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The Further Study Focus Listing is a suggested guide for learning important high-school-level subjects from a unit study approach. In each revised Parent Guide Planner, one to four Further Study Focuses are listed. The listing gives an overview of these focuses in all 54 Parent Guide Planners.

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Need for Direction, Not More Options

When using a unit study, such as the Wisdom Booklets, the avenues of possible learning are limitless. You’ve likely found, however, that your monthly schooling time is anything but limitless! Multiple project choices may be intriguing, but sometimes you would rather know that what your students study is covering all the bases without overlapping what they’ll study in the future.

That’s where the Further Study Focuses come in.

You can use the Further Study Focuses listed in your Parent Guide Planner as a guide on what to major on during that month’s study.

For example, if you are studying in Wisdom Booklet 5, the Further Study Focuses are:

• History and geography of Pacific Islands and Australia/Oceania
• Botany

These focuses relate directly to the History Resource (learning meekness with Otto Koning in Papua New Guinea) and the Science Resource (components of wheat). Although you will study the other Wisdom Booklet Resources and do related projects, you should make these two topics the main focus of your “further study” (beyond what is presented in the Wisdom Booklet). Perhaps take some fieldtrips related to Botany, interview missionaries who have been to the South Seas, or develop presentations on these topics by locating library books and writing reports. Plan to spend at least twice as much time on these projects as on any other project in that Wisdom Booklet.

At a minimum, you would assign your student to read the chapters discussing Australia in the Geography and World History textbooks and the chapter on Botany in the Life Science textbook. (See the Key Resources Listings for information about textbooks to add to your home library.)

The Further Study Focus Listing: A Year at a Glance

Along with your Wisdom Booklet Content Overview, the Further Study Focus Listing allows you to see an overview of what you’ll study in the next year(s). This can be helpful when you are obtaining resources or materials for your school year or planning a vacation.

What it Covers

Students who study each of the 54 Wisdom Booklets, along with each Further Study Focus, will cover traditional topics that are taught in high-school-level world history, U.S. history, geography, U.S. government, biology, earth science, physical science, and health.

Since you, the parent, know the individual strengths, weaknesses, and interests of your students, you may choose to study some of these topics at another time, abbreviate them, or skip them altogether. Traditionally, educators who cover 80% of a textbook with their students consider the course complete.

What it Doesn’t Cover

The Further Study Focus listing does not include English*, foreign language**, mathematics, computer skills***, or any advanced sciences, such as chemistry or physics.

*The Wisdom Booklet Language Arts program, Sentence Analysis, and other resources are available to complement your Wisdom Booklet study by providing English and language arts training. Additionally, several courses are available in writing and effective communication through ATI and Telos. See a student Resource Manual for details.

**Foreign language study and/or emersion are offered in conjunction with a number of the international internships available through ATI, including Russian, Chinese, Mongolian, and Romanian.

***Several short-term courses in computer design skills are available at the Indianapolis Training Center.

Traditional Units Required for High School Completion

To help determine the basic subjects that need to be covered by their students, parents should research their state’s requirements for high school graduation.

A course, to educational officials, is a concentrated area of study measured in units*. By the time your students finish their high school education, traditionally they should have completed 4 units in English, 2–3 in math, 2–3 in science, 3 in history and social studies, 2 in physical education, 1 unit of art and music, and 3 elective units.

These units, or credits, are measured according to the Carnegie Unit, which equals 150 total hours, or 36 weeks of 5 instructional sessions per week, each 45–50 minutes long. Students usually earn 5–6 units per year, for a total of 16–24 credits for graduation (requirements vary from state to state).

In other words, your older students need to complete 150 hours of learning for every credit. Traditionally, this works out to 600 hours of English, 300–450 hours of math, 300–450 hours of science, 450 hours in history and social science, 300 hours in physical education, 150 hours of art and music, and 450 hours of electives. These hours of learning would generally be acquired over a period of four years.

*Please note that high school units are completely different from college credits, such as those given by The Telos Institute International.

December 2006; revised January 2008