Anne/Ankara
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Posts posted by Anne/Ankara
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I would like to know some resources on this too. We now attend an art school for 4hrs/week, as well as summer camp, and the kids learn technique and how to create a portfolio of required original works (sketches of bicycles, or whatever). So I am wondering how to round this out into true high school level work.
I am thinking that we will do some in-depth art history study, linked to our four year history work, which should be easy enough (videos from Teaching Company, readings from art history books, several essays along the way). I know there is an AP Art History course, so I'm sure there are a lesson plans available. Perhaps our third year we could take the AP Art History exam.
On the studio art side, I would like to submit the year's work to Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, so that the artwork would be judged each year. Also, continue to send work to various magazines for publication. That would be another way to show how successful the high school art program was.
Of course, we would continue to visit art museums, but probably need to take this to a higher level-- I know our local museums have teen volunteer positions available, workshops, and things like that. I'm just a bit leery about some of them-- our famous Andy Warhol museum, for example! But the Carnegie International is a world-famous touring exhibit that high school kids can help out with....
I wonder what other aspects of an art program would be necessary?
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It's nice to see that someone has used the Suchocki book with a 7th grader. I'm intending to use Conceptual Integrated Science in 7th and 8th grades (the chemistry section is written by Suchocki). I have a copy of Conceptual Physics and know the physics part will be ok for my son, but am slightly nervous about the chemistry (I intend to order it tomorrow). How did you like Conceptual Chemistry?
Thanks!
We liked the Conceptual Chemistry quite a bit, and pretty much read through the entire book. This author is the nephew of Paul Hewitt (Conceptual Physics) so it has a lot of the same approach-- readable text, nice illustrations, not too heavy on equations/math.
Now, of course, since I was calling this a seventh grade course, we did not master all the problem sets in their entirety, but we did try our hand at them, fairly successfully. The Teaching Company's video was very helpful for that part of the course.
I think you can get Conceptual Chemistry quite cheaply as a used text (as we did) so it's definitely worthwhile to look it over!
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Fifth Grade Biology for us...
Fifth Grade Biology and Life Science
This course in Life Science covers the Human Body, Animal and Plant Life. We will study cell biology, environments and ecosystems, using projects, experiments, reading non-fiction and print media, as well as Internet research.
Textbooks
Barhydt: The Science Teacher’s Book of Lists, Prentice Hall
Parker: How the Body Works
Mental Edge: Fifth Grade Science Review
DK Nature Encyclopedia
Video: Bill Nye, The Human Body
Video: Carrot Highway
Video: DK Eyewitness, Human Machine
Video: Incredible Human Body
Video: Health and Nutrition
Lyrical Life Science, the Human Body
Video: Nova, the Universe Within
Video: All About the Blood and Heart
Video: National Geographic, The Incredible Human Body
Video: Microcosmos
Video: Standard Deviants: Learn Biology
Nebel: Elementary Education
Keller: Biology, Level I
Zaneware: Biology, Five Kingdoms of Life, computer CD
Webvideo: Brainpop, DNA
Silverstein: The Code of Life
George: Cells
Video: Nova, The Unknown World
Kids Discover: Microbes
Balkwill: Cell Wars
Kids Discover: Moths and Butterflies
Parker: How Nature Works
Bauerle: How the Y Makes the Guy
Kids Discover: DNA
Video: Eyewitness Plant
Video: Eyewitness Tree
Balkwill: Gene Machines
Bauerle: Ingeneous Genes
Video: Winged Migration
Video: Attenborough: Private Life of Plants, Branching Out, vol. 1-6
Video: Bill Nye, Plants and Trees
Video: Tell Me Why, Flowers, Plants and Trees
K12: Fifth Grade Science, selections
Video: Alien Empire (insects)
Video: Whistlepunks and Sliverpickers (forestry)
Video: Rainforest Biomes
Video: Deciduous Biomes
New York Times, Science Times articles
Video: Teaching Company, Joy of Science “What is Life?†“Strategies of Life,†“Biomolecules†“DNAâ€
Video: Birds, Schlessinger Media
Video: Mammals, Schlessinger Media
Video: Fish, Schlessinger Media
Video: Reptiles, Schlessinger Media
Video: Amphibians, Schlessinger Media
Experiments
“Does the Body Have Limits?â€
“Does All Skin Look the Same?â€
“How Do Our Joints Overcome Friction?â€
“Which Muscles Are the Most Precise?â€
“Why Do Your Lungs Expand When You Breathe?â€
“What is Perstalsis?â€
“Can You Measure Your Heartbeat?â€
“Putting Things in Order: Classificationâ€
“Inside a Cellâ€
“Take Away the Lightâ€
“Plants’ Capillary Actionâ€
“How to Extract DNA from Peasâ€
Workshops
National Aviary: Miracles of Migration
National Aviary: Arctic Experience
National Aviary: All Wet, Aquatic Birds
Phipps Conservatory: Does Candy Grow on Trees?
