10 Best 10th Grade Curriculum: A Complete Guide for Home & School

However, which 10th-grade curriculum can actually ensure your kids don't fall behind their peers in school? Unfortunately, you can't go reading and believing every blog post out there, as they can lead their readers astray. Accordingly, we've put together a list of the best 10th-grade curriculums so that you can find the right one for you and your family.

Top 10 Tenth Grade Curriculums and Resources

1. Positive Action High School Kit 1

The Positive Action 10th-grade kit is an essential for every student beginning high school, be it at home or an actual school. Though it's usually marketed for 9th graders, this kit is still a valuable addition to any 10th grader's education as it'll teach each student how to think and act in the different situations they may encounter in high school or college.

Essentially, by going through all six units that come in this kit, every student will be able to answer questions like "Who am I?" and "What are my strengths and weaknesses?". They'll also learn how to treat others, make the most of their talents and resources, and believe in themselves and their abilities.

All in all, this Positive Action kit will have a positive influence on any student, be they in school or homeschool, and they'll have fun learning due to the numerous activity sheets, posters, and visual aids that come with it.

2. Positive Action High School Kit 2

The Positive Action Kit 2 reinforces the message of positive thoughts, actions, and feelings by making each student engage in a play. This play takes the form of a survivor game that takes its participants through different times and locations.

Each time they travel, they encounter a specific character that teaches them a valuable lesson like the importance of thinking before acting and how each action has consequences.

Additionally, every student will also learn about the golden rule of treating others how they wish to be treated as well as the importance of truthfulness and so many other important concepts.

As you can probably tell, both the students and the instructors will have a blast participating in the play, yet at the end of the day, they'll all come to learn essential lessons that will help them throughout their lives.

3. Positive Action High School Kit 3

One more great curriculum that you can purchase for a 10th-grade student is the Positive Action Kit 3. This kit will make 10th graders work individually and as a team to complete six projects, each with a specific lesson in mind.

For instance, the 1st project is centered around the concept of "Who am I?" and each student has to find famous historical figures that posed the same question and make a collage about them.

Meanwhile, the 3rd project teaches them about the benefits and drawbacks of multi-tasking through creating a newsletter, the 5th project focuses on making them admit and remedy their mistakes, and so forth.

On the whole, each student using this kit will learn something worthwhile each time they finish a project, and these lessons will eventually shape them to be successful and independent individuals.

4. BJU Press Grade 10th With Books

If you want a comprehensive 10th-grade homeschooling curriculum that covers everything a 10th grader should know, the BJU Press Grade 10 package is what you need. It includes world history, English, literature, geometry, and biology textbooks/workbooks that prepare students for their junior year.

To top it off, you have access to online lessons given by expert teachers, which means you don't have to outsource any subjects. Moreverner, you also get e-textbook/digital teacher editions. All this, in addition to the features of progress tracking and digital assessments, make for a truly great 10th-grade homeschool curriculum.

5. Power Homeschool 10th Grade Program

For a well-rounded 10th grade education, the Power Homeschool high school program will do the trick. Their online curriculum includes a wide range of courses such as math, science, language arts, social studies, and a foreign language like French and Spanish.

Moreover, it offers for tenth graders various electives such as business management, fine arts, and career and technical education. Generally, a student is free to pick as many as seven subjects, and since these subjects aren't grade-specific, he's free to pick them at any high school level.

Still, the best feature of this program is that it uses the Acellus Learning System, which provides high school students and homeschoolers with numerous instructional videos, tools, practice problems, resources, exams, and interactive course materials.

Accordingly, any high school level student can easily learn and see their progress while parents are still involved as they have access to their kid's records and grades when they use their parent login.

6. SONLIGHT 10th Grade Curriculum

If it's your first time homeschooling high school students and you've got no idea what to do, then picking the Sonlight 10th grade homeschool curriculum will be a smart move.

Not only does it include all the resources and course materials that a tenth grader will need, but it also comes with a detailed instructor's guide filled with daily lesson plans and teaching tips to help out with homeschooling high school students.

For the most part, this 10th-grade homeschool curriculum will cover the basic subjects of history, geography, language arts, literature, science, and math. Additionally, you'll find a bible included in this curriculum for your child's spiritual education.

7. Timberdoodle 10th Grade Curriculum Kit

The Timberdoodle 10th grade curriculum kit can come in three forms: basic, complete, and elite. The basic version has the typical course materials any tenth grader will need, such as books for English, literature, modern world history, algebra 2, physics, and chemistry.

Conversely, the complete and elite versions have many additions that enhance your child's education with knowledge and joy. For instance, these kits can include model engines, critical thinking and spelling puzzles, and many other interesting objects.

The only thing to note about the Timberdoodle 10th grade homeschooling curriculum kits is that the teacher books are either combined with the student ones or are in the form of CDs/online documents. This can make it frustrating for both parties, especially the parents, as they have to constantly open a laptop or look into their kid's textbook.

8. Time4Learning 10th Grade Curriculum

If you're looking for a comprehensive yet interactive online curriculum, then the Time4learning 10th-grade homeschool curriculum will be just the thing.

