Quarter(s): 1,2

Day(s): Fri

Open Spots: 1

Why read about key military battles on maps or in books when you can learn about them hands-on, in three dimensions, using historical miniature gaming? In 3D History, pivotal engagements come alive for new and experienced students, as they navigate a table-top terrain, deploy hundreds of miniature soldiers, ships, and tanks... all while playing a military strategy game. Each student will have the opportunity to fight a battle from both sides, allowing them to test various strategies, try multiple scenarios, predict different outcomes, and rewrite history- an effective way to gain a deeper understanding of what actually happened and why!

In 1916 The Great War had been churning through men and material for two years. Something had to be done- warring countries were driving deep into debt and losing entire generations of young men at the front. The armies had to go "Over the Top." Great Battle Plans were drawn up for massive, simultaneous attacks across the whole of Western Europe. In secret, the British built new technological horrors to drive through the German lines: land battleships bristling with guns, covered in armor and belching smoke and fire. The gears of war reached as far as Gallipoli in Turkey and the deserts of the Middle East. In the West, an untapped American giant slowly stirred to war. Provoked by unrestricted submarine warfare, diplomatic intrigue, and a righteous desire to defend democracy, would America arrive in time to decide the outcome of the Great War?

This semester will study later years of WWI, the major battles of the Western Front, where tens of thousands of men went "over the top" of their trenches to near certain death, as well as the desperate attempts to break the stalemate in other theaters of war with new technologies.

Note: This is a 1 hour, 55 minute class with a 10-minute break part way through. This is a 13-week class that will not meet on 10/18/2024.

Topics in this Series: WWI- No Man's Land 1914-1915 (Semester 1) and WWI- Over the Top 1916-1918 (Semester 2). Students continuing from first semester receive priority pre-registration for second semester.

Workload: Students should expect to spend 0-1 hours per week outside of class.

Assignments: Period maps, photographs, and re-creations will be posted on a class Google Drive, and video links from YouTube will be e-mailed to parents and students for homework or supplemental investigation.

Assessments: Will not be given.

Credit: Homeschool families may wish to count this course as a component (partial) credit in History for purposes of a high school transcript.

Quarter(s): 1,2

Day(s): Fri

Open Spots: 4

From John Locke and Jamestown to conflict, crisis, then Constitution, students will engage with American Government from a unique, thoughtful perspective. This course is facilitated by college professor Dr. Albert Thompson, a historian of the state, culture, and conflict who was homeschooled through high school. He uses an engaging storytelling style to encourage high school students to use "historical data to advance solutions to contemporary problems." First semester, the class will examine the founders and the establishment of a constitutional government in America. Students will consider the influence of Medieval English and British Protestant legal history in American thought. They will learn about the legacy of the wars throughout the British Empire, including the War for American Independence, on the development of the state governments and the federal system. This class will cover the Founding Fathers' vision and their framing of the US Constitution, including the economic influences. This semester covers the period in American Government from 1607-1804 with a focus on 1764-1804, including an examination of primary sources such as the Articles of Confederation, Declaration of Independence, Federalist Papers, The Constitution of the United States, and the Bill of Rights. Topics in this Series: Setting Up the Great Republic (Semester 1) and How the Republic Works Today (Semester 2). Students continuing from first semester receive priority pre-registration for second semester. Prerequisites: None Workload: Students should expect to spend 1-2 hours per week on readings. Readings should be treated as pre-readings which students complete before class in order to engage in in-class discussion. Assignments: Reading assignments will be communicated weekly to students by email. This class will not have written assignments or projects. Assessments: The instructor will not give quizzes or provide assessments. Parents may give the textbook Review Questions and/or Critical Thinking Questions that are available for each unit for purposes of assessing their own student's understanding of major themes. The instructor will provide the answer keys. Textbook/Materials: The class will use American Government, , 3rd edition, a free, online open-source textbook from OpenStax. OpenStax is a nonprofit educational initiative based at Rice University. Contributing authors come from a variety of universities. Students may read the book online, download a Kindle version, download a pdf, or order an print copy from Amazon (ISBN-13: 978-1711493954 for $41.00). https://openstax.org/details/books/american-government-3e What to Bring: Paper or notebook; pen or pencil; assigned chapter. Credit: Homeschool families may wish to count this course as a component (partial) credit in American Government or Civics for purposes of a high school transcript.

Quarter(s): 1,2,3,4

Day(s): Fri

Open Spots: 0

This year-long course dives into change and continuity from 1200 CE-present in Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe, and Oceania. If you want to better understand Russia's interest in Ukraine or China's motives in Africa, how the world came to drive Japanese cars, Zimbabwe's 2020 land offer to white farmers abroad, or more about the roots of your own family's story and its ties to other places and times, this is the course for you.

Global connections were not born with jet travel nor Columbus. By the early 1200s, Persian historian Juvayni, reported that one might walk safely from Southeast Asia to Eastern Europe- thanks to Mongol army units stationed along the way. Silk Roads linked Moscow to Tibet. Vibrant Indian Ocean trade circulated goods, people, and animals from China to Indonesia to India, with links to East African coastal cities and the wider Muslim world, including Arab and Turkic peoples. In 200 more years, Muslim Admiral Zheng He would command China's legendary treasure fleet.