Pittsburgh Voyager: Environmental River Science
Carnegie Science Center: Science of Cooking
National Aviary: Conservation
Carnegie Science Center: Environment
National Aviary: Bird Anatomy 101
National Aviary: Wetlands
National Aviary: Birds in Captivity
National Aviary: Create-an-Exhibit
Carnegie Museum of Natural History: Going, Going Gone
Carnegie Museum of Natural History: What if I Were a Zoologist?
Carnegie Museum of Natural History: Bottom Dwellers and Pond Scum
Independent Reading List
Claybourne: Usborne Complete Book of the Human Body
Showers: Your Skin and Mine
Machotka: Outstanding Outsides
Bailey: All About Your Skin, Hair and Teeth
Elgin: The Human Body, The Skin
Iveson: Your Skin and Hair
Blakely: What’s Skin For?
Gross: A Book About Your Skeleton
Gordon: Skeletons and Movement
Wilkes: Incredible Skeleton Secrets
Ganerie: Muscles
Ballard: How Do We Move?
Silverstein: The Muscular System
Wilson: The Human Body
Maynard: I Know Where My Food Goes
Bailey: All About Digestion
Ganeri: Eating
Royston: Why Do I Vomit?
Showers: A Drop of Blood
Showers: Hear Your Heart
Royston: Why Do Bruises Change Color?
DeGezelle: Your Brain
Simon: The Brain
Stille: The Nervous System
Pascoe; Single Celled Organisms
Bauerle: Cell Works, Microexplorers
Zappler: From One Cell to Many Cells
Snedden: World of aCell
King: What is a Cell
DuPrau: Cells
Landa: Your Body’s Heroes and Villains
Parker: How Nature Works
Anderson: The Smallest Life Around Us
Himmelman: A Dandelion’s Life
Heller: Plants that Never Bloom
Kalman: What is a Plant?
Morrison: Oak Tree
Pluckrose: Walkabout Flowers
Maestro: Why do Leaves Change Color?
Applebaum: Giants in the Land
Bash: Ancient Ones
Chinery: First Book of Nature
Timelife: Insect World
Howell: Insects
Walters: The Animal World, Insects
Matero: Lizards
Howell: Reptiles and Amphibians
Brownell: Mammals
Hirschland: How Animals Care for their Babies
McGrath: How Animals Talk
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Here are some ideas from our seventh grade year of chemistry, which we blended with some biology/natural history since my kids love that subject...
Seventh Grade Science
This course covers chemistry topics including elements of chemistry, atoms, chemical bonding, water, chemical reactions, acids & bases, oxidation & reduction, organic compounds, chemistry of drugs and food. We include workshops, reports, experiments, field trips and outside reading throughout the year. Videos and computer tutorials enhance understanding and provide additional enrichment.
Textbook and Video Resources
Suchocki: Conceptual Chemistry, Second Edition, Benjamin-Cummings, 2004.
DK Visual Dictionary of Chemistry, Dorling Kindersly.
Tiner: Exploring the World of Chemistry, Master Books, 2001
Arnold: Chemical Chaos, Scholastic Books, 1997.
