Catholic Online Classes: History for Middle and High School

Homeschool Connections has a great selection of history courses for middle and high school students next semester. Below you'll find details for all of the live, interactive courses currently open for registration: Ancient Greece, World War II, and World History. Classes are offered for 6th to 12th grade.

Also note that we have much more available through Unlimited Access (recorded, independent-learning courses) from Creation to Modern American. You can learn more here: Catholic Homeschool Online Classes.

Now for the Spring 2014 live, interactive course descriptions. Click on the course title for registration information:

History (Middle School): World War II; Allies vs. Axies

Note: Registration for this course is limited to 20 students.

Class dates: Tuesdays, January 14 to March 18, 2014

Total classes: 10

Starting time: 1:00 PM Eastern (Noon Central)

Duration: 1 hour

Prerequisite: None. Recommended but not required: World I: What Price Glory offered Fall 2013.
Suggested grade level: 6^th to 8^th grade
Fee: $140 if you register on or before November 1, 2013. $160 if you register after Nov. 1^st for all 10 classes.

Instructor: Alison Stanley, JD
Course description: We will explore the events leading up the World War II, famous generals and battles and any relevant legal issues that arose in America during this time period.  

Course materials: Provided free online or by the instructor.
Homework: Original sources and legal documents will be reviewed, as well as short videos watched and analyzed. All homework graded by the instructor.

History (Middle School): The Glory of Ancient Greece

Class dates: Thursdays, January 16 to April 10, 2014. No class March 6.

Total classes: 12

Starting time: 4:30 PM Eastern (3:30 Central)

Duration: 45 minutes

Prerequisite: None. Recommended but not required: Middle School History: Dawn of History (Fall 2013).
Suggested grade level: 7th to 8th grade
Fee:  $175 if your register on or before November 1, 2013. $195 after Nov. 1^st for all 12 classes

Instructor: Phillip Campbell
Course description: This course will immerse students in the life and thought of the ancient Greeks, the founders of western civilization. The course will trace the history of the Greek peoples from their origins as bronze age warriors through their path to democracy and the ascendancy of the Greek empires under Athens and later Alexander. We will also focus considerably on the contributions of the Greeks to philosophy, politics and architecture and read primary sources from ancient Greek authors like Herodotus, Polybius, Plato and Euripedes. 

Course materials: Textbook to be announced. Primary documents provided online free by the instructor.
Homework: Weekly quizzes, weekly readings, with an essay-style Final Exam. All homework graded by the instructor. Estimated commitment: 2-3 hours per week.

History: Making of the Modern World, Part Two

This is Part Two of a 2-part course. Students are welcome to join us midyear (email us if you are unsure if you meet the prerequisite).

Class dates: Mondays, January 13 to April 7, 2014. No class February 24.

Total classes: 12

Starting time: 1:00 PM Eastern (Noon Central)

Duration: 1 hour

Prerequisite: Making of the Modern World, Part One or equivalent.  
Suggested grade level: 8th to 10th grade.
Fee: $160 if you register on or before November 1, 2013. $180 after Nov. 1^st for all 12 classes.

Instructor: Christopher Zehnder, MA

Course description: In Part Two, we continue the story of the development of the modern world, chiefly by looking at movements and events in Europe. We begin with a study of the Romantic Movement and its various manifestations in art, philosophy, theology, and politics. We next discuss the events leading up to and encompassing the "Year of Revolutions" (1848-49), which led to the "triumph of Liberalism" in Europe. Thence, we proceed to the national unification movements in Italy and Germany. We look as well at the relations of the Catholic Church to the changing European world, especially as exemplified by the reigns of Pope Blessed Pius IX (who presided over the First Vatican Council) and Pope Leo XIII. We examine the development of industrialism and the capitalist system. Along with this, we discuss the development of new social classes and examine the "social question" and the various attempts to provide an answer to that "question": socialism, Marxism, anarchism, and Social Catholicism. We next turn to the ideas and events culminating in the "Great War," World War I. Our study then turns to the rise of totalitarian regimes and the ideologies that inspired them: Fascism, Marxist-Leninism, Stalinism, and Nazism. We examine the response of the Church and individual Catholics to such ideologies and regimes. We then turn to the events leading up to the Second World War and the events of that war. We next study the post-war world – the culmination of the 400-year history of the Modern World. We conclude with an examination of the Second Vatican Council, understanding it as the Church's attempt to preach the Gospel in a new way to the Modern World.
Course materials: The text for the course (both Part One and Part Two) is Light to the Nations II: The Making of the Modern World, published by and available from www.catholictextbookproject.com.

Homework: Students will read assigned portions of the text. Lectures will focus on those events and ideas that are the keys for understanding the historical periods under consideration. The teacher will evaluate the students by essay tests given after Week III, Week V, and Week VII. Thereafter, evaluation will be based on student's responses to questions in class.

History (High School): The Glory of Ancient Greece

Class dates: Wednesdays, January 15 to April 9, 2014. No class March 5.

Total classes: 12

Starting time: 4:30 PM Eastern (3:30 Central)

Duration: 1 hour

Prerequisite: None. Recommended but not required: Foundations of Christian Historiography (Unlimited Access!) and Dawn of History (Fall 2013).
Suggested grade level: 9^th to 12^th grade

Suggested high school credit: 1 full semester Ancient History
Fee:  $175 if you register on or before November 1, 2013. $195 after Nov. 1^st for all 12 classes

Instructor: Phillip Campbell
Course description: This course will immerse students in the life and thought of the ancient Greeks, the founders of western civilization. The course will trace the history of the Greek peoples from their origins as bronze age warriors through their path to democracy and the ascendancy of the Greek empires under Athens and later Alexander. We will also focus considerably on the contributions of the Greeks to philosophy, politics and architecture and read primary sources from ancient Greek authors like Herodotus, Polybius, Plato and Euripedes.
Course materials: The Greek Way by Edith Hamilton in addition to primary documents provided online free by the instructor. There are several available on Amazon for only a few cents. Click here to purchase the book.
Homework: Weekly quizzes, weekly readings, with an essay-style Final Exam. All homework graded by the instructor. Estimated commitment: 2-3 hours per week.