What of the Americas? Despite sporadic contacts, like Leif Ericson's disastrous family trip to Canada around 1000 CE, the Old World remained ignorant of lands from the Arctic Circle to Tierra del Fuego. Yet precursors to Incan and Aztec empires built impressive urban city-states, while farther north, Cahokia's pyramids and Mesa Verde's cliffside apartments boomed, the Iroquois League united five great nations, and countless other groups thrived as hunter-gatherers, horticulturists, whalers, fishers, and farmers. At 1200 CE, when this course begins, two halves of the world had not yet collided.

Students will use tools and perspectives of historians to see this collision in wider context and learn what else built today's world. The class will analyze primary sources created at the time studied and secondary sources such as historian accounts. Students will learn to spot symbols, think critically about claims, and develop arguments based fairly on evidence. The group will interpret maps, letters, paintings, ceramics, propaganda posters, murals, sculptures, photographs, and speeches to understand context, causation, continuity, and change. Students will learn how to run, ruin, revolt from, and reform empires and nations. By the end of the course, students may not have memorized dozens of dates (unless they want to), but they will have a much clearer idea of who was where, when, and why- and how- that has affected us.

Note: This is a reading-heavy course suited for students who can commit to completing homework BEFORE each meeting. That prepares you for active discussion, role play, and activities in class. The course is not lecture-based, but instead is taught as a participatory seminar. Simply cannot learn the rich course material by simply attending. However, if you come with your readings completed, ready to ask questions and apply what you've learned, the world (history) is yours!

Levels This course is offered at three levels: On-Level, Honors, and Advanced Placement (AP). Each has a different workload, but all meet together. On-Level students use the same college-level textbook, but have fewer readings, less homework, and less rigorous assessments. Honors students have assignm2ents that engage higher-level analysis and historical thinking skills. AP students work at a university freshman level and have the potential to earn college credit or placement through the spring 2025 AP exam. Once the course begins, students may move down a level anytime, but the instructor will consider "bumping up" on a case-by-case basis only. Before August 1, students must email Compass to (1) choose On-Level, Honors, or Advanced Placement (AP); and (2) provide separate email addresses for student plus adult observer. This allows the instructor to send level-specific Canvas invitations in time for book purchases and completing homework due before your first meeting.

Schedule: There are two weekly meetings: (1) Friday 12:00 pm -12:55 pm in-person for all students and (2) Monday tentatively scheduled for 12:00 pm- 12:55 pm online (subject to an alternate time by consensus of AP-enrolled students). The latter is required for AP students, but recorded and open to all. For Honors and On-Level, this is a 28-week course that ends two weeks early due to AP exam timing. AP students have 31 weeks, as they begin two weeks before the regular Compass start date and have an additional session for a mock exam.

Workload: Honors and On-Level students should plan 4-5 hours per week outside meetings for reading and homework. AP students typically need 6 hours or more, depending on reading speed and experience. All levels use materials written at a freshman college level. Students must be highly skilled readers or have robust reading support at home.

Assignments: All assignments will be posted on password-protected Canvas classroom management site. There, students access assignments; upload homework, take automated quizzes and tests; track grades; message instructor and classmates; and attend virtual conferences. AP students start asynchronously two weeks early with homework due August 22 and 29. All sections will have brief assignments due September 5, the day before the first class meeting on September 6.

Assessments: Completed homework, projects, quizzes, and tests receive points and narrative feedback. Parents can calculate a letter grade using the student's points earned divided by points available, in weighted categories that include assignments, reading quizzes, tests, and participation and presentations. Parents may view all scoring and comments at any time through the Canvas site.

Textbooks: Students and observers will receive Canvas invitations by August 5 to access to syllabus and initial assignments once they have provided a student and observer email address. All students should purchase or rent: Ways of the World: A Global History with Sources, 3rd ed. 2016, by Strayer, Robert W. (ISBN 9781319022723). Look for an olive green cover with woodcut print of the first Japanese commercial railway in 1872. AP students will need two additional books: (1) A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage, 2005 (any ISBN); and (2) Advanced Placement World History: Modern by Logan/Perfection Learning Logan, 2019 (ISBN 1531129161).

About AP: "AP" is a trademark of the College Board, which owns and designs the course outline and "audits" (i.e. approves) high school instructors who employ their expertise and creativity to deliver the college freshman-level content. The College Board's summary of the AP World History program can be read HERE, and the instructor AP Course Audit Approval form can be viewed HERE. https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/ap-world-history-modern-course-overview.pdf)

AP Fees: Due to the instructional time, an additional tuition fee of $200 is assessed for the Monday AP lecture session for students approved to take AP level. AP Students must register separately for the Monday lecture session. The fee is not refundable if the student decides midyear to switch to Honors or On-Level. The fee for the College Board's AP World History: Modern exam in May 2025 is not included. Each family is responsible for scheduling and paying for their student's AP exam.

AP Enrollment: Students who have taken a prior course with this instructor may discuss AP enrollment through conversation or e-mail with her. If new to this instructor, please email Compass to request a short questionnaire and written assignment prior to selecting AP level.

Credit: Homeschool families may wish to count this course as a full credit in World History for purposes of a high school transcript.