Using Teaching Co's Joy of Science for gr 8 science...

[RobinL in Canada]

A little while back, someone posted about using the Joy of Sceince lecture series from the Teachigb Co for grade 8 science. I bought this set a couple of years back and never got around to watching it (too many other TCo series to enjoy :)). But now I'm think ing that this may make a decent "general science" overview next year for my son who will then be grade 8 and is not "sciency" (ie, doesn't mind reading books about scientific topics but has disliked every science curriculum I've tried and *begs*not to do labs). If you have used JoS for grade 8 (or other) science, did you do anything besides watch the lectures? Any accompanying readings or other DVDs (we have a variety, mostly on astronomy)?

 

Thanks.

[TeaTotaler]

A little while back, someone posted about using the Joy of Sceince lecture series from the Teachigb Co for grade 8 science. I bought this set a couple of years back and never got around to watching it (too many other TCo series to enjoy :)). But now I'm think ing that this may make a decent "general science" overview next year for my son who will then be grade 8 and is not "sciency" (ie, doesn't mind reading books about scientific topics but has disliked every science curriculum I've tried and *begs*not to do labs). If you have used JoS for grade 8 (or other) science, did you do anything besides watch the lectures? Any accompanying readings or other DVDs (we have a variety, mostly on astronomy)?

 

Thanks.

 

I haven't used this series but you could read the book "Science Matters" by Hazen and Trefil along with the series. I don't know if it is recommended in the handbook that goes along with the series.

[KarenNC]

:lurk5:

[RobinL in Canada]

I haven't used this series but you could read the book "Science Matters" by Hazen and Trefil along with the series. I don't know if it is recommended in the handbook that goes along with the series.

 

I do have that book but haven't looked at it in quite a while. Would you say it's appropriate for a 13 yr old? I'll have to dig it out again.

[Ann@thebeach]

I picked up Joy of Science on CD cheap this year and planned on using it next year (8th gr) or maybe 9th grade. I was going to load it onto his IPOD and have him listen to it but wondered how I would add to it as well. I was thinking a writing summary every week and added book or books. Not sure of the books yet.

 

So can't help with "been there, done that" but I'm thinking the same thing.

[RobinL in Canada]

And now naturally I cannot find Science Matters anywhere in the house! Even though I had it on my night table for ages and distinctly recall putting it away a few months back, with the intent of looking it over this summer.... Argh. I'm pretty sure missing books vanish through the same rift in the spacetime continuum as missing socks.

[Hunter]

I'm a big Hazen fan, for reading for MOM; but not so much for direct instruction of children, especially middle school children.

 

Joy of Science is a junior college survey course, not a high school prep course. It was designed to come AFTER high school, not BEFORE. My gifted 10th grader watched the videos and admitted there were parts that were not easily understood, and that he hadn't bothered to follow up on. We had the OOP textbook the videos are written to accompany. The course is integrated but not easy. For some reason the fact that the course is integrated and on video has caused it to become known as an 8th grade homeschool option :-0

 

The first few chapters of Science Matters should be required for any mom that is planning high school science. But that doesn't translate into handing the student a pack of Hazen CDs, or in my day a box of videos.

 

If Science Matters appeals to you, I suggest then reading BFSU. BFSU was designed to include everything a junior college professor wanted his students to know BEFORE junior college.

 

If you are merely looking for a video course your student can use alone, look elsewhere. In the long run they'll learn and retain more from Bill Nye.

[RobinL in Canada]

What is BFSU?

 

I was not planning on sitting my son in front of the DVDs on his own, and I'm not typically one to try to push upper-level material on students too young to understand it. The SM book was also for me, not him, to see if there were anything in it I might like to add to the info in the DVD series. However, my son has enjoyed some other TCo lectures and I thought we would try this out together, since I already have it, and because I read of others here using it similarly.

[Ann@thebeach]

Most of the Teaching Co DVDs are stated to be for college level (except for the hs level courses) but that hasn't stopped a lot of people here from using them for middle and high school age kids.

And you will hear quite a few parents here tell you that their middle or high school students are TAKING jr college level classes now with no problems ;)

Meaning, that jr college may not be as challenging as it is intended to be and/or some people have gifted students.

 

It all depends on the kid and their level of interest and capacity to understand the information. Some will not be ready for it and some will enjoy it and learn a lot.

 

I think each parent has to check out the info for themselves and then decide if they want their child to try it. Then let the child try it and go from there.

[Hunter]

What is BFSU?

 

I was not planning on sitting my son in front of the DVDs on his own, and I'm not typically one to try to push upper-level material on students too young to understand it. The SM book was also for me, not him, to see if there were anything in it I might like to add to the info in the DVD series. However, my son has enjoyed some other TCo lectures and I thought we would try this out together, since I already have it, and because I read of others here using it similarly.

