What do you want in a Science Curriculum?

[Happy Scientist]

On a related side note, after reading through half of The Magic of Reality, I'm finding several concepts FINALLY clicking for me. I love how easy of a read it is, but how comprehensive it is! After I finish, I'm going to have dd9 read it.

 

It's the first time I've actually felt excited about science!

 

First, thank you for the kind words. The Magic of Reality is on my reading list. Another great book to check out is "The Canon, A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science" by Natalie Angrier. In fact, it comes as close to "my kind of spine" as anything I have found.

 

Rob

[HootyTooty]

I have been reading along with the thread.

 

I think you are right:

I am still looking at the various spines that folks here use, but I am starting to agree with your earlier comment that I should jump into the Study Units, and become my own spine.

That way as you hopefully grow and expand you are using your own material.

 

What would REALLY help is to get constructive criticism along the way, to help me keep on track of what you want and need. Would any of you be interested in following along "live" as I develop the units, making suggestions, asking questions, telling me what didn't work for you, and generally giving me a live audience to work with?

I would love to be part of a group of helpers. I have a 5 yr old and a 11 yr old. Do you know where you would want to start age wise if you are using your own material?

[PIE!]

I am still looking at the various spines that folks here use, but I am starting to agree with your earlier comment that I should jump into the Study Units, and become my own spine.

 

What would REALLY help is to get constructive criticism along the way, to help me keep on track of what you want and need. Would any of you be interested in following along "live" as I develop the units, making suggestions, asking questions, telling me what didn't work for you, and generally giving me a live audience to work with?

 

I've been lurking along your threads this week, and this is what I was hoping you'd do! Right now we're doing second grade earth science and astronomy - and your minerals unit was very well received this week. Your current website is very easy to align with our current science programs (a hodgepodge of Elemental Science, REAL Science Odyssey, library books, experiment kits, Bill Nye, and our own ideas). More Happy Scientist would be great! Eventually you'll probably have enough unit studies to be considered a full curriculum, or still a great supplement.

 

Thanks for everything you do!

[Happy Scientist]

I would love to be part of a group of helpers. I have a 5 yr old and a 11 yr old. Do you know where you would want to start age wise if you are using your own material?

 

My style of teaching has always been towards a family audience, aiming to provide interesting, understandable science for a broad age range. During my years of museum education, and the years that I roamed the country doing live performances, I usually had an audience that ranged from preschool up through adults. I try not to talk down to anyone, or over the heads of anyone, and I fully agree with the Einstein quote in my sig, with the addition that it applies to 5 yr. olds as well as grandmothers. Far too many people underestimate the abilities of young minds.

 

So, to answer your question, I need an audience that is as broad as possible, and that includes adults as well. Someone that does not know about minerals, electricity, etc. needs the same basic concepts, no matter how old they are. Some will want more depth than others, but I have found that often, the first graders want as much depth (and sometimes more) than the middle school students.

 

I am still thinking about the logistics, and the best way to set it up. I need to track down the "powers that be" for this forum, and talk with them. I can set up a forum on my site, but since you are all comfortable here, it would be nice to keep a running conversation here. I just don't want to step on any toes, or wear out my welcome.

 

Rob

[HootyTooty]

I agree about the Yahoo Groups idea.

[Happy Scientist]

 

Never mind' date=' I did it anyway..lol

 

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HappyScientistHomeschoolers/[/quote']

 

Yahoo groups could work, but I can also easily set up a forum on The Happy Scientist site, which would make it easy to link to new resources, etc. I am playing with that now. I also emailed the Well-Trained Mind folks, to ask their thoughts on the subject.

[HappyGrace]

Sorry-no time to read this WHOLE thread but sounds like you got some good ideas.

 

One thing-I have to agree with another poster who said the layout of BFSU is difficult to work with-I AGREE! I have the younger elementary one here and my eyes cross when I try to use it. To me (and many others-just ck old posts on these boards) BFSU's setup/layout is just too mind-boggling to put it together into any usable form! So that would be something you'd need to address if you used BFSU.

