Apologia Biology

[ABQmom]

My dd took the test today on Module 3--I believe it was on Kingdom Monera. Anyway, she failed it. I read that chapter before she did, and I was bored to tears! It was like pulling my hair out one by one just to get through it. Okay, so now you see that I share her distaste for science already.

 

My question is what should I do? Should I have her redo the chapter, or just focus on the concepts she missed?

 

Also, do you all give your children any specific help that prepares them for the test? Dd knows how to take notes, and she's doing that. She also outlines a couple of the pages each week. She did the study guide and then dh went over it with her. She then took a couple of extra days to study for the test. I'm not sure if the problem lies in her study habits or is this module just especially hard? She made a B on the first test, and an A on the second one. :confused:

[dtsmamtj]

Well, for my dd Biology was harder for her than any of the others so far (we started with Apologia in 7th gr.). She took chemistry last year (10th) and got an A+ and so far with Marine Biology this year is doing quite well. I allowed my dd to re-take the test when she did poorly in Biology, but counted half points for the correct answer. HTH

[Melissa in Australia]

I didn't make my children do any of the tests in Biology. In fact I have only started getting my ds16 to do tests from Chemistry up.

[Julie in MO]

My daughter takes biology in a class outside the home (using Apologia). The tests are part of the grade. She got her first failing grade...ever. This is a kid who got an A+ in Algebra 1. She was devastated. I went over it with her later. It was a hard test. No one is class did well. I think that particular chapter has a bit of a disconnect from the test.

Blessings,

Julie

[Teachin'Mine]

We haven't done biology yet, but for other Apologia texts we've found that it's critical to do the chapter review and summary. My dd does the work, and then we check it together. She reads her answers, and if they're wrong, she has to do it until she gets it right. Sometimes it's just a simple error, and other times she goes back into the lesson to re-learn. A lot more understanding happens in the correcting, and after this, she's well prepared for the tests. HTH

[Pam L in Mid Tenn]

I mainly test on vocabulary in that book. I'll also test on labeling some diagrams.

 

Something new I've started this year for most tests in most subjects: I mark the wrong answers, they find the correct answer open book, they get 2 points for each correct answer closed book, and 1 point for each answer open book.

[Cindy in WA]

When my daughter failed her first science test, I took the test and went through the chapter with her question by question. What we found was some of the questions were not based on what was highlighted or reviewed in the chapter. Seemed like they purposely took little snippets of information that did not appear important in the text, yet tested on it. Apologia is not the only company that does this.

 

It's my personal opinion that this sets up students to fail. How can a student figure out what is the body of knowledge that is important to know when the tests are random compared to the text. I find this to be very frustrating. Sorry for the rant.

Cindy

[Mommyfaithe]

I give open notebook tests. IOW, if they think it is important, they should put it in their notebook. I find the ACT of actually writing it down IN their notebook helps put it inside their brain. They are allowed to use their own notes for exams, BUT NOT their textbook.

 

HTH,

Faithe

 

ETA: Since I began doing this, I noticed that they do not NEED to use their notebook very often. Usually, it is for a forgotten formula...Before, they used to just fail the tests. I also know that many of my kids college teachers allow them open book/ open note exams, so I do not feel totally off base here.

[Musicmom]

We haven't done biology yet' date=' but for other Apologia texts we've found that it's critical to do the chapter review and summary. My dd does the work, and then we check it together. She reads her answers, and if they're wrong, she has to do it until she gets it right. Sometimes it's just a simple error, and other times she goes back into the lesson to re-learn. A lot more understanding happens in the correcting, and after this, she's well prepared for the tests. HTH[/quote']

:iagree:We also found those study guides to be crucial to doing well on the tests--esp for Biology. They really teach the student how to study and are excellent preparation for the tests. My dd always checked the study guides on her own, and worked hard to get everything right, but I like Teachin'Mine's suggestion of checking together.

 

For the test at hand, I'd suggest having your dd redo the test, open book if necessary, so that she learns the material--and I'd give her 1/2 credit back on the questions she missed before. Another thing you could consider for overall grading at the end of the year, is to drop her lowest test score. This is often done in very challenging college courses, and with 16 module tests in Apologia, it seems reasonable to me to allow for bombing one (as long as the learning takes place--you'll want to emphasize to your dd that it's the learning that's most important.) I'm considering this for my dd, who's now working on Physics, even though she's doing fine so far.

[FloridaLisa]

Sydni,

 

The first couple of chapters in Apologia biology are not the hardest, IMO, but are the pickiest. The text is laid out in context with the five kingdoms (Monera, Protista, Fungi, Plantae and Animalia). So the early chapters dealing with Kingdoms Monera and Protista are dealing with micro-biology. These are the parts of biology most students are least familiar with. Many students *get it* when the book talks about parts of a mushroom -- they've seen those in their yards for years. They understand parts of a flower and an earthworm.

 

But the phyla of Kingdom Monera is completely unfamiliar to them. In fact, it's easy to read that chapter and think -- who cares? So I think many students don't commit it to memory b/c it seems like such minutae.

 

Now I love those chapters because there is all kinds of information on bacteria, good and pathogenic, that affect us everydayd. I love to tell my students about the foods we eat that are created from bacteria. I love to talk about diseases caused by bacteria. Those connections help them to see the significance of Kingdom Monera.