Mental Edge, Seventh Grade Science study, online science review.
Mental Edge, High School Biology study, online science review
Video; Joy of Science, “Properties of Materials,†“Semiconductors and Modern Electronics,â€
“What is Life?†“Strategies of Life,†“Life’s Molecular Building Blocks,†“Proteins,†“Cells,â€
“Mendel and Genetics,†“DNA,†“Genetic Code,†“Reading the Genetic Code,â€
“Genetic Engineering,†“Cancer,†“Chemical Evolution of Life,â€
Video; Standard Deviants, Supercharged World of Chemistry, vol. 1
Video; Thinkwell Chemistry, unit 1, selections
Video: Teaching Company, High School Chemistry, lectures 1-30
Hong: Essentials of Chemistry, Singapore Science
Video: David Attenborough’s Life of Mammals, “Winning Design,†“Insect Hunters,â€
“Plant Predators,†“Chiselers,†“Meat Eaters,†“Opportunists,†“Into the Water,†“Life in the Trees,†“Social Climbers,†“Food for Thought.â€
Video: Human Body, “Raging Teens,â€
Video: Why Dogs Smile and Chimps Cry
Video: David Attenborough’s “Amber Time Machineâ€
Video; David Attenborough’s Life in the Freezer, “Bountiful Sea,†“The Ice Retreats,â€
“The Race to Breed,†“Footsteps in the Snow,†“The Door Closes,†“The Big Freeze.â€
Video: Swamp Tigers
Video: David Attenborough’s Trials of Life, “Arriving,†“Growing Up,†“Finding Food,â€
“Hunting and Escaping,†“Finding the Way,†“Making Homes,†“Living Together,†“Fighting,†“Friends and Rivals,†“Talking with Strangers,†“Courting, “Continuing the Line.â€
Video: Human Senses, “Taste and Smell,†“Hearing and Balance,†“Touch and Eyesight.â€
Video: The Brain’s Story, vol. 1-6
Competitions
Academic League Seventh Grade Science Competition, three exams throughout the year
Independent Reading
Burke; Circles
Anatomica
Emsley: The Thirteenth Element, Story of Phosphorus, selections
Thibodeau: Human Body in Health and Disease
Eyewitness Human Body
DK Visual Dictionary of Human Body
Workshops & Classes
“Science & Engineering,†three-week summer camp, Alexandria VA, Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth
Perfume Science, Robert Morris University
So You Want to be a Herpetologist? Carnegie Museum of Natural History, 2 sessions
Discovering Pennsylvania, Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Amazing Art of the Maya, Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Wild About Wetlands, Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Meet the Macros, Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Behind Closed Doors, Carnegie Museum of Natural History
What if I Were an Entomologist? Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Backyard Birds, National Aviary
Pigeons, National Aviary
Digital Communications, Robert Morris University
ZOOB Mania, Robert Morris University
Experiments
Microchem 2000, Flame Test Experiments
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"The AP student pack is given to students at their first AP exam for the year. It includes all of the codes that the students will use on ALL of their tests. Your child needs to use the same codes on ALL of the tests he takes, so he needs to briing the AP pack back to the school if he is taking multiple AP exams.
My son is taking AP exams at two different schools this year, at school A and then school B for the second and then back to A for the third. He needs to bring his pack with him from the first exam to the second exam and then to the third; he cannot just use another pack provided by the school."
Thanks, Gwen! So it sounds like my ds will be given the AP Student Pack when he takes his first exam, so we don't have to worry about it. He will bring his School Code number, and photo ID. Since he is only taking one test this year, I guess he won't need the AP Student Pack more than that day...
Thanks again for helping!
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Here's a follow-up question-- the information from the school where ds is signed up to take an AP test says to bring your "AP Student Pack" if you are not a student at the school where the test is given. I've got a call in to the school, but does anyone here know what this refers to? Thanks!
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That's interesting! $10 by Christmas-- I wonder if that will happen, and what that will mean. In Europe/Middle East it is already $8-10/gallon, and has been for some time.
Let's see what happens!
