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Would love to see your "course descriptions"


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Those would be the course descriptions that you included with transcripts for college applications --

 

Interested in wording, types of things included, etc. I am not the most creative person, and would really benefit from seeing how others worded things.

 

Thanks --

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I won't copy it all into here because it's 14 pages long. I'll copy bits and pieces to give you an idea. Some course descriptions were copied and/or modified from the community college or The Potter's School; others I did my best to write. This worked for us, but I'm sure there are many other ways to accomplish this. In each section, I listed courses in order of most recent (grade 12) to oldest taken courses (grade 9)

 

I'll have to copy the samples into different posts. It's too long otherwise, and the site won't allow me to post it. Also, the bullets don't quite copy over correctly, but I think you'll get the idea.

 

Hope this helps you.

 

My header information:

 

 

Course of Study

Homeschool Name

Student Name

 

Sources of outside study:

 

 

 

 The Potter’s School (http://www.pottersschool.org/) – online school

 Write at Home (http://www.writeathome.com/) – online school

 Wilderness Medical Associates (http://www.wildmed.com/) through Northwest-Shoals Community College (http://www.nwscc.cc.al.us/) – in residence course

 Northern Virginia Community College (http://www.nvcc.edu/annandale) – in residence courses

 

Course Work:

 

 

For courses completed at home or online with The Potter’s School, one year courses (1 credit) required 170-180 hours and semester courses (0.5 credit) required 85-90 hours of daily scheduled class time. Most classes required additional time to complete readings, written assignments, compositions, research, lab reports, test studying, etc. For classes taken at community college, students followed the institution’s requirements.

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English

 

 

College Composition I, Honors (0.5 credit on high school transcript, 3 credits on community college transcript)

Description: Through the writing process, students refine topics; develop and support ideas; investigate, evaluate, and incorporate appropriate resources; edit for effective style and usage; and determine appropriate approaches for a variety of contexts, audiences, and purposes. Writing activities will include exposition and argumentation with at least one research paper. Lecture 3 hours per week.

Materials: Rules for Writers (Diana Hacker) and The Brief Bedford Reader (X. J. Kennedy and Jane Aaron)

Course Location: Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale, VA; instructor: [instructor's name]

 

English IV: British Literature (1 credit)

Description: Course work includes the study of grammar, composition (essays, research paper, and creative writing), and British literature (novels, short stories, plays, and poetry). Written essays are required on most literary works in addition to written response literary analysis questions and discussion.

Materials:

 Grammar – Grammar and Composition V (James A. Chapman)

 Composition – Grammar and Composition V (James A. Chapman), Literature: Reading and Writing the Human Experience (Richard Abcarian and Marvin Klotz), and Sentence Composing for College (Don Killgallon)

 British Literature – Literature: Reading and Writing the Human Experience (Richard Abcarian and Marvin Klotz), Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense (Laurence Perrine), How to Read Literature Like a Professor (Thomas C. Foster), Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen), Gulliver’s Travels (Jonathan Swift), Brave New World (Aldous Huxley), Frankenstein (Mary Shelley), A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens), Animal Farm (George Orwell), Lord of the Flies (William Golding), Great English Short Stories (editor: Paul Negri, selected short stories by: Charles Dickens, Rudyard Kipling, George Eliot, Thomas Hardy, Anthony Trollope, and D. H. Lawrence), Hamlet (William Shakespeare), Much Ado About Nothing (William Shakespeare), The Importance of Being Earnest (Oscar Wilde), Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Anonymous, translation: Marie Borroff), The Canterbury Tales (Chaucer, translation: Nevill Coghill, selected tales), Beowulf (Anonymous, translation: Seamus Heaney), 100 Favorite English and Irish Poems (editor: Clarence C. Strowbridge, selected poems by: William Shakespeare, John Donne, John Milton, William Blake, William Wordsworth, Percy Bysshe Shelley, John Keats, Lord Alfred Tennyson, Robert Browning, A. E. Housman, Dylan Thomas, and William Butler Yeats), Hamlet Study Guide (Progeny Press), Lord of the Flies Study Guide (Progeny Press), A Tale of Two Cities Study Guide (Progeny Press), Frankenstein Study Guide (Progeny Press), and study/analysis questions written by [this would be me].

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Mathematics

 

 

Calculus I (1 credit)

Description: A college preparatory study of calculus including: preparation for calculus (linear models, rates of change, functions, graphs, etc.); limits and their properties (analysis of limits, continuity, one-sided limits, infinite limits, etc.); differentiation (derivatives, tangent line, product/quotient rules, Chain Rule, etc.); applications of differentiation (extrema, Rolle’s and Mean Value Theorems, First and Second Derivative Tests, concavity, limits at infinity, etc.); integration (antiderivatives, indefinite integration, area, Riemann Sums, Fundamental Theorem of Calculus, etc.); and logarithmic, exponential, and other transcendental functions (natural logarithmic functions, inverse functions, exponential functions, bases other than e, growth and decay, inverse trigonometric functions, hyperbolic functions, etc).

