Building
Minds
Great
Online Secular Social
Studies Curriculums
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What Parents are Saying...
"GAPro products are AMAZING! I cannot recommended GAPro highly enough! The world history course truly changed my son's relationship with the study of history. This program teaches history in an honest and engaging manner, is academic without being overwhelming, and inspires meaningful conversations & fascinating rabbit holes to fall down. From a parent perspective I love that it makes record keeping easy, that it can be as parent involved or hands-off as my child wants, and that all the videos, maps, readings, and assignments are included so I am not hunting down any additional materials. In all my years of homeschooling this is one of my absolute favorite homeschool finds ever. " ~ Kat Hutchinson of SEA Homeschoolers
SUMMER & FALL LIVE!
Schedule for Summer & Fall Classes '21-'22 Coming Soon (Late February).
Exciting New Line Up:
Summer: The Enlightenment, The 1800s, Personal Study Skills, Personal Finance
Fall/Spring: World History, American History, US Government, Economics, World/Human Geography, Holocaust & Modern Genocides
College Prep Course Work
GAPro Courses serve students who are in late middle school to early high school. These courses act as a transition step, building "college ready" skills using social studies content. Students finish the courses with the tools needed to enroll into Community College or Universities.
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College Ready Skills include: Critical thinking, non-fiction reading & note taking, listening, studying, comparative analysis, timed writing, & essay/research writing.
Currently serving families in 35 States & 3 Countries
Rich
Content
GLOBAL
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Secular Social Studies. All courses promote fact-based, bias free learning. Students are presented with facts and multiple perspectives. Students also learn about tools to draw their own conclusions and support the conclusions with evidence.
NOTE: The courses do teach about ALL major (and most minor) world religions and political perspectives. However, the courses do not endorse, promote, evangelize, or discriminate for or against any one religion. -
Every Region, Every Voice. All courses promote diverse perspectives from around the globe, seeking to avoid a Euro-Centric or American-Centric mindset. They also emphasize the "Lost Voices" of society including: Women, LBGTQ+, First Nations and Ethnic Minorities.
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Cross Curricular Instruction. Every course contains: Primary & Secondary sources, poetry/literature, art, maps, geography, architecture, videos, activities, & projects.
Simple
For Parents
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Everything is Included. All needed readings, lessons, videos, questions, maps... Everything is prepackaged through the course website. The course is hosted on Canvas - a Learning Management System (LMS) used by many colleges. No extra purchases are required.
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Sign In & Go! Using Canvas, students just sign in & go! All lessons are laid out in order and ready to go. No complex charts, extra prep, or gathering resources.
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Powerful Parent Guides. Life is busy. Many parents do not have the time to read and research into the all of the course topics within each of their child's courses. with GAPro, each unit has a rich parent guide that provides a summary of the lessons' topics, along with a range of potentially correct answers.
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Structured Flexibility. The GAPro layout allows parents to bend and mold the course material to meet their family's needs. Parents are in full control with the parent guides, lesson formats, and online structure. Already covered a topic? In a time crunch and need to trim? Want to pause and go deeper into a topic? With GAPro, the answer is always yes .
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Assessments Made Easy. Each unit provides a test administered through Canvas. The test is automatically graded, giving instant feedback and retest opportunities. The scores are kept in a grade book for easy record keeping.
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Never Alone. GAPro provides support every step of the way - including technical & content assistance if there are problems or something is not crystal clear.
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Satisfaction Guaranteed. GAPro has a 100% satisfaction guarantee. If you are not satisfied within 30 days of your purchase, you can receive a 100% no-questions asked refund.
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Do You have a Co-Op or Charter? GAPro can setup a special version of the course for your group. Within the course, students can interact on message boards virtually with other members of the Co-Op/Charter. E-Mail MGrether@gapro.me for more details.
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Charter Vendor. GAPro is an approved vendor within the following Charter School systems. If your charter is not listed below, contact GAPro
( mgrether@gapro.me ) about your charter and we can explore the process of becoming a Vendor.-
iLead Exploration (Hybrid, Lancaster, SCVI, Agua Dulce) - Must initiate the purchase through your Educator Facilitator
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Just Sign in & Go!
