All our Thursday Courses are listed below.
If you prefer to look at them on a printable PDF, click the button:
If you prefer to look at them on a printable PDF, click the button:
Thursday Courses (2020-2021)
HISTORY THROUGH STORIES: is a middle school class on American history. Starting briefly with the founding of our country: the Revolution, the Constitution, U. S. expansion and the Civil War, the students will get a foundation in American history. Then we will go deeper into the history following the Civil War, learning about American industrialization and inventions, the world wars, women’s suffrage, the Korean and Vietnam wars, the civil rights movement, and the presidents and important people of the 20th century. Each week, students will discover the time period from reading a book from my “book box”, reading an ebook, or listening to an audiobook. Both nonfiction and historical fiction are helpful to students in understanding the people and the period. In addition to reading, weekly homework may include answering questions, making timeline cards, working on maps or a project. Because students are required to learn from books, I am flexible about whether they read them independently, read with a parent, or listen to audio books (which is my favorite way to learn history). About once a month, the students will do a project for homework that relates to their reading and share it with the class so that the students can learn from each other. Making a timeline, each student works on a yearlong project that will help him or her to understand the relationship of different historical events to each other. Additionally, we will use maps on a regular basis to get a picture of U. S. geography and how it relates to the historical events that we’re studying. Because the more students read about history, the more they will understand and remember, I give the students a history reading challenge (including both nonfiction and historical fiction) with prizes for all the students based on their reading and/or listening to books. I believe that each year my students surprise themselves and in some cases even their parents with how much history they read or listen to for this class. That’s the best way to learn history! Materials: $10.00. Taught by France Vivenzio.
WORLD HISTORY: BETWEEN ANCIENT and MODERN: This high school course is based on Tapestry of Grace, Year 2: Between Ancient and Modern. We will be studying God’s working through the course of history from the fall of the Roman Empire to the ratification of the U.S. Constitution. Included in this study will be a study of the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and Reformation, and the ages of exploration, colonization, and revolution. Each week students will be assigned vocabulary, map work, biography/timeline characters, history reading, and research. On Thursdays we will have discussion and presentations based on the week’s work, group projects, related videos and activities, and some art work, both art appreciation and projects. Students will become familiar with the art from the time period covered as it is connected to the rest of history, and look at the worldviews reflected in the art of the cultures studied. Some hands-on art projects are included, but not on a weekly basis. Field trips, unit celebrations, and other activities are also part of the hands-on experience, but are scheduled for other times; our hope for this year is to have our own Renaissance Faire in the spring. Students not only learn this valuable history of Western Civilization, but they often tell us they have learned to enjoy history, as well as developing some essential study skills. This course should provide a full high school credit in history, and ¼- ½ credit in art. In order to count these credits, students should plan to spend approximately 5 hours per week working at home in addition to the 2 class hours. Notice what a complement the accompanying literature class is. It is not necessary, but taking them together will really boost both understanding and memory. A student could easily log more credits for this course, in subjects such as theology, church history, philosophy, history of science, etc., simply by doing more of the work that we will just cover briefly. Fees: $95 licensing fee (unless you own the curriculum; $95 is the combination price for both history and literature) and $20.00 materials/copies. Taught by Julie Shorey and Tammi Visser
Why learn history? Because it helps us understand God’s work, our own place, and how to make history in our own age. (Our post-modern world does not study history the way we used to because they don’t see any “big picture”, any way that things are and ought to be in the world, any Truth that applies to all people everywhere. Why study the hands-on way, even in high school? Because kids who learn in dynamic ways tend to face other things in life in a more involved way, rather than sitting on the sidelines. We all remember much more of what we DO, than what we READ or HEAR.
