Science in a small "private" school

[Jillinan]

Hello,

 

I've been a WTM board reader for over 9 years now but rarely post..until now. I'm hoping to get some professional advice. :)

 

I will be teaching science to 7-9th graders this fall at a small, two-days-a week school geared to homeschoolers. The school seeks share the load of a homeschool mom and provide lots of great hands-on and group experiences in several core subjects and electives. (I will receive tuition exchange for my own children.) They haven't had a successful science program for this age group yet. The last experience these kids had was with a very knowledgeable man who threw complicated higher level math at them and created a bad taste for science in some of the kids. The school board feels like the two classes in this age group need a general science foundation so they've chosen Apologia General Science as the base text. One member of the board detests the dry textbook approach but doesn't really have a better suggestion. Enter me. They are hoping I can piece together a plan that will give the kids a good solid foundation with lots of hands on labs. I have a degree in biology and nine years of homeschooling under my belt, but I'm floundering a bit here.

 

Basically I'm struggling with how to provide a "book learning" aspect the kids can do at home to go along with our labs and hands on activites (Apologia General Science will be the framework, but we all agreed that the students would not purchase the book.) I thought maybe I could assign teaching videos (lots of free ones out there on the web) to coincide with weekly labs, maybe get permission to photocopy parts of Apologia's textbook for take home prep or deeper understanding work? Find other well written science stuff from other publishers? online sources? As much fun as it would be to just do labs every day, there's so much to learn about science that we can't do in a lab. And speaking of labs, if someone has some great suggestions beyond the labs in the Apologia textbook, I'd love to hear them. I've spent lots of time surfing the web...and there's sure a lot of stuff out there!

 

Thanks!

 

Jill

[tex-mex]

Hello,

 

I've been a WTM board reader for over 9 years now but rarely post..until now. I'm hoping to get some professional advice. :)

 

I will be teaching science to 7-9th graders this fall at a small, two-days-a week school geared to homeschoolers. The school seeks share the load of a homeschool mom and provide lots of great hands-on and group experiences in several core subjects and electives. (I will receive tuition exchange for my own children.) They haven't had a successful science program for this age group yet. The last experience these kids had was with a very knowledgeable man who threw complicated higher level math at them and created a bad taste for science in some of the kids. The school board feels like the two classes in this age group need a general science foundation so they've chosen Apologia General Science as the base text. One member of the board detests the dry textbook approach but doesn't really have a better suggestion. Enter me. They are hoping I can piece together a plan that will give the kids a good solid foundation with lots of hands on labs. I have a degree in biology and nine years of homeschooling under my belt, but I'm floundering a bit here.

 

Basically I'm struggling with how to provide a "book learning" aspect the kids can do at home to go along with our labs and hands on activites (Apologia General Science will be the framework, but we all agreed that the students would not purchase the book.) I thought maybe I could assign teaching videos (lots of free ones out there on the web) to coincide with weekly labs, maybe get permission to photocopy parts of Apologia's textbook for take home prep or deeper understanding work? Find other well written science stuff from other publishers? online sources? As much fun as it would be to just do labs every day, there's so much to learn about science that we can't do in a lab. And speaking of labs, if someone has some great suggestions beyond the labs in the Apologia textbook, I'd love to hear them. I've spent lots of time surfing the web...and there's sure a lot of stuff out there!

 

Thanks!

 

Jill

Have you been able to come up with a basic scope and sequence plan? I'm a little confused. It sounds like you will be teaching General Science to all of the 7-9th graders in one class - twice a week. Correct?

[3andme]

Are you committed to Apologia? It seems like Rainbow Science might be a good fit for your class if you're not required to use Apologia.

 

Also, here's a link to access CPO science books online. These are very good secular middle school science books. You could use these as a spine. There are a number of posts about these books on the Middle School forum.

[Jillinan]

I will be teaching the 7th and younger 8th graders in one class and the older 8th graders and 9th graders in another class. Twice a week.

 

I am in the process of putting together a plan, a scope and sequence. It will loosely follow Apologia's General Science book, but I'd like to add in some other things like maybe some "how science affects your life today" or some popular science topics right now like forensic science and biotechnology.

 

Does that make it more clear? I'm having a hard time explaining it well because I'm a little muddled myself right now.:confused: Sorry!

