Learning Support - History Classes
Advanced American Government & Economics
Open To: Students in Grades 11-12
Materials Used: MODG's Advanced American Government & Economics Syllabus, selections from St. Thomas' Summa Theologica (provided), the Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers, the Constitution, Common Sense, Democracy in America, and Economics in One Lesson
Description: The course begins with a discussion of law through the light of St. Thomas and culminates in an understanding of the type of government laid out by our Founding Fathers. Economic principles are also discussed in depth. Paper grading is included.
American Government & Economics (ABeka)
Open To: Students in Grades 10-12
Materials Used: MODG's American Government & Economics (ABeka) Syllabus , American Government in Christian Perspective from ABeka, Economics Work and Prosperity in Christian Perspective by R. Kirk (ABeka), test/quiz booklets, and other required texts – see syllabus book list
Description: This course covers the Constitution and the branches of government, and offers a thorough look at economics, both in principle and in application to particulars. Grading is included.
Ancient History & Literature
Open To: Students in Grade 9-12
Materials Used: MODG's Ancient History & Geography & Ancient Literature Syllabus, The Founding of Christendom by Warren Carroll, and other required books
Description: This course has an emphasis on what can be achieved through man's natural gifts and virtues, both intellectual and moral. The history material for the year focuses on an understanding of natural virtue and its relationship to society and government. Discussions center around questions that help the student come to an understanding of these issues. This course contains works by some of history's greatest authors, including the Iliad of Homer (or the Children's Homer), Plutarch, Shakespeare, Plato and many others
Grade 7 Book Club
Materials Used: Famous Men of Greece, The Greeks, Herodotus' Histories, D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths, The Children's Homer, Archimedes and Door of Science, Famous Men of Rome, City, The Romans, A Triumph for Falvius, Caesar's Gallic Wars, Augustus Caesar's World, The Eagle of the Ninth.
Description: The Book Clubs are once-a-month classes in which students meet to discuss the books they are reading for history with a teacher. In Grade 7, the club meets at a regular monthly time to discuss
books. Reminders will be sent to students prior to class, along with topics to help facilitate class discussion. Paper grading is available through the TA program if desired.
Grade 8 Book Club
Materials Used: Fingal's Quest, Augustine Came to Kent, Son of Charlemagne, Adam of the Road, Magna Charta, King Arthur and Knights of the Round Table, Francis and Clare: Saints of Assisi, St. Dominic and the Rosary, The Door in the Wall, The Black Arrow.
Description: The Book Clubs are once-a-month classes in which students meet to discuss the books they are reading for history with a teacher. In Grade 8, the meetings occur as books are completed according to the syllabus schedule. There are nine meetings total in Grade 8. Reminders will be sent to students prior to class, along with topics to help facilitate class discussion. Paper grading is available through the TA program if desired.
Literature 12
Open To: Students in Grade 12
Materials Used: Selected novels and short stories
Description: This course will cover classic works of literature, such as: Ivanhoe, Emma, and Till We Have Faces are the longer selections in the course. Works of Shakespeare covered include King Lear and A Midsummer's Night's Dream. Tolstoy's Forged Coupon, Kafka's Metamorphoses, and Chaucer's Clerk's Tale are among the works read. Other authors include Flannery O’Connor, Leo Tolstoy, Henry James, Nathaniel Hawthorne, G.K. Chesterton, Oscar Wilde, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Paper grading is included in course. A thesis paper will be required in the second semester
Medieval European History & Literature
Open To: Students in Grades 10-12
Materials Used: MODG's Medieval European History & Geography & Medieval European Literature syllabus*, History of the English Speaking Peoples by Churchill, The History of Medieval Spain by J. O'Callaghan, and other required books, (*Note that this course does not used the Medieval English and Spanish syllabus. That is a different course.)
Description: Through investigation, discussion and debate, issues of particular importance are addressed, including the development of kingship & government in the Middle Ages, the Inquisition, and the Reformation. The application of Catholic moral teachings in such cases as Suetonius and the Londoners, King Stephen and the hostages, Martyrs of the Cordoba, and tyrannicide, is also covered. In addition, works of literature such as The Song of Roland, Beowulf, The Ballad of the White Horse, Murder in the Cathedral, and The Cid, among others are discussed. We also have a mock Inquisition trial, so that the students are clear about how such trials worked. Paper grading is included.
US History & Literature
Open To: Students in Grades 8-12
Materials Used: MODG's US History & Geography & American Literature Syllabus, Christ in the Americas by Anne Carroll, and other required books
Description: This course covers American history from the colonial era through the World Wars and beyond. Students discuss, investigate, and debate on many key issues, such as the justification for secession, and the dropping of the atomic bomb. Interwoven with the history is an extensive literature discussion. Students read classics such as The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, Sense and Sensibility, and The Red Badge of Courage, among others. Paper grading is included.