brendafromtenn Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 O.K. ya'll you should never go to a curriculum fair when you have already decided on what you will be doing for the year!!! Or at least you should go with blinders on.....:) Anyway, I was able to see Biology Matters from Singapore this past weekend. Can anyone tell me about the rigor of this course? I loved the layout of the book, from what I could see....But don't know much about it.... We have used Apologia in the past....with older ds #1....But it is not our favorite. So, I had been looking at other options. And had looked at BJU Biology too, but it is too much for dd #1. Blessings, Brenda:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAR120C Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 Can anyone tell me about the rigor of this course? I loved the layout of the book, from what I could see....But don't know much about it.... I'm obviously not speaking from experience here, but I've looked at it fairly closely, so I'll tell you what I've gathered... First, it's a slightly different scope-and-sequence than US Biology texts will use. Less "content", possibly more critical thinking. Not as much emphasis on vocabulary (which could be good or bad...) but a lot of emphasis on applying what you've learned to experiment design. So for instance after a section on rates of photosynthesis under different conditions, the student gets to show what he's learned in a lab where he has a question to answer and access to materials but no explicit directions. I really like that part! On the content end, there are a few areas I think could use beefing up, but it's easy enough to supplement that. There are sidebars in (almost?) every chapter that can be expanded into short research/writing assignments, and in addition to that I have a test prep book for the Biology SAT2 test, which I plan to refer to for any area I need to add... I've not sat down to do that yet, but it appears from first glance that it won't be too much to do. (I'm willing to let that slide if it turns out they don't share enough material, but DS is on the young side and should be doing another round of biology later, probably AP). Our main emphasis this coming year is going to be the lab notebook, which isn't explicitly required by Biology Matters (there's a practical book like a workbook, which serves as a lab notebook, but I'm making DS do a separate one...) His homework before any lab day is to prepare his notebook for recording what he finds, and then writing up the analysis and conclusions after the lab is completed. Also careful drawing of what he sees, for dissections and microscope work. If DS were older I'd be slightly more hesitant to use a non-US textbook without some supplementing. I think the Singapore texts are excellent, but whether they cover everything that would be expected from high school science in the US, I'm not completely sure. Once I sit down with the test prep book I should be able to say with more certainty... There are definitely areas that would need more emphasis but how much extra work that would be I don't really know yet. If you have any specific questions, I have the books right here and I could try to answer... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan C. Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 but a lot of emphasis on applying what you've learned to experiment design. So for instance after a section on rates of photosynthesis under different conditions, the student gets to show what he's learned in a lab where he has a question to answer and access to materials but no explicit directions. I really like that part! My son came home during first semester of college. (Homeschooling, we did mostly Apologia.) He had two days to research a subject for an experiment, none of the information was given. And come up with his own experiment to prove something about it. And then, write a lab research report in less than a week, including diagrams and stats. This happened every week. This was a huge jump from what we did in Apologia...... Apologia did provide great foundational knowledge which was very useful, but wasn't near this rigorous... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 My son came home during first semester of college. (Homeschooling, we did mostly Apologia.) He had two days to research a subject for an experiment, none of the information was given. And come up with his own experiment to prove something about it. And then, write a lab research report in less than a week, including diagrams and stats. This happened every week. This was a huge jump from what we did in Apologia...... Apologia did provide great foundational knowledge which was very useful, but wasn't near this rigorous... This makes me even happier that dd is doing RS4K Chem II before she starts Conceptual Chemistry. She has to design and do her own labs based on some parameters given in the lab book. I'd guess that that would be less of a jump, and now we'll have to see what she can do in high school along those lines at some point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 Anyway, I was able to see Biology Matters from Singapore this past weekend. Can anyone tell me about the rigor of this course? : The book would normally used for a two-year course, from ages 14 to 16, leading to the O-level exam. The latter is roughly equivalent (although the content tends to be slightly deeper and less broad) to a SAT II subject exam. Best wishes Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 The book would normally used for a two-year course, from ages 14 to 16, leading to the O-level exam. The latter is roughly equivalent (although the content tends to be slightly deeper and less broad) to a SAT II subject exam. Best wishes Laura Thanks--this is good to know. Have you used this? Is it a good program? We still haven't decided what we're going to do for high school science. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 I haven't used it. I did O-levels when I was at school (it used to be the exam used in the UK as well) but I didn't use the Singapore course. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brendafromtenn Posted June 17, 2009 Author Share Posted June 17, 2009 Thank you to all who posted information about this series. It has been very helpful. Blessings, Brenda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cimhog Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 I haven't used the Biology matters yet. But I am using Chemistry matter now. It is precise, concepts are explained very clearly... I love it. However, it doesn't cover everything. So I supplement with a standard US textbook and some youtube videos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 I haven't used it. I did O-levels when I was at school (it used to be the exam used in the UK as well) but I didn't use the Singapore course. Laura I haven't used the Biology matters yet. But I am using Chemistry matter now. It is precise, concepts are explained very clearly... I love it. However, it doesn't cover everything. So I supplement with a standard US textbook and some youtube videos. Thanks to both of you. (I can't multiquote, but I found a long way around it.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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