Greta Lea Posted May 30, 2010 Share Posted May 30, 2010 My son will be in 10th grade in the fall. He has Asperger syndrome and a math LD. He reads well, but has trouble staying focused on reading unless the content is very interesting and engaging. Because of his math LD, he's behind his peers in math. He'll be taking Math U See Algebra I in the fall. He works long and hard on math each day although it is so difficult for him. He is college bound (CC for first 2 years) and he understands that even though the math is hard he MUST have it for college. Like most Aspies, he does exceptionally well when he's studying something HE wants to study. This year he read Life of Birds, Life of Mammals, Of Wolves and Men and about 1/2 of How Life Works for a Zoology credit. He LOVES animals (always has...used to be his obsession when he was really little). We started this past year with Apologia Biology and he completed most of Apologia General the year before. He HATES it. It's toooooo wordy. He has trouble staying concentrated while reading, even after we go the audio for him to listen to while reading. That helped, but still not great. We didn't do any labs with the Apologia General or the few Bio. chapters we did. For one thing, it just took SO long to make it through the reading and OYO questions. But, he also HATES doing hands on activities where you have to follow directions. He struggles with doing anything multi-step, unless he's used to to doing the multi-step activity. For example, with household and outdoor chores around here he is GREAT *if* it's a job that he's done many, many times no matter how many steps the job includes. If it's a new job with multi-steps it's like pulling teeth to get him going on it, even if we are "holding his hand" through it. I think his resistance to labs is the same reason he resists new household jobs. Over the past few years, the few times we've done any kind of labs, he struggles with filling out a simple lab report. Again, I think it has to do with organizing multi-step thoughts. SO, I was thinking of using Rainbow Science with him next year. I thought we could give him a Physical Science credit for doing year. 1 of Rainbow (Chemistry and Physics). The readings would be short and to the point, which would keep his attention. But the main draw are the labs and lab reports. Simple, yet effective way to get him some practice with multi-step "jobs" and thinking. Also, he's never taken notes from a text. He has answered study questions from a study guide and defined vocabulary, but not taken regular ole notes. I'm thinking that since Rainbow is so straightforward, he might do well with note taking practice using this text. We own Rainbow and he's looked at it. He does NOT want to use it. He's asking to study biology, but what he really means is MORE *zoology* (readings about animals). We have started explaining how he needs more than that in science for college prep. I KNOW he will come around to this idea, since he did with the math. It just takes a while for it to sink it with him. Anyway, how does this sound? Good plan? Other ideas??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2cents Posted May 30, 2010 Share Posted May 30, 2010 Have you looked at Fascinating Biology? Aspbergers tend to relate to visual learning and this online course might be something he could get into. Homeschoolbuyers coop has it at a discount too. Here is a link for their demos: https://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/index.php?option=com_hsbc_epp_order&Itemid=1317 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleHouseHomeschool Posted May 30, 2010 Share Posted May 30, 2010 Hi Greta, Apologia Biology is college level biology...and it is VERY wordy. We had a much better general biology education with ABeka Biology. Very straightforward. You mentioned that your son has trouble with multi-step directions. Could he be experiencing a processing disorder of some kind? He's behind in Algebra...works for hours...it's hard for him. Algebra is abstract, MUCH harder to process than zoology, for instance...which your son can see. Just something to consider.... Many times, learning challenges come in groups. If you have one, you have a higher likelihood of having another... Another thought on biology/zoology - You might want to check out the Zoology Coloring Book which is high school/college level. There is also a Biology coloring book and many other topics as well. Paired with library resources and some labs these coloring books offer a full credit course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted May 30, 2010 Share Posted May 30, 2010 I think Rainbow Science is a really good idea for a general science course. Like you said the readings are to the point and your ds can practice note taking and chapter quizes, and the labs are complete which makes it easy for you. Would your son be persuaded to do this as preparation for a more serious biology course that will include chemistry? My ds was like yours -- multi-step problems were always tough, and Algebra took him 2 years. We used MUS, but gave up on it when it got to the graphing section because the workbooks got really messy -- they wanted more than one graph to be on a chart and my ds needed lots of open space. Maybe with a pad of graph paper you all will do fine. I struggled with having my ds do college prep science and just letting him do science that appealed to him. His biology was more a "life science" class, with projects like making a model of a cell. I can't remember now which 3 courses he graduated with, but none of them were serious science as he is going the community college route towards transferring to get a theater degree. One other place to explore for ideas. Cornell University has an ornithology course as well as "Project Feeder Watch" and an urban bird project which includes "Project Pigeon Watch". You could easily make a year long course out of all that. Start with the Project Feeder Watch site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendi Posted June 3, 2010 Share Posted June 3, 2010 Fascinating Biology looks wonderful! If you use this program, though, what do you do about labs? One of the universities in our state requires homeschoolers to keep their lab notebooks to prove they really did labs, not just textbook work. Wendi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VBCaroline Posted June 3, 2010 Share Posted June 3, 2010 Paying close attention to this thread. Your son sounds a lot like my dd. I was planning on doing Apologia biology with her this year(9th grade). Her rote memory is excellent, so I was hoping we could get through it. I do like your Rainbow Science idea. I'm not very familiar with this program, but I have looked at the samples on the website more than once. Would it be possible to start this with the 2nd year? We just finished up a year of physical science, and dd is dying to do biology. Thanks. Caroline Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greta Lea Posted June 3, 2010 Author Share Posted June 3, 2010 http://productsearch.barnesandnoble.com/search/results.aspx?WRD=science+101 Short readings *and* very visually appealing...that is right up his alley! I'm thinking I'll have him read a short section then take notes using the Cornell note taking method 3-4 times a week.(http://coe.jmu.edu/learningtoolbox/cornellnotes.html) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VBCaroline Posted June 3, 2010 Share Posted June 3, 2010 Now I'm leaning more toward the Science 101 series... http://productsearch.barnesandnoble....RD=science+101 Short readings *and* very visually appealing...that is right up his alley! I'm thinking I'll have him read a short section then take notes using the Cornell note taking method 3-4 times a week.(http://coe.jmu.edu/learningtoolbox/cornellnotes.html) Do you have an idea of what you will do for labs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greta Lea Posted June 3, 2010 Author Share Posted June 3, 2010 I'm sure we will get the Oil Spill Clean-Up Experiment Kit from this! My dh is going to do labs with him, so I'm gonna let the two of them choose from the lab kits from that company. We are not big on labs, but I'd like for him to do 3-4 next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 3, 2010 Share Posted June 3, 2010 Are you anywhere near a zoo or animal park, wildlife conservation area, anything like that? Do you live near a body of water where monitoring for water quality is going on, or there are programs involving sampling, observation, etc? Are there people nearby who run bird-watching walks or tracking programs? Perhaps your son could volunteer or take advantage of some of the programs for teens. If he's working "in the field," so to speak, these should be perfectly acceptable substitutes for labwork except in the most rigid system. I'd let him do as much as possible with the area of science he loves, and keep the others to the minimum required. Do you have to use a textbook? Could he read other types of books for those like he did for zoology? Could he read articles from magazines (there are a ton of wonderful science publications at all levels, about all topics)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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