Homeschool Research Skills Curriculum, 12-Week AI Tutor Guide, Honors Level Research and Argument, Ages 13 to 18, PDF

"Honors" isn't more homework; it's a different kind of thinking: pose your own real question, weigh evidence honestly, steelman the other side, and defend a conclusion that's actually yours. This is a done-for-you 12-week plan that teaches that skill directly, using an AI tutor as the research mentor most students never get. Layers onto any subject, and paces up toward an IB Extended Essay-style piece or down to a first independent project.

FORMAT
Self-paced, 12 weeks. You lead one fully scripted ~60-minute session each week, with every step timed and written out for you, so no subject expertise is needed. Works with any modern AI chat assistant (ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, Gemini); free versions are enough, and the guide's opening section walks a complete beginner through setup in about five minutes.

WHAT YOU GET
• 12 ready-to-run weekly sessions. Each one: the big idea in plain language, a concrete worked example, a minute-by-minute plan for the hour, and a "show me" checkpoint that proves it landed.
• A "Never used an AI chat assistant? Start here" section: what an AI assistant is, which free ones to use, how to paste a prompt, and what to do when it goes sideways. Written for someone who has never opened a chatbot.
• AI-tutor prompts built into every step: labeled boxes you hand straight to the AI. They hold the tutor to coaching rather than doing the work, which is the whole difference between learning and watching.
• Four rescue prompts for the predictable failure modes: stuck, the AI is doing it for them, work that has plateaued, and "did they actually understand that?"
• Three formats in one download: a PDF to read, an HTML copy for the browser, and the plain Markdown file you can hand to an AI as the course syllabus.

THE 12 WEEKS
1. What Makes Work "Honors"
2. Finding a Real Question
3. What Counts as Evidence
4. Reading Like a Researcher
5. Designing the Inquiry
6. Gathering Evidence I
7. Analyzing: From Evidence to Claim
8. The Strongest Counterargument
9. Structuring the Argument
10. Drafting the Original Work
11. Revising and Defending
12. Present and Defend, and the Next Question

WHO IT'S FOR
Parents, teachers, and homeschoolers guiding an honors, advanced, or IB-track student aged roughly 13-18, in any subject. Also a strong fit for a motivated student who wants to work independently and be taken seriously.

WHY THIS INSTEAD OF A FREE CHATBOT
A raw chatbot will happily do the work for the student, which teaches nothing. This pack ships the structure a chatbot lacks: a real 12-week arc, prompts that make the tutor ask before it tells, guardrails that stop it handing over finished answers, and checkpoints that prove the student can do it themselves.

FAQ
• Do I need to know this subject? No. The AI explains; you keep the pace and the momentum. Every session comes with the exact prompt to start it.
• Which AI does it use? Any modern AI chat assistant: ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot or Gemini. Free versions are enough, and the guide sets a first-timer up in five minutes.
• Is my child's data collected? No. This is a digital guide sold to you, the adult. There's no login and no child account; you run and supervise each session under your own account.
• Does it work outside the US? Yes. The guide is written in US English, and every weekly launch prompt tells the AI to use your country or region (given, inferred, or asked) for spelling, units, money, school terms, and examples. For anything that varies by place, the guide has the tutor point your learner to official local sources.

WHAT'S IN THE DOWNLOAD
• honors-guide.pdf: the full 12-week guide, easy to read on any phone, tablet, or computer
• honors-ai-copy.md: the same guide as plain text, to hand straight to your AI chat assistant
• Placement check (Does Your Student Know How to Research, or Just How to Find Sources That Agree With Them?): a 15-minute AI chat that scores where your learner stands and names the week to start at, as a prompt to paste and a printable card
• READ-ME-FIRST.txt: which file is which

Instant digital download. Nothing is shipped.

AI disclosure: I guided the main portion; AI executed some parts for me.