Advanced African American Studies homeschool curriculum.
Your student studies the African diaspora through history, literature, art, politics, and primary sources.
A personalized lesson from the course
Freedom movements are not only moments of protest; they are also the institutions, cultural practices, and community strategies that make survival and change possible.
- Lesson
- Freedom Is Built in Public
- Goal
- Connect a primary source, a cultural artifact, and a historical context to explain one form of institution-building or resistance.
How a lesson works
An 11-minute reading
This example lesson comes from the unit on diaspora, resistance, institution-building, and memory. It moves from “The archive has a shape” to “Freedom is also infrastructure” and builds to one idea: history becomes fuller when resistance includes the everyday work of making community, not only the moments that institutions recorded.
Help inside the reading
Any line of “Freedom Is Built in Public” can go to our Always-On Mentor: your child highlights it to ask a question, and the mentor can draw the idea step by step on its board or, after a missed answer, explain it another way.
A check halfway through
Your child answers “Why should an African American studies project use more than one kind of source?” before reading on, and the Reading Check at the end asks new questions.
A project your child hands in
Investigate migration, institution-building, art, law, or public memory through a local or family-connected question.
- Task
- Present evidence respectfully, identify what the archive cannot tell you, and avoid turning one story into a universal claim
- Hand in
- Three-source digital archive entry with curator note and recorded or written presentation
Arguments backed by evidence
The course brings together history, literature, art, and politics. Students work with primary sources, consider competing interpretations, and develop an individual project. Advanced African American Studies runs through 29 units and 145 skills, starting with origins of the African diaspora; freedom, enslavement, and resistance; and the practice of freedom.
- Primary-source and scholarly-source analyses
- Interdisciplinary arguments using visual and written evidence
- An individual project with presentation and oral defense
Units and skills
Advanced African American Studies29 units · 145 skills
Origins of the African diaspora5 skills
- Apply interdisciplinary knowledge and concepts to Origins of the African diaspora
- Analyze written sources and their contexts in Origins of the African diaspora
- Analyze visual and material sources connected to Origins of the African diaspora
- Interpret quantitative evidence connected to Origins of the African diaspora
- Construct and defend an evidence-based argument about Origins of the African diaspora
Freedom, enslavement, and resistance5 skills
- Apply interdisciplinary knowledge and concepts to Freedom, enslavement, and resistance
- Analyze written sources and their contexts in Freedom, enslavement, and resistance
- Analyze visual and material sources connected to Freedom, enslavement, and resistance
- Interpret quantitative evidence connected to Freedom, enslavement, and resistance
- Construct and defend an evidence-based argument about Freedom, enslavement, and resistance
The practice of freedom5 skills
- Apply interdisciplinary knowledge and concepts to The practice of freedom
- Analyze written sources and their contexts in The practice of freedom
- Analyze visual and material sources connected to The practice of freedom
- Interpret quantitative evidence connected to The practice of freedom
- Construct and defend an evidence-based argument about The practice of freedom
Movements and debates5 skills
- Apply interdisciplinary knowledge and concepts to Movements and debates
- Analyze written sources and their contexts in Movements and debates
- Analyze visual and material sources connected to Movements and debates
- Interpret quantitative evidence connected to Movements and debates
- Construct and defend an evidence-based argument about Movements and debates
Interdisciplinary source analysis5 skills
- Apply interdisciplinary knowledge and concepts to Interdisciplinary source analysis
- Analyze written sources and their contexts in Interdisciplinary source analysis
- Analyze visual and material sources connected to Interdisciplinary source analysis
- Interpret quantitative evidence connected to Interdisciplinary source analysis
- Construct and defend an evidence-based argument about Interdisciplinary source analysis
Visual and material culture5 skills
- Apply interdisciplinary knowledge and concepts to Visual and material culture
- Analyze written sources and their contexts in Visual and material culture
- Analyze visual and material sources connected to Visual and material culture
- Interpret quantitative evidence connected to Visual and material culture
- Construct and defend an evidence-based argument about Visual and material culture
Primary-source interpretation5 skills
- Apply interdisciplinary knowledge and concepts to Primary-source interpretation
- Analyze written sources and their contexts in Primary-source interpretation
- Analyze visual and material sources connected to Primary-source interpretation
- Interpret quantitative evidence connected to Primary-source interpretation
- Construct and defend an evidence-based argument about Primary-source interpretation
Scholarly perspectives5 skills
- Apply interdisciplinary knowledge and concepts to Scholarly perspectives
- Analyze written sources and their contexts in Scholarly perspectives
- Analyze visual and material sources connected to Scholarly perspectives
- Interpret quantitative evidence connected to Scholarly perspectives
- Construct and defend an evidence-based argument about Scholarly perspectives
Historical argumentation5 skills