 

Best of luck with this endeavor! Looking forward to the results. But please hurry!:D

 

ETA: Oh, sorry-just went back and saw that BFSU is ruled out anyway. Will ck back to this thread to see what you come up with, and would be happy to be part of the "helper" team! I have a 3rd and 6th grader.

Edited January 15, 2012 by HappyGrace

[Stuart]

I appreciate a curriculum that can be used as a family but I also think it is necessary to include experiments/activities/discussions that can be used 1:1. As a parent of an only this is important to us. Thanks

[*Jessica*]

I am still looking at the various spines that folks here use, but I am starting to agree with your earlier comment that I should jump into the Study Units, and become my own spine.

Yes, please do this! We've subscribed to the experiment of the week for a long time and my boys LOVE watching your videos. Your enthusiasm for science is infectious! We've used bits and pieces from R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey, BFSU, Supercharged Science, and a few experiment books, and have had little success sticking with them. We do consistently use your experiment of the week newsletter! I would really prefer to use your resources as the spine instead of trying to fit them to another program.

 

What would REALLY help is to get constructive criticism along the way, to help me keep on track of what you want and need. Would any of you be interested in following along "live" as I develop the units, making suggestions, asking questions, telling me what didn't work for you, and generally giving me a live audience to work with?

 

Rob

We would love to be a part of this.

[go_go_gadget]

We would also love to be a part of the testing process! We're not using a spine currently, and just became subscribers to your site. Thanks for all that you do!

[Pen]

Thank you for your kind words. My price is one of the places where I have held the line, in spite of advice to bump it "way up" from every business and marketing person I have ever talked to. I wish I could afford to make it free, without filling the site with annoying ads for things you don't want anyway.

 

I am still looking at the various spines that folks here use, but I am starting to agree with your earlier comment that I should jump into the Study Units, and become my own spine.

 

What would REALLY help is to get constructive criticism along the way, to help me keep on track of what you want and need. Would any of you be interested in following along "live" as I develop the units, making suggestions, asking questions, telling me what didn't work for you, and generally giving me a live audience to work with?

 

Rob

 

I would be interested if it can be made to work in the hour M-F that we currently have access to high speed computer. (I assume you are web-based?)

 

In theory, I think my son would like science the best of all subjects -- but having SOTW, Magic Treehouse and other excellent things for history means that he has come to prefer history.

 

I appreciate what you said about kits being a problem due to expense. The idea of using just household stuff is great--as long as we really do have it, or can readily get it at a grocery store. Yep. We've got ice cream, the organic kind. Does it get to be eaten at the end of experiment?

[Happy Scientist]

OK, I am in the process of setting up a forum on my site, and should have it ready in a day or two. In the mean time, if you would like to be part of the group to help develop the Study Units, email me at rob@krampf.com.

 

Rob

[Pen]

P.S. My son listens to SOTW on tape just for fun. He also likes Talkingfingers.com and thinks it is fun. I'll try him on your website when we have high speed access on Tuesday, and see how he likes it. If it is something he wants to do for fun, that would be amazing awesome. If it would replace Coolmathgames (which to me are just games and I don't really see any math there--but they serve as rewards for other things) it would be stupendous.

[Beth in SW WA]

OK, I am in the process of setting up a forum on my site, and should have it ready in a day or two. In the mean time, if you would like to be part of the group to help develop the Study Units, email me at rob@krampf.com.

 

Rob

 

After hunting all over town Saturday morning for 'laundry bluing' for a science project I now realize how much I need an open & go kit with a step-by-step guide and a video element. Sounds like you will have all three. :)

 

After viewing your free videos for months...This morning I subscribed to your site, became a fan on FB, pinned your site on my Pinterest board and sent you my email for the Study Units. Thank you!

[Doubleblessings]

We used two of your videos today (the spoons and water glasses) to go with our BFSU lesson on sound. It was a great help. The kids did your experiments after watching the videos and really enjoyed it. Well worth the small fee for use of the site.

[Five More Minutes]

I'm REALLY late to this conversation, and you've had lots of good feedback, but I'll just chime in ... I want Story of the World for science. :-)

 

What I like about SOTW is:

- It has a spine that is nice to read aloud. It's well-written, has excellent illustrations, and doesn't use comic sans.