Materials: Calculus of a Single Variable (Roland Larson and Bruce Edwards) and Chalkdust: Calculus I (Dana Mosley, coordinated lecture series for the text Calculus of a Single Variable)

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Science

 

 

Anatomy and Physiology I and II with Lab (1 credit on high school transcript, 8 credits on community college transcript)

Description: This college transfer-level course integrates anatomy and physiology of cells, tissues, organs, and systems of the human body and involves the concepts of chemistry, physics, and pathology. Students attend both lecture and lab for 3 hours each per week for a total of 6 hours. Topics covered include: general introduction; chemical basis of life; cells; cellular metabolism; tissues; integumentary system; skeletal system; joints of the skeletal system; muscular system; nervous system (basic structure and function, divisions of the nervous system, and senses); endocrine system; blood; cardiovascular system; lymphatic system and immunity; digestive system; nutrition and metabolism; respiratory system; urinary system; water, electrolyte, and acid-base balance; reproductive systems; pregnancy, growth, and development; and genetics and genomics. Students take both lecture exams and lab practical exams.

Materials: Hole’s Human Anatomy and Physiology (David Shier, Jackie Butler, and Ricki Lewis), Hole’s Human Anatomy and Physiology Lab Manual (Terry Martin), and An Introduction to Chemistry for Biology Students (George Sackheim)

Course Location: Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale, VA; instructor: [instructor's name]

 

Physics with Lab (1 credit)

Description: This course provides a detailed introduction to the methods and concepts of general physics. Heavily emphasizing vector analysis, it is ideal preparation for a university-level physics course. It provides the student with a strong background in one-dimensional and two-dimensional motion, Newton’s laws and their application, gravity, work and energy, momentum, periodic motion, waves, optics, electrostatics, electrodynamics, electrical circuits, and magnetism. The course requires the completion of 34 labs covering topics such as velocity, acceleration, air resistance, vectors,

horizontal speed, inertia, frictional force, centripetal force, energy, momentum, Hooke’s Law, frequency and volume of sound waves, real and virtual images, simple circuits, Oersted’s experiment, and much more. Lab reports are required on all labs.

Materials: Exploring Creation with Physics (Dr. Jay Wile, Apologia Educational Ministries) and Physics Science Kit (Home Science Tools, lab set for Exploring Creation with Physics)

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History

 

 

African History (1 credit)

Description: This course provides an introduction to Africa’s history and geography from its beginning to current day and covers the whole of Africa with a heavier emphasis on sub-Saharan Africa. Students will gain a greater appreciation and understanding of the complexity of Africa. Through the consideration of Africa’s historical development, students will analyze why events occurred and their impact on the future. The course examines: natural environments and ecological zones, development of human society including the Iron Age and agriculture, importance and development of religion, state-building, evolution of trade, relations with Western powers, Atlantic slave trade, effects of diamond and gold mining, South Africa, Ethiopia, the Congo, Zimbabwe, colonization and later decolonization of Africa, Rwanda genocide, HIV/AIDS pandemic, Darfur, and more. A research paper and essays are required.

Materials: The African Experience: From "Lucy" to Mandela (The Teaching Company, DVD lecture series), History of Africa (Kevin Shillington), A Continent for the Taking (Howard W. French), A History of South Africa (Leonard Thompson), Africa Since 1940: The Past of the Present (Frederick Cooper), Africa: A Biography of the Continent (John Reader, selected chapters), Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela (Nelson Mandela), Things Fall Apart (Chinua Achebe), We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families: Stories from Rwanda (Philip Gourevitch), Uncle Josh's Outline Map Book (George Wiggers and Hannah Wiggers); The Geography Coloring Book (Wynn Kapit), Africa: The Serengeti (IMAX), Diamonds of War: Africa's Blood Diamonds (National Geographic documentary), and Darfur Diaries (documentary).

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Social Science Electives

 

 

 

Classical and Modern Political Theory (0.5 credit)

Description: This course examines some of the fundamental questions that have shaped Western political thought since its inception in Athens in fifth century B.C and some of the most influential answers that political theorists have proposed. Issues addressed within this course fall into three broad categories: essential characteristics of human nature and the good society, the relationship between the individual and society, and theories of change. Topics covered include: the Hindu vision of life, Thucydides and The Peloponnesian War, the law and rule in Sophocles’ Antigone, Socrates and the Socratic quest, Plato’s Idealism, Aristotle’s critique of Plato’s Replublic, Machiavelli’s theory of power, Rousseau’s theory of human nature and society, Marx’s critique of capitalism and the solution of communism, Freud’s theory of human nature and civilization, Thoreau’s theory of civil disobedience, Dostoyevsky’s “Grand Inquistorâ€, anarchism and the example of Emma Goldman, and both Hitler’s and Gandhi’s use of power. Students will be challenged to think more deeply about themselves, the standards that guide their behavior, and their obligation, if any, to society.

