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Our Curriculum › 10th Grade

10th Grade: the whole year

Every subject a 10th grade student takes, and what each one covers. Each subject is 180 daily lessons; open any course to see its units and lessons.

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Math

Geometry

A full year of Geometry: angles and proof, congruent and similar triangles, quadrilaterals, circles, area and volume, constructions and right-triangle trigonometry, plus a 10-day capstone and a large number of applied and explainer projects.

  1. Points, lines, angles & proof basics
  2. Rigid motions, congruence & triangles
  3. Similarity, quadrilaterals & polygons
  4. Circles
  5. Area, volume, constructions & probability
  6. Right-triangle trigonometry
  7. Cumulative review, projects & practice
  8. Capstone project
  9. Review, applied projects & timed practice
  10. Final review & celebration

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Reading

English 10: Literature

A year of 10th-grade literature taught through a tour of classic English and world writing, mostly 19th and early 20th century. Most lessons study a short story, poem, play or passage from a different famous work, practicing the same analysis skills on new texts.

  1. Classic short stories & foundations
  2. Deepening literary devices
  3. Structure, argument & social themes
  4. Voice, time & the Victorian novel
  5. More classics: identity, justice, ambition & loss
  6. Last classics & cumulative review
  7. Final review & celebration

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Writing & Grammar

English 10: Composition & Grammar

A full-year course in composition and grammar that returns to each major form from English 9 with more depth: argument, research, narrative, literary analysis, speeches, problem-solution essays and presentations. Late in the year it is mostly craft practice and review.

  1. Deeper arguments & grammar
  2. Research paper & short story
  3. Literary analysis & comparison
  4. Speeches, historical essay & publishing
  5. Satire, cause-effect, problem-solution & personal statement
  6. Comparative essay, creative craft & scene writing
  7. More scene craft, review & portfolio
  8. Presentations, sacrifice & loss writing, timed practice
  9. More character craft & cumulative review
  10. Final review, presentation & celebration

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Science

Chemistry

A year of high school chemistry: atomic structure, the periodic table, bonding, reactions, the mole and stoichiometry, gas laws, solutions, acids and bases, and thermochemistry. The core teaching fills roughly the first 80 days; the rest is review and applied projects.

  1. Atoms & the periodic table
  2. Bonding & naming compounds
  3. Reactions, the mole & stoichiometry
  4. States of matter & gas laws
  5. Solutions, acids & bases
  6. Thermochemistry
  7. Cumulative review
  8. Applied & explainer projects
  9. Capstone project
  10. Final review, practice & celebration

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History & Social Studies

US History

American history from the colonies to the present, taught as analysis: why events happened, what historians disagree about, and what primary sources show. Covers the Revolution and Constitution, slavery and the Civil War, industry, two world wars, the Depression, the Cold War and modern politics, then a long stretch of review and projects.

  1. Colonies, Revolution and the Constitution
  2. The young republic and the road to Civil War
  3. Civil War, Reconstruction and Jim Crow
  4. The Gilded Age and Progressive Era
  5. Imperialism, World War I and the 1920s
  6. The Great Depression and World War II
  7. The Cold War and its aftermath
  8. Modern America and a policy capstone
  9. Review, practice tests and projects
  10. Final review, presentation & celebration

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Electives at this grade

Add any of these alongside the core subjects.

Spanish

Spanish 2

The fifth year of Spanish adds the imperfect tense, choosing between the two past tenses, tu commands, reflexive and reciprocal verbs, and the future tense. Readings, economies of the Spanish-speaking world, community service, and a spoken capstone follow.

  1. Review & the imperfect tense
  2. Preterite vs. imperfect
  3. Commands, reflexive & reciprocal verbs
  4. The future tense
  5. Connectors & reading passages
  6. Economies, community service & Costa Rica
  7. Mixing tenses & cumulative review
  8. Capstone & year-end

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Social Skills

Social Skills 9-12

A social and emotional course meant to be used across 9th through 12th grade, at the pace that suits the student. It covers identity and values, stress and motivation, empathy and systems, healthy relationships, feedback and disagreement, and how to make hard decisions.

  1. Identity, values & personal patterns
  2. Stress, motivation & long-term goals
  3. Understanding others & the wider community
  4. Healthy relationships & collaborative leadership
  5. Feedback, disagreement & repair
  6. Hard decisions & real-world stakes
  7. Looking back & carrying it forward

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