- The AG has multiple activities per chapter -- it doesn't rely on only one activity (demonstration / experiment) to extend the lesson. That way if I don't have the materials or the time for one activity, chances are another will work for me.

- The AG also has recommendations of additional reading, plus colouring pages / activity pages that are dead simple for me to copy and use on those really busy days.

- Everything is available in both print and PDF format. I like the spine in printed format and the AG in PDF, myself.

 

I am enjoying BFSU here a lot, using RS4K as our narrative spine. I find it difficult to follow the BFSU layout sometimes, although if I take the time it's not so bad. I do like how we lead into topics by discussing observations of demonstrations, and that most demonstrations do actually use things that I have in the house.

 

RS4K has well-written narratives and good illustrations, but the font is killing me. Also, the experiments are so-so -- there is only one per chapter, and some of them require specialized things not easily found here in Canada.

 

I'm going to poke around your website now. You've got me curious!

[Happy Scientist]

The AG also has recommendations of additional reading, plus colouring pages / activity pages that are dead simple for me to copy and use on those really busy days.

 

Great comments! I have been wondering about coloring pages, and how useful they would be. I am not an artist, but I can use Photoshop to change my photographs into line drawings. I am very curious to know how much detail to leave in, balancing simplicity for younger students with the ability for older students to learn more about structure, camouflage, etc.

 

Rob

[Happy Scientist]

I want Story of the World for science. :-)

 

Ordering a copy now, so I can see how it is put together. Thanks!

[stripe]

Great comments! I have been wondering about coloring pages, and how useful they would be. I am not an artist, but I can use Photoshop to change my photographs into line drawings. I am very curious to know how much detail to leave in, balancing simplicity for younger students with the ability for older students to learn more about structure, camouflage, etc.

 

Rob

 

There is a lady with a chemistry coloring book by the way

 

http://www.howtoteachscience.com/

[Happy Scientist]

There is a lady with a chemistry coloring book by the way

 

http://www.howtoteachscience.com/

 

Thanks! Do you think more detailed drawings would make it too difficult for young students?

[stripe]

Thanks! Do you think more detailed drawings would make it too difficult for young students?

 

Honestly, my oldest has always hated coloring so I don't "assign" any, but I thought you might be interested to know about her program.

[Happy Scientist]

Honestly, my oldest has always hated coloring so I don't "assign" any, but I thought you might be interested to know about her program.

 

Thanks! I have never designed any coloring activities, but several folks have asked about it. I don't want to make coloring pages just for the sake of coloring, but I can see places where it could be a learning experience. Most of them would require much more detail than the drawings in the chemistry coloring book, and I wonder if that would be too frustrating for young students.

 

Rob

[warneral]

I love the concepts in BFSU but I feel I have to pull together the teaching material myself. I would love references to where your videos would work but I woul also love a spine.

[threeturn]

I have been a subscriber to your site since September and the kids just watched the fist video yesterday, so I really need something that has a text and keys the videos to it. We love videos and the kids wanted to watch that one twice. I agree that the SOTW approach is a good one. You might want to get the activity guide and have a look at that too.

 

My kids are younger. We use coloring pages mostly to give them something to do while I read aloud. If the pages are more detailed they aren't frustrated, but that may just be my kids. I think I would gear them toward the middle elementary range. Just my two cents.

 

I have been looking at BFSU to use for next year. I have found the lesson outlines done by a mom (or teacher) in the Yahoo group invaluable. I can print the outline, read the chapter, jot a note or two and be ready to go.

[gramlingk]

I am looking for a hands on curriculum with a materials kit for experiments and the lessons provided on CD or online for my children to follow on their own, if possible. I would love the subjects to be divided, meaning a whole year course on Chemistry, Biology, Physical Science, etc. and for these to be offered at various grade level ranges.

[Critterfixer]

I am trying to get a feel for what you need from a science curriculum. Would you rather have one website that had everything? Or would you rather use one or more books as a spine, and then have videos, experiments, etc. keyed to those? How do you feel about broad spectrum units, where students at different grade levels can study the same subject at the same time? What do you like most about the curriculum you are using now? What do you dislike most about that curriculum?

