FAQs, Helps, and Extras

FAQs

What classes should my high school student complete for language arts?

We suggest that high school students complete the following courses for language arts (to be taken in any order):

All three classes from the following list:
• High School Language Arts 1 (1 credit)
• High School Language Arts 2 (1 credit)
• High School Language Arts 3 (1 credit)

Any two outside half-credit electives or another full-credit course of your choosing such as:
• British Literature
• American Literature
• Creative Writing
• Editing & Writing course
• College-level language arts course

Please see recommendations for students beginning in 10th, 11th, or 12th grade in the FAQ below.

Please Note: To allow students time to complete language arts electives or college-level courses, we have included all needed high school language arts concepts in just 3 courses.

Some students will be able to complete the high school courses and complete Honors Book Studies/Literature classes.

The High School Language Arts Scope and Sequence can be viewed by clicking here.

Will High School Language Arts be changing to new editions?

No. We do not have any plans to update the courses at this time. 

My state has certain requirements. How many credits are the courses?

Each High School Language Arts course (1-3) is

• 1 credit of English Literature, Language, and Composition
• ½ credit of art history and art instruction
• ½ credit of geography.

If you are required to keep track of hours and find your student is going through the course too quickly, add more time reading literature from the course reading challenge, or have the student complete High School Honors Book Studies.

How do I know whether the honors path is the right fit or not?

The student chooses a daily amount of time to spend on the course each day and does it consistently.

• If you are doing school four days a week, each unit should be completed in 12 school days, spending 45–60 minutes a day + time spent on reading challenge for a 4-day school week (determined by the student and teacher, usually an average of 15-20 minutes a day).
• If you are doing school five days a week, each unit should be completed in 15 school days, spending 35–50 minutes a day + time spent on reading challenge for a 5-day school week (determined by the student and teacher, usually an average of 10-15 minutes a day).

If the student can finish the units in less time than stated above, the student will have time to complete one or more High School Honors Book Studies and should be advanced enough to complete them. Advanced readers will naturally go through the courses more quickly. Those with a strong background in language arts will naturally go through the courses more quickly because they will complete assignments faster and will not need to watch the many optional videos that give extra help to those who need it.

Are the High School Language Arts courses accredited?

No. Our high school courses are for those who are not seeking accredited classes. Accreditation is not necessary for admittance to most colleges and universities.

Will the course be too easy for my advanced student?

Each course is a good combination of review and more complex concepts. Advanced students will move quickly through the review concepts (which is needed for cementing learning) and will also learn more complex concepts. The literature integrated with each course is challenging and of very high literary value. Also, advanced students should feel motivated to complete the course early in order to complete the fun and more challenging Honors Book Studies.

Will the course be too advanced for my student?

Each course allows for advanced students to complete it in less than a school year. All other students without learning disabilities should have plenty of time to finish each course in one school year. Students will find our optional course videos helpful and easy to understand, and the videos can be re-watched as many times as needed.

Should the high school curriculum be done in a consecutive order, or would it be appropriate for a homeschool co-op to rotate it in a four year cycle?

The high school language arts curriculum is set up in a way that it can work to take the courses in any order. However, not going in consecutive order will occasionally require students to watch videos or study foundational grammar principles upon which other principles are built. In these rare cases, the course will say something like the following sentence: “Foundational Concept Needed: To understand run-on sentences, you must first understand what makes a complete sentence. If needed, watch the video titled ‘A Sentence Needs Three Things’ on www.goodandbeautiful.com/videos before proceeding.” Because review and practice is vital to cementing principles, there is a lot of review in the courses, making it more feasible to take the courses out of order when needed.

My student is starting The Good and the Beautiful High School Language Arts in 10th, 11th, or 12th grade; where should he or she start, and will he or she be OK to not complete all courses?

If the student is starting 10th grade: It is recommended that the student complete High School Language Arts 1, 2, and 3 and skip the high school language arts electives if they are unable to fit them into their schedule.

If the student is starting 11th grade: It is recommended that the student tries to complete High School 1, 2, and 3 in 11th and 12th grade, if possible, by eliminating the reading challenges and art projects. However, if the three courses cannot be taken, it is recommended that the student take High School 1 and 2.

If the student is starting 12th grade:  If the student starts our high school courses in 12th grade, it is recommended that the student complete High School 1.

How much time does the student need to spend each day completing their High School Language Arts course?

Because the focus, reading speed, and experience of each students is hugely different, the time needed to be spent each day varies widely. The average student will need to spend:

• 45–60 minutes a day + time spent on the High School 1 Reading Challenge for a 4-day school week (determined by the student and teacher, usually an average of 15-20 minutes a day), or
• 35–50 minutes a day + time spent on the High School 1 Reading Challenge for a 5-day school week (determined by the student and teacher, usually an average of 10-15 minutes a day).

