High School Curriculum 9-12
At high school level, the program is based upon the fundamental knowledge acquired during the primary, intermediate, and middle school years. Students complete the entire year with one credit hour per subject when completed successfully.
Honors and Advanced Placement classes will be offered in the future to those students who demonstrate academic success and excellence.
The English department offers basic and advanced courses, which include Grammar, Writing, regular English, & Literature. In each of the four years of high school, students build upon the foundation of reading and writing skills. The emphasis on writing with vocabulary development and enrichment in the language phrase of studies enables students to think clearly and to articulate their thoughts in a comprehensive manner. As students’ progress, emphasis shifts from basic composition to specific genres of writing and writing styles, including research writing, comparison and contrast writing, expository writing, descriptive writing, and journalistic writing. Writing is also taken as a course by itself in addition to Literature courses.
The science department offers courses such as Biology, Physical Science, Earth Science, Chemistry, Physiology, Environmental Science, Physics and Health. Students are encouraged to take the full high school science curriculum.
Courses offered in the math department may include Consumer Mathematics, Pre-Algebra, Algebra I and II, Geometry, Pre-Calculus/Trigonometry, and Calculus and more. Each course is a challenging and sequential offering designed to develop the aptitude and analytical background of each pupil. Geometry is flexible in the sequence and offers a visual and conceptual view of mathematics. Students are offered the option of taking Algebra I in the 8th grade to complete the curriculum with Calculus as a senior. Honors courses are offered in some levels.
Courses offered in the Social Studies Department are courses that help students understand and learn about political institutions, economic changes, religious beliefs, and socio-cultural elements. Students read, compare, and analyze the flow of history and the writing of history. Each course is a survey of a specific period, with World History and American History required. Students can attend World Geography, Human Geography, Economics, Government, and Islamic History.
Students attend Arabic classes based on their language levels not based on their grade levels.
The objectives of high school Arabic are to develop conversational Arabic, to build a sufficient vocabulary, in order to comprehend the Quran Al-Kareem. Advanced level students study informational texts in the language and write essays in the target language.
Advanced Islamic Studies courses/program is a five years program at FAO. Students start attending the courses starting from 8th grade level. Students learn Fiqh, Tafseer, Hadith and Islamic History. The Islamic Studies course is called a mini Alim course designed to help students understand the memorized Quran in previous years. One of the objectives of this course is to help students’ develop their Muslim identity.
Students review their Quran starting from 8th and complete it in their senior year. They will also be reviewing all Quran already memorized at Furqaan Online, and complete memorizing more and reach the goal of being a Hafidh or Hafidha. For new students, the program is different. New students will start memorizing by learning Tajweed rules, Qiraat, and Arabic language reading skills.
Electives courses are one of the graduation requirements. Elective courses add to the student’s repertoire and knowledge. Courses such as Journalism, Environmental Science, Statistics, Foreign Languages can be taken in high school. Any extra credit class can be added to the bank of electives. FAO will be offering new electives every year.
The High School English program includes a robust curriculum of Creative Writing, along with Speech & Debate. Through a mixture of didactic lectures and dialectic discussions, students are able to explore themes and devices in Literature, ranging from 18th century works of fiction to literary works from the modern era. Students also engage in various types of Speech and Debate formats, ranging from demonstrative speeches to Lincoln-Douglas style debates. Students are required to take 4 years of English courses in order to graduate from high school.
Our high school curriculum is built upon the Comprehensive Mathematics Instructional Framework to meet the expectations of College and Career Ready Standards.Curriculum standards for high school mathematics, like their K-8 counterparts, typically convey a set of mathematical learning expectations for all students. The Common Core standards state that six content categories should be covered in high school math classes:
Number and Quantity, Algebra, Functions, Modeling, Geometry, Statistics and Probability. At Furqaan Academy we require our students to complete 4 years of Math in order to graduate.
The typical order of math classes in high school is:
- Algebra 1.
- Geometry.
- Algebra 2/Trigonometry.
- Pre-Calculus.
- Calculus.
Students in high school continue to develop their understanding of physical sciences (Physics and Chemistry) and life sciences (Biology, Anatomy & Physiology). Students build on the middle school ideas and skills and are exposed to more in-depth phenomena central not only to the physical sciences, but to life, earth and space sciences as well. In physical science, there is a focus on several scientific practices. These include developing and using models, planning and conducting investigations, analyzing and interpreting data, using mathematical and computational thinking, and constructing explanations; and to use these practices to demonstrate understanding of the core ideas. In life sciences, students will build on their understanding of the evolution of life on earth.
This includes courses in World History, American History and American Government. In the World History course, students are able to gain a deeper understanding of the relevancy of historical events, as well as contextualize those events to their respective time periods. For American Government, the students first spend time understanding the foundations of government, and then proceed to an in-depth review of all three branches of government and along with their functions.
The program is designed to cover the fundamental sciences and allow a deeper understanding of the Qur’an , Hadith, Fiqh, seerah, Tafseer, Islamic history and Islamic etiquettes. Through the various authentic texts, students will gain a more holistic understanding of the Islamic Shari’ah and its principles and legislations.
Though the workload in the class is a little intense, an accomplished student will be able to succeed by being attentive during class and following the guidance given by the teacher .
This is a unique course for those who wish to combine further Islamic Studies along with their normal school studies and pursue the Alim Program at any reputable institution after graduating highschool.
In highschool, students will have a solid foundation in Arabic. They will focus on conversational Arabic, grammar, vocabulary, and Quranic Arabic. The main goal of teaching the Arabic language is to understand the Quran and tafseer. The fluency in Arabic language allows our students to achieve the goal of delivering the Friday Khutbah.
Students will continue to memorize the Quran according to their levels. Each student is evaluated based on review, recitation, tajweed, makharij and behavior. The main goal of our Quran program is that a student who is enrolled in our Academy from Kindergarten will have memorized the entire Quran when they graduate from highschool.