Materials: Power over People: Classical and Modern Political Theory (The Teaching Company, DVD lecture series), “Pericles’ Funeral Oration†and “Civil War in Corcyra†from History of the Peloponnesian War (Thucydides), Antigone (Sophocles), “The Apology†from The Last Days of Socrates (Plato), The Republic (Plato), The Politics (Aristotle), The Prince (Niccolò Machiavelli), The Social Contract (Jean-Jacques Rousseau), “Civil Disobedience†(Henry David Thoreau), “The Grand Inquisitor†from The Brothers Karamazov (Fyodor Dostoevsky), Mein Kampf (Adolf Hitler, selected chapters), Mahatma Gandhi: Selected Political Writings (Mahandas Gandhi, editor: Dennis Dalton)

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Foreign Language

 

 

Spanish II (1 credit)

Description: Following Spanish I, students use the next level of Rosetta Stone as the basis of instruction. Students learn Spanish the way they learned their own native language using the Dynamic Immersion Method. Native speakers, real-life images, speech recognition, and fully interactive software teach students like they learned their first language – naturally. The software utilizes four modalities of learning: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The program includes: 400 hours of instruction, speech recognition function for accent development, systematic structure to teach vocabulary and grammar naturally, exercises and tests for every lesson. In addition to the software program, other supplemental materials are used to further develop grammar skills and vocabulary.

Materials: Rosetta Stone Spanish Level 2 – Latin American (Fairfield Language Technologies), Spanish Verb Tenses (Dorothy Devney Richmond), and http://www.studyspanish.com/ (Learn Spanish, grammar instruction)

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Fine Arts

 

 

Art History and Appreciation (0.5 credit)

Description: This course covers a sweep of Western art from its earliest sources in the late Paleolithic period to its most recent developments in the early 21st century. The course progresses primarily chronologically, but parallel and overlapping trends and developments are studied to more fully understand the varied geography of human thought. Since certain elements and developments in Western art influence or are influenced by others, the course also delves into the artistic activity in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Central and South America. The course examines a range of media that have defined Western visual art – from painting and sculpture, to architecture and decorative arts, to photography and drawing, to mixed media, assemblage, and installation art. Various periods, artists, and techniques are studied. Finally, the course reflects on the ways in which visual art has echoed the human experience and has refracted human intelligence and creativity across the ages.

Materials: Art Across the Ages (The Teaching Company, DVD lecture series), The Story of Painting (Sister Wendy Beckett), field trips to the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.

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Other Electives

 

 

Principles of Public Speaking (0.5 credit on high school transcript, 3 credits on community college transcript)

Description: Applies theory and principles of public address with an emphasis on preparation and delivery. Lecture: 3 hours per week.

Materials: Art of Public Speaking (Stephen Lucas)

Course Location: Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale, VA; instructor: [instructor's name]

 

First Responder (0.5 credit on high school transcript, 3 credits on community college transcript)

Description: Wilderness Medical Associates is the leading wilderness medicine training program in the United States. This course is designed for outdoor enthusiasts, outdoor professionals, and medical professionals who want the best possible training to prepare themselves for medical emergencies in remote environments. Class days are long (10 hours) and 100% attendance is mandatory. Teaching techniques include: lecture, professional power point, a great deal of hands-on training scenarios, and reading assignments in the evening. Successful completion and certification is based on passing both written and practical skills exams. Topics of study include: general concepts, patient assessment system, basic life support, anaphylaxis, circulatory system, respiratory system, nervous system, musculoskeletal system, musculoskeletal injuries, dislocations, spine management, wounds and burns, emergency childbirth, altitude, diving, thermo-regulation, drowning and near-drowning, frostbite, search and rescue, electrical injuries and lightning, backcountry medicine, medical and legal issues, allergies, and toxins, bites, and stings.

Materials: The Outward Bound Wilderness First-Aid Handbook (Jeffrey Isaac), Wilderness Medicine Lecture Notes and Wilderness Medicine Workbook (Wilderness Medical Associates), medical lab equipment

Course Location: in residence through Northwest-Shoals Community College in Muscle Shoals, Al; course taught by [instructor's name] of Wilderness Medical Associates

Certifications earned: Wilderness First Responder (expires 3/26/2009), Basic Life Support (expires 3/26/2009), and Anaphylaxis Workshop (expires 3/26/2009)

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Okay that's my sampling. I hope I haven't embarrassed myself!:blush: Someone had shown me her descriptions in the past (Tina - thanks!) which I found so helpful, so I wanted to pay it forward.