- Apply interdisciplinary knowledge and concepts to Historical argumentation
- Analyze written sources and their contexts in Historical argumentation
- Analyze visual and material sources connected to Historical argumentation
- Interpret quantitative evidence connected to Historical argumentation
- Construct and defend an evidence-based argument about Historical argumentation
Contemporary connections5 skills
- Apply interdisciplinary knowledge and concepts to Contemporary connections
- Analyze written sources and their contexts in Contemporary connections
- Analyze visual and material sources connected to Contemporary connections
- Interpret quantitative evidence connected to Contemporary connections
- Construct and defend an evidence-based argument about Contemporary connections
Individual student project5 skills
- Apply interdisciplinary knowledge and concepts to Individual student project
- Analyze written sources and their contexts in Individual student project
- Analyze visual and material sources connected to Individual student project
- Interpret quantitative evidence connected to Individual student project
- Construct and defend an evidence-based argument about Individual student project
Presentation and oral defense5 skills
- Apply interdisciplinary knowledge and concepts to Presentation and oral defense
- Analyze written sources and their contexts in Presentation and oral defense
- Analyze visual and material sources connected to Presentation and oral defense
- Interpret quantitative evidence connected to Presentation and oral defense
- Construct and defend an evidence-based argument about Presentation and oral defense
Source credibility and provenance5 skills
- Apply interdisciplinary knowledge and concepts to Source credibility and provenance
- Analyze written sources and their contexts in Source credibility and provenance
- Analyze visual and material sources connected to Source credibility and provenance
- Interpret quantitative evidence connected to Source credibility and provenance
- Construct and defend an evidence-based argument about Source credibility and provenance
Claim, evidence, and reasoning5 skills
- Apply interdisciplinary knowledge and concepts to Claim, evidence, and reasoning
- Analyze written sources and their contexts in Claim, evidence, and reasoning
- Analyze visual and material sources connected to Claim, evidence, and reasoning
- Interpret quantitative evidence connected to Claim, evidence, and reasoning
- Construct and defend an evidence-based argument about Claim, evidence, and reasoning
Counterargument and qualification5 skills
- Apply interdisciplinary knowledge and concepts to Counterargument and qualification
- Analyze written sources and their contexts in Counterargument and qualification
- Analyze visual and material sources connected to Counterargument and qualification
- Interpret quantitative evidence connected to Counterargument and qualification
- Construct and defend an evidence-based argument about Counterargument and qualification
Formal visual analysis5 skills
- Apply interdisciplinary knowledge and concepts to Formal visual analysis
- Analyze written sources and their contexts in Formal visual analysis
- Analyze visual and material sources connected to Formal visual analysis
- Interpret quantitative evidence connected to Formal visual analysis
- Construct and defend an evidence-based argument about Formal visual analysis
Context, purpose, and audience5 skills
- Apply interdisciplinary knowledge and concepts to Context, purpose, and audience
- Analyze written sources and their contexts in Context, purpose, and audience
- Analyze visual and material sources connected to Context, purpose, and audience
- Interpret quantitative evidence connected to Context, purpose, and audience
- Construct and defend an evidence-based argument about Context, purpose, and audience
Multiple quantitative representations5 skills
- Apply interdisciplinary knowledge and concepts to Multiple quantitative representations
- Analyze written sources and their contexts in Multiple quantitative representations
- Analyze visual and material sources connected to Multiple quantitative representations
- Interpret quantitative evidence connected to Multiple quantitative representations
- Construct and defend an evidence-based argument about Multiple quantitative representations
Graph construction and interpretation5 skills
- Apply interdisciplinary knowledge and concepts to Graph construction and interpretation
- Analyze written sources and their contexts in Graph construction and interpretation
- Analyze visual and material sources connected to Graph construction and interpretation
- Interpret quantitative evidence connected to Graph construction and interpretation
- Construct and defend an evidence-based argument about Graph construction and interpretation
Written mathematical justification5 skills
- Apply interdisciplinary knowledge and concepts to Written mathematical justification
- Analyze written sources and their contexts in Written mathematical justification
- Analyze visual and material sources connected to Written mathematical justification
- Interpret quantitative evidence connected to Written mathematical justification
- Construct and defend an evidence-based argument about Written mathematical justification
Dated evidence and changing conditions5 skills
- Apply interdisciplinary knowledge and concepts to Dated evidence and changing conditions
- Analyze written sources and their contexts in Dated evidence and changing conditions
- Analyze visual and material sources connected to Dated evidence and changing conditions
- Interpret quantitative evidence connected to Dated evidence and changing conditions
- Construct and defend an evidence-based argument about Dated evidence and changing conditions
Competing contemporary perspectives5 skills
- Apply interdisciplinary knowledge and concepts to Competing contemporary perspectives
