America High School
Coming Spring 2025!
Without Doors: America is a unique Charlotte Mason curriculum that is simple to implement, yet rich in content. It is designed to streamline the high school experience of studying the United States of America.
Without Doors: America includes twenty-eight weeks of lessons in Bible, history, geography, citizenship, literature, poetry, nature study, artist study, composer study, and hymns for high school students. The content is coordinated around the United States of America, creating a rich, immersive experience and a harmony of lessons. The lessons are clearly laid out in a weekly plan.
A Charlotte Mason education is a rich experience for students and families. Ms. Mason inspires parents to spread a generous educational feast before their children.
Without Doors: America facilitates good habits in narration, nature journaling, map-drawing, keeping a Book of Centuries, keeping a Commonplace Book, and recitation. This effortless curriculum will bring joy and freedom to your student!
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Student Supplies
Commonplace Book
Geography Notebook (watercolor paper)
Narration Notebook (dedicated notebook)
Nature Journal
The Book of Centuries
Thin Sharpie
Travel Watercolor SetBook List
Field Guide of local birds
Field Guide of local trees
Land of Hope, Volume 1 (Young Reader’s Edition), by Wilfred M. McClay
Land of Hope, Volume 2 (Young Reader’s Edition), by Wilfred M. McClay
National Geographic Guide to National Parks of the United States (Ninth Edition)
National Geographic Kids United States Atlas (Seventh Edition)
Then Sings My Soul, by Robert J. Morgan
The Song of the Cardinal, by Gene Stratton-Porter
Without Doors: United States Map QuestionsLiterature Book List
*Choose 4-6 books for your student. Parental guidance required due to mature themes/graphic content in some of the books.A Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, by Frederick Douglass
Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Call of the Wild, by Jack London
Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller (play)
Fahenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
For Whom the Bell Tolls, by Ernest Hemingway
Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
Little Men, Louisa May Alcott
Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
Our Town, by Thornton Wilder (play)
Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God, by Jonathan Edwards (sermon)
Story of My Life, by Helen Keller
The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
The Crucible, by Arthur Miller (play)
The Giver, by Lois Lowry
The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway
The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain
Up From Slavery, by Booker T. WashingtonShort Stories:
"The Minister's Black Veil" by Nathaniel Hawthorne
"Winter Dreams," by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Various short stories by Flannery O'Conner
Various short stories by Washington Irving - “Rip Van Winkle and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"Complementary Resources
World Watch NewsOptional Challenge Resources
Land of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Story (original version), by Wilfred M. McClay (alternative to Young Reader’s Edition)
Our National Parks, by John Muir (challenging)As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no extra expense to you.
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Bible includes weekly scripture passages highlighting our identify in Christ and a corrdinating scripture memory. It also includes a weekly Psalm and Proverb reading. Students are encouraged to transcribe Bible passages into their Commonplace Book.
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The weekly history lessons offer a broad overview of American History using Land of Hope, by Wilfred M. McClay.
Students will add dates to their Book of Centuries.
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Without Doors: America High School geography highlights National Parks, atlas map questions, and map-drawing. Students will read a weekly news story, find the location of the story on an atlas, pray for those involved and create a map of the location in their Geography Notebook.
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Students will read a portion of Ourselves, by Charlotte Mason weekly.
Students will read a portion of Plutarch’s Lives weekly.
As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no extra expense to you.
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Students will read 4-6 High School American Literature Books (see supply list for suggestions). Parents are encouraged to choose books that are best suited for their individual student.
Students will focus on poet study per 6 weeks including Anne Bradstreet, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman, and Langston Hughes.
Students will add passages to their Commonplace Book.
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Without Doors: America High School includes Composer Study, Artist Study, and Hymn Study.
The composers, artists, and six hymns are all carefully chosen and coordinate with the study of the United States of America.
Composer Study includes a biography of each composer and six weeks of compositions: Scott Joplin, Florence Price, George Gershwin, and Samuel Barber.
Artist Study includes a biography of each artist and six weeks of paintings: Benjamin West, Albert Bierstadt, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Edward Hopper.
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The nature lore readings delight families while grounding students in scientific knowledge of birds.
Students will enjoy the physical, mental, and spiritual health benefits of time in nature enjoying God’s beautiful creation.
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Customize Without Doors: America High School by adding content well-suited to your individual high school student to the Miscellaneous box on the Weekly Plan. Suggestions include: Swedish Drill, Handicrafts, Foreign Language, a Shakespeare play per term, etc.