Curriculum Coordinator and Learning Strategist

Dr. Karen McCloskey

MA, PhD, QM Quality Matters

LVV4U

Grade 12

University Preparation

Classical Civilization

Find additional course details below, including delivery format, course availability, course duration, prerequisite, tuition fee, hardware/software requirements, etc.

LVV4U

Grade 12

University Preparation

Classical Civilization

Find additional course details below, including delivery format, course availability, course duration, prerequisite, tuition fee, hardware/software requirements, etc.

Course Details

Course Code

LVV4U

Course Name

Classical Civilization

Grade

Grade 12

Course Type

University Preparation

Format

Asynchronous Delivery

Prerequisite

English, Grade 10, Academic, or Classical Languages, Level 2, University Preparation

Tuition Fee

$500.00

Course Duration

At Your Own Pace (4 weeks to 6 months)

Credit Value

1.0

Availability

Start Anytime

Course Reviser/Developer

Dr. Karen McCloskey

Latest Revision Date

July 2026

Curriculum

LVV4U – The Ontario Curriculum, Classical Studies and International Languages, Grades 9-12, 2016 (Revised)

Course Description, Unit Overview, Timeline

The ancient Greeks and Romans built one of the most influential civilizations in human history. Their myths shaped how people understood love, death, and the nature of the gods. Their philosophers invented questions we are still trying to answer. Their engineers built roads and aqueducts that lasted two thousand years. Their stories, their ruins, and their ideas are still part of the world you live in today. LVV4U is where you learn to read all of it. Across four units you will work with primary sources in translation, from Homer and Sophocles to Plato and Ovid, analyse physical evidence from sites like Pompeii, and trace the reach of classical civilization into the modern world. You will develop the research and writing skills that university-level humanities work demands: how to formulate a question, how to evaluate evidence, and how to build an argument and defend it in writing.

Each unit builds toward an analytical essay or presentation. The course ends with a Classical Inquiry Essay on a question you choose and a Final Exam.

Outlined below is a description of each unit, including what students will learn and the recommended hours for completion.

Unit Title & Description

Time Allocated

Unit 1: Mythology, Literature, and the Classical Imagination

The myths of ancient Greece and Rome were not entertainment. They explained where the world came from, why seasons change, what the gods wanted, and what it cost to be human. In Unit 1 you study those myths in their original context, then trace how they shaped the literary forms that defined storytelling ever since: epic poetry, tragedy, comedy, and lyric verse. You also learn the research and analytical skills that carry through the entire course.

25 Hours

Unit 2: History, Geography, and the Classical World

Athens invented democracy and then went to war with every city that disagreed with it. Rome built the most powerful empire in the ancient world and then tore itself apart from the inside. In Unit 2 you trace the political and social history of the classical world from the first Greek city-states to the fall of Rome, studying how geography shaped what was possible, how leaders made and broke power, and why these decisions still echo in modern institutions.

25 Hours

Unit 3: Philosophy, Religion, and Classical Thought

Socrates said the unexamined life is not worth living and then died for refusing to stop examining. Plato said reality is a shadow on the wall of a cave. Aristotle said you have to look at the actual world. In Unit 3 you work through the major schools of classical philosophy, the religious traditions of Greece and Rome, and the story of how a small Jewish sect from Roman-occupied Judaea became the official religion of the empire. These ideas built the foundations of Western thought.

25 Hours

Unit 4: Material Culture, Archaeology, and Classical Legacy

Pompeii was buried alive in 79 CE and excavated almost two thousand years later. What came out of the ground tells us more about how Romans actually lived than any written source. In Unit 4 you work with physical evidence: the art, architecture, engineering, and artefacts the Greeks and Romans left behind. You learn how archaeology developed from treasure-hunting into rigorous science, analyse an object directly, and grapple with the ethical questions that arise when we dig up and display someone else’s past.

25 Hours

Final Exam/Culminating Task

Students choose a significant question from anywhere in the course, gather sources, and write a Classical Inquiry Essay and complete a Final Exam covering all four units.