 

Jill

[ilovemy4kids]

Wow! You are brave, If it were me, I'd feel like the kids would "need" to have access to the textbook at home, I just can't see how they would be able to get enough from only 2 days a week, but I could be misunderstanding the arrangement.

 

Maybe you could get a "teacher resource" type book with reproducibles to send home, and also research web links to have the kids read as homework assignments.

 

Blessings

Sandra

[Ellie]

Wow! You are brave, If it were me, I'd feel like the kids would "need" to have access to the textbook at home, I just can't see how they would be able to get enough from only 2 days a week, but I could be misunderstanding the arrangement.

:iagree:

 

My dd did BJUP's biology with a small group and a tutor. They only met once a week. The tutor lectured and did all the labs with them; the students did their written assignments at home during the week at home, and they definitely needed the textbook.

 

Also, I think that requiring the parents to purchase the text will give them some commitment to seeing that their dc attend the classes and do the actual work. Really.

[Jillinan]

Wow! You are brave, If it were me, I'd feel like the kids would "need" to have access to the textbook at home, I just can't see how they would be able to get enough from only 2 days a week, but I could be misunderstanding the arrangement.

 

Maybe you could get a "teacher resource" type book with reproducibles to send home, and also research web links to have the kids read as homework assignments.

 

Blessings

Sandra

 

Well, I'm not feeling brave as I try to imagine how they can access the information outside of class. I do like the idea of reproducibles to send home. That's why I'm thinking it would be great if Apologia had a copying policy where the school could pay a fee and I could photocopy portions to send home. (We will be skipping entire modules and doing only parts of others so I don't think the families need to purchase the entire book.) I need to contact Apologia.

 

I've also been researching web links--thanks for that recommendation. There are so many great things out there! I just have to take a deep breath when I start to get overwhelmed by it all.

 

Jill

[mom31257]

I'm just curious, but what will the 9th graders be doing about getting a high school science credit out of it?

 

Alpha Omega has several General Science Lifepac sets. Could you possibly pick out some that would coincide with topics you are studying and have the parents just purchase those? Individual books are about $5 each.

 

Have you seen these kits? They start at Physical science but you can purchase separate lab manuals for the students.

 

Also, Dive Science has a syllabus index on here that has links to websites for instruction. Scroll down and you can find them under science and type of textbook or just the internet sources. Again, this starts with Physical Science, but you might find useful topics in any of them.

[74Heaven]

Very kind of you to do this though. It sounds like you will be spending gobs of hours to self-design something to use. I don't have many suggestions because I can't imagine the amt. of work you will be doing in re-creating the wheel to offer what they want. Now, I think it is great if you have a passion and desire to offer this subject to these students.

 

Personally, I can only guess that budget is sugg. the families not purchase the books. What will the families be purchasing for this class? IOW, is there a dollar amt. that you have to spend.

 

Used copies of Apologia Gen. Science couldn't be too expensive - depending on how many you need, between now and Sept 2011, maybe you could get texts that the students could share? Esp if you are all meeting for only 2 hours a week - I mean science is a 3hr a week gig in jr high and 5++ hours a week i high school?

 

Good luck!

Lisa j

[tex-mex]

Used copies of Apologia Gen. Science couldn't be too expensive - depending on how many you need, between now and Sept 2011, maybe you could get texts that the students could share? Esp if you are all meeting for only 2 hours a week - I mean science is a 3hr a week gig in jr high and 5++ hours a week i high school?

 

Good luck!

Lisa j

:iagree: If anything, the students will need to refer to something during the week outside of class. Plus, I highly doubt Apologia would allow reprinting (without $$ compensation) of classroom sets. They too may suggest your group to buy used books. Many used book sales offer the Apologia General Science at around $20 each, for example. Less for the first edition.

 

I know of one coop near us that meets 2x a week for science and the teacher provides the Apologia textbook (loan) to each student for the year. Grades are not released until the book is returned in good condition. There is a fee for copying and science lab materials. But no monthly tuition. I would go back to the board and mention this factor if you are struggling with this. Another idea is to create your own worksheets as homework or reading and give credit to the book and cite the page. Lots of work, but may be cheaper? I am worried at the workload you have to bear with re-inventing the "wheel" as opposed to simply having each student provide their own textbook -- used or new. If so, then all you need to do is prepare a syllabus and weekly lesson plans.