Other than the core subjects of geometry, chemistry, world history, and language arts, a student can have his pick from the countless courses and electives they offer, such as algebra 2, physical education, economics, and psychology, to name a few.

Now, your child's interests or college aspirations should be used to decide on the electives. So, whether your son or daughter chooses to take economics or a personal finance class should be totally up to them.

Fortunately for the students, the Time4learning curriculum is taught online using interactive lessons, and it comes with checklists and rubrics for revising and grading essays and assignments.

The best part is that all exams are automatically graded, making it easier for the parents. Accordingly, every student learns independence, and the parents can take a well-deserved break from teaching and grading.

9. ACE Core Curriculum (4 Subjects) Grade 10 Kit

For a balance between academic and spiritual education, go with the ACE core curriculum. Since its courses continuously reference elements from the bible, your kids will learn the core 10th-grade subjects of geometry, chemistry, English, and world history while also increasing their scripture knowledge and spiritual awareness.

Essentially, this curriculum provides any student with eight books, where each subject has a book for learning and assessments and another for answer keys. Accordingly, a student will work his way through a textbook at his own pace, completing exercises and tests as he goes.

All in all, the ACE is truly great but be mindful of the fact that to complete this 10th-grade homeschool curriculum, you need to buy two additional books called God's Tribesman and The Hiding Place.

10. Master Books 10th Grade - Basic 4 Subject Set

The Master Books basic four subject set is another great option for homeschooling 10th graders. This homeschool curriculum contains everything from schedule ideas to worksheets, quizzes, and of course, the four core subjects of the 10th grade.

Impressively, their geometry coursebooks are on par with those taught in schools across the country. Moreover, their world history curriculum is great at deepening a student's understanding of the world and popular historical theories and philosophies.

If this all sounds good to you, but you're worried that this 10th-grade homeschool curriculum is missing a religious element, have no fear. Most of the curricula in this set are built on a biblical worldview. As such, your child will realize the glory and wisdom of God every time he learns new ideas and concepts.

What Is Taught in 10th Grade?

10th-grade curriculums tend to vary from country to country and state to state slightly. Some districts even have additional demands that need to be fulfilled by both regular high school and homeschool students.

However, high school sophomores, homeschoolers or otherwise, focus on four subjects: language arts, social science, math, and science. Of course, certain states demand additional courses, but for now, we'll give you an overview of the main four and introduce one more subject regularly taught to tenth graders.

Language Arts

The 10th-grade curriculum for language arts expands to include world literature. The book list of included works will differ depending on whether a student is in advanced placement (AP) or not. Still, they generally include options like Catcher in the Rye, Animal Farm, Lord of the Flies, and A Tale of Two cities.

Whichever books your child ends up reading, the outcome should be an increased input in your child's grammar and vocabulary mind library. This consequently improves their reading and writing skills, ensuring they can become proficient readers and writers.

Additionally, after adequate research, every 10th-grade student should learn to write a well-informed, 10-page essay using compound and complex sentences. Furthermore, they should be able to identify and interpret figurative language and rhetorical techniques written in essays and articles.

Finally, each student must be taught how to infer the meaning and spelling of a word just by hearing or reading it within the context of a few phrases. So, if a student learns all those things by the end of the school year, he'd have had a good language arts/literature curriculum.

Math

Math in the 10th grade mostly consists of geometry, where they learn things like coordinate geometry for finding slope criteria, equations related to right, isosceles, and equilateral triangles, classification, and identification of a 3-D figure, in addition to calculating the volume of different shapes.

Naturally, other alternatives like algebra 1, algebra 2, trigonometry, and pre-calculus can be taken if a student is academically eligible and wishes to take an AP math class in the final years of high school.

Science

Science in tenth grade is mainly biology or chemistry. Sometimes, certain schools offer integrated science, which covers certain concepts in earth science, physics, biology, and astronomy.

Still, most 10th graders tend to take a chemistry class that teaches them how to write balanced equations and draw the structural formulas of organic compounds.

10th graders also learn the proper methods of accurate data collection and how to conduct experiments. Additionally, they learn about atoms, their constituents, and how to arrange electrons.

Social Studies

Usually, social studies in the 10th grade revolve around world history, which includes topics like the Roman empire, the carters practices and social condition of people in the past centuries, and so much more.

Nevertheless, some schools teach American history, and AP classes include courses in geography, global studies, and European history. As such, know what is allowed in your state and pick among the options available to you.

Health Education

Many schools teach health education in 10th grade. They cover topics like communicable and non-communicable successes, as well as smoking, drugs, and nutrition. Moreover, the 10th graders learn helpful tips for taking care of their physical, mental, and emotional health.

Final Words

Many excellent 10th-grade homeschool curriculums are available nowadays. However, only the Positive Action curriculums can be used with both school and homeschool kids.

Honestly, any high schooler, homeschooled or not, will most definitely benefit from any of the Positive Action kits. Not only do they teach life lessons and skills essential for all ages, but they also come in exciting and engaging forms that ensure the students are focused on learning yet also having fun.