Recommended Curriculum

While the K-12 Education Offices works to make a homeschool curriculum available, we've put together some recommendations for parents to use in the meantime. Below are some excellent curricula that Hillsdale can confidently recommend. All of our recommendations are used in Hillsdale Classical Schools. Hillsdale College does not financially benefit from recommendations of curriculum not published by Hillsdale College.

Hillsdale-affiliated schools across the country use the K-12 Program Guide, a scope of subjects to be taught and a sequence in which to teach them. We've made available a sample of some of the books recommended in the Program Guide— the same ones used in our schools. Click the button below to see what our students are reading as well as what teachers read for their own enrichment.

The Hillsdale College K-12 Education Office publishes Literacy Essentials: The Journey from Spelling to Reading™ as a companion to its work in elementary schools around the country. The curriculum is a comprehensive literacy program for grades K-3 that combines the sound linguistic theory of an Orton-based literacy program with an easy-to-use format and a beautiful style. Literacy Essentials employs a phonics-based spell-to-read method with instruction in both manuscript and cursive handwriting.

Literacy Essentials is currently available in its pilot form for Kindergarten and Third Grade as we gather feedback and improve the program. It is available in its First Edition for First and Second Grade.

To order Literacy Essentials materials, visit Hillsdale College’s online store. To order copies of My Orthography Notebook, a student workbook and companion to the Literacy Essentials curriculum, visit www.accessliteracy.com.

Singapore Math is derived from the method of teaching that originated in Singapore in the 1980s. This approach is quite different from many of the other math curricula available, but Singapore Math has a proven track record. Singapore consistently ranks at or near the top in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study. Singapore Math uses the Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract approach. Students begin learning math with physical objects, then move to pictorial representations, then to abstract math. This approach ensures that students really know what is happening when they perform mathematical operations. Learn more about why we recommend Singapore Math on our blog, The Classical Classroom. You can purchase the Singapore Math curriculum on their website. 

The Hillsdale College K-12 History & Civics Curriculum is a complete collection of lesson plans for teaching American history, civics, and government to K-12 students. Students who study using this curriculum learn about American history from the colonies through the Civil War at four different times during their K-12 years, each time increasing in depth. The curriculum also includes American history since the Civil War and American government and civics for both middle and high school students.

This curriculum provides teachers with guidance—not dictates—about how to plan and teach a given topic in American history or civics. This guidance includes Hillsdale College-vetted books, online courses, and other resource recommendations; lists of content topics, stories to tell, and questions to ask of students; “Keys to the Lesson” that clarify important points for teachers to keep in mind; student-ready primary sources; and sample assignments, activities, and assessments. 

The Hillsdale College K-12 History & Civics Curriculum is the product of Hillsdale College professors and some of the very best K-12 teachers, both past and present, derived from and created for real classrooms with real students taught by real teachers. Learn more about the Curriculum and download it for free.

Published by Classical Academic Press, Well-Ordered Language is a four-year grammar program ranging from beginner to intensive grammatical subjects. At the heart of this curriculum is a detailed system of choral analysis, inspired by the Harvey’s Elementary Grammar and Composition texts from years ago. In addition to the analysis portion, students learn songs and chants, sentence diagramming, and poems and stories in which the concepts they learn are beautifully used.

Well-Ordered Language is currently available through Classical Academic Press. For more information and resources related to the program, visit www.classicalacademicpress.com.

For decades, Andrew Pudewa and his team at the Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW) have taught teachers to teach writing through their Structure and Style® method. Students taught in this method complete a series of nine structural units each year, designed to foster their ability to formulate and arrange their ideas in both speech and writing. Concurrently, students gradually learn and practice more than 25 stylistic techniques over their years in the program.

Over the years, IEW’s Structure and Style method has manifested into a variety of different curricula, including Structure and Style for Students curriculum recommended at Hillsdale K-12 schools. To learn more about this curriculum and other resources offered by IEW, visit www.iew.com.

The Core Virtues program provides a practical approach to character education at the K-6 level. It includes recommendations for teachers and parents seeking to form the moral imaginations of children through great stories and literature. See the Core Virtues website for additional resources.