Advanced United States History homeschool curriculum.
Primary sources and document-based writing sit alongside the broader U.S. history timeline.
A personalized lesson from the course
National turning points become more intelligible when a local community, institution, or landscape shows how broad change was experienced and contested.
- Lesson
- A Local Place, a National Story
- Goal
- Build a local-history case study that connects primary sources to a larger national development without treating the local story as representative by default.
How a lesson works
An 11-minute reading
This example lesson comes from the unit on periodization, causation, and historical evidence. It moves from “Scale reveals experience” to “Connection is not substitution” and builds to one idea: a local archive does not shrink national history; it tests what national narratives leave out.
Help inside the reading
Your child can highlight any line of “A Local Place, a National Story” and ask our Always-On Mentor about it or ask for a visual, and it offers help on its own whenever they seem stuck.
A check halfway through
Your child answers “Why should a local case study state its limits?” before reading on, and the Reading Check at the end asks new questions.
A project your child hands in
Place one community, institution, or landscape inside a larger national turning point using a small, traceable source set.
- Task
- Connect local evidence to a national argument and name what the archive cannot establish
- Hand in
- Annotated local-history case study with source note and 700-word argument
Arguments backed by evidence
The course follows a clear chronology and gives students repeated practice with primary sources, comparison, causation, and document-based writing. Advanced United States History runs through 20 units and 120 skills, starting with indigenous societies and European contact, colonial society, and revolution and the new nation.
- Primary-source analyses and timelines built from memory
- Document-based and long historical essays
- Revision records that separate evidence from commentary
Units and skills
Advanced United States History20 units · 120 skills
Indigenous societies and European contact6 skills
- Explain historical developments and processes in Indigenous societies and European contact
- Source and situate historical evidence related to Indigenous societies and European contact
- Analyze claims and evidence in sources about Indigenous societies and European contact
- Contextualize Indigenous societies and European contact within broader historical developments
- Make historical connections involving Indigenous societies and European contact
- Construct and support a historical argument about Indigenous societies and European contact
Colonial society6 skills
- Explain historical developments and processes in Colonial society
- Source and situate historical evidence related to Colonial society
- Analyze claims and evidence in sources about Colonial society
- Contextualize Colonial society within broader historical developments
- Make historical connections involving Colonial society
- Construct and support a historical argument about Colonial society
Revolution and the new nation6 skills
- Explain historical developments and processes in Revolution and the new nation
- Source and situate historical evidence related to Revolution and the new nation
- Analyze claims and evidence in sources about Revolution and the new nation
- Contextualize Revolution and the new nation within broader historical developments
- Make historical connections involving Revolution and the new nation
- Construct and support a historical argument about Revolution and the new nation
Expansion and sectional conflict6 skills
- Explain historical developments and processes in Expansion and sectional conflict
- Source and situate historical evidence related to Expansion and sectional conflict
- Analyze claims and evidence in sources about Expansion and sectional conflict
- Contextualize Expansion and sectional conflict within broader historical developments
- Make historical connections involving Expansion and sectional conflict
- Construct and support a historical argument about Expansion and sectional conflict
Civil War and Reconstruction6 skills
- Explain historical developments and processes in Civil War and Reconstruction
- Source and situate historical evidence related to Civil War and Reconstruction
- Analyze claims and evidence in sources about Civil War and Reconstruction
- Contextualize Civil War and Reconstruction within broader historical developments
- Make historical connections involving Civil War and Reconstruction
- Construct and support a historical argument about Civil War and Reconstruction
Industrialization and reform6 skills
- Explain historical developments and processes in Industrialization and reform
- Source and situate historical evidence related to Industrialization and reform
- Analyze claims and evidence in sources about Industrialization and reform
- Contextualize Industrialization and reform within broader historical developments
- Make historical connections involving Industrialization and reform
- Construct and support a historical argument about Industrialization and reform
Global conflict and modern America6 skills
- Explain historical developments and processes in Global conflict and modern America
- Source and situate historical evidence related to Global conflict and modern America
- Analyze claims and evidence in sources about Global conflict and modern America
- Contextualize Global conflict and modern America within broader historical developments
- Make historical connections involving Global conflict and modern America
- Construct and support a historical argument about Global conflict and modern America
Cold War and social change6 skills
- Explain historical developments and processes in Cold War and social change
- Source and situate historical evidence related to Cold War and social change
- Analyze claims and evidence in sources about Cold War and social change
- Contextualize Cold War and social change within broader historical developments
- Make historical connections involving Cold War and social change
- Construct and support a historical argument about Cold War and social change
Contemporary United States6 skills
- Explain historical developments and processes in Contemporary United States
- Source and situate historical evidence related to Contemporary United States
- Analyze claims and evidence in sources about Contemporary United States
- Contextualize Contemporary United States within broader historical developments
- Make historical connections involving Contemporary United States
