Homeschool History Online Courses: Why This High School Curriculum is the Best
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These homeschool history online courses from The Nomadic Professor are outstanding ways to make this subject (and more) come to life.
With engaging on-site video lectures and memorable projects, your students will be have a blast with these powerful history experiences that also help them become better overall students.
Learn more about how I'm using US History and Media Literacy (an amazing course!) with my 9th grader and discover why this approach just might be perfect for your homeschool high schooler.
⭐️ Psst! Make sure to enter the GIVEAWAY and grab the COUPON CODE for these homeschool history online courses at the bottom of this post!
Disclaimer: I received these products for free and was compensated for my time. As always, I’m sharing my honest opinions and was not required to provide a positive review.
Find out how I’m using The Nomadic Professor to make US History and Media Literacy come to life with my middle boy (9th grader) – and how it can help you do the same 😊
Why We're Switching Up Our Homeschool High School History
After homeschooling for 12+ years and graduating 2 boys, I've accepted that my boys are unique learners. I believe that's why an eclectic homeschool approach has worked so well for our homeschool adventures. I've been able to tailor our curriculum choices based on the interests and strengths of each child.
Smiley (my middle boy) is starting 9th grade this year. He's been such a fun student to work with in our homeschool. So pleasant and easygoing! But, also a bit of a challenge because he's a mix of learning styles. His primary preference is auditory, then visual BUT also strong kinesthetic.
What worked for my 2 older boys just doesn't seem to jive for Smiley. And that's totally okay!
I'm not going to lie...I dreaded finding homeschool high school curriculum for Smiley. How in the world would I find something that would work for him?
Fortunately, I've found some amazing resources that actually has both Smiley and me excited about his high school experiences! One of those resources is The Nomadic Professor - a comprehensive curriculum that truly takes history to the next level!
Learn More About Online Homeschool Courses from Nomadic Professor
All of The Nomadic Professor courses (American History 1, 2, 3, and Media Literacy) are online and self-paced. These courses are secular and non-partisan. Each course includes:
- Parent dashboard
- Student dashboard
- Getting Started Guide (with introduction and tips from the Professor)
- Answer Keys in instructor account (parent dashboard) only
- Preview Page with breakdown of units, lessons, and quizzes, as well as all of the materials to be accessed for that unit
- Guided Notes (downloadable or fillable pages that feature graphic organizers, maps, timelines, short answer questions, political cartoons, and more)
- Guiding Questions (with things for students to look for when completing work)
- Interactive Timeline
- Unit Map (featuring all of the Professor's on-location videos)
- Structure Terms (Unit Vocabulary)
- These terms are also available in printable double-sided flashcards AND Quizlet!
- In Sum (One paragraph summaries of every session in unit - incredible for a quick review!)
- Daily sessions:
- broken down into smaller topics with video, text, and audio options
- followed by short 10-question comprehension quiz that can be taken twice and includes feedback)
- On-Site Video Lectures
- Audio versions of lectures
- Document Lesson (ending for each unit - student learns how to read primary and secondary sources, as well ask the right questions detect dubious sources)
These courses also have a Handbook for teachers, parents, and course facilitators. Grading rubrics (for guided notes, structure term connections, document lessons, and research paper) are included in this Handbook. This resource breaks down the course and provides helpful information for how you might give credit.
For example, US 1 and 2 are designed to be taken over the course of one school year for one full credit of U.S. History. Since these courses also integrate humanities and language arts, your student can also earn .5 elective credits for Historical Methods during this time. AND your student can earn .5 elective credits for College Writing in US1-2 and US3-4 to combine for one full College Writing credit. You can find a much better explanation of how this works in the F.A.Q.s section over at The Nomadic Professor.
The Handbook also provides a printable recommended daily schedule, as well as choosing a track through the program. Three tracks are described in much greater detail in the Handbook. Here's a quick overview:
- Basic (like a typical high school course)
- Standard (all of Basic plus learn to write a full historical research paper with citations, structure, and evidence)
- Advanced (all of Standard plus preparation for AP exam or CLEP test)
Our Experiences with These Online Homeschool History Classes
Smiley and I are in total agreement about these online homeschool history classes - The Nomadic Professor rocks!
After a few weeks of working on American History 1 - To Begin the World Over Again, Smiley and I chatted about what he thinks of this class. His first comment blew me away, "Mom, I can't believe you found a high school history class that I actually like!".
I asked him to share what he likes about the course. Smiley started talking quickly (a sure sign that he enjoys something - like when he talks about anything computers 😉). Here's what I was able to jot down:
- "The platform is super easy to use. I can find everything I need to do my work in one place."
