11th grade: a year of American voices, functions and forces
A complete eleventh grade year for parents and teachers: 36 weeks and about 180 school days of American literature and rhetoric, Algebra 2, physics and U.S. history, built from Common Core 11-12, NGSS and C3 standards. September through December include a full plan for every day; January through June include weekly skills, word study, independent practice ideas and a five-day outline.
Find today’s plan
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The year
Every month from September to June has day-by-day plans with steps, materials, standards and a printable page, plus a month overview and a plan for each week.
- SeptemberWelcome / Foundations and DocumentsWeeks 1–4Day-by-day plans
- OctoberFall / Colonial to RevolutionWeeks 5–8Day-by-day plans
- NovemberFamily and Gratitude / Early RepublicWeeks 9–11Day-by-day plans
- DecemberWinter Holidays / ExpansionWeeks 12–14Day-by-day plans
- JanuaryNew Year / IndustrializationWeeks 15–18Day-by-day plans
- FebruaryFriendship / Civil War EraWeeks 19–22Day-by-day plans
- MarchSpring / Progressive EraWeeks 23–26Day-by-day plans
- AprilEarth and Environment / 20th CenturyWeeks 27–30Day-by-day plans
- MayOceans / Modern AmericaWeeks 31–34Day-by-day plans
- JuneReview and CelebrationWeeks 35–36Day-by-day plans
A 11th grade day
Every day plan follows the same order, so children know what comes next. Short on time? Do the morning meeting, phonics, reading and math (about 75 minutes), and fold science or social studies into the read-aloud.
| Time block | How long | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Morning meeting and current events | 10–15 min | Agenda, question of the day, and a two-minute student news brief connected to the week's history or science |
| Vocabulary and word study | 15–20 min | Greek and Latin roots, college-level vocabulary, connotation and the language of rhetoric |
| Literature and texts | 30–40 min | American literature from oral tradition to the present, speeches and founding documents, close reading and discussion |
| Algebra 2 | 40–50 min | A warm-up, worked examples, guided practice and an exit ticket on functions, polynomials, rational, exponential and trig functions |
| Physics | 30–40 min | Labs with household materials and SI units, data tables and graphs, and simulations; alternates with U.S. history |
| U.S. history | 30–40 min | Primary sources, maps, timelines and structured discussion from Native nations to modern America; alternates with physics |
| Writing | 25–35 min | Literary analysis, rhetorical analysis, argument, informative and narrative writing with MLA citations |
| Independent practice and projects | 25–35 min | Practice choices tied to the week, ongoing projects and 15 minutes of device time with the day's game |
| Closing reflection | 5–10 min | Exit questions, one thing learned, and a preview of tomorrow |
Every child, every level
If reading is hard
Many eleventh grade texts were written in the 1600s to 1800s, and the long sentences slow everyone down. Pair the print text with an audio version, chunk long passages into one-paragraph pieces, and paraphrase together before analyzing. Keep the analysis questions the same; only change the support. A student who can explain a choice out loud is ready to write about it with a sentence frame.
If math is hard
Algebra 2 rests on a few Algebra 1 skills: solving linear equations, factoring and graphing. When a lesson stalls, go back five minutes to the prerequisite, use a table of values and a graph alongside every equation, and let the student use a graphing calculator to check work. Cut practice sets in half but keep the hardest problem, and have the student explain one solution aloud each day.
Tips for grown-ups
- Read the founding documents and speeches aloud. Many were written to be heard, and hearing them makes the rhetoric easier to spot.
- Connect the math to the physics whenever you can: a parabola is a projectile's path, slope is velocity, and the area under a graph is displacement.
- Treat labs as real investigations. Have students predict, measure in SI units, record data in a table and explain the results with claim, evidence and reasoning.
- In history, always ask who made a source, when, for whom and why. Present different perspectives fairly and let students build their own evidence-based arguments.
- Keep a writing portfolio. Rereading September's analysis paragraph next to a spring essay is the clearest progress report there is.
Next: 2nd grade. Ready for what comes after 11th grade? See the 2nd grade year plan.