How to implement Miller/Levine Biology

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Thanks Sebastian. How can we compare the Texas state Miller Levine Biology (2015) with the general 2010 Macaw text? There's no information for 2015 edition. Did you find any on Pearson or somewhere else? If this is the case, which is better to buy? 2015 state version or 2010 general text? 

 

How much background in biology do you have?  One of the things I found with the Mastering Physics online feature was that there was actually too much there.  It is designed for students to use after the teacher has selected which problems they are actually assigned.  So the book might have 60-70 problems per chapter, but the expectation is that the student will only do 10-12 of them. 

 

I found that I spent quite a bit of time in setting up the program to have the appropriate level of difficulty.  What would have made a lot of sense if I had 2-4 classes of 30 kids was more work than I needed to be doing. 

 

So I would actually suggest that you see which edition (2010 or even the 2007 dragonfly) you can get good copies of used.  Which ones have workbooks or teachers manuals available. 

 

I confess that I have a very high tolerance for used textbooks.  And my concerns that the dragonfly textbook might be viewed as too old were resolved when I realized that the very solid public district we lived in in Virginia is still using the 2002 dragonfly. 

[Mom22ns]

How much background in biology do you have?  One of the things I found with the Mastering Physics online feature was that there was actually too much there.  It is designed for students to use after the teacher has selected which problems they are actually assigned.  So the book might have 60-70 problems per chapter, but the expectation is that the student will only do 10-12 of them. 

 

This really isn't an issue for Biology since it doesn't have "problem sets".

 

We didn't use the workbook at all. We did use lots of the other online resources though and they were very helpful to understanding for my kids. It was cheaper for me to buy the new book with all the resources from the publisher, than the old book used on Amazon once I added up all the pieces. 

 

I would not bother with the new TX edition. I find state editions harder to resell. I would expect they have made changes just to fit some TX requirements, not to any significant content or quality. 

[ssirisha]

Many thanks to Debbie & Sebastian.

 

I'll try to order the 2010 macaw book through Pearson. Before making an order, I would like to know what are you using for labs?

Pearson/ LabPaq /Quality Science OR Illustrated Guide to Home Biology Experiments? Which one do you vote for? 

 

( PS: This is the first time I'm trying to use Pearson. I'm not really a biology person but do have little knowledge to some extent in  physics/chemistry/math. I'm also concerned if I could help my son with the labs using teacher resources or not. With highly experienced moms in this forum, I'm positive I'll get excellent feedback.)

 

Thanks again!

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I'm planning on a combination of the virtual labs that Kolbe has scheduled, a few hands on labs from http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/sci_edu/Waldron  and a couple of dissections.

 

It seems that there are few dissections in the average biology class anymore, with more on the cell and DNA.  Of course that means that more have to be simulations of things like recessive genes.  But I'd like my kids to have done a couple of dissections.  We'll probably end up doing a frog and a fish.

 

ETA:  I just remembered a handout on doing a Winogradsky Column that I had a while back.  That could be an interesting experiment too.

 

 

 

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Another resource others have mentioned is the Howard Hughes Medical Institute  http://www.hhmi.org/educational-materials

 

[Bang!Zoom!]

Miller Levine Biology is available in the itunes store for just 14.99 if anyone wants the electronic version of it.

[Mom22ns]

I used mostly the labs from Pearson. You have access to the lab manual online with the purchase of the book. I also downloaded Illustrated Guide, and with my second we used DIVE along side M/L Biology and she just did the DIVE labs.

 

Basically, I planned 1 lab per week from those sources that aligned with what we were studying. We also watched some virtual demonstrations. We have a microscope, a broad selection of slides, and lots of supplies. I do a HST order each year. We did do dissections. M/L biology does do a lot of systems level Biology, both discussing animals in general and human anatomy. Dissections fit well in this part of the course. 

[ssirisha]

That helps. All points are notes and resources bookmarked. 

 

Does Pearson teacher resource has  syllabus & course plan? If Kolbe academy sells the course & syllabus plan for the Dragonfly edition, how are you doing with the new edition (macaw)book?

Thanks.

 

[Kim C]

That helps. All points are notes and resources bookmarked. 

 

Does Pearson teacher resource has  syllabus & course plan? If Kolbe academy sells the course & syllabus plan for the Dragonfly edition, how are you doing with the new edition (macaw)book?

