Schedule of classes for a high school sophmore?

Try sticking to the basics to get started: English, Social Studies, Math, Science, Technology and PE. Some private schools have 2 or 3 90 minute classes each day, so T-Th might be English and Social Studies day, and M-W-F might be Math, Science, and PE. Technology might be a computer lab every day, for example. Public School might have 6-7 periods a day. Our local high school begins at 7:25am and is out at 2:28pm. (Minutes count in California!) Wednesdays are half days, students are out at 11:29am. Classes on those days are much shorter , 20-30 minutes each.

As you think about your 10th grader's story arc, you might go deeper with the classes as needed. For example:
English - Studies in short story, novel (the Life of Pi, for example,) working with footnotes, journalism techniques, grammer, etc.
Social Studies - WWI and II, Islam, communism and democracy
Math - geometry and trig
Science - life sciences, DNA, disease, scientific methods
Technology - Powerpoint, website development, languages like Python (gifted students), Java and HTML
PE - run a mile in under 10 minutes weekly, volleyball, basketball, track, yoga.

You could also add a language class, like Spanish or French.

Best of luck with your novel!

kao

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My high school alternated classes every other day, so we had three classes of about two hours long each day. My schedule was pretty basic, though 10th grade is when some students start taking AP classes, so for history I was studying AP European History. I took Biology, though most of my classmates took Chemistry that year, and my school had a bizarre math system, so I was in something called Integrated Math 3 (a system that was quickly abandoned.) I think the general math level for sophomores is geometry. English is pretty standard, and in Los Angeles high schools, at least, we were required to take a language for three years. P.E. was also required through sophomore year.

Hope that helps!

At my high school, you signed up for six classes each semester. The basics like Math, Science, English, and Social Studies were year long classes and the other two were electives (PE/Health, cooking, art, etc.) The only year long electives you could take were a Band class or a Language class. There are 7th period classes you can sign up for and those where either earlier in the morning (primarily Jazz Band or Stage Band) or they'd be after school (Credit restoration classes).

On Mondays you'd go to all six classes for 50 minutes. Tuesdays and Thursdays you go to you 2, 4, 6 class for 90 minutes, Wednesdays and Fridays you go to your 1, 3, 5 class. 7th you go to everyday with the exception of Mondays, I think.

The school's average sophomore class schedule looked something like this:

1. English: covered Othello, Lord of the Flies, and a cultural reading project
2. Math: a mixture of higher level algebra, trig, and a little bit of statistics, I really don't remember
3. Biology: 10th grade science was always a biology course which included the dissection of an earth worm, starfish, and a fetal pig
4. Elective: either PE/Health covering basic nutrition, sports like flag football, and the Miracle of Life Video, or Language such as Spanish, French, and Japanese (most commonly you'll find Spanish and French classes only in schools)
5. Elective: maybe a Ceramics class or Photography, whatever
6. Social Studies: they changed to a World History class after I left, so I can only assume what it covers

I have a H.S. Jr and freshman in my home. Here in NY they have English, Math, Science (with a lab), Foreign Language, Social Studies and 2 electives daily. One is usually a gym/art and the other is band, home eco, technology, computer science ect. The science counts for 2 periods. That and a lunch makes their entire day. Science is usually chemistry as a sophmore. Living environment is a Freshman and Physics is a junior.

I really hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions.

Well my school's pretty different when it comes to the shedules:

We got periods 1-8, 4,5,6,7 are lunch periods. We have 1-8 everyday, no block schedules!

10 graders would have a Sciene, Math, English, Social Studies classes. And I have 3 electives. One's a language, which most students have to have anyhow.

Thank you all so much! You guys are awesome!

Anne

"Blank pages can't be edited, but bad prose can."

Well, my school is rather unconventional, but I'm a 10th grader soo...

We have 4 periods - 5 including lunch. Each period is aboout 1 hr 15 min long.

There are arts classes, and academic (or "cumpulsory") classes, and you take 4 each semester - 8 in the entire year.

If you ar an "arts ed major" you have 1 (or more) art major classes each semester. The rest of the classes are made up of cumpulsory or elective courses.

But yeah, my school is unconventional in that it is an arts-centered school, but that's basically how the schedule goes!

I'm in 10th grade and this is my schedule...but I go to a Private School so it might be different than what your looking for:

Algebra 2
French 1
World History
English 2
Chorus
Chemistry

:D

I'm homeschooled now, but my parents made me "try a semester of high school" last year, when I was a freshman. I went to a public high school in New York State with eight periods a day plus lunch and homeroom. My friend still in that school, and is now a sophomore who's taking several advanced classes. I don't know her schedule by heart, but it's something like the following:

homeroom
Chemistry
a six day rotation of Phys Ed, Chemistry Lab, Phys Ed, Chemistry Lab, Phys Ed, study hall
AP English Prep
AP European History
lunch
Latin III
Spanish I
Geometry

Most sophomores would be taking Biology, not Chemistry, and thus have Bio Lab when she has Chem Lab. Most sophomores would be taking English 10, not AP English Prep, though there's a few who take Honors World Literature II. Most sophomores would be taking Global Studies II, not AP Euro, though a few take Honors World Literature II. Only one language is required, so most sophomores would have a study hall or an elective (like an art or music class) where she has her second foreign language. A few sophomores take Geometry freshman year, so they'd have Algebra II/Trig where she has Geometry.