 

 

Books as a spine and video, experiments AND suggested exploring ideas keyed to those. I also would love to have additional library options listed for additional work on the subject. Someone mentioned SOTW. One of the things in the activity guide that I really like is the lists of books for additional reading-many are actually fiction around the theme. I don't know about others, but I actually enjoy pairing some of my read-alouds with history, and I'd love to do the same with science more often. (For instance, as we are in earth science right now I think Jules Verne might be perfect!)

 

I actually kind of like broad-spectrum units, because then I don't feel like I'm getting the lollipop land version with my two young boys. I ran into this problem with rocks and minerals. Everything at the boys level was way too simplistic and tended to dwell on activism, and not on the nuts and bolts of things. I wanted a simple book that would take them through rocks, composition of the rocks, where they could be found, what the uses were, what they looked like. Couldn't find it until I hunted up a vintage resource.

 

What I am using: Harold Fairbanks Stories of Rocks and Minerals paired with a decent rock kit. We love this book. It has a narrative style and is easy to narrate from. It pairs almost perfectly with a good rock collection. Because some of the information is out-dated, it makes for a great opportunity to discuss resources (for example, when was the last time you heard it mentioned in a child's book that petroleum may well have saved the whales?), and to discuss how things have changed (the chapters on lead and asbestos provide examples.) There are also great narrative chapters on mining, which don't gloss over how things were done. Thus I don't have "to give a lesson" on how mining affects people and the environments. They can hear it in the stories of men sweating and breathing in toxic air, and see it in the pictures on the pages.

 

What I dislike about the curriculum I use? Not enough experiments. Yes we have gone and dug our own rocks and I think I've done a pretty good job of creating an interest in rocks given the buckets of rocks in my child's room! But I'd like to have more hand's on activities indexed to the curriculum. (Yes we burned sulfur, tested other rocks for sulphur by heating them, sampled hot springs, dug in gravels, explored the concept of erosion, and identified fossils we found in our own yard, but it might be nice to have more ideas to choose from.)

 

I'm fixing to build our weather unit in the next month just in time for tornado season. I'm pretty excited about that, but again, I'm really having to do it from scratch to get the level of detail I want with a fact-oriented focus.

[Five More Minutes]

Great comments! I have been wondering about coloring pages, and how useful they would be. I am not an artist, but I can use Photoshop to change my photographs into line drawings. I am very curious to know how much detail to leave in, balancing simplicity for younger students with the ability for older students to learn more about structure, camouflage, etc.

 

Rob

 

The colouring pages / line drawings in SOTW are fantastic, along with word searches, crosswords, and mazes that get thrown into the mix. What I like is that for each chapter in SOTW I have one pull-out-and-go page for my students.

 

On the level of detail for colouring pages ... I would think that if it's a colouring page, it's probably going to be geared more for younger children (vs. teens). In that instance, the detail could be slightly less. (Evan Moor's Beginning Geography has some good examples of younger-level pictures and labeling exercises.) However, if it's more of a labeling exercise, then that may extend to the older crowd where more fine detail would be appropriate.

[Five More Minutes]

Books as a spine and video, experiments AND suggested exploring ideas keyed to those. I also would love to have additional library options listed for additional work on the subject. Someone mentioned SOTW. One of the things in the activity guide that I really like is the lists of books for additional reading-many are actually fiction around the theme. I don't know about others, but I actually enjoy pairing some of my read-alouds with history, and I'd love to do the same with science more often. (For instance, as we are in earth science right now I think Jules Verne might be perfect!)

 

....

I wanted a simple book that would take them through rocks, composition of the rocks, where they could be found, what the uses were, what they looked like. Couldn't find it until I hunted up a vintage resource.

 

 

I, too, love the extended reading lists in SOTW ... both the additional non-fiction, AND the fiction.

 

And, like you, I'm finding that vintage and hard-to-get resources are often the best narrated. (Like this one on Canadian animals.) They may not be terribly current, but sometimes it's easier to correct facts sometimes than it is to plod through silly or dull narratives.