Thanks.

 

Kolbe is supposed to have the course and syllabus plan for the Macaw edition any day now if they do not have it already available. I was told in July that it should be available at the beginning of August, but I have not checked back.

 

Kim

 

[Sebastian (a lady)]

That helps. All points are notes and resources bookmarked.

 

Does Pearson teacher resource has syllabus & course plan? If Kolbe academy sells the course & syllabus plan for the Dragonfly edition, how are you doing with the new edition (macaw)book?

Thanks.

I bought copies of the dragonfly edition on Amazon for about $25 each.

 

There are some major differences in chapter organization between these two editions.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Kolbe is supposed to have the course and syllabus plan for the Macaw edition any day now if they do not have it already available. I was told in July that it should be available at the beginning of August, but I have not checked back.

 

Kim

When I checked last week the new course plan was still a work in progress. They were willing to try to help with what they have ready, but don't have a final version ready to sell.

[Guest]

The page linked below has a 17 minute video detailing the Texas edition.

 

http://www.millerandlevine.com/Texas/index.html

 

Moving on...how do you organize and plan all these resources?? It is blowing my mind.

 

[Mom22ns]

The page linked below has a 17 minute video detailing the Texas edition.

 

http://www.millerandlevine.com/Texas/index.html

 

Moving on...how do you organize and plan all these resources?? It is blowing my mind.

 

Um, the same way I plan any other course.

I divided up the chapters so we would get through the book in a semester (we work on a block schedule). At the beginning of each chapter the TM gives a breakdown of how much time it should take to cover everything.

I took 1 day/week for labs and picked one or two labs that were relevant to what we would be studying that week based on the plan made in step 1.

I looked at all the online resources, videos, etc and added in those I thought would be useful. 

I scheduled one day at the end of each chapter for a chapter test. 

[JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst]

I organize in a similar fashion to what Debbie describes above.  Number of chapters to be covered vs number of weeks in our year.  What chapters look like they could use multiple weeks?  Add in days for labs and tests.

 

We will be doing biology over two semesters.  We are going to use Kolbe's plans so that will give us a manageable reading schedule and problem selection.  I tend to go overboard when planning alone and as Sebastian pointed out above the student isn't meant to answer every question in the book or workbook.  I will then add in labs, maybe some of the video resources from the authors' website or TC lectures, and use Kolbe's tests.  I may add in some "coloring book" style pages to help identify cell and anatomical structures-for some of my kids that has been known to assist comprehension in topics like this rather just straight memorization.  If we find that a particular topic is giving one of the kids a problem I'll look for extra problems or resources to help them understand the material.

 

I find that taking a set of plans such as Kolbe and using it as a base is extremely helpful.  I tend to plan too much and it keeps my expectations at a reasonable level.  This way I know that the basics are covered and I can add enrichment rather than extra work.

 

I did notice that for the 2006 Dragonfly Edition the publisher offered lesson plans.  (isbn10: 0131155288  isbn13: 9780131155282)  I wonder if these are part of the Teacher's Edition, Teacher Access Pack or Teaching Resources?  That could be a useful place to start as well.

[ssirisha]

Thank you for all your advice. I just made my order at Pearson. Your feedback is tremendously helpful.

[anne1456]

I wanted to update this with my experience. I ordered from Pearson last week, the 2014 text with online teacher access pack for free, although I guess the online access is 2010 edition.  Close enough!  It came today, and I was able to register successfully for the online access. When I got to the registration page instead of using the 00000 trick referenced earlier in the thread I requested a school registration code, and put in "First-Name Last-Name Home School" for the school name.  I popped right up on Pearson's website with all my information already there, I assume because of the homeschool affidavit.  I had a school code in about 30 seconds and was able to log in.

 

I haven't figured out how to use the website yet, but it looks extensive.

[OneStepAtATime]

The page linked below has a 17 minute video detailing the Texas edition.

 

http://www.millerandlevine.com/Texas/index.html

 

Moving on...how do you organize and plan all these resources?? It is blowing my mind.

I know this thread is a bit old but I have found it very interesting.  Since we live in Texas I was curious about the Texas version of this book.  Thanks for the link.  :)

[Haiku]

If you purchase the textbook from Pearson, what exactly do you get with the online access?