Powerful Parent Guides
Courses
World History: Act 1 & Act 2
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Overview. World History is a survey course that explores the beginning of time all the way to the modern-day. This course focuses on the broad themes, story lines, and trends within each era; analyzing case studies that exemplify these themes. The courses focus less on 'name and date,' and more upon the important trends, patterns, and impactful events that have shaped humanity. Each unit begins with the broad 10,000 foot overview before diving into the "depths" of specific people, events, art, or literature that exemplifies these key historical threads.
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Act 1 - Beginning of Time through 1492. Act 1 explores the development of the human story: from humanity's origin as hunter-gatherers through the development of regional empires, finishing with the age of exploration. Students will purposefully examine the political, economic and cultural development of each region of the world. This course can be completed in either 1 Semester (4-5 days per week) or 1 Year (2-3 days per week). On its own, the course is ~100-120 hours of work (equal to 1 Credits). Cost $55 (for 1 year access). [Course Syllabus]
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Act 2 - 1492 through Today. Act 2 explores the story of human globalization. Students analyze the forces that have altered and shaped the modern world, from the birth of European exploration through the interconnected networks of the 21st Century. This course can be completed in either 1 Semester (4-5 days per week) or 1 Year (2-3 days per week). On its own, the course is ~100-120 hours of work (equal to 1 Credits). Cost $55 (for 1 year access). [Course Syllabus]
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Who Should Take This Class?. Act 1 & Act 2 are aimed at the "Starting Formal History" Student to the "Moderately Informed." This could be an advanced 7th grader through 10th grade. These courses are built to provide a structure for understanding the major themes of World History in every region of the world while introducing Critical Thinking, Historical Thinking and College Ready skills. In the process, the course seeks to create "starting points" of interests that students will want to further explore.
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Bundle Deal! Purchase Act 1 & Act 2 together for $100 (Families receive 2 years access to the courses). Together, Act 1 & Act two are built to be completed in 1 school year (4-5 days per week) or 2 years (2-3 days per week). With just the provided materials, Act 1 & Act 2 are intended for a combined 180 hours of instruction, equal to 1 credit. If Parents supplement with extra readings or research, the course can be expanded to 2 credits.
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Multiple Children: GAPro offers a 2nd Child discount
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Please contact Mr. Grether at MGrether@gapro.me with your specific situation. Mr. Grether will arrange a specialized invoice or coupon code that can match your families needs.
Purchase Options
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What Parents are Saying...
"My 10th grader is taking the Student-Led version of GAPro World History. I have been so impressed by how secular it is. If I had the time to put together a World History curriculum, it would have been exactly this. We love the layout on Canvas. It is very easy to use. I think it is deep and interesting. "
Courses
Modern Global Studies
Equivelent to World Geography or AP Human Geography
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Understanding Your World. Modern Global Studies is an in-depth look at life in 2020. The course leads students through a critical analysis of the human experience to understand how the world works today: Where does your next meal come from? How does your food get from farms to your table? How are women treated around the world? Why are cities set up the way they are?​
Students will walk away from the course with a deep understanding of the interconnected nature of the 21st century. They will also develop college-ready literacy and study skills. -
See the World Through New Lenses. The course will look at the human experience through eight lenses:
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Economics and Development
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Gender
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Population, Demographics, and Migration
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Culture, Language, and Religion
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Political Institutions
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Agricultural Systems
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Globalized Industrialization
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Urbanization​​
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Who Should Take This Class?. Modern Global Studies is built for a student who is transitioning to the "College Level" challenge. This could be an advanced 9th grader through 12th grader. The course aims at building those "College Ready" critical thinking and writing skills. The course averages 13-18 pages of reading per lesson, along with writing assignments and data collection/analysis projects. The course tackles advanced, abstract concepts that are fascinating and important, but younger students may struggle to grasp (Ex: Models of Global Economic Development, Urban Development Planning, Agricultural Land Use, Bid-Rent Theory). This class is a great "Just before starting college" course.
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Course Length & Credits. This course can be completed in 1 Year (4-5 days per week). It CAN be completed in 1 semester, but the student would need 90-120 + minutes a day to do so. This course is built to be 1 credit (180 hours of instruction over ~135 lessons).
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AP® Option. By taking Modern Global Studies, students will be prepared to take the AP® Human Geography exam if they choose. AP® Exams are standardized tests that allow students the opportunity to earn college credit. While not a requirement of the course, Mr. Grether has prepared over 500 students for the AP® Human Geography exam. Mr. Grether has served as a AP® Human Geography grader. Upon completion of the course students will have the knowledge and skills needed to have a chance to be successful on the exam. (A passing score is not guaranteed).