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I used to take the kids there when they were younger and we were in the "buying books" phase of our life. Some of the books were fine, all were discounted, and much is rather worthless, but nevertheless, I did end up with quite a few purchases. Try it out and see if you like it... I believe they hold these sales twice a year.
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It is a small world! Let me know if the class prepared him for the AP exam as I'm planning on following Short's syllabus for Fall of 2009!
Myra
Myra, actually the one-semester college course that ds took with Dr. Short only covered about half (?) of the material on the AP exam, but with this course, quite a bit is common science information, and not too hard to study up on your own... at least that is our opinion (so far! Let's see how he does on the test first!). My ds is going through a few review books (Smartypants, Amsco, Barrons) which covers the additional information, and it really doesn't look that bad. There are topics like oceans, earth's geology, legislation, etc, that weren't really covered in depth in the course, but will show up on the AP exam.
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Thank you, Anne. Ds. will be 13 in the fall and in eighth grade when we plan on doing Chemistry. He has finished Foerster's Algebra 1. I was considering ordering Thinkwell through the Homeschool Buyer's Co-op which gives you online access to the course only for 12 months. Maybe, I should do the Teaching Co. DVDs for now and consider Thinkwell after he finishes up with Foerster's Algebra 2 in 9nth grade?
Nissi
You're in a very similar position as we were in seventh grade, so I would imagine that the Teaching Company video set would be an excellent component, but the Thinkwell might be a bit "over the top," as it was for us. Since it is only a 12-month deal through the Homeschool Buyers Coop, you might be well advised to wait a bit... and of course, who knows, in a year or two there might be even better chemistry videos to choose!
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Maura,
You said in your original post "Then he will use the NROC's AP Environmental Science plans" - how does one access those on-line....is there a fee.........how do you register.......?
I went to their home page but couldn't decipher how to get access?
Help!
Myra
Myra, these are the same videos as listed in Hippocampus, and you don't have to register to view them...
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The text book you mentioned once had video lectures to accompany it. These lectures were formerly available from the Annenberg Foundation, unfortunately, no longer. Your library, however, may have them. Since I have not seen them, I cannot comment on their quality. I just know of their existence.
Secondly, my son has been participating in Envirothon competitions for several years. These dovetail nicely with Environmental Science work, can provide an opportunity to have a team competition on your child's record, and give a focused social outlet. Winners of state and national competitions win scholarships as well.
I have the Miller text but I have not read it carefully. From a glance it looks great!
Jane
I believe the Annenberg Foundation has a new Environmental Science series, called Habitable Planet:
http://www.learner.org/channel/courses/envsci/visual/index.php
This has some nice video segments, for free. We watched a few of them...
Anne/PA
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Nissi, we "looked" at the Thinkwell series last year, when ds was seventh grade doing chemistry. At the time the series was too advanced for in-depth work, but the little lectures were neat to watch, on all sorts of topics (do you see their table of contents from their website?). At that time we did not attempt to solve their problem sets.
However, I do think that all you need to excell in high school chemistry is Algebra II, so when we hit Chemistry again in two years, we should be adequately prepared in math skills. Our Saxon Algebra II textbook has quite a few chemistry-based problems in their problem sets toward the end of the book.
Hope that helps! What age/grade is your student in?
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So does anyone have the Teaching Company chemistry dvds for sale at a good price?
Thanks,
Myra
Myra, I thought I saw them on the For Sale board, but don't see them any more. They're not currently on sale through the Teaching Company, but they will come up again within the year, I guess. Does your library carry them? Ours does...
Good luck!
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Myra, that is our professor's website! Dr. Daniel Short is a professor at Robert Morris University, outside Pittsburgh. My ds just took this class and finished the final on Friday. Small world! He really enjoyed the class and learned quite a bit. Now he's studying for next Tuesday's AP exam in that subject. Let us know if you have any particular questions!
Anne/PA
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Another interesting one, reviewed in the New York Times Book Review yesterday, is Simon Armitage's retelling of Homer's Odyssey. Apparently if might work well for audio learners, since this book is cast as dialogue, like a radio production, of oral poetry. Just an idea!