10 Hours

Total Hours

110 Hours

Teaching and Learning Strategies

At Royal Ontario Academy, our asynchronous, self-paced courses are crafted to engage students actively, encouraging deep learning and self-reflection. Our online OSSD courses are normally divided into 8-10 smaller sections to help students learn content in manageable portions. Lessons connect concepts to practical, relatable social, environmental, and economic issues, fostering lifelong learning by helping students apply knowledge to real-life contexts.

Students are encouraged to explore, investigate, and think critically as they progress independently. This approach emphasizes problem-solving skills, guiding students to persist through challenges, reason through complex ideas, and explore alternative solutions on their own, building resilience and independence essential for success beyond the classroom.

Our virtual high school courses provide a variety of learning experiences through virtual labs, simulations, knowledge checks, reflections, and videos. Interactive activities and discussion forums are designed to draw on students prior knowledge, keeping them engaged and actively participating. These tools enable OSSD students to practice, reflect, and apply concepts flexibly at their own pace, creating a personalized learning journey tailored to each student’s interests and goals.

Assessment and Evaluation

A wide variety of assessment and evaluation tools will be used to earn credits towards the Ontario Secondary School Diploma at Royal Ontario Academy, including quizzes, tests, projects, essays, journals, and final assessments. The final exam is a closed-book, online test that is proctored and has a time limit. Students may also be required to appear on video for other assessments in certain courses.

At Royal Ontario Academy, the final mark in every course is made up of three parts:

65% is based on coursework completed throughout the online course.
25% is based on a final evaluation.
10% is based on attendance and participation, reflecting consistent weekly engagement with the course.

Depending on the course, the final evaluation may be a proctored written exam, a culminating task such as a project, essay, or presentation, or a combination of both. Attendance and participation reflects how consistently a student engages with their learning each week, and excused absences approved by the Principal do not lower this part of the mark.

Students will receive two reports per course:

First Report (Midterm): Issued when the student reaches the halfway point of the course. It reflects achievement and development to that point, including attendance and participation.
Final Report: Reflects overall achievement and development for the entire course, including attendance and participation.

This course follows the current Growing Success requirements, including the mandatory assessment and evaluation updates that take effect in the 2026-2027 school year. According to Growing Success: Assessment, Evaluation, and Reporting in Ontario Schools, the primary purpose of assessment and evaluation is to improve student learning. To ensure that assessment, evaluation, and reporting are valid and reliable, and that they lead to the improvement of learning for all students, Royal Ontario Academy teachers use practices and procedures that:

are fair, transparent, and equitable for all students;
support all students, including those with special education needs, those who are learning the language of instruction (English or French), and those who are First Nation, Metis, or Inuit;
are carefully planned to relate to the curriculum expectations and learning goals and, as much as possible, to the interests, learning styles and preferences, needs, and experiences of all students;
are communicated clearly to students and parents at the beginning of the course and at other appropriate points throughout the course;
are ongoing, varied in nature, and administered over a period of time to provide multiple opportunities for students to demonstrate the full range of their learning;
provide ongoing descriptive feedback that is clear, specific, meaningful, and timely to support improved learning and achievement;
develop students’ self-assessment skills to enable them to assess their own learning, set specific goals, and plan next steps for their learning.

Accommodations and IEP for Students

At Royal Ontario Academy, we believe that all OSSD students can benefit from a more accommodating online learning experience Accommodations allow for increased access to the course, without any changes to the knowledge and skills the student is expected to demonstrate.

An Individual Education Plan (IEP)is a personalized document that outlines a student’s learning needs, as well as the accommodations or services they require to succeed in their courses. At Royal Ontario Academy, our flexible online learning environment already addresses many common accommodation needs, but if a student requires additional support, our Principal is ready to help you!

– Students with Existing IEP: If a student has an existing IEP from another elementary or secondary school, Royal Ontario Academy can implement the listed accommodations, provided they are applicable within our online learning environment. To do so, a copy of the student’s IEP must be submitted to our Principal for review.