- Construct and support a historical argument about Contemporary United States
Primary-source analysis6 skills
- Explain historical developments and processes in Primary-source analysis
- Source and situate historical evidence related to Primary-source analysis
- Analyze claims and evidence in sources about Primary-source analysis
- Contextualize Primary-source analysis within broader historical developments
- Make historical connections involving Primary-source analysis
- Construct and support a historical argument about Primary-source analysis
Document-based argument6 skills
- Explain historical developments and processes in Document-based argument
- Source and situate historical evidence related to Document-based argument
- Analyze claims and evidence in sources about Document-based argument
- Contextualize Document-based argument within broader historical developments
- Make historical connections involving Document-based argument
- Construct and support a historical argument about Document-based argument
Long historical argument6 skills
- Explain historical developments and processes in Long historical argument
- Source and situate historical evidence related to Long historical argument
- Analyze claims and evidence in sources about Long historical argument
- Contextualize Long historical argument within broader historical developments
- Make historical connections involving Long historical argument
- Construct and support a historical argument about Long historical argument
Source credibility and provenance6 skills
- Explain historical developments and processes in Source credibility and provenance
- Source and situate historical evidence related to Source credibility and provenance
- Analyze claims and evidence in sources about Source credibility and provenance
- Contextualize Source credibility and provenance within broader historical developments
- Make historical connections involving Source credibility and provenance
- Construct and support a historical argument about Source credibility and provenance
Claim, evidence, and reasoning6 skills
- Explain historical developments and processes in Claim, evidence, and reasoning
- Source and situate historical evidence related to Claim, evidence, and reasoning
- Analyze claims and evidence in sources about Claim, evidence, and reasoning
- Contextualize Claim, evidence, and reasoning within broader historical developments
- Make historical connections involving Claim, evidence, and reasoning
- Construct and support a historical argument about Claim, evidence, and reasoning
Counterargument and qualification6 skills
- Explain historical developments and processes in Counterargument and qualification
- Source and situate historical evidence related to Counterargument and qualification
- Analyze claims and evidence in sources about Counterargument and qualification
- Contextualize Counterargument and qualification within broader historical developments
- Make historical connections involving Counterargument and qualification
- Construct and support a historical argument about Counterargument and qualification
Drafting, conferencing, and revision6 skills
- Explain historical developments and processes in Drafting, conferencing, and revision
- Source and situate historical evidence related to Drafting, conferencing, and revision
- Analyze claims and evidence in sources about Drafting, conferencing, and revision
- Contextualize Drafting, conferencing, and revision within broader historical developments
- Make historical connections involving Drafting, conferencing, and revision
- Construct and support a historical argument about Drafting, conferencing, and revision
Timed evidence-based writing6 skills
- Explain historical developments and processes in Timed evidence-based writing
- Source and situate historical evidence related to Timed evidence-based writing
- Analyze claims and evidence in sources about Timed evidence-based writing
- Contextualize Timed evidence-based writing within broader historical developments
- Make historical connections involving Timed evidence-based writing
- Construct and support a historical argument about Timed evidence-based writing
Advanced United States History cumulative assessment6 skills
- Explain historical developments and processes in Advanced United States History cumulative assessment
- Source and situate historical evidence related to Advanced United States History cumulative assessment
- Analyze claims and evidence in sources about Advanced United States History cumulative assessment
- Contextualize Advanced United States History cumulative assessment within broader historical developments
- Make historical connections involving Advanced United States History cumulative assessment
- Construct and support a historical argument about Advanced United States History cumulative assessment
Advanced United States History exam-mode practice6 skills
- Explain historical developments and processes in Advanced United States History exam-mode practice
- Source and situate historical evidence related to Advanced United States History exam-mode practice
- Analyze claims and evidence in sources about Advanced United States History exam-mode practice
- Contextualize Advanced United States History exam-mode practice within broader historical developments
- Make historical connections involving Advanced United States History exam-mode practice
- Construct and support a historical argument about Advanced United States History exam-mode practice
Advanced United States History reflection and transfer6 skills
- Explain historical developments and processes in Advanced United States History reflection and transfer
- Source and situate historical evidence related to Advanced United States History reflection and transfer
- Analyze claims and evidence in sources about Advanced United States History reflection and transfer
- Contextualize Advanced United States History reflection and transfer within broader historical developments
- Make historical connections involving Advanced United States History reflection and transfer
- Construct and support a historical argument about Advanced United States History reflection and transfer
Questions parents ask
How does Advanced United States History prepare my student for AP United States History?
- Advanced United States History follows the AP United States History 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.
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 United States History, not AP United States History. 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 United States History, with the teaching and records handled
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