What's Covered in Age 9-11
The Age 9-11 curriculum is a comprehensive, literature-based homeschool program designed to cover an entire year of science, social studies, language arts, and math. With detailed daily lesson plans, carefully selected literature, and complete materials kits, this curriculum provides everything needed for an engaging and thorough homeschool experience. Typically used as a fifth-grade homeschool curriculum, it offers a rich, integrated approach to learning that fosters critical thinking, creativity, and academic growth across all subjects. Your child will read broadly and learn deeply.
Learn Through Story
Our language arts program is designed around the belief that children learn best through stories. Each lesson is centered on compelling characters and narratives to fully engage students in their learning. In The View from Saturday, students delve into character development and language skills through activities directly tied to the novel. The Cay blends literature and history as students study World War II alliances and create travel brochures. In A House of Tailors, learners explore the immigrant experience by writing historical fiction and personal letters. Across all 12 units, literature is seamlessly integrated with hands-on activities that foster critical thinking and creativity.
From Paragraphs to Essays
This year marks a significant leap in writing skills as students move from short paragraphs to structured essays. They will master the four main types of essays—narrative, expository, persuasive, and descriptive—while receiving support through graphic organizers and step-by-step guidance to ensure successful outcomes. Beyond essays, students will explore a variety of writing forms, including:
- Personal letters and journal entries
- Reports and newspaper articles
- Descriptive paragraphs
- A five-paragraph narrative essay
- A five-paragraph persuasive essay
- A variety of poems
- A tall tale or legend
- A science fiction short story
- An independent study research essay
Each assignment is designed to build confidence and strengthen writing skills across genres.
Engage, Explore, Experiment, and Learn
By integrating engaging stories and texts with dynamic experiments and creative projects, we make science both accessible and fun. Throughout the year, your child will embark on exciting journeys across various scientific fields—from constructing and testing solar cars in our Energy unit to modeling the ocean floor and crafting bioluminescent creatures in The Living Seas. Each unit emphasizes creativity, critical thinking, and interdisciplinary connections, ensuring that students not only grasp essential scientific concepts but also develop a deep appreciation for the natural world. We want your child to foster a lifelong love of discovery and learning through a curriculum that brings science to life in meaningful and memorable ways.
Your child will dive into experiments and activities that make science tangible and unforgettable. This includes a variety of topics and activities such as:
- Food chains and food webs
- The planets of our solar system
- Experiments with light and electricity
- Assembling a model of the human body
- Demonstrations with simple machines
- Desert and wetlands simulations
- Ecosystems in his region
- His own Rube Goldberg invention design
- A water cycle model in a jar
- An ocean pie
Our unique materials kits, included in our curriculum packages, contain hundreds of items designed to make these hands-on activities both fun and easy. These kits are unlike anything you've ever purchased, ensuring that your child’s scientific exploration is as engaging as it is educational.
U.S. History, State Government, and Economics
Our comprehensive, literature-based social studies curriculum immerses students in U.S. history, state government, and economics. In our Colonization and Revolution unit, students analyze primary sources from early settlements, craft timelines, and debate the challenges faced by the Pilgrims and Jamestown settlers. During the Immigration unit, they engage with personal diaries from the Ellis Island era, write poetry expressing the emotions of newcomers, and debate historical inspection procedures. In the Westward Expansion unit, students create journals as explorers, build steamboat models, and map pivotal routes like the Oregon Trail, connecting creatively with historical events. Tie-ins with our language arts program help foster a deep understanding of history and develop students' abilities to analyze and empathize with diverse perspectives.
To make these topics come alive, your child will participate in a variety of hands-on projects and activities, such as:
- Writing songs and trivia games related to U.S. regions and history
- Going on a grocery store scavenger hunt
- Building an edible topographical map
- Mapping and planning a cross-country road-trip
- Acting out historical events
- Creating models of steamboats and sod houses
- Budgeting for a journey on the Oregon Trail
These activities not only deepen your child's understanding of social studies but also make learning an enjoyable and immersive experience.
Math Gets Real
Students will explore place value up to one million and decimals to thousandths by creating number trading cards. They'll delve into the four operations with multi-digit numbers and decimals. Students create their own measurement book. Students add and subtract fractions during interactive games like Fraction BINGO. Multiplying fractions is introduced using area models and solidified with a product sorting game. In geometry, students classify polygons and work with coordinate planes. Dividing fractions is tackled through real-world applications, resulting in informative fraction division pamphlets. Finally, students explore volume by building a "Volume Town," applying their knowledge in a hands-on project.
To reinforce these concepts, she'll also dive into a variety of books that complement her math learning, ensuring a well-rounded and enriching experience.
Language Arts Prerequisites
- Able to read and comprehend novels at a late 5th or 6th grade reading level
- Able to write multiple paragraphs on a topic
- Usually used by children in fifth grade
Math Prerequisites
- Understands place value to 1,000,000 and to .001
- Able to multiply multi-digit numbers (526 × 62)
- Can complete long division with remainders (6213 ÷ 4)
- Can add, subtract, multiply, and simplify fractions
Math Placement QuestionnaireInterdisciplinary Curriculum
Beyond the Page integrates language arts with science and social studies from preschool through middle school.
Each day, your child will complete three lessons.
- One lesson in language arts,
- One in science or social studies (these alternate every three weeks), and
- One in math.
Language arts is presented in the form of literature units that center your child's language arts learning around interesting stories and characters. Rather than giving children a series of random, unrelated activities, all of the writing assignments, grammar lessons, and vocabulary are integrated into these unit studies. This creates a more cohesive experience, and we find that kids are more engaged when they’re writing about stories and characters that interest them.
Science and social studies topics are integrated thematically with our language arts program. For example, while studying Immigration in social studies, students read A House of Tailors, a novel that brings the immigrant experience to life. In science, the exploration of The Living Seas is paired with the book The Cay, enhancing comprehension of marine environments and survival themes. When learning about Technology and Invention, students read The Invention of Hugo Cabret, which illustrates the impact of technological advancements. Similarly, during the Westward Expansion unit, The Ballad of Lucy Whipple immerses students in the historical context of American expansion through literature. By aligning these themes, our curriculum fosters a rich, interconnected learning environment that enhances comprehension and keeps students engaged.
See a complete list of the units and how they line up.
Beyond Standards
Because all lessons are based on state and national standards, you can be confident your child will learn all of the necessary skills for her age. Your child will also be challenged to read and write at a higher level.
The Age 9-11 Full Year Package - S, SS, LA, M covers science, social studies, language arts, and math.