WORLD LITERATURE: BETWEEN ANCIENT & MODERN: This high school level course is designed to complement the Tapestry world history course, but it can easily be taken separately. Students will be studying selections of literature written from the fall of the Roman Empire to the early days of the United States. Benefits? Although homeschooled students have often read LOADS, they are often reluctant and unskilled in literary analysis, a VERY high school and LIFE skill. Studying the literature of the time helps us to understand not only the people, beliefs, and customs of the time period studied, but also gives us a “cultural shorthand” to understand other literature. Having taken a previous literary analysis class is NOT a prerequisite to this class, since the tools of literary analysis will be taught using the classic literature studied. Students will learn to identify common literary devices, basic plot elements, and story patterns, while also learning to support their responses with evidence from the text. Each week, students will be expected to read from the literature selection, answer comprehension questions or write in a journal. Selections from Arabian Nights, Beowulf, and Canterbury Tales, as well as studies in the medieval legend, Renaissance poetry, and Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Much Ado About Nothing will be covered. Students will have an opportunity to view dramatized versions of some of the works they’ve studied, either in class, at home, or on scheduled movie nights (popcorn will be provided!). Fees: $70 licensing fee (unless you own the Tapestry curriculum) and a $10 materials/copy fee. Taught by Tammi Visser.
SPANISH 1: Have your kids tried to do a foreign language program on their own with a computer program that promised speaking fluency in one week or less? Have they gotten discouraged when they don’t understand why the language works the way it does, and the program offers no explanation? Have you gotten discouraged that they aren’t progressing through the program for which you paid a substantial amount of money? If you can relate to this, sign your kids up for a tutorial class in Spanish 1. This is a high school level Spanish 1 class in which students will be instructed in Spanish vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation, with an emphasis on reading and listening comprehension, leading to ease in writing and speaking. No prior experience in the language is needed to begin, but if your child has started and stopped a Spanish 1 program before, he will build on what he has previously learned. In the tutorial class, daily grammar homework and online vocabulary memorization (using Quizlet) will be assigned and quizzed weekly, to make sure that students stay “on track.” If students have a question mid-week, they are encouraged to contact the tutor with questions no matter how small. Students should expect to spend approximately 30-60 minutes per day outside of the Thursday tutorial working on the language; the only way that students can succeed in learning a foreign language is to spend time on it every day. Students will use Spanish for Mastery 1 by Valette & Valette (provided by instructor). Copy fee: $15.00. Taught by Tammi Visser.
SPANISH 2: Has your child completed a Spanish 1 class before but not continued on? Does he have a firm grasp on basic Spanish pronunciation, verb conjugation, and vocabulary? If your child has successfully completed a rigorous beginning Spanish class (like Spanish 1A and 1B), he may be able to move into the Spanish 2 tutorial. This high school level class picks up where the Thursday Spanish 1 tutorial left off, quickly reviewing beginning vocabulary, pronouns and present-tense verb conjugations, and noun/adjective agreement. Students again will be instructed in Spanish vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation, with an emphasis on reading and listening comprehension, leading to ease in writing and speaking. Daily grammar homework and online vocabulary memorization (using Quizlet) will be assigned and quizzed weekly, to make sure that students stay “on track.” Students should expect to spend approximately 30-60 minutes per day outside of the Thursday tutorial working on the language; the only way that students can succeed in learning a foreign language is to spend time on it every day. If students have a question mid-week, they are encouraged to contact the tutor with questions no matter how small. Contact the tutor if you have placement questions before registering. Students will use Spanish for Mastery 2 by Valette & Valette (provided by instructor). Copy fee: $15.00. Taught by Tammi Visser .
EXPLORING CREATION WITH CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS: Named after the Apologia text by Jeannie Fulbright, this class is an exciting bridge between the elementary Exploring Creation series and Apologia’s General Science. Geared towards 6th graders, or middle school students who are not yet ready for General Science, students will be introduced to the fascinating world of chemistry and physics, covering topics such as atoms, molecules, simple chemicals, laws of motion, electricity, magnetism, and simple machines. Class time will be packed with fun hands-on experiments and projects to make the concepts come alive! Students will have weekly reading (approximately 5-9 pages/week) and skill building/comprehension written assignments in the form of note-booking pages, worksheets, and vocabulary flashcards to be completed at home in preparation for class. Required materials: Apologia Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics by Jeannie Fulbright; and a STURDY 2-inch 3-ring binder with plastic pocket on the front. Materials: $50.00. Taught by Christine Murphy.