 

Maybe others will have more samplings to provide you with other examples.

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Don't be intimidated with course descriptions. Just dive in and get your rough draft, then modifiy - it will all come together.

 

Use your table of contents and descriptions from courses/books for your starting point - most of all the information you need is right there.

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Okay - it's not complete, but I reformatted a few sample courses so I could post here. I had this all ready and printed up, but I should tell you: not ONE college EVER asked to see them. So they are NOT "battle tested" :D

 

English 9

Reading & Research with Composition: A writing composition class in which the student worked intensively with the nomenclature of grammar and mechanics and their application to writing skills. Intensive work in analytical reading and writing with additional work on grammar, vocabulary, and reading-based questions. Instruction in research strategies, online database use and mechanics of creating a research paper.

Texts: How to Read a Book by Mortimer J. Adler; A Quick Reference to the Research Paper by Susan Sorensonl; Analytical Grammar by R.R. Finley.

 

Medieval/Early Renaissance & Shakespearean Literature: A reading and writing intensive exploration of English literature written during the middle ages and early renaissance. Class meetings involved discussions and oral presentations. Home assignments included reading and writing (minimum one 3-5 page essay on each major work studied) which provided opportunities to experience, interpret and evaluate the literature.

Texts: Saint Augustine’s Confessions translated by H. Chadwick; Beowulf translated by Seamus Heaney; Dante’s Inferno translated by Elio Zappulla; Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales translated by Hleatt; Oxford Shakespeare Series Hamlet, Romeo & Juliet, Twelfth Night; Brightest Heaven of Invention by Leithart

 

English 10

Advanced Composition: A writing intensive course in which the student continued to make progress on defining and supporting arguments, clarity and precision of language, and techniques of literary analysis.

Text: Advanced Composition published by The Center for Learning.

 

Literature: A reading and writing exploration of world literature written between 1650 and which provided opportunities to experience, interpret and evaluate the literature.

Texts: Literary Analysis published by Smarr Publications; Pride & Prejudice by J. Austen; Jane Eyre by C. Bronte; The Man in the Iron Mask & The Count of Monte Cristo by A. Dumas; Frankenstein by M. Shelley; Robinson Crusoe by Dafoe; Pilgrim’s Progess by Bunyan; A Modest Proposal by J. Swift.

 

Algebra 2

Continued study of math concepts including linear and quadratic equations, inequalities, relations, functions, radicals, imaginary and complex numbers. Emphasis was placed upon development of math skills through study of exponential and logarithmic functions, probability, statistics and elements of trigonometry

Text: Algebra 2 published by McDougal Littell

 

PreCalculus

Expanded study of math concepts involving functions (polynomial and rational, exponential and logarithmic,& trigonometric), linear systems and matrices. Included analytic trigonometry, sequences, series and probability.

Text: Precalculus with Limits: a Graphing Approach by B. H. Edwards / Houghton Mifflin.

 

Biology

An introductory high school level course with labs. Readings and instruction covered major concepts such as photosynthesis, fermentation, respiration, diffusion, the cell, genetics, plant & animal development, speciation and a survey of animal systems. Laboratory investigations were an integral part of this course.

Text: Biology published by Bob Jones Press

 

Chemistry

An introductory high school level course with labs. Readings and instruction covered major topics such as matter, atomic structure & elements, chemical bonds & composition, chemical reactions, gases, solids, liquids, solutions, acids/bases/salts and oxidation. Laboratory investigations were an integral part of this course.

Text: Chemistry published by Bob Jones Press

 

Modern World History

Modern world history after 1850: Study emphasized events and developments during modern times that greatly affected large numbers of people across broad areas of the earth and that significantly influenced peoples and places in subsequent eras. Student practiced skills and processes of historical thinking and inquiry that involved chronological thinking, comprehension, analysis and interpretation, research, issues-analysis, and decision-making. Student learned to compare & contrast events and developments involving diverse peoples and civilizations in different regions of the world.

Texts: Western Civilization by J.J. Spielvogel, Foundations of Western Civilization: The Modern Western World, video series by The Teaching Company

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Thanks so much, Cynde and DollyM! I've not yet done course descriptions. Actually, I *think* I have a couple in a document on my computer but I haven't written descriptions for all of my ds' work yet. Since he's a rising junior, I probably need to get some of this done this summer. Ugh. But, you've eased my work by posting what you've done and what has worked!

 

Many thanks --

Lisa

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