This was my sophomore schedule.

Advanced English 10
German 2
Advanced Algebra 2 & Trigonometry (One class. It was combined).
Physics
Health (In my school, you generally take PE as a freshman, and health class as a sophomore. No PE after 9th grade).
World History
Study Hall

Additionally, I took Drawing & Painting, which is a single semester class. I don't, however, remember at all what I took during the second semester. Actually maybe it was Health. I think Health was only a one-semester course, too.

I go to a public school with a 25 minute homeroom in the morning then nine 40 minute classes with 5 minute passing periods.

Majors and electives are the same amount of time. If you are taking a lab science two days a week (M and W or T and Th) you have a double period. The days you don't have a lab, you just go to the normal class period and can either have the other one free, or take an elective for partial credit.

More people have 4-5 majors and one elective. But there are a lot of people who are extremely competetive academically at my school so some take 6 majors, or have never taken an elective. It's even not unusual for someone to not have a lunch period.

This is how it worked at my high school.
Two semesters a year, four classes a semester.
Each class is 75 minutes. Lunch is about 65 minutes long. (Class 1, class 2, lunch, classes 3 and 4.)
Same four classes every day for the semester.

In grade ten, you would be taking: English, Math, History, Science, Civics and Careers, plus three electives - usually a language, plus gym, art, tech, etc.

I had
Math B (Algebra 2 I think?)
ummm
Global II
Religion..
Chemistry
...lunch lol
Latin II
Health/Chem Lab
Computer class I was supposed to take freshmen year/Gym
English

..Soc or Psych are interesting. c:

-insert random song quote here-

Well, this one is just for my friend, Evan. He's a sophomore in the 'advanced' classes. My school uses the 'period' system, with eight each day. B.U.G [Bringing Up Grades] is 40 minutes, with 11 minutes included in there for breakfast [1st breakfast is 10-12, second is 7-9]. Each class is 40 minutes, with three minutes in between. We have some classes every day [WTWHF], some three days a week [Usually MWF], and some two days a week [Usually TH]

Prd. 1 - Honors English MTWHF [It switches teachers for second semester]
2 - Spanish II MTWHF
3 - Chorus MWF/Chem. Lab TH
4 - Chemistry MTWHF
5 - Rotation [A different class every day for a quarter] Driver's Ed, Gym, Creative Writing, and Speech
Lunch
6 - Geometry MTWHF
7 - Honors Civics MTWHF
8 - Band MTWHF

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SF 2009 - Drumsticks - Won
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1. PE
2. Some science class (chemistry, biology, physics, etc.)
3. Standard english class
4. Math class (algebra I or II, geometry)
5. Lunch
6. Elective class (drawing, choir, pottery, etc.)
7. Foreign language

That's how long my high school days were. :) Good luck!

I'm glad I found this thread. The YA novel I'm working on is a Journal style story..the MC is a 17 year old kid. He's a junior. Anyways...the schools here in NC have four classes a day (about 90 minutes long). It would be kind of difficult to have different classes on alternating days. For instance--say my MC takes English, Math, Science and Band. Would he say take Social Studies on Tuesdays and Thursdays? And the others classes on M-W-F?

My other question---is English two semesters? What about say Math and Social Studies...is that two semesters or just one? I'm trying to figure this out and it's driving me crazy!!! Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

A funky block schedule I had as a sophomore

6 classes per semester.

Mine was something like this

1. Psych/ Acting 1
2. speech/ english 10
3. Integrated Math 2 (Geometry in the real math world)
4. Integrated Science 2 (Bio in the real science world)
5. World Studies
6. Spanish 2

M 1-6
T 1, 2, 4, 5
w 2,3, 5, 6
th 1,3, 4, 6
fri 1-6

Classes started at 7:30 on M/F and were like 55 minutes long- then T/W/Th they were 75 min long and we started at 8ish, but "study time" started at 7:30 am every morning and was used for study hall, club meetings, conferences, etc.

I can't help much with block or rotating schedules since my high school didn't (still doesn't) have them--we had six fixed periods a day. The day started at 8:05 AM, ended at 3:00 PM. First and second, a 15-minute break, third and fourth, ~40-minute lunch break, then fifth and sixth, with six minutes to get to each class. A sophomore or junior (depending on when you turned 15 and your current grades) might also add Driver Ed, which was "zero" period and meant coming to school an hour early for 6 weeks (it only taught the "rules of the road", not how to actually drive a car).

