Best Language Arts Homeschool Curriculum – High School

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Please note – this article is part of a series on the best language arts homeschool curriculums. This article focuses on high school programs. If you are homeschooling a younger student, check out our articles Best Language Arts Homeschool Curriculum – Middle School and Best Language Arts Homeschool Curriculum – Elementary.

If you are homeschooling a high school student, you have many great options when it comes to language arts curriculum. There is a huge variety of curriculums on the market – from rigorous classical writing programs to Bible-based literature options. While these programs vary quite a bit in style and content, most allow students at the high school level to work fairly independently.

You may also be confused about the differences between Language Arts and English. Language Arts generally refers to the study of the English language through reading, writing, grammar, spelling, vocabulary, handwriting, and literature. At the elementary and middle school levels, most language arts courses include some combination of instruction in these skills. At the high school and college levels, language arts is more commonly referred to as English. Whether called English or Language Arts, high school programs generally emphasize writing and grammar skills along with literature study. High school programs usually don’t focus on basic skills like handwriting and spelling, assuming that these have already been mastered. 

In this article, we’ll tell you about three of our favorite homeschool language arts programs for high school students. All of the programs we’ll discuss cover multiple essential language arts skills. If you’re looking for a program that’s more specifically focused on writing and grammar, see our related articles Best English Homeschool Curriculum for High School and Best Homeschool Writing Curriculum for High School. If you are looking for language arts programs for a younger student, check out our articles Best Language Arts Homeschool Curriculum – Middle School and Best Language Arts Homeschool Curriculum – Elementary.  

Best Traditional

Calvert Homeschool High School Language Arts Courses

If you are looking for a solid, thorough language arts program for your homeschooled high school student, consider the courses offered by Calvert Homeschool. Calvert has been publishing excellent secular homeschool curriculums for many years, and all of its grade 3-12 programs have now gone completely online. The high school language arts programs are comprehensive and approachable. Students learn incrementally and at their own pace, and parent participation is minimal.

In most ways, Calvert’s online courses are just like print homeschool courses – students complete the work at their own pace and on the schedule that works best for their families. There are no virtual classes or Zoom sessions. Students can login to the media-rich online platform any time of day and complete the work on their own. The program provides engaging, dynamic lessons and assignments, and parents love that the platform keeps track of schedules, assignments, and most grading automatically. Parents can login to the “Teacher’s Dashboard” section at any time to view their kids’ progress.

Calvert’s high school language arts courses are organized by grade level. Here is a summary of what is covered at each level:

  • English I (grade 9): students are introduced to a variety of literary genres and explore literary themes in a historical context. They study classics such as Homer’s The Odyssey, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockinbird, and William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The following units are included: “Short Story”, “Literary Nonfiction”, “Epic Poetry”, “Drama”, “Novel”, and “Poetry”. 
  • English II (grade 10): students study the ways literature has reflected cultural, religious, social, political, and personal struggles within different historical contexts. Reading selections include George Orwell’s Animal Farm. The following units are covered: “Coming of Age”, “The Struggle Against Injustice”, “Fighting for Freedom”, “Perspectives in World Literature”, “Cultural Context of Writing”, “Things Fall Apart”, and “Tradition Vs. Change”.
  • English III (grade 11): students study American literature spanning the period of early European contact to the modern day. Contemporary and classic works are explored, as well as America’s founding documents. The following units are covered: “Intersection in the New World”, “Becoming a Nation”, “American Romanticism”, “Regional Voices”, “Modernism in America”, and “Post-World War II”.
  • English IV (grade 12): students study literature from the medieval, Renaissance, and early Romantic period. Students learn to critically analyze, research, and write about classical works like Jane Austin’s Sense and Sensibility. The following units are included: “Framing Western Literature”, “Humanism”, “The Quest for Knowledge”, “Head and Heart”, “The Individual and Society”, and “The Search for Meaning”.

Calvert’s courses can be purchased individually on their website. Calvert also offers subscription plans that provide access to all of its grade 3-12 courses. The subscription plans are a convenient option if your student will be taking multiple courses through Calvert or you have more than one student using the program. 