 

Oooh, I think I might have not written this right. Sometimes my WRITING comes off different than I mean it to. E-mail is hard.

 

I was giving a GENERAL review. I just have some strong opinions about JOS in GENERAL, that significantly differ from the advice I've seen being given over the past decade, concerning this curriculum.

 

If a family has been using OTHER TC college courses with their middle schooler they might like this curriculum for an 8th grader. But it's important to know that this course isn't any easier than the general level of the other courses, and harder than some of the humanities courses.

[lauracolumbus]

Oooh, I think I might have not written this right. Sometimes my WRITING comes off different than I mean it to. E-mail is hard.

 

I was giving a GENERAL review. I just have some strong opinions about JOS in GENERAL, that significantly differ from the advice I've seen being given over the past decade, concerning this curriculum.

 

If a family has been using OTHER TC college courses with their middle schooler they might like this curriculum for an 8th grader. But it's important to know that this course isn't any easier than the general level of the other courses, and harder than some of the humanities courses.

 

:iagree:

 

We only got through the first few lectures w/JOS. It was too difficult for my non-sciency, history loving son. He has enjoyed quite a few of TC lectures (mostly history, but a couple of math), but this did not hold his interested. Again, I think a sciency kids would also enjoy SM, and it is in fact recommended for 8th grade in LCC, but I think this is something my ds would not get much out of w/o my holding his hand. I agree with the Bill Nye and possibly Standard Deviants dvds.

 

Laura

[Hunter]

:iagree:

 

We only got through the first few lectures w/JOS. It was too difficult for my non-sciency, history loving son. He has enjoyed quite a few of TC lectures (mostly history, but a couple of math), but this did not hold his interested. Again, I think a sciency kids would also enjoy SM, and it is in fact recommended for 8th grade in LCC, but I think this is something my ds would not get much out of w/o my holding his hand. I agree with the Bill Nye and possibly Standard Deviants dvds.

 

Laura

 

Science Matters is a much easier read than the JoS videos, but it is too lean to stand alone. I used it as the spine for my 10 grader that was doing a very radical version of LCC, when the author of LCC was writing his book. I'm the one who told him about SM, but did not recommend it for a 8th grader as a stand alone curriculum. I think the recommendation of SM was dropped from the 2nd edition of LCC?

 

SM is too lean on some topics, and then gets into some topics that are more political than fundamental. After getting turned onto the idea of scientific literacy from reading SM, I recommend then moving onto BFSU as the spine. BFSU1 might say K-3, BUT, the topics covered in it were the ones the author wished his college students had covered and had not.

[RobinL in Canada]

Once again, what is BFSU?

[yvonne]

Once again, what is BFSU?

 

A series of books by Bernard Nebel: Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding

[Hunter]

A series of books by Bernard Nebel: Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding

 

If you poke around on the website, you will see $5.00 downloads of the books, that are complete but cannot be printed.

[Melanie]

A little while back, someone posted about using the Joy of Sceince lecture series from the Teachigb Co for grade 8 science. I bought this set a couple of years back and never got around to watching it (too many other TCo series to enjoy :)). But now I'm think ing that this may make a decent "general science" overview next year for my son who will then be grade 8 and is not "sciency" (ie, doesn't mind reading books about scientific topics but has disliked every science curriculum I've tried and *begs*not to do labs). If you have used JoS for grade 8 (or other) science, did you do anything besides watch the lectures? Any accompanying readings or other DVDs (we have a variety, mostly on astronomy)?

 

Thanks.

 

My son spent grades 1-7 doing informal nature study - no textbooks, no lab write ups. We spent his 8th grade year doing a survey course in general science. He read Science Matters (the book written by the Joy of Science professor), outlining each chapter, then writing summaries from those outlines. He also read Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything that year. Occasionally he'd write an essay about a topic that caught his interest. This survey course, along with his studies in math, prepared him well for high school science.

 

We didn't have the Joy of Science lectures back then, but my 7th grader is watching them now as she reads through Science Matters, and is enjoying them very much. She outlines/summarizes the chapters just as her brother did, writes the occasional essay, and takes notes from the lectures.

 

I don't know your child, so I can't tell you if he would find these materials too difficult or too easy or too this or too that. I can just tell you that it seems to be working just fine for my kids. :)

[RobinL in Canada]

Thanks, Melanie. I finally found my copy of Science Matters (too many darn books in this house! I had taken it off the shelf to read and then left it just out of view under some other books) )and have begun reading it. So far, it seems pretty accessible; I may have my son read it or I may read it aloud to him, and we can then summarize the main points. I'll also watch some of the JoS DVDs to get a sense of whether or not they'd be appropriate for him. Sounds as though you have pretty sharp kids!