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We have used them both-- the Teaching Company course is definitely high school, and basically a run-through on how to look at chemistry problems-- get them into moles, calculate quantities, solve accurately. Very good series and understandable.
The Thinkwell Chemistry is college level, so it is a whole lot more than solving equations. The professors are clear and engaging, and it is absolutely terrific, but again, this is college-level introductory stuff, so it was a bit challenging for us! I believe we gamely got through the first disk only. But I am very glad I bought it, and will use it again in a few more years when we tackle chemistry again.
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The Carnegie Science Center really did a good job with this exhibit. My ds, age 13, was a volunteer in their teen docent program for this exhibit, and they had a six week training session, followed by 16 week volunteer schedule. They had to do a public presentation and everything. Very nicely done--great exhibit!
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I think they are too modest. Get a modest tankini and some of those surf shorts.
I think being modest is great. I worry that some methods of modesty though might make kids ashamed of their bodies. It seems like nothing is allowed to show. I know many suits show a lot but I think a simple tankini & if one must surf shorts is an excellent alternative and doesn't send the message that the body is something to be ashamed of. I know I'm opening a huge can of worms with this but it's my opinion.
I agree-- it's like in Turkey, when all of a sudden (well, in ten years or so), all women are getting pressured to cover their hair for modesty's sake... In my opinion, that's a very dangerous precedent. And not that different from such swimsuits that cover every part of the body.
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I agree with the other posters-- it's a great book, but overboard for most of us! And yet, there are a huge number of great ideas in the book, and it is well worth reading. I think the key is not to become hyper-active in high school, but to take your students' abilities and interests seriously and develop a game plan that will truly help them achieve their goals.
After the nervous reaction passes (second-guessing whether we are doing a good enough job in home education), then I'm ready to seriously consider many of her ideas. Frankly, that's a good exercise for me!
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Way to go, Katherine! And especially since he's had challenges in health-- good for him! Great job, all around!
Anne/PA
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Well done! Congratulations all around!
Anne/PA
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I would also recommend keeping the two instruments if your child enjoys playing-- my kids play violin and piano, and the two instruments complement one another so much, as the other posters said. Look at it this way, many people who drop an instrument regret it later on, but most people feel they should have stuck with the lessons through the school-age years, which go by so quickly anyway! Soon enough the child is 18 and can decide what to do on his/her own!
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I don't think I agree with summer jobs just being for summer unless they are truly seasonal work, like lifeguards or working at summer camps. In fact, my son got all excited because they're building yet another fast food place within walking distance, but I told him I didn't want him applying for a job where he can only commit 2 months unless the job itself only lasted that long. That shows a disrespect for an employer that I can't justify.
I do think jobs are necessary, but I don't think that traditional jobs like baggers or fast food burger flippers are a justifiable use of time during the school year if it takes away from sports, arts, volunteer work, or school... unless money was a serious financial issue, and it isn't with us. I'd much prefer my sons volunteer, apprentice, or make money doing something that will show them a true career, whether that be with an electrician, photographer, veterinarian, landscape company, etc. Those kind of career-oriented jobs will do more than just teach promptness, financial management, interpersonal skills, etc. In fact, working with other kids in fast food (in particular) could very well teach kids poor work habits. I don't agree that these easy-entry jobs show evidence of a healthy work ethic.
I agree with Laura-- I would like my kids to work experience that teaches them valuable skills, rather than just fooling around, which is what can happen in a lot of low-skill teen jobs. My ds is only 13 now, but does volunteer work at the science museum. I'd love for him to get into lab science summer jobs (which are available, and nicely paid) when he gets a bit older.
Rejoice with us!!! DS has been accepted to summer mentorship program!!!!
in High School and Self-Education Board
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That's just great, Sharon! Way to go, all around!!! Terrific news. Now, please keep us informed after he finishes the program. My ds is very interested in scientific/engineering things, and since we also live in PA, Drexel's program might be something to apply to. Great job!