[Critterfixer]

And, like you, I'm finding that vintage and hard-to-get resources are often the best narrated. (Like this one on Canadian animals.) They may not be terribly current, but sometimes it's easier to correct facts sometimes than it is to plod through silly or dull narratives.

 

It's really strange. You'd think that newer resources would be able to take advantage of the story format the way the vintage resources did.

But I think that most of the newer books have to be written at grade-level so that the children can read them. No one expects that parents would be actually wanting to read science books to their children and to discuss them, explaining harder parts as they go along.

Every now and then I find a good one for read alound that is current, but typically they are all animal oriented. I have found some decent things on individual topics of wide interest, like volcanoes. But finding good stuff on less popular topics is hard.

[woolybear]

Some more thoughts I have had:

 

I would like a science curriculum which did not have one topic/discipline for the year. I would like to focus on an area for 1-2 months and then move on. Ideally, it would not need to be done in a certain order, as different people start school at different times of year, different seasons, etc.

 

I would also like to see book suggestions to go along with the subject broken down into several categories. It would be good if there was both fiction and non fiction. Also, a break down by ages or stages would be good. A selection of picture books and chapter books would also be appreciated.

 

Possibly a mention of the historical context or significance of the subject being studied would be welcome as well. I find that science is often taught as one or the other--history of science or practical science. I would like to be able to blend the two.

 

On coloring pages--my boys are not into coloring pages. However, related craft ideas would go over well. I think there can be elements of both experiment and exploration.

 

And of course, discovery box suggestions.

 

All of this tied in with your videos would be wonderful.

[Doodle]

Thanks! I have never designed any coloring activities, but several folks have asked about it. I don't want to make coloring pages just for the sake of coloring, but I can see places where it could be a learning experience. Most of them would require much more detail than the drawings in the chemistry coloring book, and I wonder if that would be too frustrating for young students.

 

Rob

 

I would enjoy color pages that were more along the lines of a diagram that sums up or illustrates the topics of the reading. Currently I search the internet for such images after each topic so that we have something to add to our lapbook. I am guessing a detail color pages that you envision would probably do the trick for us.

[stripe]

It's really strange. You'd think that newer resources would be able to take advantage of the story format the way the vintage resources did.

But I think that most of the newer books have to be written at grade-level so that the children can read them.

Yeah, I have an old volume of Childcraft, called Nature Excursions (the one with the orange cover). It's very much written to the parents.

 

Granted, some of the Childcraft volumes have been well-enjoyed by at least one child for solitary reading, but the latest one on math (2011 or 2012) I checked out of the library struck me as very low level. There was stuff on there about subtracting, like, 3 from 5. Huh? Mathemagic, on the other hand, is at a much higher level.

[Happy Scientist]

Thanks for all the suggestions and comments! I'll give the coloring pages a stab, to see how well they work, and post one here if I get something that I am pleased with.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Thanks! Do you think more detailed drawings would make it too difficult for young students?

 

Something you might want to read about is "notebooking". This is a way of having the student retell the information on a page, that is usually then kept in a 3 ring binder. It could be as simple as a page for a narration with a topical picture in the corner. Or it might have several different "windows" on the page for text, a diagram, a timeline, etc.

 

You can see some free pages at notebookingpages.com.

 

Barb at Harmony Art Mom has some notebooking samples and a lot of blog posts about using them (she is also a member of the WTM board). She has a companion blog for Handbook of Nature Study, which also has some notebooking resources.

 

Apologia has notebooking pages and student journals that correspond to their books.

 

One nice thing about a notebooking approach is that it seems far more flexible in terms of student age and ability. I found a bunch more samples of science notebooking pages here.

 

Some families take this a step further and make what are called "lapbooks" which are something like a file folder with a set of mini-books secured inside. They might be as simple as stapled together mini sheets or they might have moving parts (like a spinner).

[Sebastian (a lady)]

FWIW, I think it's worth pointing out that if you have activities like a crossword that it's good to have an answer key somewhere.