GENERAL SCIENCE: This Apologia junior high school level course is the foundation for all the upper level Apologia high school science courses due to its easy introduction to areas of biology, physical sciences, and anatomy and physiology in a simple and approachable manner. Labs and fun projects will be done in class while bi-weekly tests will be proctored at home. Apologia science courses follow a routine and rhythm that helps the students and that routine is established effectively in this foundational course. Required Materials: Apologia Exploring Creation with General Science, 2nd edition, by Jay Wile; ring binder with college ruled filler paper and 16 insertable dividers with tabs. Materials/lab fee: $20.00. Taught by Dana Cloutier.
PHYSICAL SCIENCE (1 ½ hour tutorial): This course is labeled 8th grade by Apologia, but is suitable as a 9th grade course as well. This course begins with detailed discussion of what makes theworld work, and then travels to the universe for further appreciation of God’s creation. Topics include air and the atmosphere, weather, the physics of motion and Newton’s laws, gravity, magnetism, atoms, sound, light, and an introduction to astrophysics. Students perform labs, and write lab reports. Class includes instruction and discussion, with all tests proctored at home. Prerequisite: Students should have completed Pre-Algebra or be taking it concurrently. Required Materials: Exploring Creation with Physical Science, (2nd edition required) by Jay Wile, 3 ring binder with 4 dividers. Materials/lab fee: $20.00. Taught by Denise Mudge.
ADVANCED BIOLOGY: Anatomy and Physiology (1½ hour tutorial): This advanced high school biology course covers the eleven organ systems of the human body module by module, including a detailed study of the reproductive system. Even if not intending to major in the sciences in college, students in this course will be exposed to a further understanding of their own bodies to empower them to advocate for themselves medically after graduating high school. Students should keep in mind that many college majors require anatomy and physiology as the mandatory science in their undergraduate studies in lieu of biology or chemistry, i.e. speech pathology, audiology, early childhood and personal training/kinesiology to name a few. Laboratory experiments, including dissections, are performed throughout the year. Students will create Biology Laboratory books so to demonstrate to college admissions the true nature of this Lab Biology course. Homework and bi-weekly examinations help build students understanding of the material. Prerequisite: Biology. Required Materials: Apologia - The Human Body: Fearfully and Wonderfully Made!, 2nd edition, Marilyn Shannon and Rachael Yunis; lab book (graph ruled 1/4" bound composition book 9 3/4"x 71/2"), 3 ring binder with college ruled filler paper 8"x 10.5" and 16 insertable dividers with tabs; OR Student Notebook that accompanies text. Many students found this helpful when taking this course. https://www.apologia.com/product/advanced-biology-2nd-edition-student-notebook/. Material/Lab fee: $20.00. Taught by Dana Cloutier.
COMPUTER SCIENCE AND CODING: This class designed for 5th-8th graders will introduce students to the world of computers. Using Google Digital Literacy students learn basic computer skills, such as hardware familiarity, file management, keyboarding, and internet safety. These lessons build the foundation of skills students will continue to use throughout their education. Students will also have fun learning the programming skills by using block based computer coding language to create their own games. Engaging lessons encourage collaboration, interaction and creativity. An extended resource of hands-on lessons, hand-outs, and on-line curriculum will be used. Materials: Students must have a laptop for this class; 3 Ring Binder with Pocket Holders for papers. Copy Fee: $20. Taught by Denise Mudge.
