Estudios sociales de secundaria: un semestre completo de historia de los Estados Unidos

This semester long classroom experience is ideal for 9th-12 grade students who are home schooling but all learners who would benefit from this class and my instruction are certainly welcome to attend.

This course will be the first of four semester long courses during which we will establish a chronological timeline of United States history. This course will cover the Age of Exploration, the 13 Colonies, the American Revolution, and the Constitution. Our lesson units will combine our internet research skills with our reading and writing skills to analyze evidence left behind from the past to form our own conclusions.  Learning packets will be sent via Outschool message to all learners who enroll. Questions will be research based and will require students to answer them using internet searches. Grades will be provided as needed to satisfy home schooling requirements. Research will be conducted through primary and secondary source analysis. The primary sources included in this course can be found for free on the Library of Congress website, the Native Knowledge 360° website, and the First Nations of Canada website.


The first day of class will serve as an introduction. I will go over expectations and procedures. We will get to know each other, and I will also offer students an outline of what the semester will look like.

We will meet every week live on Zoom. Class will be held on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Wednesday will serve as a catch-up day for any missing homework assignments and for watching videos assigned as homework. On Thursdays we will discuss the video assignments from Wednesday's homework. I will find as many free videos on YouTube as possible to offer students additional resources. YouTube has a seemingly limitless virtual library of free documentaries. Other video assignments will utilize HBO Max and Paramount Plus, both of which require an account and parental consent before use. Watching videos on these streaming services will be homework. The documentaries selected will feature commentary from professional field historians. Watching any assigned videos is intended to be beneficial in adding additional perspectives and examples of the content which we will cover in class. Video assignments are not intended to introduce any new learning content outside of what is already being taught during live class time. Any documentaries assigned as homework are not in any way intended to make this a hybrid course. 

Throughout the semester we will be reading You Never Forget Your First by Alexis Coe. In my opinion her book is exceptional for helping high school students to further develop their critical thinking skills.


I will offer school vacations just like we would have in a public school. We will have one week off in November for Thanksgiving and two weeks off in December for Christmas and New Year’s. The semester be the first in a series of 4 classes which will be offered year-round.


This course will address controversial materials which not all learners and families are comfortable with. Throughout history humans have not always been kind to each other, the United States is no exception. This course will address issues such as racism, sexism, slavery, war, politics, religion, crime, and genocide. This course will not endorse any of these controversial events, but this course will educate learners to form their own opinions and draw their own conclusions about them. 

This course will be taught from multiple perspectives, we will utilize primary sources, if possible, we will welcome guest speakers. Any perspectives demonstrated from primary sources will come from whoever left the source behind or us to interpret. None of the viewpoints expressed in this course will be my own. I will not teach from a religious or a political perspective, we will explore all of the issues in this class neutrally. All learners will be treated with equality and fairness, nobody will be made to feel discriminated against. We will not endorse any of the controversial or harmful events of the past, but we need to acknowledge that they happened and learn about them in order to prevent them from ever happening again. When we learn about Christopher Columbus, we will look at his diary entries as well as diary entries from Taíno tribe to consider their perspective when they first encounter him in the Bahamian Island of Guanahani. By reading from primary source accounts from both Columbus and the Taino tribe we can ensure this course will not be Eurocentric in nature.

To ensure that we take multiple perspectives into account we will utilize both primary and secondary sources. You Never Forget Your First by Alexis Coe will serve as a secondary source in this course. This author writes in a neutral tone while educating the reader on the events before, during, and after the American Revolution, these authors include the perspectives of popular founding fathers such as George Washington who have historically taken most of the credit. This authors also includes perspectives from commoners and minorities whose voices might have been left out.

History is usually recorded by victors who dominate. Primary sources will include journals and letters written by our explorers who discovered the new world, the founders of the American Revolution, and perspectives from minorities and women. This course will equally include perspectives from all accounts. By including sources such as letters and diaries from women, and minorities such as African Americans and Indigenous tribes we can ensure that their voices are not left out or forgotten.


An example schedule is listed below. The schedule has been broken down into month long units.


Month 1 August: The Age of Exploration unit and activities.

Week 1: The Age of Exploration mapping activities and video assignment.

Week 2: The Age of Exploration Christopher Columbus activities and video assignment.

Week 3: The Age of Exploration Atlantic Slave Trade activities and video assignment.

Week 4: The Age of Exploration Research Project and video assignment.

Month 2 September: 13 Colonies unit and activities. 

Week 1: 13 Colonies Mapping, Labeling, and Identifying activities video assignment.

Week 2: 13 Colonies Gender Roles, Slaves, Indigenous Tribes, and Daily Life and video assignment. This week will focus on what daily life as like for the people who lived in the colonies, and how they interacted with each other. This will also demonstrate how much differently the people who live in these areas experience life today.

Week 3: 13 Colonies Salem Witch Trials and video assignment.

Week 4: 13 Colonies Research Project and video assignment.

Month 3 October: American Revolution unit and activities packet questions and video assignment.


Week 1: American Revolution Causes/ Reasons for Rebellion and video assignment.

Week 2: American Revolution George Washington, Major Battles, Roles of Militia vs. Continental Army, and video assignment.

Week 3: American Revolution Roles of Women, Roles of African Americans, Roles Indigenous Tribes, and video assignment.

Week 4: American Revolution Research Project and video assignment.

Month 4 November: The Constitution packet questions and video assignment.

Week 1: The Constitution Founding New Nation, New Government, and video assignment.

Week 2: The Constitution Articles of Confederation, Federalists Vs. Anti-Federalists, and video assignment

November Break

Week 3: The Constitution Bill of Rights and video assignment.

Week 4: The Constitution Research Project and video assignment.

Month 5 December: Final Projects and Presentations.

Week 1: Final Projects and Presentations.

Week 2: Final Projects and Presentations.

Week 3: Final Projects and Presentations.

Week 4: Final Projects and Presentations.