Courses of Study, sometimes referred to as “scope and sequence,” are general outlines of the academic subjects which children should be taught during specific grade levels. Sometimes, these are identified as generalized categories, such as “elementary” and “secondary,” as opposed to grade one, two, and so on.
These are included only as a guideline! There are no specifics for private schools, such as public schools teaching California Missions in fourth grade – you are free to determine your own studies provided you cover the main academic areas. When you view the Courses of Study cited from the California Education Code (CEC), pay special attention to the headings listed in bold (such as English, Math, etc.); these are the main academics, and will also serve as your headings when you write your semester reports. Additionally, you are free to address other subjects, and you may list them to your reports (in addition to the main academics).
Many families like to review Courses of Study listings to give them ideas, as well as to keep an eye on what students in traditional school settings are learning.
- California Department of Education Course of Study; Grades 1-6
- California Department of Education Course of Study; Grades 7-12
Other Helpful Resources
• A to Z HomesCool Content Standards Meta-List
Ann Zeise’s website is the absolute best! On this particular page she has gathered links to a number of scope & sequence outlines.
• California Content Standard
These pages contain the courses of study as set forth by the CEC for public school students.
• Waldorf School Curriculum
While not developed for homeschoolers, there are a number of websites that offer overviews of what is taught in Waldorf programs.
Washington Waldorf Curriculum / lower school • high school
Sacramento Waldorf School
Waldorf School of the Peninsula
• Core Knowledge Sequence (Grades K-8)
Core Knowledge is brought to you by the folks who produced the books, What Your XX Grader Needs to Know. You can download their sequence overview in .pdf here.
