arstephia Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 BJU Life Science (7th grade) is sucking the life out of my son. I am thinking of shelving it and having him read the Answers in Genesis Exploring the World of Biology and The World Around You and the World of Chemistry books instead. It looks like it covers similar information... are they a 7th grade level? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 I have a couple of those (World Around Your, World of Chemistry), and no they're not the same level. Can you change how you're using the Life Science to make it work better for you? We're doing a chapter a week following amtmcm's recs from earlier threads. Mon-Wed we outline, read, and then discuss the text. Thurs she does the labs using the video. Friday the test. The key is that the Life Science really has to be outlined and studied that way. They specifically set it up for it (notice all the designations with the A1, A2, A3, etc.?) in order to teach outlining and study skills. The first few times we did it together, but dd quickly got to where she could type out the main points (which are obvious from the structure, fonts, etc.) and bolded terms herself. We're doing all this outlining on the computer, which makes it extra fun. We change colors, underline terms, etc. Thurs. I print out her notes so she can study them for her test Friday. Oh, the student activities pages she does over Wed and Thurs. Thurs. night she does the chapter review and studies by herself. So far so good. Frankly, I think it's more important to learn how to read the textbook and grapple with the material (outlining, whatever method you plan to use) than it is to learn the actual content. Nan in Mass and some others have recommended on the high school board some good books for study skills. "How to Study in College" was one. Really though, the main thing with the BJU is to outline the book and then discuss to fill in the details. The main structure is there, so dd gets that on her first passthrough as she outlines. She then reads the material, now that she sees where it's going. THEN we go back and discuss. I ask her what the main point is of the paragraph, have her make notes of lists (2 of this, 3 of that), etc. I look ahead to the test to see if my own thinking on the important things of the chapter is on-track. And oh, I outline all the material ahead myself. I guess that's overkill, but it has turned out to be invaluable. I refer to it constantly while I work through the material with her. My dd would have a "huh?" experience if I just tossed the book at her. This is what we have to do to make it work for us. It was recommended to me by a friend knows quite a bit about the BJU materials. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in WI Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 OT: OhElizabeth, is your daughter in 6th grade this year? I'm strongly leaning toward BJU Life Science for my oldest for next year (sixth grade). I'm fascinated by your post here. Could you point me to amtmcm's recs for more info? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 Heather-If you do an advanced search using her name and Life Science, you'll find her comments. Hit to read by posts instead of threads to make it faster. I think I even emailed her to pick her brain about it. When she made the posts her ideas were formative, just plans, and I bugged her to see how they had worked out. She said they had worked out fine, so I felt pretty confident going forward. BTW, doing a chapter a week is faster than the tm suggests, and it's a pretty rigorous 7th gr course. I'd only use it with an accelerated child for whom that fit. It's NOT something my dd does independently at this age. She does the basic outline and reads on her own, then I come back and spend more time discussing through the material with her and helping her chose the most important details. She does the labs on her own with the dvd because I'm gone that day taking ds to speech. So I guess it's your judgment call as to whether it's a good fit. The tm does include a more normal pace schedule. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in WI Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 Thank you for your response! I searched for hours last night and read through many, many posts. :-) Ds currently works above grade level (2+ in math, 1+ in science), but this would be his first science textbook. I'm starting to second guess myself about Life Science. I'm wondering if I should go with Science 6 (which would be his grade level next year), to get him into the textbook mindset. Or, is this silly, we should just jump right in. He is a great reader and we currently outline for history ala TWTM methods. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 You need to see a copy and decide for yourself. Are you going to any of the new regional conventions? http://www.cincinnatihomeschoolconvention.com They've been discussing them on the general board. I usually go to the Cincy one, but now they're have more, one in PA, one in Greenville SC, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in WI Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 Ok. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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