Earth Science Question - 5th grade

[Blossom'sGirl]

I am trying to schedule my four boys next year and keep it sane. I will have a K'r, 2nd, 5th, and 7th and my current decision is which science to use. I am heavily considering Real Science Level 1 Earth for my 2nd grader and K'r. I also like the look of CPO Earth for my oldest although it may be too much $$$. I don't know what to do with my 5th grader. I don't know if it would be easier to beef one up or lighten up the other. Any ideas? I know I will not be able to add another program but I do not want him floundering through the year. My gut says he would enjoy the REAL science a lot more.

 

Seriously, I could use any scheduling advice for these ages. Next year will be my 1st at trying to juggle 4 kids at once. I have been spoiled this year with my youngest going to Pre-K every day.

[mcconnellboys]

Free, earth science from MSNucleus.org (both elementary and middle school levels):

 

http://www.msnucleus.org/membership/k-6.html

 

http://www.msnucleus.org/membership/html/jh/earth/index.html

 

Also, free middle school earth science from Oregon State, called Volcano World:

 

http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/education/vwlessons/lessons/lesson.html

 

Mr. Q's Lab also has availabled a K-5 (I think) level earth science program, but I believe it's about $50:

 

http://eequalsmcq.com/ES%20Chapter%20Download.htm

 

I've been using both the Oregon State materials (for a group class) and the MSNucleus programming with my son this school year (sixth grade).

[Caitilin]

Have you thought using Oak Meadow's earth science for both your 7th and 5th graders? It's "supposed" to be a 7th grade text, but I imagine, having used their 6th grade Life science myself, that a 5th grader could easily use it too, with maybe just a little extra help from big brother or mom. I am planning to use this out of order--we're going to do the 8th grade physical science for 7th, and the 7th grade earth science for 8th, but I am confident that will work out fine for us. The thing that I REALLY like about OM's science is that it gives options for different kinds of kids: there are written assignments, drawing assignments, research assignments, lab assignments, and none of it is textbook-y. HTH!

ETA: it's also available used in several places atm, including amazon, ebay, and alibris, if that's something you'd consider. :)

[Blossom'sGirl]

Thanks for the replies. I looked at the Oak Meadow science and although it would be great for my ages, their sample shows the old colored water with celery experiment. I don't see that as 7th grade work. Maybe they are better as the book progresses.

 

I used Mr. Q's Life science 2 years ago and although it was free it just was ho-hum.

 

I am bookmarking the other earth science sites but I have learned from past experience that we just don't get to online programs. My guys need a book they can curl up with and really study.

 

I would love reviews from homeschoolers using CPO.

[HockeyMom]

We are covering Earth Science using CPO’s Focus on Earth Science text - the text for California – and we love it. My son is in 7th grade. I chose this program for a variety of reasons:

 

- It contains lots and lots of lab investigations for my learner who likes hands-on, investigative-type projects for science. There are additional hands-on activities and demonstrations suggested in the teacher’s guide when we want even more science fun :tongue_smilie:. If your grade 5 son likes this kind of thing, he should find the lab work engaging and learn a great deal. Having said this, he probably won’t take away as much as your 7th grader. Both will get a thorough grounding in the scientific method, however some aspects of the investigative topics might be a bit fuzzy for the 5th grader (convection, energy, plate tectonics, wave motion, just to name a few). If you use the sequencing suggested in the teacher’s guide, students do a lab investigation before reading about the topic in the textbook. If your younger student is tagging along, you might want to flip this around to facilitate better understanding. The problem with this: the CPO program would lose its inquiry-based flavour. If hands-on, inquiry-based science won’t get done at your house, don’t go with CPO.

 

- The student text is visually appealing, contains relevant diagrams and sidebars, yet isn’t cluttered. It’s a “just the facts ma’am†type of textbook that stays on topic. This appealed to us because my son does tons of reading for his other subjects. When something in the CPO science text intrigues us, we supplement with topical books from the library, otherwise we get the nuts and bolts from the student textbook. If your grade 5 son is a competent reader, he shouldn’t have a problem navigating the Earth Science text. CPO's Earth Science text won't wow you or your students.