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Cost. $75 (1 Year Access)
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What You Get...
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9 Units of Content. The Complete Course, with unit pacing guides, and self-grading tests for easy record keeping.​ Academic skill builder & final research project also included.
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Over 135 Uniquely Crafted Lesson. Including readings, videos, news articles, essays, research projects, & community exploration activities. All setup & Ready from Day 1!
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No prep work for parents. Just sign up, sign in, and go.
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Included Textbook. 712 colorful pages, with pictures, maps, graphs, tables, charts and applications. (PDF Format)
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Robust Parent Guides. Activity answers are detailed in the guide so the parent does not have to read or watch everything with the students.
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Multiple Children: GAPro offers a 2nd Child discount
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Please contact Mr. Grether at MGrether@gapro.me with your specific situation. Mr. Grether will arrange a specialized invoice or coupon code that can matches your family's needs.
Purchase
Options
FUTURE COURSES BEING DEVELOPED
COMING LATE '21
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Coming Late 2021 - Early 2022!
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Overview. American History. Is the story of the USA one of a City on a Hill, a Bastion of Democracy to the World, and the Champion of Industrialized Capitalism? Or is it the Global Empire built on stolen land and corporate corruption, using the tools of slavery, oppression, and genocide?
The answer is yes...and no. Well, maybe... it's complicated.
Light and Shadow is a social history that steps into the tension of this complexity. The course highlights the truly remarkable things that have happened in the USA and also the story lines that lurk in the shadows. From the heights of industrial ingenuity, phenomenal wealth, space travel, and the internet... to the depths of eugenics, redlining, Tulsa Riots, internment camps, and indigenous genocide. Light and Shadow will take students on a truly unique and unforgettable historical journey that continues to shape and impact the modern world. In the process students will develop college-ready skill sets to prepare them for the "next level" of education or careers.
Particular attention is paid to amplify the "Lost Voices" that have been muted - the triumphs and tragedies of the Indigenous Nations, the long struggle of Black People in America, the painful journey of Women, the crashing waves of immigrants filling America's shores, and the fight of the LBGTQ community to emerge "from the closet." -
Options, Options, Options. Light and Shadow will have two Acts: Act 1 from the Beginning of time through the Civil War. Act 2 from Reconstruction through Today. There will be a Basic Level, Advanced Level (for those seeking to take the AP US History Exam), and a Deluxe Level that will integrate in the history of Canada and Latin America (Meso-America, Caribbean, and Central/South America)
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Be the First to Hear about the release! Sign up to receive updates!
Michael Grether is the founder of Global Academic Productions, LLC. Mr. Grether has four children that he and his wife homeschool. Mr. Grether has served as a Public School World History teacher in Raleigh, North Carolina for over ten years - having taught thousands of students from the 6th through 12th grades of all ability levels. He has specifically taught World History for 12 years and AP Human Geography for 6 years; both in Face-to-Face and Online settings for North Carolina Virtual Public School. He has also worked with College Board as an AP Reader/Grader for the Human Geography Exam in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 2019, Mr. Grether was Rolesville High School's Teacher of the Year and Wake County's Finalist (Top 10) for WCPSS Teacher of the Year [WCPSS is the #13 Largest School District in the USA with over 10,000 teachers]. He is also the 2019 WRAL's Runner-Up Teacher of the Year (for a 6 County Region) and the National Society for High School Scholars Claes Nobel's Educator of Distinction and Runner Up for Educator of the Year in 2020.
Mr. Grether has a Bachelor's in Education and a Double Minor in History and Political Science from Ohio University. He also has his Master's Degree in Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment from Walden University where he was Cum Sum Laude. Mr. Grether has been writing curriculum for over ten years, having written three full curriculums and two complete e-textbooks. His products have earned 3.9 out of 4 star reviews on Teacher-Pay-Teacher. He was previously a 2x finalist for Teacher of the Year at Leesville Middle. Michael Grether has presented multiple times at the North Carolina Social Studies Conference as well as leading Wake County Professional Development Sessions. In 2018, Mr. Grether spoke at the SEA Homeschool Conference in Atlanta about Creating College Ready Readers. In 2019, Mr. Grether spoke at the AP Annual Conference in Orlando.
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About Michael Grether
