Vague, Rambling Biology Questions

[Aubrey]

I'm combining NOEO Bio I & II this yr for 2nd & 4th g'ers. I love the projects so far, the information is good, we've delved off into wonderful directions--one night we stayed up till midnight dissecting a bouquet of flowers dh had brought home.

 

Ok, so my question. This is already over my head. I *could* keep the vocab straight, I guess, if I knew *I* had a test coming up, for ex, but xylem, phloem, & stomata just don't fit neatly into my thinking processes. What am I trying to say?

 

Hmmm...I wonder...what level of vocab, understanding is appropriate for 4th g. This feels like highschool to *me,* but I'm not exactly a science person. Dh says highschool Bio would be much more adv, chemical-level (whatever that means).

 

I guess my point is...if this is really elem level, even as high as 4th g, I'm doomed for teaching science at the highschool level for sure. Probably even at the jr high level. It's not that I can't learn it by then, it's that I absolutely DO NOT want to. There's very little that I'm THAT disinterested in. And it's not the concepts, just the vocab.

 

I love making up projects w/ the kids--we've dissected/pressed/labeled flowers & flower parts & tree leaves. Dd experimented w/ a Mimosa, which is supposed to close up at "the slightest touch." When that didn't work, she pretended to be a cow trying to eat it, & sure enough, the leaves closed right up. :lol:

 

We've done the terrarium, a garden, dyed carnations & celery. I'm good w/ all of that. It's really just the big words. :blush:

[Aubrey]

Bump.

[swainsonshawk]

My perspective is this: you have small kids. There may be a place for vocabulary study for a high schooler or a jr. high schooler, but for an elementary student, I think the process should be about having fun and exposure. They will remember what is fun. Make a game of trying to remember the vocabulary words together. Try to use them in unexpected places (the grocery store, on a walk, at the dinner table). You could focus on trying to remember them for a "test" but then you would just forget them afterward anyway. How much of High School Biology do YOU remember?

 

Don't despair about the future grades. Your knowledge will grow and you can always hand your child a text book or outsource science. But I think this is supposed to work differently than public school's study, test, forget method. Just my opinion.

Edited October 6, 2010 by swainsonshawk
clarity

[Aubrey]

My perspective is this: you have small kids. There may be a place for vocabulary study for a high schooler or a jr. high schooler, but for an elementary student, I think the process should be about having fun and exposure. They will remember what is fun. Make a game of trying to remember the vocabulary words together. Try to use them in unexpected places (the grocery store, on a walk, at the dinner table). You could focus on trying to remember them for a "test" but then you would just forget them afterward anyway. How much of High School Biology do YOU remember?

 

Don't despair about the future grades. Your knowledge will grow and you can always hand your child a text book or outsource science. But I think this is supposed to work differently than public school's study, test, forget method. Just my opinion.

 

I guess I'm more concerned about *my* inability to remember the vocab. You know, even when we study history that I haven't studied before, I can at least understand & retain it better than they can. I can see the exposure building up my knowledge so that jr high will be manageable, & highschool will probably be fine, kwim?

 

But in 4th g science, I'm already feeling like I'm falling behind. This year will be fine, but unless this is secretly a jr high level, I may have to outsource sooner than I was planning. Well, or dh has to take over sooner. He was a Bio major for a semester, which at least means he should be able to manage jr high sci, right? LOL