MATH CONCEPTS: (ONLINE CLASS ONLY THIS YEAR) Understanding math concepts, the whys behind what we do with a math equation, is key to future success in math and science. As our world becomes more and more technical, being comfortable with these skills is even more essential. There is a big difference between getting the correct answer to a math problem and understanding why it is correct and how to extrapolate what you are learning to new situations. Students often learn math as a lot of different, separate things they need to memorize and approach in separate ways. As a result, they quickly reach a point where they can’t keep it all straight, feel overwhelmed, and conclude that they are no good at math. The goal of this course is to help students understand the concepts and the connections between the them. This enables them to broaden their math knowledge and see how they can make connections between what they already know and the new things they are learning. This course is designed for middle school students who have completed their basic elementary math work (7th and 8th graders, although some 6th graders may be ready for this course). Required: summer assignments will review these earlier topics We will work through the basic math concepts that will lay a strong foundation for Algebra and high school level science. We will approach the material through a variety of learning approaches which makes the material accessible to all learning styles. Required Materials: Pre-Algebra, by Larson, Bosewell, Kanold and Stiff, published by McDougall Littell, Copyright 2005, ISBN 0618250034. A 3-ring binder with 5 dividers, lined and graph paper. You will also need a calculator that can handle trig. functions and logarithms (the Casio FX-300 ES PLUS, the Casio fx-300MS, and the TI-30XS MultiView are examples for under $20). Do not purchase a graphing calculator. Materials fee includes one year subscription to IXL and summer review assignments: $30. Taught by Sandy Tracy.
ALGEBRA 1/HONORS ALGEBRA 1: (ONLINE ONLY THIS YEAR) This is a high school level math course that meets TWICE per week. Prerequisite to admission into this class is successful completion of the Math Concepts class or passing an Algebra readiness test administered by the instructor. [If a student is not ready for Algebra 1, the Math Concepts course offered on Thursdays is a great place to begin.] Since math is a difficult subject to take in an entire week’s worth of instruction at one sitting, it will meet TWICE a week for 1 hour each session, allowing for more in-depth interaction with the concepts. The course requires about an hour of DAILY work outside of class, and can be taken at the standard level or the honors level. A goal of this course is to help students understand why the concepts work, not just how to find answers. This helps promote mathematical reasoning and conceptual growth which allows students to analyze new situations and deduce answers. The concept of function is emphasized throughout the course. We will start with Chapter 3 of the textbook because Chapter 1 and 2 are Pre-Algebra topics. Required: summer assignments will review these earlier topics. Some of the other topics covered include, integers, word phrases and algebraic expressions, solving equations and inequalities, polynomials and factoring, radical and quadratic equations, rational expressions and equations, and quadratic functions. Additionally, statistics topics (which are now included in the SAT exam) are introduced as well. Required Materials: Algebra 1, by Larson, Bosewell, Kanold and Stiff, published by McDougall Littell, Copyright 2007, ISBN 0618594027. A 3-ring binder with 5 dividers, lined and graph paper. You will also need a calculator that can handle trig functions and logarithms (the Casio FX-300 ES PLUS, the Casio fx-300MS, and the TI-30XS MultiView are examples for under $20). Do not purchase a graphing calculator. Materials fee includes one year subscription to IXL and summer review assignments: $30. Taught by Sandy Tracy.
GEOMETRY: (ONLINE ONLY THIS YEAR) This is a high school level math course that meets TWICE per week. Prerequisite to admission into this class is successful completion of the Algebra 1 class or passing an Algebra Exit test administered by the instructor. [If a student is not ready for Geometry, the Algebra 1 course is a great place to begin.] Since math is a difficult subject to take in an entire week’s worth of instruction at one sitting, it will meet TWICE a week for 1 hour each session. This format allows for more in-depth interaction with the concepts. The course requires about an hour of DAILY work outside of class. A goal of this course is to help students understand why the concepts work, not just how to find the answers, promoting mathematical reasoning and conceptual growth which allows students to analyze new situations and deduce answers. Required: summer assignments will review these earlier topics. Some of the topics covered include: parallel and perpendicular line, triangle relationships, similarity, polygons and area, surface area and volume, right triangles and basic trigonometry, and circles. Please purchase: Holt McDougal Geometry Concepts and Skills (2010 edition). You will also need a calculator that can handle trig functions and logarithms (the Casio FX-300 ES PLUS, the Casio fx-300MS, and the TI-30XS MultiView are examples for under #20). Do not purchase a graphing calculator. Materials fee includes one year subscription to IXL and summer review assignments: $30. Taught by Sandy Tracy.
