How to Use Levels with7Sisters Curriculum- Special Replay

This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: How to Use Levels with7Sisters Curriculum- Special Replay! This post is running concurrently on the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

How to Use Levels with7Sisters Curriculum

We 7Sisters have graduated twenty-plus of our own from homeschooling high school. In our own grads we now have:

• College graduates in various fields (and various degrees)
• Teachers and college professors
• Tradesmen
• Artists and actors
• Real estate agents
• Equine professionals
• Police officers
• Lawyers
• Personal trainers
• Homemakers

As you can see, we 7Sisters we had lots of high schoolers with different levels of interest and needs. We found that we could make the most of homeschooling high school by using different levels of academic rigor for teens different needs and abilities.

You have probably noticed that there is a LOT of difference in homeschool high schoolers. They have different:

• Interests
• Abilities
• Goals

Teens have different goals.

• Teens who are headed to competitive colleges or state universities, need competitive transcripts.
• Others who are headed to community colleges or smaller, less competitive colleges need solid transcripts.
• Teens who are headed into the non-college careers who need life and career preparation more than competitive core classes.
• Others who needed remedial work needed to concentrate on that.

We also know that our teens have different interests

Homeschooling allows us to place emphasis on the areas they want to explore by increasing the “levels of rigor” of their interest courses. You cannot make every course the highest level (Level 5) in every interest area, but you can choose some. So, how do you know what level of rigor for your high schoolers’ courses? Talk to your teen!

Levels and the homeschool transcript

You can tailor the homeschool transcript to meet each individual needs by teaching courses at the level of your teen’s needs. If your teen is working on average high school level and is not headed for college, you often can skip adding levels of rigor to their course listings on their transcripts.

On the other hand, for teens heading to college, your high schooler will probably benefit by including the level of rigor for each course right in each course’s title. Here are two posts that go in-depth for working with levels on the transcript:

• How to Handle Levels on the Homeschool Transcript
• How to Level Up a Course Meaningfully
• If you haven’t listened to our Homeschool Highschool Podcast episode: What Are Levels on the Homeschool Transcript, check it out!

How to Use Levels with7Sisters Curriculum

7Sisters Literature Guides include instructions for enjoying our popular Literature Guides at:

• Level 1 (Remedial)
• Level 2 (Average)
• Level 3 (College Prep)
• Level 4 (Advanced)
• Level 5 (Honors)

Each guide covers only one or two literature themes so we don’t kill the book. There is also vocabulary, a little background information, comprehension and inferential questions.

• Use higher levels for college bound teens who are English, Communications, History, Humanities majors
• Or use Level 2 for a workforce-bound teen, adapt by using questions as discussion rather than writing (see each Literature Guide for more Level 2 information)
• Level 1 (Remedial) is for teens with learning difficulties (adapting by choosing which questions and vocabulary are useful to them; also use adaptive technology for listening and writing)

7Sisters Elective Courses:

• Introduction to Psychology from a Christian Perspective.
  • The text includes a grid that tells you how to handle each level. It is written at Level 2, so it is fun and comfortable to read for most homeschool high schoolers. Each chapter includes extra activities and exercises that will enrich the course and help level-up the course (or come up with your own). The higher the Level the student desires, the more meaningful activities the student will complete.
• Human Development from a Christian Worldview. 
  • The text includes a grid that tells you how to handle each level. It is written at Level 2, so it is fun and comfortable to read for most homeschool high schoolers. Each chapter includes extra activities and exercises that will enrich the course and help level-up the course (or come up with your own). The higher the Level the student desires, the more meaningful activities the student will complete.

Check out Cathy Duffy’s Review of American Literature. It is in-depth and helpful.

Join Sabrina, Vicki and Kym for more about using levels with 7Sisters curriuculum.