At least here, English, Maths, Social Studies, Foreign Languages, and PE are typically year-long classes. To graduate at my school, you needed four years of English, three years of maths, two years of PE, two years of science, three years of social studies, one year in Visual or Performing Arts OR one year of a foreign language, and around 20 hours of community service--I think these are pretty typical requirements. Some schools let you substitute a semester of Health for a semester of PE, but mine didn't let you be lazy like that (to my disappointment).

A typical college-bound student's course list might look something like this:
9th: English 1, Algebra 1, Physical Science, Geography (1st semester)/Health (2nd semester), PE, Spanish 1*
10th: English 2, Geometry, Biology Lab, World History, PE, Spanish 2*
11th: English 3, Algebra 2, Chemistry Lab, American History, Spanish 3*, Band*
12th: English 4, Pre-Calculus, Physics, Civics (1st semester)/Economics (2nd semester), Band*, [Free Period]

While the list of a non-college-bound student doing minimum requirements might look like:
9th: English 1, Algebra 1, Physical Science, Geography (1st semester)/Health (2nd semester), PE, Computer Foundations*
10th: English 2, Geometry, Biology Lab, World History, PE, Visual Art*
11th: English 3, Practical Maths, American History, Band*, Floristry Design*, Drama 1*
12th: English 4, Civics (1st semester)/Economics (2nd semester), Band*, Teacher Aid*, Regional Cuisine*, Work Experience*
*Electives, I just chose random ones for these lists.

Hope this was helpful to someone out there!

I'm a sophomore!!! We have seven periods a day, each 50 minutes long with a 5 minute passing period. This is my schedule this year:

1-Advanced Placement Computer Science
2-Advanced Placement World History
3-Pre-AP English 2
4-German 2
5-Pre-AP Chemistry
6- Band
7-Pre-AP Algebra 2

NANO '09!

Writer2006--

It sounds like they have either an alternating block schedule or a straight block schedule up there.

In a straight block schedule:

Student have 4 classes a semester. Each class is about 90 minutes. Every class is a semester class, and because they are twice as long, they get a full credit. If a student is taking a "semester class," like Health, then it only lasts a quarter in the block schedule.

Teacher have one period a day off for planning-90 minutes a day.

At the semester, students pick up 4 different classes.

Alternating Block is a little different. Students have their classes (with the exception of semester classes) all year, just not every day. One day they have one set of four, the next they have the other set of four. The only classes that change at the semester are the 1/2 credit/semester classes (Health, Economics, Govt.).

Day 1: odd classes (1,3,5,7)
Day 2: even classes (2,4,6,8)

One week, you will have Odd M-W-F and Even T-R, then the next it will be Even M-W-F and Odd T-R. If there is a holiday, the day after the break, you just pick up where you left off. (i.e., if Thursday was Even, and you didn't have school Friday, then Monday would be Odd.).

Also, Schools name the days by their colors. For example, if your school colors were blue and gold, Blue Days would be Odd and Gold Days even. Some schools put up flags or other notices to let the kids know what day it is.

Classes are about 90 minutes each (ours are 84 minutes). Teachers have a planning period, but only every other day.

Thanks for responding...and yes it makes sense that if a class is 90 minutes you should get full credit. I mean if you were taking two semester of English, Math, and science you'd NEVER get to take electives either.

I'm a high school sophomore! Here's my schedule:
1. Digital Graphics and Animation
2. Algebra II
3. Choir
4. World History
5. Spanish III
6. Chemistry I
7. English II
This is a pretty standard schedule for all of the sophomores in my grade. Of course, you can switch around what math/science/language/electives they take, but at least at my school everyone is in the same english and history class (with both level and honors options).
At our school we got to every class on Monday, Tuesday and Friday for an hour. On Wednesday we have a "block day" where we go and hour and a half, but only to odd period classes. Then on Thursday's we come in two hours late and only go to even period classes for an hour and a half each.
Hope this helped (:

I was a high school sophomore last year. My school has four 90-minute classes each day (called "blocks"), and we alternate which classes we have on which days. We have one set of four classes on "A" Days and the other set of four classes on "B" Days. My schedule last year (at the Academic Magnet high school) was this:

1A: PE
2A: AP Psychology
3A: H. English 2
4A: H. Global Studies 2
1B: Spanish 2
2B: H. Biology
3B: "Focus" (basically, study hall)
4B: H. Geometry (my school teaches Algebra 2 freshman year)

A lot of students doubled up on maths or sciences, so they were taking Geometry and Pre-Calculus or Biology and Chemistry. Other electives that students took in place of PE or AP Psych were Creative Writing, various art classes, drama, Digital Engineering, Computer Programming, Yearbook/Journalism, Newspaper/Journalism, and Driver's Ed.

2008: Ajrazel (Won)
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