2025-26 Course Summaries
Warriors of Christ (Veritas)
The goal of this class is to help students be able to obey 1 Peter 3:15 in the midst of a culture of secularism, unbelief, and great spiritual darkness. I have produced over 50 videos which will be used in this class. These videos are available for all to watch (Q&A for each video is also here). Parents are strongly encouraged to watch the videos and have conversations about them with students.
We will take the first few class sessions to look carefully at what the Bible has to say about the Gospel. We want each student to genuinely understand what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ.
We will also take a few class sessions to learn Scriptures that help us make sure that we know how to do effective Spiritual Warfare.
After covering what the Bible teaches abut the Gospel and Spiritual Warfare, we will spend the rest of the year looking at evidence that God has seen fit to give us for the resurrection of Jesus, as well as evidence from archaeology, from fulfilled prophecy, from New Testament Manuscripts, and from early church history. We will also consider evidence for creation from molecular biology, the second law of thermodynamics, and the fine-tuning of the universe. We will study some of the strange, irrational conclusions that many people reach about who Jesus really is. We will also study some of the world-views and belief systems that overwhelm many Christian students–like secular humanism and critical theory. We will deal with some of the tough questions often asked by secularists that students need to be able to handle–questions such as:
How do you know that the Bible can be trusted?
How can you be so sure that Jesus really rose from the dead?
Why are you Christians so intolerant?
Don’t you know that the Bible is full of errors, inaccuracies, and contradictions?
How can there be a good God with all the evil that is in the world?
How can you be so arrogant and unkind as to tell someone else that what they believe is wrong?
Don’t you realize that all real scientists recognize that evolution is an unquestioned fact?
Did you realize that the Bible is actually an evil book? It even advocates the slaughter of babies.
Why are you Christians so judgmental? Can’t you recognize that the beliefs of other people are just as valid as yours?
Don’t you realize that Christians have been responsible for most of the world’s problems? Have you ever heard of the Crusades? Or the witch trials? Or the Inquisition? Or slavery?
Warriors of Christ (Veritas) is a pass/fail class. Grades are based only on attendance and classroom participation. Missed classes may be made up. (See: “Making Up Missed Pass/Fail Classes” below.)
I also provide a list of questions and ansswers for each video that I urge parents to work through with students. These can be found at the link given above.
ACT Prep
I have many years experience teaching ACT prep at Tellico Plains High School and here at CCCS. I teach all four of the ACT areas of testing: Math, Science, English, and Reading. The primary focus will be on math, since many students need more help with math topics. I’ll teach students the best ways to tackle different kinds of ACT questions. Success in a course like this depends a great deal on how seriously students have taken their previous academic courses up until now. There’s no magic formula that will guarantee a high ACT score, but if students take it seriously, this course has the potential to make a significant difference. Since classroom time is limited to 2 hours a week, I will not take classroom time to take practice ACT tests. Sample tests (both online and in ACT prep books) can be done at home. Classroom time will be used to teach strategies for success, best ways to tackle specific ACT test questions, and answering student questions. This is a pass/fail course. Students will be graded only on attendance. The benefit to each student depends entirely on the student’s commitment to master these tactics, techniques, and, of course, subject matter.
No specific text is required, but a good ACT test prep book is recommended for home use.
ACT Prep is a pass/fail class. Grades are based only on attendance and classroom participation. Missed classes may be made up. (See: “Making Up Missed Pass/Fail Classes” below.)
Men and Women of the Bible
One very exciting way to study the Bible is to study the lives of the men and women that God tells us about in His Word. In this course, we examine the lives of over 80 different men and women of the Bible as we seek to learn what God has to teach us through their lives in His Word.
The only text we will be using in this class is the Holy Bible.
Men and Women of the Bible is a pass/fail class. Grades are based only on attendance and classroom participation. Missed classes may be made up. The following section explains how to do that.
Making Up Missed Pass/Fail Classes (Does NOT apply to Personal Finance!)
In Pass/Fail classes, when a student is present in class, he or she receives a grade of 100 for that day. When a student is absent, (or more than 20 minutes late) he or she receives a grade of zero. If a student is more than 10 minutes late, but less than 20 minutes late, he or she will receive a 50 for that day. If a student wishes to make up any missed class, he or she may watch the YouTube video at home for that class. Credit may be still be obtained for missed classes, but students must turn in a “Form for Credit for Missed Pass/Fail Class” for each class missed. I have paper forms I can give you when you get back to school. If you prefer, you may print the form yourself. You may even simply write out everything on a plain sheet of paper. Just make sure all the information that’s on the form is there!
Note that a parent must sign the form indicating that he or she has supervised the student’s viewing of the video and that the student seems to have a reasonably good understanding of the content. Parents are urged to watch videos with students so that videos can be discussed with students (as we would do in class). Parents are required to supervise students as they watch the video and discuss the 10 responses written by students.
A YouTube playlist of all class videos can be found here.
Dave Ramsey Personal Finance
This is Dave Ramsey’s course on Foundations in Personal Finance for Homeschool. This course teaches students how to manage money wisely and make good financial decisions in life.
The course includes chapters on: Saving, Budgeting, Debt, Life after High School, Consumer Awareness, Bargain Shopping, Investing and Retirement, Insurance, Money and Relationships, Careers and Taxes, and Giving.
We’ll be watching Dave Ramsey video presentations in class and discussing the material. Students will have to answer workbook questions about the material, complete activity hand-outs, and pass tests over each chapter. Parents must closely check assignments, then, when assignments are completed correctly, parents much sign or initial the top margin of each assignment. Students who turn in parent approved completed assignments will be given a completion grade of 100 for those assignments. Tests count 80% of grade. Tests may be retaken. See me to make arrangements for retakes. Lesson plans and assignments can be found here.
TEXT: Foundations in Personal Finance Workbook (2014 edition)
Links to Lesson Plans & Assignments
The following links take you to current lesson plans and assignments. Please be aware that in Pass/Fail classes these are guidelines. Various factors can lead to changes and revisions. Please note that from time to time (for example, after unexpected school closures) lesson plans may have to be updated. This can be especially important for classes that are not Pass/Fail (Personal Finance). Please check back frequently. If you have questions, you may call or text me at (423) 261-5562.
YouTube playlist of make-up videos can be found here
The videos in the above playlist are available for students who were unable to be present for a particular class meeting, as well as for students who need to have a second look at the material covered in a particular class.
Parents of Warriors of Christ students and parents of ACT Prep students may send me a text, email, or paper note letting me know their child has watched the video for a given day to avoid getting a zero for that day.
LESSON PLANS & ASSIGNMENTS
Warriors of Christ Lesson Plans
(Click here to see the Warriors of Christ Links to Videos & Questions)
Personal Finance (Dave Ramsey)
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More Links
Steve’s 2024-25 CCCS Letter of Introduction
Student Grades (requires password)
Cross Creek Christian School Website (Includes School Calendar)