 

Also ... does anyone have a list of the Untamed Science videos that correlate to the book? In looking at the sample chapters I have and the Untamed Science website, it's not easy to find the videos mentioned in the book, as no title or other information is given.

[AEC]

Another mom told me that online access to the TE as well as the test bank and a few other resources comes free if you purchase the textbook from Pearson. But first you must open a online account and submit a homeschool affidavit.

 

I just got confirmation that mine went through so I'm planning on confirming the above info and placing an order next week.

 

I'm working through this, but haven't had succecss yet.

I've bought the book, submitted the affidavit, got a printed access code, setup an account - but cannot yet ACTUALLY get access to the promised online digital content.  I've been a few rounds on the phone w/ them trying to work this out.  I'll let you know how it goes, but I'd expect to have to put some work into getting at the teacher stuff.

 

[Professormom]

If you get it resolved, let me know:-) I have my homeschool account, ordered it all, received the access code, set up the account in Pearson successnet, and now all I can access is the "Interactive Digital Path", not the TE or SE. The SE isn't the problem because I have a hard copy, but the TE is a big deal. They don't seem to even use the access code anymore, which is weird. I've submitted numerous tickets with no response. I have been leary of calling. So I will be interested to hear if someone else has success.

 

I ended up ordering the Kolbe lesson plans and tests because if this is a continuing problem, I don't want it to mess with my plans, lol.

 

One thing I have to say... I LOVE this text. I have been reading through it off and on and am SO pleased.

[Professormom]

I just got my Kolbe order today and I had ordered the answer key. The invoice says that it is on backorder, however, they did send the Dragonfly version of the answer key with my order. My guess is that they are sending those and will send the Macaw when it is restocked.

[AEC]

I am SO NOT HAPPY right now w/ Pearson.

 

We bought the book w/ digital access + workbook + lab manual from them, new and at a higher price than available elsewhere...and went through the ridiculous process of creating an oasis account and filling out an affidavit....just to get access to the digital content (both teacher and student).  The CS-reps who walked me through this process prior to our purchase knew we were homeschoolers as they sent us the docs.  

 

I still don't have access.  Everyone I talk to on the phone is very helpful but can't seem to resolve the problem and escalates.  Then when I get off the phone, 30 minutes later I get an email stating that homeschoolers don't have access to the digital content.

 

They open tomorrow at 8AM.  I'm going to call and read someone the riot act.

[Professormom]

Did you get any good info?

 

I am having fun with Kolbe right now too. My online access was denied :-( ug. And they don't have the full Macaw plans done yet. So now I have to send back the dragonfly plans before they will send me the first few weeks of the Macaw. We are starting on Monday and this is giving me hives! Lol.

 

So I have been playing phone tag and email tag with them trying to get this sorted out. I will let you know what happens.

 

I just really wish the Pearson thing would come through. I feel like trying to teach Biology this year has been a total fiasco and we haven't even started yet :headbanging:

[AEC]

Pearson's sites have been down since yesterday @ midnight. <sigh>

I was really hoping this would be resolved by now - DS13 has finished unit 1 (ch 1 & 2)...I was hoping to give him the unit1 test today, but it looks like that's not to be.

[happypamama]

I keep reading these threads, and I like the looks of the Miller Levine book.  I have a bunch of websites collected for assistance.

 

If I order from Kolbe, I would want the Course Plans/Tests AND the Answer Key, correct?  Plus maybe the lab writing manual?

 

What about labs if I order from Kolbe?  Do I just get a couple of kits, like for frog dissection?  I looked at the list here: http://www.thehomescientist.com/kits/BK01/bk01-main.html, and it's really expensive.

 

Then there's http://www.biologycorner.com/bio1/index.html#ch1 -- are those labs good?

 

I am completely overwhelmed by this.  And science is not my strong point, so I want whatever plans and answers I can find.

[Professormom]

I keep reading these threads, and I like the looks of the Miller Levine book. I have a bunch of websites collected for assistance.

 

If I order from Kolbe, I would want the Course Plans/Tests AND the Answer Key, correct? Plus maybe the lab writing manual?

 

What about labs if I order from Kolbe? Do I just get a couple of kits, like for frog dissection? I looked at the list here: http://www.thehomescientist.com/kits/BK01/bk01-main.html, and it's really expensive.

 

Then there's http://www.biologycorner.com/bio1/index.html#ch1 -- are those labs good?