Advanced students should be able to finish the course in less than one school year by spending the times listed above. However, students that are slower but still want to complete Honors Units Studies can simply spend more time each day.

Average advanced students that spend the maximum time listed above are expected to finish High School 1 in 1/2 a school year. Average advanced students that spend the minimum time listed above are expected to finish the course in 2/3 of a school year.

Do I need to purchase the versions of the required reading books published by The Good and the Beautiful?

We suggest that you purchase all the required reading books from The Good and the Beautiful for these reasons:

1. You will end up with a beautiful, matching set of books (they are all the same size and have the same format on the spines, etc.) for your home library.
2. They are almost always the same price or less than can be found elsewhere if purchasing new.
3. We do not abridge books, but we do remove things such as profanity, taking God’s name in vain, and culturally insensitive comments.

However, you do not need to purchase the versions published by The Good and the Beautiful, unless they are compilations published only by The Good and the Beautiful. Some of the books have Kindle versions, and they will work, but consider #3 above.

Can a student listen to the required reading books instead of reading them?

It is up to the parent. Our suggestion is that students who are slow readers and need to speed up the course listen to every other chapter of a book through Audible, or the student listens to 1-2 of the required reading books for each course and reads the other books.

What ages are recommended? Can a junior high student complete the course?

Our High School Language Arts courses are recommended for students in 8th or 9th grade and above. 

Do the subjects of art and geography require supplementation?

Art history and appreciation and geography are thorough and designed to not need supplementation. One art project is included for each unit, for a total of 10 art projects during each course. Students interested in pursuing more than basic skills will likely want to supplement with extra art courses.

What art mediums are taught in each high school level?

Pencil drawing is taught in each level. The other mediums taught for each level are as follows:

High School 1—Watercolor

High School 2—Watercolor Pencils & Charcoal

Sentence diagramming Steps 1-15 are taught in lower level The Good and the Beautiful courses. Do the high school courses teach more steps?

No. The creators of this curriculum see huge benefits in learning to diagram sentences for certain concepts, but not for others. Steps 1-15 cover everything we feel is needed with sentence diagramming. All these steps are reviewed and cemented in the high school courses.

Do all the course components contain faith-based materials?

Yes, even the High School Cards, which contain poetry that is faith-based.

Do the High School Language Arts courses include doctrines specific to any certain Christian denomination?

No. The goal of The Good and the Beautiful curriculum is not to teach doctrines specific to a particular Christian sect, but to teach general principles of moral character such as honesty and kindness. The King James Version of the Bible is used when quoting Bible verses.

My young child placed at a high level. Is he or she really ready for it?

You will have to use your best judgment, especially taking into consideration the child’s handwriting and writing abilities. The biggest struggle for younger children in higher levels is usually the writing assignments. In addition to this, our placement tests are limited and cannot test all grammar principles; consequently, there may be gaps in learning if younger children start at a high level. It is recommended that you do not start any child more than one level above his or her corresponding grade level, but allow the child to move through the levels as quickly as he or she is able.

Do the High School Language Arts courses follow Common Core standards? How do they compare to public school?

The academic spine of our curriculum was developed by compiling national state standards and then determining which ones are developmentally appropriate and also match Good and Beautiful moral standards and the abilities of our pilot children. Our curriculum also includes valuable learning and concepts not required by state standards. It does not follow Common Core standards.

We believe that children who work on The Good and the Beautiful curriculum consistently each day will find that they are far above public school standards. This belief is based on the results of extensive piloting during development, numerous awards, and the positive results reported by many of the hundreds of thousands of children who have used our curriculum.

When will students study Shakespeare?

We plan to offer resources in our high school language arts program in the future to study Shakespeare. As this project is still in the planning stage, we do not have further details at this time.

I need to purchase the answer key and unit checks. Where can they be found?

The Answer Key and Unit Checks come free with purchase of either the course set or the unit booklets. If you need to purchase them separately, however, they are available at the links below for $0.99 each.

High School 1 Answer Key and Unit Checks

High School 2 Answer Key and Unit Checks

High School 3 Answer Key and Unit Checks

Will there be more High School courses?

All the language arts principles (and more!) needed for high schoolers are covered in our High School 1, 2, and 3 courses. Thus, we will not have a High School 4 course. If children have completed High School Language Arts 1-3, they can start college courses or take a high school writing course, editing course, or other language arts elective, which we do not have available at this time.

The Good and the Beautiful has plans for more high school courses, but they are not yet in development.