 

Also, for those of us who are working with students on the high school level, having test question banks, essay prompts (with a grading guideline) or info that will help prep a student for an AP exam or SAT 2 subject test is a huge help.

 

Since high schoolers are working on a transcript, having grades does matter. Also, many use outside exams like AP or SAT 2 as an outside verification of grades assigned (this varies widely from family to family and even from kid to kid).

 

While I'd love to say that we still are pursuing learning for the sheer joy of it (and this is often the case), I also have a real feeling of future inspectors breathing down my neck. I want to make sure that my kids' experience and education is somehow translatable into terms that an admissions office will understand.

 

(And FWIW, there can be negative perceptions of homeschoolers on the part of some science departments. I heard one President Emeritus of Stanford dismiss all homeschoolers as not "intellectually curious". Thus it is doubly important to me that what I present course descriptions, texts and test scores that will be immediately recognizable to the Powers That Be. And don't even get me started about the need to submitt four years' worth of transcripts and course descriptions to NCAA if my kids intend to do varsity sports in college.)

[nmoira]

And then there are those of us whose eyes glaze over at the very thought. I think having a number of activities geared to different skill levels that a parent can choose to use as they will is fantastic, but to have explicitly notebooking centered units are a turnoff to many of us. I and mine would rather watch pitch drip than make a lapbook. :tongue_smilie:

 

Dropping in on the Australian Pitch Drop Experiment

 

 

Something you might want to read about is "notebooking". This is a way of having the student retell the information on a page, that is usually then kept in a 3 ring binder. It could be as simple as a page for a narration with a topical picture in the corner. Or it might have several different "windows" on the page for text, a diagram, a timeline, etc.

 

You can see some free pages at notebookingpages.com.

 

Barb at Harmony Art Mom has some notebooking samples and a lot of blog posts about using them (she is also a member of the WTM board). She has a companion blog for Handbook of Nature Study, which also has some notebooking resources.

 

Apologia has notebooking pages and student journals that correspond to their books.

 

One nice thing about a notebooking approach is that it seems far more flexible in terms of student age and ability. I found a bunch more samples of science notebooking pages here.

 

Some families take this a step further and make what are called "lapbooks" which are something like a file folder with a set of mini-books secured inside. They might be as simple as stapled together mini sheets or they might have moving parts (like a spinner).

[Jen500]

And then there are those of us whose eyes glaze over at the very thought. I think having a number of activities geared to different skill levels that a parent can choose to use as they will is fantastic, but to have explicitly notebooking centered units are a turnoff to many of us. I and mine would rather watch pitch drip than make a lapbook. :tongue_smilie:

 

 

:iagree:

I hope the Happy Scientist isn't overwhelmed. :lol:

[Happy Scientist]

(And FWIW, there can be negative perceptions of homeschoolers on the part of some science departments. I heard one President Emeritus of Stanford dismiss all homeschoolers as not "intellectually curious".

 

He obviously has never worked with homeschoolers! I have heard museum educators make similar comments about homeschool groups, but when you really pin them down, it is not that the homeschoolers don't ask questions. It is that they don't ask the same, standard questions that every public school class will ask. Of course, that means that the educator can't use their stock answers, and have to really know their subject to give a decent answer.

 

I have worked with hundreds of homeschool audiences, and am always pleasantly amazed by their questions and observations. Keep up the good work.

[Happy Scientist]

:iagree:

I hope the Happy Scientist isn't overwhelmed. :lol:

 

Not overwhelmed at all. I know that I can't be all things to all people, but I am getting a much clearer picture of what I should be providing. The folks that volunteered to critique my site are giving me marvelous suggestions too, helping me polish the rough corners and fill in the gaps. Just keep those suggestions coming!:bigear:

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I haven't had a lot of luck with a total notebooking approach either. But I also ended up selling or giving away all of our quality coloring books (most of which were pristine), don't see much point in a crossword and think that word searches are the bread and circus worksheets of the classroom.

 

Variety and options are a great thing. The one thing that I do like about a notebook pages is that it's harder for it to be too hard or too easy for a certain child, since the level of difficulty depends on what the kid puts down.