9th-12th Grades - Scholars of Rohan
An Intergal Approach to High School
The Lorien Wood high school years continue the incredibly unique integral approach to education found in the lower school years. We believe that school is not a series of fragmented classes, but that God has uniquely designed His world in an integral way, where literature, science, art, math, history and all areas of study inform our whole understanding of the world. This integral approach to education not only looks at the whole of what we are learning in an integral way, but also takes the whole student into account. In high school, as in all of our years at Lorien Wood, we are establishing and maintaining a school environment where God is glorified and children have the opportunities and resources to develop a deep love of learning.
High school students are exposed to the vast world of ideas, as we help them discern what is true through a Biblical lens.
We want them to continue to understand who God is, how He has created them, and learn more about His world. We help students prepare to enter the world around them, able to articulate their beliefs and engage in the marketplace of ideas. They will grow in their ability to peacefully and beautifully engage with others who are opposed to their worldview, contributing to the world for good, and God’s glory.
It is our great privilege to partner with parents as we continue to help young adults explore God’s world, discover their place in it, and launch as high school graduates serving Him with confidence, courage, and grace all throughout the globe.
Mathematics
Students can follow two math tracks:
* Geometry, Algebra 2, Personal Finance, and Statistics
* Algebra 2, Pre-Calculus, Calculus, and Statistics
Language
Scholars of Rohan have the opportunity to continue Latin in their high school years or take two or more years of a new language. Students can choose from a variety of world languages.
The following are components of our foreign language program at Lorien Wood:
Reading and Writing: Each language strives to grow strong reading and writing skills (even in ASL where we learn to write in ASL gloss!).
Listening and Speaking: We emphasize oral communication skills through listening and speaking activities. This includes discussions, presentations, and language labs to improve pronunciation and conversational fluency.
Grammar and Vocabulary: A solid understanding of grammar rules and a rich vocabulary are essential for effective language acquisition.
Cultural Competence: Language learning is not just about mastering grammar and vocabulary; it also involves understanding the culture associated with the language. We include cultural studies, exposing students to literature, customs, and traditions.
Interdisciplinary Approach: We foster a cross-disciplinary approach. For example, students also learn about history, science, and/or literature in their language studies.
Assessment and Feedback: Regular assessments, feedback, and evaluations are crucial. They help track students' progress and identify areas for improvement.
Real-world Applications: Language learning is often more effective when students can apply their skills in real-world situations. Our approach includes projects, simulations, or activities that mimic authentic language-use scenarios.
Differentiation: Recognizing that students have varying learning styles and paces, we differentiate instruction to cater to individual needs. This ensures that each student can progress at their own pace.
Bible
Students explore their faith and learn how to defend their faith through the use of Summit Ministries textbooks. Form Five students work through the following:
- Understanding the Faith
- Understanding the Times
- Understanding the Culture
- Senior Worldview Capstone
Humanities
Over the course of two years, Form Five students study American Literature and Composition alongside American History from the Colonial Period to the present day through thematic units. As a culmination of each of these years of study, students complete a Final Project on the overarching concepts of Freedom and Identity.
- Semester Courses: In each year of Form 5, the students participate in two semester courses that take a close look at specific topics which thematically relate to the year’s Humanities concepts.
- Economics in America
- Career and Calling: Discovering My Place to Serve the Lord
- U.S. Law and Government
- Freedom to Believe: Faith Movements and the American Church
Science
Form Five students explore the full scope and sequence of Biology and Chemistry over the course of 9th and 10th grades. Biology and Chemistry units of study are related to Humanities concepts, enabling students to make conceptual curricular connections in addition to studying all the important concepts that help them understand the God’s world. Themes covered in the Biology units include scientific skills, ecology, biochemistry, cellular processes, genetics, botany, and zoology, as well as plant and human body systems. Themes covered in the Chemistry units include the structure and composition of matter that makes up living things and their environment, the changes of matter, and the mechanisms by which changes occur.
Form 5 Curricular Themes
Year One: We Hold These Truths - From Foundations of Freedom to Titans of Industry
- Freedom from Tyranny: The birth of a nation from the early settlements to the Colonial Period through the Revolutionary War.
- Freedom Articulated: The articulation of the freedoms guaranteed by a new government through Constitutional Conventions, papers, speeches, and governing documents.
- Freedom to Expand: The expansion of the U.S. during the 1800s through the Louisiana Purchase, the ideology of the Monroe Doctrine and Manifest Destiny. This unit will explore Pioneer life, specifically including a study of Christmas traditions on the frontier.
- Freedom of Influence: Discovering the U.S. sphere of influence through a study of the wars and decisions that shaped our growing influence at home and abroad.
- Freedom for All: The conflict over human equality tears our country in two! A look at decisions and actions leading up to the Civil War and the Reconstruction Period that followed.
- Freedom to Grow: The growth of our country’s cities through Immigration and Industrialization during the Gilded Age.
- Freedom to Work: The effects of the Industrial Revolution and Immigration, from the Robber Barons and Anti-trust Act, to philanthropy, working conditions, and early Labor movements.
Year Two: The American Project - War, Work, Wealth, and Walls
- Global Identity: An exploration of America’s position as a global power, following the prosperity of the Gilded Age, just as World War I erupted.
- Identity of Gains and Losses: The study of the Roaring Twenties, the Stock Market Crash, and the Great Depression.
- Identity of Sacrifice: An in depth study of American citizens’ sacrifices during World War II and how those impacted our nation following the war.
- Identity of Home: Discovering how the American landscape began to change as suburban neighborhoods sprang up around urban centers and our home was threatened by the Cold War. This unit will include a study of mid century Christmas traditions.
- Racial Identity: A close study of the Civil Rights Movement and the pursuit of equality for all races living in America.
- Individual Identity: Exploring the ways in which individuals fought for rights on many fronts and the turmoil surrounding events such as the Vietnam War, feminism, the sexual revolution, economic crisis and political scandal.
- Political Identity: A study of the end of the Cold War, growing economic prosperity, and political landscape of the 1980s and 90s in America.
National Identity: An investigation of modern America from 2000 to the present day, specifically studying the effects of September 11th, the War on Terror, the culture wars, and our ever-changing national identity.
Click here for examples of the literature woven into various Form Five units every year!