhD.  2004.

    Geology by John Kinzer, 2020

biology

  • Biology is a general survey of all living things. Nature is revealed as the orderly and purposeful creation of God. Representatives of all the major phyla are discussed and studied with the arrangement of the course beginning with plants then covering human anatomy and concluding with animals. The focus of the course is on the magnificent variety, individuality, and design of the living creation. Emphasis is placed on the systems, functions, appropriate vocabulary, dissection, field observation and collection, and lab techniques. A special emphasis on desert plants and animals is given in the course.

  • Textbook:  Biology:  God’s Living Creation, A Beka Books

Physical Science

  • This course comprehends general science and physical science in God’s Creation. Students are introduced to chemistry, physics, mineralogy, machines, force, as well as a study of the Periodic Table, the elements, energy, light, electricity, and an introduction to hydrocarbons. Classroom demonstrations and hands on lab work accompany the notes and classwork.

  • The Physical World: An Introduction to Physical Science, by Hadaway, Hurd, Jenkins and Mulfinger, Bob Jones University Press, Greenville, South Carolina.

BRITISH LITERATURE 1

  • British Literature 1 covers from the Anglo-Saxon period to the Neoclassical period.  The emphasis is on literary analysis and understanding literature from a biblical worldview.  The following complete works will be studied as well as poetry and shorter works that represent each period.

  • Beowulf (translation by Burton Raffel)

    The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer

    Idylls of the King by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

    Once and Future King by T. H. White

    King Lear by William Shakespeare

    A Man for All Seasons by Robert Bolt

    Paradise Lost by John Milton

British literature 2

  • In British Literature 2, the student continues to analyze literature based upon the five elements of plot, setting, theme, character, and style.  The student studies great classical works.  Class papers and discussion focus on learning to evaluate the writers and their philosophy of life.  Effort is also made to compare an author’s worldview to Biblical ideas and principles.  

  • Macbeth by William Shakespeare

    Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

    Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

    Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

    Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

    Adam Bede by George Eliot

    Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

    Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

    Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw

    Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

American Literature

  • In American Literature, the student continues to analyze literature based upon the five elements of plot, setting, theme, character, and style.  The student studies great classic works from each period as well as the authors that have most shaped our literary heritage.  Class papers and discussion focus on learning to evaluate the characters and themes of each work, with a special emphasis on comparing the work with biblical ideas and principles.  We also gain insight into the specific characteristics of the national American identity including what Americans value, their  strengths, and their weaknesses. As in every year of the RGES literature program from grades 6 through 12, we also include a play from Shakespeare.

  • Hamlet by William Shakespeare

    Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper

    Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

    Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

    Billy Budd by Herman Melville

    Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane

    Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

    Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

    Call of the Wild by Jack London

    The Yearling by Marjorie Rawlings

American Government and Economics

  • The class studies the foundational roots of American government from the ideas developed in the Magna Carta, the Mayflower Compact, the English Rights of Man. The colonial charters and constitutions reveal American government is a result of a number of factors each of which emphasized the Biblical idea of man and government and moved men to greater religious and civil liberty. An extensive study of the US Constitution is included. Our government study includes state government as well as national government. One semester is devoted to the study of socialism and capitalism and the economic principles of free enterprise. Free enterprise is a fruit or result of a biblical worldview.

  • Decision in Philadelphia: The Constitutional Convention of 1787 by Christopher Collier and James Collier

    The Federalist Papers various essays) by Jay, Madison, and Hamilton

    Stewarding the Earth: A Biblical View of Economics by Stephen McDowell

    Textbook:

    The Christian History of the Constitution of the United States of America: Christian Self-Government by Verna M. Hall

    Teacher’s Notes on American Government and Economics

    The Key to the Constitution of the United States, Patriotic Education Incorporated by Henry Watson

    Economics by Carper, Bradley & Payne, BJU Press

American HISTORY

  • This class is a chronological study of the development of American heritage.  Emphasis is on the discovery and exploration, the Christian values and thinking, creation of a new nation, development of a culture, and an understanding of America’s role as a world leader.  The Biblical principles used as the foundation for the American government are stressed for their important role in American thought.  America’s distinctiveness and individuality from other nations and their founding principles is analyzed and evaluated.  Worksheets and reports are completed for each of the outside readings listed below.

  • Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville

    Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington

    The Autobiography & Other Writings by Benjamin Franklin

    Great Speeches by Abraham Lincoln

    The Declaration of Independence

    Seven Men Who Rule the World from the Grave by Dave Breese

    Textbook:

    United States History :  Heritage of Freedom, A Beka Books

MODERN HISTORY

  • Modern History offers the second half of World History from approximately 1500 AD to the present and focuses on the major nations and movements which have shaped modern thinking and culture.  The major theme of how the Reformation and religious freedom birthed political and civil liberty is related to the different events.  Each student is instructed in making a class speech and researching and writing a research paper.  The formal research paper at the end of the year answers a thesis statement of interest to the student and integrates information from the course.

  • The Prince by Machiavelli

    Hudson Taylor by J. Hudson Taylor

    Seven Men Who Rule the World from the Grave by David Breese

    Foxe’s Book of Martyrs by John Foxe

    Textbook:  Streams of Civilization, Vol 2 by Garry Moes, Christian Liberty Press 1995.