 

- I had room in my homeschool budget for some of CPO’s custom equipment. Having said this, many earth science experiments can be done without CPO lab equipment by either creatively using household items or by purchasing cheaper lab stuff from other science ed suppliers. The student investigations manual explains each experiment in detail and lists the equipment used. If one were to spend a few evenings reviewing all CPO lab work, showing hubby some of the apparatus, and perusing a couple of science catalogues, science supplies wouldn’t necessarily break the bank :). This means extra work for Mom, though! :(

 

- It contains lots of graphing and it ties in age-appropriate math work. Personally, I love science that reinforces math’s usefulness. This aspect of the program shouldn’t be a problem for your grade 7 son (prealgebra), but could push your grade 5 boy a bit depending upon where he’s at with his math.

 

- I lean towards a physics first approach to science and so does CPO. When I looked at the lab investigation samples on CPO’s website for Middle School Earth, Life, and Physical Science, there’s lots of foundational physics buried in all three programs despite the fact they deal with four different branches of science. If you want deeper/broader coverage of topics strictly related to Earth Science, CPO probably won’t look as thorough as other programs.

 

Michelle, hopefully others will chime in with respect to their experiences with CPO. If I can be of further help, keep posting and I'll do my best. :D

 

Cheers!

[KathyBC]

I used some of R.E.A.L. Science Earth with my then-5th grader and he loved it. There are lists of additional resources in the front of the book for science encyclopedias, books, field guides, websites, and science journal activities, if you find you need to beef it up. Her lab sheets are absolutely top notch, IMHO.

[Corraleno]

I also like the look of CPO Earth for my oldest although it may be too much $$$. I don't know what to do with my 5th grader. I don't know if it would be easier to beef one up or lighten up the other. Any ideas? I know I will not be able to add another program but I do not want him floundering through the year. My gut says he would enjoy the REAL science a lot more.

 

I think your 5th grader could definitely do CPO Earth Science. It's aimed at 6th grade, although it can be used for any middle school grade. The content is not dumbed down, but the explanations are very clear and the text is very readable & well laid out.

 

I'm not sure why you think it would be expensive? I bought the text and lab book new for about $25, and I think the TE was about $40 used. You can reuse the curriculum for your littles in a few years, so $65-75 divided by 4 kids is pretty cheap! There are also TONS of terrific free teacher resources on the website, including simulations (the volcano one is great), posters you can print out, and many other goodies. Look under "Media" for the videos & simulations; the posters are in Teacher Illustrations, under "Ancillaries":

http://www.cpo.com/home/ForEducators/MiddleSchoolEarthScience/tabid/261/Default.aspx

 

Personally, with 4 kids, including a K'er & 2nd grader, I would not do 2 separate science programs. I would just get some library books for the younger kids that relate to the topic being covered in CPO ~ e.g. DK books on volcanos, earthquakes, rocks and minerals, etc. Let them watch the labs you do with the older kids and do some related craft projects (make a model of the layers of the earth from clay, make a model volcano). Watch relevant documentaries, go to the local Natural History Museum, explore local geology on nature walks, etc. If you want a "product" from the littles, you could always have them draw a picture and write or dictate a few sentences each week on what they learned.

 

That's what I'm doing with my 2nd grader anyway, while my 6th grader is doing CPO Life Science. Originally I bought Noeo Bio I, RS4K Bio I, and MPH, looking for a way to correlate the topics in one or more of those programs with CPO. I finally decided that was nuts, and now I just pull out books that relate to the chapter DS is studying. Less stressful and just as effective!

 

Jackie

[Blossom'sGirl]

Thanks HockeyMom for the review. You answered a lot of my questions.

 

I also appreciate your voice of reality Jackie, that sounds like a doable plan. I did find a used CPO set that is considerably cheaper than new and if I just borrow and read science books for my younger two, it would be an additional savings. I know I have lists of science books bookmarked somewhere on this computer.