 

Anyway, practically, here's what I would do:

1) use this to teach study skills. Some students may do great in physical science, chemistry, algebra I but bomb biology b/c it's fact-oriented and requires the student to memorize. Good time to teach how to memorize vocabulary, how to outline a chapter and how to study for a test.

 

2) use the study guides and chapter summaries. These are the best indicators of what will be tested.

 

3) if you want to re-test, e-mail Apologia for an alternate test. They have responded quickly to me in the past.

 

I actually don't think the tests are difficult, but I do wish there were more questions so that each one didn't count so much. You can add more vocabulary questions if you want to add more questions.

 

 

HTH,

Lisa

 

ETA: Just realized Module 3 is on Kingdom Protista. Still microbiology, for the most part, with lots of seemingly trivial info. She'll see the cell parts again in later chapters on the cell and plants. She may go into accounting and never need to know a euglena from a paramecium, but she will need the study skills. I had to specifically teach those to one of my dc and Apologia biology was a great bridge for that.

Edited October 12, 2010 by FloridaLisa

[mhgillil]

I am not a mom/teacher, but a fairly recent user of the Apologia science textbooks. I would advise redoing the chapter and working very hard to prepare for the next test.

 

I found that Apologia better prepared me for studying for college courses than just about any other curriculum piece I used in high school because the material does not come easily, even if you are scientifically inclined.

[Susan C.]

When I do use Apologia tests, I make a matching section for the vocabulary, words on one side, definitions on the other.

[2cents]

I didn't make my children do any of the tests in Biology. In fact I have only started getting my ds16 to do tests from Chemistry up.

 

This is us. We do the chapter questions, labs, and add videos but I don't do tests in my homeschool. The only test we ever give is the SAT at the end of the year. I orally check their comprehension along the way for things like science.

[ereks mom]

...enjoys lapbooking. EK did Apologia Biology last year (9th), using the Live & Learn materials, and she did GREAT with biology; it was an easy 'A' for her. We are also using the Live & Learn materials this year for Apologia chemistry with similar success so far. You can see sample pages at the site I linked.

[FaithManor]

That module is BORING TO THE POINT OF LETHAL! There, I will be the one to say it. I've taught a lot of science from a lot of different curriculums over the years and let me tell you, it would be a miracle if anyone could turn a chapter on Monera into interesting prose. It's just one of those "bore me into a state of catatonia" kinds of topics. I think for a lot of kids, this makes retaining the information a real challenge.

 

DD managed a B plus on that exam so I didn't have to face doing anything about it. But, I would suggest that you go over the material with your student again and then use some of the questions off of the quarterly and semester test in the back of the solutions manual, to make your own second test. You can either average the grades of the two tests together or only record the second one. It is your choice and it is a valid choice. Many school teachers, when they see a total bombing of a very difficult topic, will choose to reteach the material and retest.

 

Faith

[Lawana]

This module seems to be especially difficult. Dd started the test, realized she couldn't do well on it, so I allowed her to study more and retake it.:glare: She would not have scored well if she had completed it the first time.

Here's hoping Module 4 is easier. Yay for Kingdom Fungi.

[ABQmom]

Sydni,

 

The first couple of chapters in Apologia biology are not the hardest, IMO, but are the pickiest. The text is laid out in context with the five kingdoms (Monera, Protista, Fungi, Plantae and Animalia). So the early chapters dealing with Kingdoms Monera and Protista are dealing with micro-biology. These are the parts of biology most students are least familiar with. Many students *get it* when the book talks about parts of a mushroom -- they've seen those in their yards for years. They understand parts of a flower and an earthworm.

 

But the phyla of Kingdom Monera is completely unfamiliar to them. In fact, it's easy to read that chapter and think -- who cares? So I think many students don't commit it to memory b/c it seems like such minutae.

 

Now I love those chapters because there is all kinds of information on bacteria, good and pathogenic, that affect us everydayd. I love to tell my students about the foods we eat that are created from bacteria. I love to talk about diseases caused by bacteria. Those connections help them to see the significance of Kingdom Monera.

 

Anyway, practically, here's what I would do:

1) use this to teach study skills. Some students may do great in physical science, chemistry, algebra I but bomb biology b/c it's fact-oriented and requires the student to memorize. Good time to teach how to memorize vocabulary, how to outline a chapter and how to study for a test.

 

2) use the study guides and chapter summaries. These are the best indicators of what will be tested.

 

3) if you want to re-test, e-mail Apologia for an alternate test. They have responded quickly to me in the past.

 

I actually don't think the tests are difficult, but I do wish there were more questions so that each one didn't count so much. You can add more vocabulary questions if you want to add more questions.

 

 

HTH,

Lisa

 

ETA: Just realized Module 3 is on Kingdom Protista. Still microbiology, for the most part, with lots of seemingly trivial info. She'll see the cell parts again in later chapters on the cell and plants. She may go into accounting and never need to know a euglena from a paramecium, but she will need the study skills. I had to specifically teach those to one of my dc and Apologia biology was a great bridge for that.

 

Hi Lisa,

 

This is a great help. Thank you. I agree about the study skills. I probably need to sit with dd again and help her with more of that. She does do the study guide and dh goes over it with her before the test.

 

Thanks to everyone for the input. All of it has been helpful. Now to go think where to start with Kingdom fungi!