Classical Tragedies is an online high school course offered through Progress Academy as part of their high school membership package. The course is worth ½ of a Language Arts or Elective credit. This was a perfect level for my 9th grade son, who was somewhat new to note-taking and essay writing.

Classical Tragedies is designed to be completed in 17 weekly units, but can be worked at the student's personal pace. With each unit, students are given a link to a video, links to articles, and a worksheet that corresponds with each day's study. Students are also given a list of vocabulary words to write out each week and journal questions to work through.

Unit 1: Establishes the definition and history of Tragedy. This ends with a two-page writing project.

Units 2 and 3: Students read Aristotle's Poetics. Unit 2 helps students understand and recognize the elements of tragic plot, character, and thought, as defined by Aristotle. Unit 3 has a built-in review day, which is a nice mid-week relief when working through some heavy stuff! This week also includes a two-page research paper.

Units 4 and 5: Students learn about Sophocles and read Oedipus Rex. Unit 5 includes a writing assignment in the form of a newspaper for the town of Thebes, including five articles relevant to the play they have been reading.

Units 6 and 7: Students read Oedipus at Colonus.

Units 8 and 9: Students work through Antigone and then complete a 2-3 page writing project.

Unit 10: Students learn about Euripides and read Cyclops. A writing assignment is given at the end of the week for a 3-page story taking Cyclops on a new adventure.

Unit 11: Students continue studying Euripides and read Helena.

Unit 12: Students learn about Aeschylus and read Prometheus Bound.

Unit 13: Students read Aeschylus' Agammemnon.

Units 14 and 15: Students learn about Shakespeare and read Hamlet. This section has an interesting twist; students are asked to write an obituary notice for every character that has died in the play.

Units 16 and 17: Students write a 3-5 page research paper and create a PowerPoint for a presentation. These units carefully walk students through each step of the process, which is very helpful for those new to formal writing.

While I know some high school students might find the writing assignments too easy, others will find it challenging. My son needed the extra help that each unit provided and I feel it was a good fit.  

Classical Tragedies is one of many elective courses offered in Progress Academy's High School curriculum. Progress Academy offers classes for all ages, from kindergarten through 12th grade. Their versatile programs allow you to enroll a student for a flat yearly subscription. Once subscribed, you have full access to any and all of the classes that fit your needs. These subscriptions cost $895 for a one-time payment, or a bit more if you choose to break this into installment payments. Family discounts are available. Progress Academy will give a free pass to anyone interested in previewing the school site before making a purchase.

I did have a few hiccups with the Classical Tragedies class. In the second lesson, my son watched a short video and then tried to answer the corresponding worksheet questions. He asked for help, insisting the answers were never mentioned in the video. I admit I may have admonished him for not paying better attention. After a few frustrating tries at this, I finally sat down with him to watch the video and help him find the answers. He was right. The video did not in any way match the worksheet. I emailed the company and they fixed it a couple weeks later. In the meantime, I wasn't sure if I should let him proceed or not because he did not possess the necessary information, and it was a foundation unit. I was notified once that my submission had been received, but I was not notified that the problem was fixed; we just had to keep checking. There were several broken links within Classical Tragedies, making me wonder if, perhaps, it is not a class that sees many students. When there is an error on a page, parents can click on a button at the top of the page to send a notification to the administrators. This is very convenient if you are a parent already logged in. Unfortunately, it is usually the student who finds the errors and they do not have access via their accounts to send notifications. This requires logging the student out and the teacher in to send a notification, and then logging the teacher out and the student in so the student can proceed with their work. That process rather negates the convenience of having a notify button.

Overall, that inconvenience is minor, and well worth the rest of the class benefits. I loved that the entire semester was lined out for my student, but still omitting dates, so that we could stay flexible for holidays and sick days, yet make them up on Saturdays when necessary. I loved that we could access the class from anywhere, because it is all online. I love that the reading portions are broken up into daily reading assignments, with review questions to be sure certain students comprehend what they read. I truly loved the writing assignments that challenged, but did not overwhelm, my reluctant writer. This is a class that I would love to use with the rest of my students when they are older, and it is a class I would happily recommend to other families.