What to Teach in Grade 12
A full school year across every subject, week by week — thirty-six weeks, laid out so you can see what Monday looks like before September starts.
The year at a glance
Thirty-six weeks, five days a week. Three subjects are planned here in detail — English 12: Complex Texts, Independent Inquiry & Public Voice, Physics & Environmental Science, Government, Civic Participation & Economics — and each is a complete year's course with its own lessons, practice and exams. For mathematics at this grade most families use Precalculus, though placement depends on the track a child is on rather than on their age.
You do not have to follow the weeks in order or at this pace. The plan exists so that there is always an answer to “what now”, not so that falling behind means anything.
The thirty-six weeks
| Week | English | Science | Social Studies |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Close Reading & Literary Analysis | Measurement & Vector Foundations — launch | 1.1 Government, Authority, Legitimacy & the Rule of Law |
| 2 | Poetry, Drama & Longer Reading | Measurement & Vector Foundations — connect, calculate and revise | 1.2 Political Ideas: Consent, Liberty & Limits on Power |
| 3 | Informational Reading & Media | Motion & Kinematics — launch | 1.4 Comparing Governments Through Powers & Practice |
| 4 | Argument & Rhetoric | Motion & Kinematics — connect, calculate and revise | Chapter 1 workshop |
| 5 | Midterm and corrections | Motion & Kinematics — connect, calculate and revise | 2.1 Constitutional Design, Amendment & Institutional Limits |
| 6 | Research & Source-Based Writing | Forces, Rotation & Equilibrium — launch | 2.2 Congress: Representation, Legislation, Budgets & Oversight |
| 7 | Narrative, Memoir & Revision | Forces, Rotation & Equilibrium — connect, calculate and revise | 2.4 Courts: Jurisdiction, Evidence, Precedent & Remedies |
| 8 | Language, Style & Conventions | Forces, Rotation & Equilibrium — connect, calculate and revise | Chapter 2 workshop |
| 9 | Discussion, Listening & Presentation | Work, Energy & Momentum — launch | 3.1 Civil Liberties: Expression, Religion, Privacy & Limits |
| 10 | Sample exam, final and portfolio conference | Work, Energy & Momentum — connect, calculate and revise | 3.2 Due Process, Civil & Criminal Cases, and Access to Justice |
| 11 | — | Work, Energy & Momentum — connect, calculate and revise | 3.4 State, Local & Tribal Government: Services and Jurisdiction |
| 12 | — | Waves, Sound & Optics — launch | Chapter 3 workshop |
| 13 | — | Waves, Sound & Optics — connect, calculate and revise | 4.1 Elections, Voting Rules & Meaningful Participation |
| 14 | — | Waves, Sound & Optics — connect, calculate and revise | 4.2 Parties, Interest Groups, Campaigns & Influence |
| 15 | — | Waves, Sound & Optics — connect, calculate and revise | 4.4 Rights, Responsibilities & Public Accountability |
| 16 | — | Electricity, Magnetism & Circuits — launch | Chapter 4 workshop |
| 17 | — | Electricity, Magnetism & Circuits — connect, calculate and revise | Midterm |
| 18 | — | Electricity, Magnetism & Circuits — connect, calculate and revise | Flexible session 2 |
| 19 | — | Electricity, Magnetism & Circuits — connect, calculate and revise | 5.1 Scarcity, Opportunity Cost & Decisions at the Margin |
| 20 | — | Modern Physics — launch | 5.2 Supply, Demand, Equilibrium & Market Changes |
| 21 | — | Modern Physics — connect, calculate and revise | 5.4 Production, Entrepreneurship & Economic Institutions |
| 22 | — | Modern Physics — connect, calculate and revise | Chapter 5 workshop |
| 23 | — | Ecology, Populations & Biodiversity — launch | 6.1 GDP, Real Output & the Limits of Economic Measures |
| 24 | — | Ecology, Populations & Biodiversity — connect, calculate and revise | 6.2 Money, Bank Balance Sheets & the Federal Reserve |
| 25 | — | Ecology, Populations & Biodiversity — connect, calculate and revise | 6.4 Business Cycles, Employment & Inflation |
| 26 | — | Energy, Water & Material Resources — launch | Chapter 6 workshop |
| 27 | — | Energy, Water & Material Resources — connect, calculate and revise | 7.1 Budgets, Cash Flow, Saving & Financial Resilience |
| 28 | — | Energy, Water & Material Resources — connect, calculate and revise | 7.2 Credit, Interest, Loan Terms & Borrowing Costs |
| 29 | — | Pollution, Carbon & Climate Evidence — launch | 7.4 Taxes, Withholding, Insurance & Risk Sharing |
| 30 | — | Pollution, Carbon & Climate Evidence — connect, calculate and revise | Chapter 7 workshop |
| 31 | — | Pollution, Carbon & Climate Evidence — connect, calculate and revise | 8.1 Trade, Comparative Advantage & Uneven Adjustment |
| 32 | — | Conservation, Systems & Environmental Design — launch | 8.2 Exchange Rates, International Payments & Price Effects |
| 33 | — | Conservation, Systems & Environmental Design — connect, calculate and revise | 8.4 Financial Instability: Leverage, Risk & Public Responses |
| 34 | — | Conservation, Systems & Environmental Design — connect, calculate and revise | Chapter 8 workshop |
| 35 | — | Conservation, Systems & Environmental Design — connect, calculate and revise | Flexible session 1 |
| 36 | — | Cumulative final and science portfolio | Flexible session 2 |
Each cell names what that subject covers that week. Open the course for the lesson itself, the practice and the printable version.
How much time this is
Each course plans about five sessions a week for thirty-six weeks — roughly 180 sessions a year. Three subjects at that rate is about fifteen sessions a week, plus mathematics. At forty-five minutes a session that is somewhere near four hours a day, which in practice is less than it sounds: a session is not a school period, and most families find the work takes considerably less time at home than the same material takes in a classroom.
What this does not cover
Health, physical education, art, music and world languages are not taught here. Several states require some or all of them, so it is worth checking what yours asks for — the requirements for all fifty states and DC — and planning them separately. Families commonly meet them through sports, lessons, clubs and documented family activity.