- "The video lectures are very cool because they're on-site so you feel like you're there. They make it easy to understand the concepts on stuff that sometimes can be boring. And the videos aren't that long so it's not hard to pay attention."
- "Oh, and I really like the guided notes because I can follow along and not worry about missing something."
- "I was kind of nervous about the Document Lessons. I've never really done anything like that before. But, it was all broken down into pieces that I could understand. The videos that go with the lessons are so good!"
My Thoughts on Using The Nomadic Professor for Our Homeschool High School History
I haven't seen any other online homeschool courses that are as in-depth and easy-to-use as The Nomadic Professor. I love that Smiley can log in and complete his high school history without a lot of assistance from me. He's being challenged in a new way that is stretching him as he learns to think critically and make important connections from the past with the present.
Also, after seeing what my recent homeschool graduate did for his online college history courses, I wholeheartedly believe that these homeschool history online classes will effectively prepare Smiley for higher education and beyond.
In fact, I had my Professor (who just graduated from our homeschool high school and will be majoring in History with a minor in Secondary Education this fall) join Smiley for a few video lectures and activities. Professor was so impressed with this American History online course. "Man, I wish this was available when I still homeschooling! Dude, you're so lucky!".
My favorite part of this American History 1 course is watching Smiley work on his "Structure". This powerful project has students actively using and applying key terms and concepts learned during lessons. Your student can choose to build a digital or physical structure.
Smiley decided to use a trifold poster board and sticky notes for his Structure. He describes this project as "like making a web because you start off with a few vocabulary words and it all branches out but connects." The best part: Smiley is able to fluently explain each term and how it relates to the others!
FAQs about The Nomadic Professor Online Homeschool Classes
No way! I'm technologically-challenged and I was able to get started in minutes. The Nomadic Professor provides step-by-step directions and videos to guide you. And you can always reach out to support!
Smiley is tech savvy. He jumped right in and got to work without blinking an eye.
Excellent question! You have access to your Parent Dashboard where you can see your student's progress and grades. Also, your student can submit their guided notes and documents online or by hand.
To make sure that Smiley stays on task, I have him walk me through this Structure connection for that day. It helps me better understand what he's working on and he knows that he needs to complete the work.
I think The Nomadic Professor is affordable, especially for bring such a comprehensive, open-and-go approach to high school history!
You can find a pricing overview at The Nomadic Professor. There are 2 levels of access: Standard and Premium ↙️
Standard access is if you are enrolling one student (with no need for grading, credit, or transcripts).
Premium access is if you're a teacher, parent, or instructor hoping to oversee one or more students. With this option, you get complete with virtual classroom setup (the ability to track student progress, manage grades and assignments, and even add seats).
Get more details and up-to-date prices (⭐️) with this Pricing Overview.
Well, I don't have a crystal ball 😉 But, I can say with complete confidence that I believe The Nomadic Professor is the best curriculum for self-paced, online high school history and media literacy.
These classes appeal to a variety of learning styles (visual, auditory, and kinesthetic) plus you have access to support (Ask Nomad Nation community and the dream team of the Professor and high school teacher Nate) at all times.
On-location videos are filled all over the world. Historical settings are brought to life in an engaging way. It's not just about memorizing dates and names. It's about making history come to life AND learning essential skills that can be applied to a variety of subjects.
That's an easy one! Pop over to The Nomadic Professor. You'll find a ton of information about available courses (and incredible ones coming soon - like World History and Asian History). Learn more about The Nomadic Professor approach and more on their blog. Oh, and get FREE course previews so you can really get a feel for how it all works!
Online Homeschool History Classes You & Your High Schooler Will Love
Take the stress and struggle out of homeschool high school history with The Nomadic Professor. You'll love how quickly this approach gets your student engaged and excited about history by making it relevant and interesting.
Go ahead and give the FREE previews of American History 1, 2, 3 and Media Literacy a try. Get a feel for how these courses work and why it can work for your student.
Oh, and scroll down to the bottom of the page to sign up for The Professor's Newsletter. You'll get updates plus get a free introduction to rhetoric and logic!
You can also try this free The History of Free Speech course ⬇️
After you look over The Nomadic Professor and all that it has to offer, please let me know if you have any questions by sharing in the comments area at the bottom of this post or emailing Amy at rockyourhomeschool@gmail.com.
Sending you tons of fun history vibes!
The Nomadic Professor GIVEAWAY + Coupon Code
WooHoo! Make sure to enter this amazing giveaway with 2 winners from The Nomadic Professor
Winner 1 » a year subscription to all courses [value $360]
Winner 2 » Choice of a single course: American History 1, 2 or 3, or Media Literacy [value $249]
AND use coupon code Nomadic20 to get 20% off any recurring subpscription (expires 7/31/23).