[tex-mex]

I would be troubled having my 9th grader start at General Science. Most colleges do not look at it. Why not delve into IPC? It covers the basics like Gen Sci -- but colleges accept it as first year science for high school. For the upper graders, perhaps using this website as a resource for worksheets? You can base the Apologia Physical Science textbook on it from an Integrated Physics and Chemistry POV:

 

http://www.cstephenmurray.com/worksheets.htm

 

Here is an electronic (secular) IPC book that correlates to the worksheets:

http://www.cpo.com/ipcres/bookTOC.html

 

The DIVE IPC CD-Rom goes well with this set, btw. Only $50. Perhaps you can buy it and summarize his lectures to the class with your own powerpoint?

Edited April 2, 2011 by tex-mex

[FloridaLisa]

Very kind of you to do this though. It sounds like you will be spending gobs of hours to self-design something to use. I don't have many suggestions because I can't imagine the amt. of work you will be doing in re-creating the wheel to offer what they want. Now, I think it is great if you have a passion and desire to offer this subject to these students.

 

Personally, I can only guess that budget is sugg. the families not purchase the books. What will the families be purchasing for this class? IOW, is there a dollar amt. that you have to spend.

 

:iagree:

 

Jillinan,

 

In reading your post, there are several concerns:

 

1) First and foremost, I would be very wary of doing the General Science text with 9th graders. At the outset, it's not really that interesting! (And I like Apologia.) Moreover, it's not really necessary for a *science foundation* and more importantly, it's going to leave the 9th graders with a gaping hole on their transcript for 9th grade science. (JMO, but even Apologia doesn't recommend it for high school science.)

 

There is no prerequisite to Apologia biology and I think even 9th graders that have little or no science background (but decent study skills) can do the course. I would think that a 2-day-a-week class with a solid teacher (you) would be a much better foundation for high school science in 10th -12th than General Science.

 

2) I agree that it's going to be a lot of work for you to create materials outside of class when the students don't have the book. Is there any reason why parents aren't buying the book? Again, if the board wants to give the kids a solid foundation in science this year, you are hard pressed to do that without teaching the students how to study from a text, outline it, take notes in class and study for a test.

 

In my experience, the class period is used to extend what the students have been learning at home, not to present the material. So the class time is filled with labs, hands-on projects, presentations, etc.

 

Best wishes as you map this out! :tongue_smilie:

Lisa

[Ellie]

Alpha Omega has several General Science Lifepac sets. Could you possibly pick out some that would coincide with topics you are studying and have the parents just purchase those? Individual books are about $5 each.

Alpha Omega's high school science is dreadful. Just dreadful.:ack2:

[justasque]

Very kind of you to do this though. It sounds like you will be spending gobs of hours to self-design something to use. I don't have many suggestions because I can't imagine the amt. of work you will be doing in re-creating the wheel to offer what they want. Now, I think it is great if you have a passion and desire to offer this subject to these students.

 

My experience is that this type of co-op class, at the middle/high school level, works best if the students have some reading and some questions from the reading to do at home, then have hands-on activities in class to reinforce what they've read about at home. Pulling this together without a textbook will be a lot of work for you. It's not just finding the material, it's choosing what you need, printing it out, getting copies made, testing out internet activities to make sure they work and teach what you want them to teach (you may go through several before finding the one you want), and so on. That is even more true if you are expected to provide work at a high school level for the older class. Don't forget you'll also need to print up a syllabus or assignment sheet for each class period, keep track of attendance, who's turned in what, and so on. If you are planning on doing some kind of assessment (quizzes, tests), or giving grades, that will take your time too - grading the assignments, etc. I'm not trying to talk you out of this!!! It can be a wonderful experience, but inventing a course from scratch is *work* - make sure you have time for it!

 

A package like the Prentice Hall Science Explorer books, designed for middle schoolers, would give you inexpensive texts, an inexpensive workbook, on-line activities, and suggested experiments to do together. I am sure there are other programs out there as well that would work well in a co-op; others have made good suggestions.