 

I am completely overwhelmed by this. And science is not my strong point, so I want whatever plans and answers I can find.

I can speak to your first question as we are doing labs with a local group. Yes, course plans/tests and the answer key. I did order the lab writing manual too just because I thought it was a good resource. Make sure you specify WHICH edition you are using (Dragonfly or Macaw). I haven't received the entire Macaw doc yet as it wasn't finished, but they did send the beta to use until it is finished, so it worked out just fine.

 

Maybe someone else can speak to the labs?

[Professormom]

And now I have a question. Since it seems that my inquiries to Pearson are getting deep-sixed no matter which road I take, can I get thoughts from those who have used the text on whether the TM is critical? I am trying to figure out whether I need to just bite the bullet and order a hard copy.

 

If you think it is critical and wouldn't mind explaining why you think that, it would be helpful.

 

And if I do need it to properly teach this course, does anyone have one to sell or even rent out for the year:-)?

[happypamama]

Professormom, thank you!

 

Another question: how terrible is it to use the Dragonfly edition, since it's a whole lot more reasonable in price? (Although it looks like Kolbe only sells stuff for the Macaw edition.). I saw that there is one section in the Macaw that isn't in the Dragonfly, but I don't want to use something that is super outdated either. I tried making an Oasis account like I saw that some people do to get the teacher stuff for free from Pearson, and either I did something wrong, or that's no longer possible, because it never game me the option of filling out a homeschool affidavit, and then I got an email saying that I am not able to get an account because I'm not a school or something. Help!

[Lori D.]

And now I have a question. Since it seems that my inquiries to Pearson are getting deep-sixed no matter which road I take, can I get thoughts from those who have used the text on whether the TM is critical? I am trying to figure out whether I need to just bite the bullet and order a hard copy.

 

We only used the anatomy portions of the dragonfly version of Miller/Levine. I found a cheap used textbook (2001 copyright, I think). We had NO teacher manual -- I felt the textbook had plenty of material for our anatomy coverage and felt no need for additional info from a teacher manual. (But to be honest, for most things -- except areas I'm not well-versed in such as higher Math, advanced Science, Logic, etc. -- I usually feel pretty confident going without a TG, or only use a few bits of a TG.)

 

For using the Miller/Levine dragonfly cover Biology: We used questions at chapter end as quizzes; we did many of the hands-on suggestions included in the textbook, we added a few labs, we added a excerpts from a few other sources plus a documentary or two on aspects of the human body, and I felt is was a very adequate 0.5 anatomy course for the average high school student. I did not feel I needed additional material (i.e., a teacher guide) for teaching.

 

ETA : PS

A good additional resource is the Thinkwell Biology series of video tutorials by George Wolfe on CD-Rom. I found a used version through Amazon for $25 (that was about 7-8 years ago). A quick Amazon search today turned one up for $40. Here's the table of contents; each individual item listed in the ToC runs abut 3-8 minutes in length, so it's quite meaty. The course is designed to be a college-level intro-overview of Biology for non-majors.

[ktgrok]

We're using the Dragonfly book, and the course plans from Kolbe (purchased back at the beginning of summer, not sure if they still have them). We got the answer key (needed) and the plans/tests (needed). And the lab manual guide thing, and the online lab access (which is pretty good actually). We will also do a few of the hands on labs in the book (options are listed in the course plans) and some dissections later in the year. 

[Professormom]

Thanks, Lori. I am usually pretty confident teaching without a TM too, so your thoughts really help.

 

Happy, lots of people happily use the Dragonfly, and I haven't gotten the impression that it is really outdated. You can google dragonfly vs macaw, and I believe the authors have a link describing the differences between the 2 editions. As far as Kolbe, they still have everything for the Dragonfly edition, at least they did a few weeks ago. That was my problem. I thought I was ordering Macaw because that was the pic on the website, but they sent me Dragonfly because Macaw wasn't complete yet. I would say you are totally safe to use the dragonfly and order the corresponding materials through Kolbe for that version. Just be clear to them when you order which edition you are looking at getting plans for.

[happypamama]

Huh. I'll go check Kolbe again. Thanks, ladies!

[Luckymama]

1. We're using th $15 ibooks version of Macaw--fabulous!

 

2. I don't think a TM is needed.

 

3. But then again, I'm writing my own tests for dd.