- Analyze written sources and their contexts in Competing contemporary perspectives
- Analyze visual and material sources connected to Competing contemporary perspectives
- Interpret quantitative evidence connected to Competing contemporary perspectives
- Construct and defend an evidence-based argument about Competing contemporary perspectives
Inquiry proposal and source approval5 skills
- Apply interdisciplinary knowledge and concepts to Inquiry proposal and source approval
- Analyze written sources and their contexts in Inquiry proposal and source approval
- Analyze visual and material sources connected to Inquiry proposal and source approval
- Interpret quantitative evidence connected to Inquiry proposal and source approval
- Construct and defend an evidence-based argument about Inquiry proposal and source approval
Research artifact, presentation, and defense5 skills
- Apply interdisciplinary knowledge and concepts to Research artifact, presentation, and defense
- Analyze written sources and their contexts in Research artifact, presentation, and defense
- Analyze visual and material sources connected to Research artifact, presentation, and defense
- Interpret quantitative evidence connected to Research artifact, presentation, and defense
- Construct and defend an evidence-based argument about Research artifact, presentation, and defense
Controlled performance-task planning5 skills
- Apply interdisciplinary knowledge and concepts to Controlled performance-task planning
- Analyze written sources and their contexts in Controlled performance-task planning
- Analyze visual and material sources connected to Controlled performance-task planning
- Interpret quantitative evidence connected to Controlled performance-task planning
- Construct and defend an evidence-based argument about Controlled performance-task planning
Final artifact integrity and attestation5 skills
- Apply interdisciplinary knowledge and concepts to Final artifact integrity and attestation
- Analyze written sources and their contexts in Final artifact integrity and attestation
- Analyze visual and material sources connected to Final artifact integrity and attestation
- Interpret quantitative evidence connected to Final artifact integrity and attestation
- Construct and defend an evidence-based argument about Final artifact integrity and attestation
Advanced African American Studies cumulative assessment5 skills
- Apply interdisciplinary knowledge and concepts to Advanced African American Studies cumulative assessment
- Analyze written sources and their contexts in Advanced African American Studies cumulative assessment
- Analyze visual and material sources connected to Advanced African American Studies cumulative assessment
- Interpret quantitative evidence connected to Advanced African American Studies cumulative assessment
- Construct and defend an evidence-based argument about Advanced African American Studies cumulative assessment
Advanced African American Studies exam-mode practice5 skills
- Apply interdisciplinary knowledge and concepts to Advanced African American Studies exam-mode practice
- Analyze written sources and their contexts in Advanced African American Studies exam-mode practice
- Analyze visual and material sources connected to Advanced African American Studies exam-mode practice
- Interpret quantitative evidence connected to Advanced African American Studies exam-mode practice
- Construct and defend an evidence-based argument about Advanced African American Studies exam-mode practice
Advanced African American Studies reflection and transfer5 skills
- Apply interdisciplinary knowledge and concepts to Advanced African American Studies reflection and transfer
- Analyze written sources and their contexts in Advanced African American Studies reflection and transfer
- Analyze visual and material sources connected to Advanced African American Studies reflection and transfer
- Interpret quantitative evidence connected to Advanced African American Studies reflection and transfer
- Construct and defend an evidence-based argument about Advanced African American Studies reflection and transfer
Questions parents ask
How does Advanced African American Studies prepare my student for AP African American Studies?
- Advanced African American Studies follows the AP African American Studies framework unit by unit, as its skill tree shows. Your teen explains and applies the ideas in written responses and projects, so the work shows which skills are secure and which need more practice.
What about the AP African American Studies student project?
- The official AP score includes the Individual Student Project worth 8.5% of the exam score, presented to a teacher and class and scored with AP’s rubric through an AP coordinator. Our coursework feedback does not supply that official project score.
How does a homeschooler register for an AP exam?
- An AP coordinator at an AP-authorized local school arranges registration. Use College Board’s homeschool exam guidance to find a host school. That school sets its deadlines and outside-student policies; its coordinator orders the exam, collects fees, and tells your child where and when to test.
Which course title goes on a homeschool transcript?
- Advanced African American Studies, not AP African American Studies. The AP designation requires College Board Course Audit authorization of the course, which framework alignment does not give. We generate the transcript with that title, ready for you to sign as homeschool administrator.
How can AP scores earn college credit?
- Colleges award credit under their own AP score policies. College Board reports scores on a 1–5 scale, separately from our coursework grades; check the college’s required score and whether it grants credit, placement, or both.
Advanced African American Studies, with the teaching and records handled
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