 

If the families do not want to buy the textbooks, are they willing to pay for any photocopies? Are they willing to pay for the materials and equipment you may need for experiments? These things are inexpensive but they do add up over time, and of course you may need multiples of various things (e.g. one for each student); best to have this worked out beforehand. If the families are not willing to invest their money in the course, I'd be cautious about investing your time, KWIM? (Copies, for example, are cheaper for them but more work for you.) Again, not trying to talk you out of it, but not wanting a text for an upper-level science course is a bit of a red flag. (Why don't they want a text? Money? Afraid it will be dry? Kids not willing to read it? No time for homework? Dig a little deeper so you know exactly what people do and don't want.)

 

...I highly doubt Apologia would allow reprinting (without $$ compensation) of classroom sets...

 

 

Textbooks can always be sold at the end of the year.

 

Also, I think that requiring the parents to purchase the text will give them some commitment to seeing that their dc attend the classes and do the actual work. Really.

 

Yes. Really.

 

...

In my experience, the class period is used to extend what the students have been learning at home, not to present the material. So the class time is filled with labs, hands-on projects, presentations, etc.

 

 

Doing a "general science" class will be good for the middle schoolers, but probably not a great idea for the 9th graders, as previous posters mentioned, unless they are not college-bound. As a previous poster noted, not only would "general science" not be ideal for the 9th grade transcript, but it may not provide the background needed for later high school courses.

 

For middle school, I like a broad range of topics, as an introduction to various high school courses. For example, some intro chemistry, some intro biology, and so on. Students can begin to learn the vocabulary, as well as the basic concepts, so that it isn't all new to them in high school.

 

Are you willing to teach two quite different classes? Or are you aiming to mirror the subjects in each class, but go into more depth with the olders? Easier for you to take the latter approach, but may not be best for the students, especially those at the extremes of the age range.

 

The nice thing is that you have two days per week to work with. Of course that means you only have three days to assign work to be done at home.

 

If you are pulling something together without a text, do allow extra time during the year to tweak it based on what is working and what is not. (Of course, you'd have to do that somewhat anyway since it's your first year.)

 

I've taught at co-ops, and it is very challenging but also very rewarding. Keep thinking and talking to the co-op folks about their needs and the available resources, take an honest assessment of your time commitment and work within it, and you'll do fine. :001_smile:

[mom31257]

Alpha Omega's high school science is dreadful. Just dreadful.:ack2:

 

Sorry, I've never used it. I just thought it might be a cheap option. It's good to know, though.

[PeterPan]

Having worked in admissions at a university, I can tell you anyone submitting Apologia General Science as a 9th gr course would have had it marked off their transcript and not counted toward admission requirements. Since you have two groups of students, you may want to do two courses, one worth high school credit. I think Lisa's suggestion toward Biology is wise, very wise. Trim it down for the lowers and call it Life Science if you want.

 

I'm also not sure if your board has thought through the ramifications of making these style choices for other children. If *1* board member thinks science out of the box is better and textbooks suck the joy, that might fit her situation. But the reality is children need to learn to read textbooks, need to learn how to study, need to learn how to outline or take notes, how to grapple with something challenging, etc. This is something they're going to face in the future, and it's your chance now to introduce them gently. It's actually more important that they acquire these SKILLS than to learn the science. At this age the SKILLS they are learning in the study are more important than the content. So you want to ask yourself how each lesson and task is building the SKILLS they need to be successful in the future. Those are the teachers that students come back to thank later.

 

We're doing the BJU Life Science right now, and some chapters are inherently more hands-on than others. I find myself needing to go back and get it more out of the box, which is definitely a challenge. I totally agree that's important. However the chapters that are a bit more theoretical and bookish are still important too. (origins, philosophy of science, definition of life, etc.) I think I'm saying good luck, cuz I'm right there with you. :)

[Jillinan]

Such wonderful feedback. Thank you everyone! Since I am new to this and I just realized that some of these kids will be 9th graders, I wasn't sure how to approach the board. Now I know better which direction I should go. The board is new to having 9th graders (the 8th graders advancing this year) so they probably just haven't thought through the process.

 

Jill

[tex-mex]

Such wonderful feedback. Thank you everyone! Since I am new to this and I just realized that some of these kids will be 9th graders, I wasn't sure how to approach the board. Now I know better which direction I should go. The board is new to having 9th graders (the 8th graders advancing this year) so they probably just haven't thought through the process.

 

Jill

Please keep us posted on how the school year goes. I'm excited for you! I think the students will have a great year!