– Students Without IEP: If a student requires accommodations but does not currently have an IEP, our Principal will work with the student to assess their learning needs and develop a path forward. In this case, students will need to submit supporting documentation to help determine the appropriate accommodations.

– English Language Learners:– English Language Learners: Students who enroll at Royal Ontario Academy can provide information about their English language proficiency during the registration process. This information helps our teachers and Principal to tailor their teaching strategies and implement accommodations that support English language learners effectively.

For students and parents wishing to submit IEP documentation or request accommodations, please contact our Principal at info@royalontarioacademy.com

Resources Required by the Student

Students should have the following minimum hardware and software requirements to access the Advanced Functions
Minimum Technical Specifications

Hardware

A PC running Windows XP or higher or
A Mac running OS X or
A Chromebook running Chrome OS
2GB of RAM
High speed internet connection
A sound card with speakers or headphones
A functional webcam and microphone

Software

Adobe Reader
Java
A typical Office Suite including a word processor application, equation editor and spreadsheets

Browser

Mozilla Firefox4 or higher or
Internet Explorer 7 or higher or
Safari 5 or higher or
Google Chrome 11 or higher
In some cases, a scanner or phone/camera may be used to submit handwritten assignments.

Do students need any additional resources (i.e. textbooks)?

Every student in a virtual high school needs access to a desktop computer or laptop with high-speed internet and word processing software.

Any additional course-specific resources (i.e., calculators, software downloads, etc.) are listed on the individual course outline pages on our website.

All Royal Ontario Academy online course content is contained within our moodle learning management system, so no textbooks are required. For English courses and some social science/humanities courses, students may be required to locate copies of novels and plays that are readily available at public libraries or bookstores.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is LVV4U?
LVV4U is a Grade 12 Classical Civilization course at University Preparation level.

2. What are 4U – (eg: 3M in AWQ3M (LVV4U))
4U for the LVV4U refers to the grade level and the course type. 4 refers to the 12th Grade and the second digit refers to the University Preparation course type.

3. What is the prerequisite for LVV4U?
The prerequisite for Classical Civilization is Any English, Grade 10, Academic, or Classical Languages, Level 2, University Preparation

4. How long does it take to complete the LVV4U online course?
The completion of the LVV4U course varies depending on the pace of each student. However, the course can be completed in as little as 4 weeks up to a maximum of 6 months. Longer timelines are available on approval by the Principal.

5. Will my marks be sent directly to OUAC or OCAS?
Yes. We can send your LVV4U online course marks to OUAC (Ontario University’ Application Centre) or OCAS (Ontario College Application Service).

6. How lessons are delivered for the LVV4U?
At Royal Ontario Academy, course learning is asynchronously delivered for the LVV4U in various formats such as videos, question and answers, interactive tools, written notes, simulations, presentations, and external websites/links depending on the subject material of the course.

7. What is the withdrawal policy?
For students registered in Grade 9 and 10 courses, withdrawals can be made at any time and are not recorded on the Ontario Student Transcript (OST).
For students registered in Grade 11 and 12 courses, withdrawals made within 5 days of the issuance of the first (mid-term) report card from Royal Ontario Academy will result in the mark not being recorded on the Ontario Student Transcript (OST). Withdrawals after 5 days of the issuance of the first (mid term) report card will result in a “”W”” being entered in the “”Credit”” column of the OST, along with the mark at the time of withdrawal.

8. What is the due date of my course?
Since your course is self-paced, there are no set due dates, allowing you to progress at your own speed. However, please be mindful of any deadlines for university or college applications.

9. Can I earn my OSSD (Ontario secondary school diploma) credits through online courses?
Yes, you can earn your Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) credits fully online through Royal Ontario Academy. To earn OSSD credits, you will need to complete 30 credits (18 compulsory and 12 optional), pass the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test, and fulfill 40 hours of community involvement.

Canadian Course Pricing

$500

/ 1 course

$900

/ 2 courses

$1275

/ 3 courses

Start your learning journey with us.

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Classical Civilization