Why CPO science?

[love2read]

I've noticed several threads on CPO science lately and have skimmed a pdf. It looks good, but I wasn't able to explore it enough to determine why there is a flurry of interest in it. I'm always ready to add another dimension to our science studies, so please share your thoughts :)

[KarenNC]

:lurk5:

[redsquirrel]

Well, I can only answer for myself.

 

I chose it for a number of reasons. This is in no particular order of any kind.

 

First, it is secular. As my kids get older I am finding it harder to find affordable secular science. Second, it has lots and lots of hands on work. It starts with experiments first and then moves to book work, just as TWTM suggests for the logic stage. Third, it is rigorous. I am in no way concerned my kids will miss out on something important if I use these books. It demands a lot of the student. It hits the subject from a number of different perspectives. The teacher's book offers literature, movies, more experiments, discussion guides, creative projects for almost every single subject. That gives me a lot of options as a teacher. I doubt I will take advantage of it all, but it is nice to know it is there. Finally, it introduces the intersection of math and science in an age and skill appropriate way. I would rather get that started sooner rather than later.

 

The first three things I mentioned, secular, hands on and rigorous, were what I was looking for in a science program. Affordable was also in the mix. I decided to just hold my nose and jump in!

[Dana]

I don't know if we'll use Singapore MPH 5/6 or CPO in 5th.

 

For those looking, here's a school district that has PDFs of the CPO science student books. (I forget who linked it initially... it's in one of the CPO threads... and thanks to whoever that was :) )

[love2read]

:lurk5:

[JulieD]

On the recommendation of the Hive, I bought CPO Physical Science. I was able to find it fairly inexpensively, and I'm looking forward to using it.

 

I was strongly influenced by the reasons redsquirrel mentioned. Another reason I selected it was that I enjoyed reading it. It didn't seem quite as choppy as a lot of middle-school science books. I liked that many resources are freely available on the website, too.

 

We will not be fully implementing the book this year, though. My son will be reading it and doing the math. We will be doing simpler Science in a Nutshell kits together with my daughter. I really, really wanted to implement the book fully, but I had to face the fact that I just don't have time to do labs with two children separately. My son will only be in sixth grade, so he has plenty of time to do more precise experiments later. We will still do labs relating to the work first, and then the reading. We may do some of the simpler labs such as measurement as well.

 

Julie D.

[Trez]

I am in the same boat as Dana. I'm not 100% sure whether to use MPH 5/6 or CPO for my son. I may end up combining the two some how.

 

Theresa

[Sunshine State Sue]

We used Science Explorer in 6th-7th-8th. It was the only secular science text I knew of at the time. I learned about CPO later on, but never seriously considered changing mid-stream. One advantage that CPO has over Science Explorer (and I liked Science Explorer) is that it is not as visually distracting. I was turned off initially by the busy layout of SE, but learned to deal with it. If I had to start over again with middle school science, I'd definitely look a lot closer at CPO.

 

HTH!

Edited June 11, 2011 by Sue in St Pete

[Luckymama]

I am so pleased that I chose CPO for this year. Dd was hungry for some decent science after only having science 2x/week at her former school.

 

Why I chose CPO:

 

--secular, duh

--meaty for a middle school text, nothing is dumbed down

--the labs are perfect for exploring the concept to be introduced the next day

--clean format, love the landscape orientation of the pages which leaves room for relevant information in sidebars

--assessment questions at the end of each chapter in the student text. She answered questions orally this year and will transition to half-oral/half-written next year.

--I love that the teacher book does not contain a miniature of the student text with additional writing around the edges. Books like that make me crazy. Instead, the teacher's guide is stuffed with explanations, teaching tips, and activities for exploration and extension of the covered topic. I especially appreciate the complete lab "write ups" with explanations of what the student may have encountered plus all answers and sample data so that you can see if the student is on the right track. This is very important if the lab covers a topic you only vaguely remember from high school or college!

 

Dd used Earth for this past 5th grade year. She will use Life next year (I spent yesterday reading the text and looking at all the labs) in 6th and Physical in 7th. I have no idea what we'll do for 8th grade science...

[Luckymama]

Sue replied while I was typing.

 

My older kids used PH Science Explorer during the middle school years at the same school dd had attended. I was familiar with the books, having helped the kids study, so had intended on using assorted PH Science Explorer books with dd until I came across CPO conversations here.