Best for Struggling Learners

Life of Fred High School Language Arts, Stanley Schmidt

If you are familiar with the Life of Fred math series, you’ll know that it offers a completely unconventional approach to math instruction that is very effective for many types of learners, especially those who struggle with traditional curriculums. With the Life of Fred high school language arts series, Dr. Schmidt has again created a thorough and effective curriculum in a completely unexpected format. 

Just as in the Life of Fred math series, the Life of Fred language arts program is written in a novel-like format that follows the life of Fred Gauss, a six-year-old math professor. On the surface, the story is fun and silly. With the large font sizes and simple wording, it at first feels a little too basic for high schoolers. But then students find Fred encountering the need for grammar, punctuation, and writing skills in his life, and they are challenged to help him out. They are given specific and approachable assignments within the novel that relate to various grammar and writing skills. 

While this program may at first seem silly and a bit juvenile, it is actually quite sophisticated in its methods. By completing the seemingly simple exercises in Life of Fred, students gain a solid and thorough grounding in language arts skills that will stick with them far beyond high school. Along the way, they also pick up important facts about science, geography, and math.

The Life of Fred language arts series consists of four books, each of which can be used over one high school year. Ideally, begin your student with the first book, Life of Fred: Australia in ninth grade. If your child is starting the series later in high school, it’s still fine to begin with the first book. 

Best Christian-Based

Lifepac Language Arts, Alpha Omega Publications

If you are looking for a well-rounded homeschool language arts curriculum built on a Christian worldview, consider the Lifepac language arts series by Alpha Omega Publications (AOP). AOP has long been a leader in Christian homeschool curriculum. Students and parents alike appreciate the streamlined and carefully structured approach used in the Lifepac series, which allows students to work independently and requires minimal parental involvement.

Like other Lifepac courses, the high school language arts programs use a consumable worktext format, which students work through at their own pace. The Teacher’s Guide is a comprehensive resource for parents in guiding their kids through the curriculum and assessing their progress. Here is a summary of the topics covered in each grade:

  • Language Arts, Grade 9 (English I): students explore language and literature by reading The Miracle Worker and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. Units covered include “The Structure of Language”, “Nature of Language”, “Practical English”, “Reading with Skill”, “Language in Literature”, “Structure and Meaning in Prose and Poetry”, “Communication”, “The Library and Drama”, and “Studies in the Novel”.
  • Language Arts, Grade 10 (English II): students study literature, grammar, and composition and read In His Steps by Charles Monroe Sheldon. Units covered include “The Development of English”, “Listening and Speaking”, “Writing Effective Sentences”, “The Power of Words”, “Elements of Expository Composition”, “Language Structure and Reading Skills”, “Oral Reading and Drama”, “The Short Story”, and “The Novel”.
  • Language Arts, Grade 11 (English III): students explore American literature, reading classics such as Our Town and The Old Man and the Sea. The following units are covered: “Learning and Using Standard English”, “Writing Effective Sentences”, “Clear Connections: A Writing Workshop”, “Why Study Reading?”, “Poetry”, “Nonfiction”, “American Drama”, “Studies in the American Novel”, and “Research”. 
  • Language Arts, Grade 12 (English IV): students explore language and grammar while studying British literature, including William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Units covered include “The Worth of Words”, “The Structure of Language”, “Reading, Research, and Listening Skills”, “The Gift of Language”, “Medieval English Literature”, “Elizabethan Literature”, “Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century English Literature”, “Creative Writing”, and “Romantic and Victorian Poetry”.

For the most convenience, purchase the entire set for the course your student will be taking. These complete sets include all the worktexts, the Teacher’s Guide, and the additional novels and readers used in the course. Lifepac also offers some excellent one-semester language arts elective courses, including American Literature, British Literature, and Composition. 

AOP’s Lifepac courses are all paper-based. If you are looking for a curriculum that is similar to Lifepac but can be taken online, check out AOP’s Monarch language arts curriculum. AOP also offers a computer-based version of its curriculum (which does not require internet access) called Switched-On Schoolhouse. 

Conclusion

There are many excellent homeschool curriculum options when it comes to high school language arts. If you are interested in programs that focus more on English grammar and writing, see our articles Best English Homeschool Curriculum for High School and Best Homeschool Writing Curriculum for High School. If you have younger students, check out our articles Best Language Arts Homeschool Curriculum – Middle School and Best Language Arts Homeschool Curriculum – Elementary. If you have questions or would like more information, please email us!