Rhea Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 Greetings, My 9th grader was going to take science at the local ps this year, but has asked if she can take it at home. I've no idea what my options are as I didn't think she would be doing biology at home so I didn't research it at all. I'm feeling a bit panicked. I did read over TWTM on 9th biology. Any opinions/experience on Wiley's guide for Biology or the Biology Projects for Young Scientists? What are my other options for a college bound student? Thank you so much, Rhea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhea Posted August 7, 2009 Author Share Posted August 7, 2009 Please tell me what you are using for Biology (high school level) and why you chose it? I have searched these boards, but it brings up every occurrence of biology - and biology is mentioned a LOT in sig lines. :tongue_smilie: Rhea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle in AL Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 Do you want a secular or Christian text? Many recommend Exploring Life. Can't remember if Holt or Prentice Hall puts it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan C. Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 I am on the second student for Apologia Biology and really like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 I am going to be using BJU Biology with the DIVE CD. DD is unsure yet about her career field and may want to pursue the medical field so I want a very rigorous yet less memorization based program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lolly Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 BJU with their DVDs. It went smashingly well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicmom Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 Both my dc used Apologia Biology. It worked really well for us and they both liked it. It's designed for homeschool use, so is neatly laid out to cover 32 weekds, and the text style mimics what a student would get in a classroom lecture as well as text material. The labs were also very doable at home (even the dissections). My dc were able to work very independently with it, and dh (with more science background than I) was impressed with the content. There's a CD-ROM with helpful supplemental material (videos, demos, etc.) and on the Apologia website there are links to a number of fascinating sites for biology topics. Another bonus I noticed last year when my dd used it--it teaches good study skills via the study guide that comes at the end of each module before the test. Dd always stressed over these and worked really hard on them--the result was she aced every test! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corraleno Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 Please tell me what you are using for Biology (high school level) and why you chose it? If you are looking for secular materials, I highly recommend Campbell's Biology: Exploring Life. It's an excellent (and very popular) intro-level biology text, clearly written and very well illustrated. It's published by Pearson Prentice Hall and you can find used copies fairly inexpensively. If you have a PC running XP, the CD that goes with the book has lots of extra materials and interactive activities (doesn't run on Vista or newer Macs though). I have searched these boards, but it brings up every occurrence of biology - and biology is mentioned a LOT in sig lines. :tongue_smilie:Rhea If you click on Search, then click on Advanced, look under the Keywords box and you'll see where you can change "Search entire posts" to "Search titles only." That way you will only get threads which are about biology, rather than every possible mention of the word. :001_smile: Jackie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhea Posted August 9, 2009 Author Share Posted August 9, 2009 Jackie, thank you for your recommendation. I had looked at at Campbell's Biology (diff. ed though) and thought it looked good. Especially thank you for explaining how I can use the advanced search to make my searches more profitable! :) What about labs? I assume (someone correct me if I'm wrong) that BJU's and Apologia's curriculum contain labs. If one goes with a textbook though, what do you do about labs? Thank you, Rhea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corraleno Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 Just to clarify, there are many different Campbell biology books, aimed at different levels. The one just titled Biology (by Campbell and Reece) is a college/AP text. The intro level, Biology: Exploring Life, is for 9th grade and is a lot more accessible than the "big" one. Lots of great diagrams and color pictures. :001_smile: There's also also Biology: Concepts & Connections and Essential Biology. As for labs, I bought the lab book that goes with Exploring Life. It has 36 labs which include complete directions and materials lists, as well as lab sheets to fill in, questions to answer, etc. All labs have 2 options: one designed for schools with access to specialized equipment, and an "alternate" lab that uses fairly basic equipment. Most of the alternate labs don't require much beyond a microscope, some petri dishes, agar, things like that. Some just use household objects. I bought my text, CD and lab book directly from Pearson Prentice Hall for $78 (for the package) plus shipping. I also got the Student Study Guide and the total including shipping was under $100. The CD has lots of great activities, one for each subsection of the text (e.g. 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, etc each has an activity), but it only runs on XP or earlier. Jackie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christy B Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 I am going to be using BJU Biology with the DIVE CD. DD is unsure yet about her career field and may want to pursue the medical field so I want a very rigorous yet less memorization based program. We are using this; currently we are only on lesson 2, but so far, I am very satisfied with the program. I'm so thankful that I didn't let myself be too intimidated by the BJU texts to give them a try; I'm also thankful that I have the DIVE cd as the main program and dd LOVES the format. I appreciate the fact that the program is designed to acclimate the student to the concept of several facets of a class: text, lecture, notes, and independent study. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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