UNDERSTANDING THE TIMES: (1 ½ hour tutorial) Don’t let your high school student graduate without this course by Summit Ministries which focuses on comparing six fundamental worldviews of Western Civilization: Marxist Leninism (communism), Secular Humanism, Cosmic Humanism (New Age movement), Islam, Post-Modernism, and Biblical Christianity, all easily discovered in the current culture. Students quickly learn to do that, as well as being grounded in answers for them. Students learn to understand how worldview affects all other disciplines and how to defend their own faith. Those questioning their beliefs are encouraged to ask questions. Try taking this excellent (and free) worldview test yourself and then have your high schooler do it, to perhaps obtain some real insight into the need: http://www.secretbattlebook.com/checkup.html Where apologetics is mostly studying the basics of the Christian faith from the Bible, this course involves studying what the other worldviews believe and how they compare to Christianity, also using the Bible as the final authority. You have heard the statistic that 50% of professing Christian students leave the faith in college? The number is even higher now, but instruction in the biblical worldview dramatically changes the statistic. The lively discussion/application format is very effective in encouraging students to interact about the things that really matter, and it is what the students love most about this class, along with the video lectures by experts in every field we study. Check out the college credit option at http://understandingthetimes.com/college-credit/. The material was written for juniors and seniors in high school, but, though challenging, it need not be limited to that age. This class meets for 1½ hours per week. Materials fee includes hard cover textbook, student manual, access to online video lectures, and copy fee. Materials: $75.00. Taught by Julie Shorey.
APOLOGETICS: This course has a dual-purpose: to re-examine the doctrines and theology of our faith that we know so well, and to equip our students to explain and defend them in the real world. We believe that our Christian faith is at the heart of all that we do, and that this faith will come under attack by the world throughout our entire lives. The ability to dig into the truth of Scripture ourselves, and to be able to defend that truth to others, is essential to our calling as disciples of the Messiah. Because GCT is an overtly Christian organization, we do assume a basic level of Biblical knowledge on the part of our students. However, this course is designed to account for a wide range of theological training, as well as a spectrum of denominational perspectives, so no student will be left in the dark. We are also sensitive to our role in support of, and not as a replacement to, the parents at GCT, as they seek to raise their children in the knowledge of God. This class is by no means meant to be the primary source of spiritual guidance or teaching in the student’s life. Our goal is to provide a condensed, academically rigorous overview of orthodox theology, and training in the defense of those truths. The content of the course centers on the doctrines of God, the Scriptures, Christ, Man, and Salvation, which lie at the center of orthodox Christianity. These topics align with the set of questions published by the National Christian Forensics and Communications Association (NCFCA) for their competitive Apologetics category. We highly encourage students to compete at NCFCA tournaments throughout the year, which offer an excellent opportunity to put into words the things they have learned. However, competition is not mandatory for participation in the class. Required books and materials: Grudem’s Systematic Theology, a large notebook, and of course, Bibles. Apologetics workbook: $25.00. Taught by Aaron Filipe.
DEBATE: (1½ hour tutorial) How many skills can be learned in debate? Current events, logical thinking, research and organization skills, persuasive speech, effective listening, and the list goes on. This class focuses on preparing students to compete NCFCA-sanctioned tournaments, and generally has a mix of both new and experienced debaters. Students will learn to form arguments, research background information, and develop cases. These critical thinking skills are beneficial in all areas of life, and can be especially helpful in other areas of study. Considerable time will be spent examining the annual topic selected by the league, and analyzing it in depth. The main focus of each class time will be on learning the theory and structure of debate, as well is some time spent in practice rounds, drills, and other exercises. In order to facilitate effective learning during the class time, students are expected to do as much work on their own debate cases and skills as homework. Private tutoring can also be arranged with the tutor for those wanting extra help for competition preparation. Competition is a requirement for second semester participation in this class, as the focus is there. If students would like to study debate first semester, participating in class time debates with no formal competition, they may take the class for the first semester only. Taught by Aaron Filipe.
