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Earth Science by Tarbuck


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Is there a significant difference between the college text and the high school text? I'm looking at this used on amazon, and am surprised at the difference in price. (College is cheaper.) I think the college text comes with a CD which reviewers state is very helpful. Have any of you used the CD and if so, did you find it helpful? The high school text has lots of teacher ancillaries, but I'm not sure how "necessary" they are. Any comments or feedback would be helpful.

 

BTW this is for a rising 9th grader who's completed integrated physics & chem.

 

Thanks,

Jennifer

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Jen, it might just be a market thing and what there happens to be more of. Those prices are set by bots I think. I have some of the Tarbuck materials that I don't think we'll ever get around to using. *I* like them, but dd has an aversion to textbooks that I don't see changing. I had collected quite a bit of the stuff (lab book, transparencies, etc.) too, hoping to figure out a creative way to make it work. If you want any of it, write me.

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I know Lewelma used this text this past year, so you might check with her.

 

Thanks for letting me know, SaDonna.

 

Jen, it might just be a market thing and what there happens to be more of. Those prices are set by bots I think. I have some of the Tarbuck materials that I don't think we'll ever get around to using. *I* like them, but dd has an aversion to textbooks that I don't see changing. I had collected quite a bit of the stuff (lab book, transparencies, etc.) too, hoping to figure out a creative way to make it work. If you want any of it, write me.

 

Thanks Elizabeth! I may pm you later about actual purchase of your stuff. Right now, I'm just trying to get an idea of whether or not to get the college or HS text. Like your dd, my dd is not a huge fan of textbooks. We used BJU Life in 7th & CPO Physical this year and she continues to tell me that she has a hard time focusing on the material. Her mind wonders a lot. To overcome that, she reads out loud with me and we take notes together. While that's worked OK, I want her to move toward more independence in this area.

 

Is your Tarbuck stuff, HS or college? *I* am seeking a textbook mostly for me. I want labs, quizzes/tests, maybe a student workbook. I might not use the tests as written, but it sure helps to have examples already made up---saves me time, because I have a weak knowledge of earth science. I picked up the McDougal Littel HS Earth Science text; it seems OK and doable, but I've read reviews that said that Tarbuck's text was written in a more engaging style. If that's true that would certainly help my dd!

 

Anyway, thanks for "listening" to my ramblings.

 

Jennifer

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Yes, SaDonna is right, my ds used Tarbuck (college version) this year. He liked it very much and was disappointed that he only had time to read half of the book.

 

Here is a previous posts I wrote on Tarbuck:

 

We used these 2 books:

 

Text book - this one is an earlier edition (it was cheaper)

http://www.amazon.com/Earth-Science-Edward-J-Tarbuck/dp/0136020070/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329513122&sr=8-1

 

Application and investigation book:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Applications-Investigations-Earth-Science-6th/dp/013600007X/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1329513122&sr=8-4

 

This is the college text. I have looked at the high school text and it is Very similar, just shorter (I don't have the ISBN for the HS one). It uses the same diagrams, graphs, and photos, and even some of the text is word for word the same. We went with the college text because my son is a good reader and the text is not hard (it is for non-majors), and it was cheaper. The main problem is that there is no way that he can finish the text book in a year and he really wants to cover all the topics, so we have had to make some hard choices. He reads 2 pages a day, and we do the review questions at the end of the chapters together every fortnight. I did get the answer CD for the text and the application/investigation book from the company by sending them my homeschool exemption and proof of purchase.

 

The investigation book is very good. you can't really do experiments in earth science because it studies processes affecting the entire earth:D, so investigations are the next best thing. There is a google doc somewhere showing the top 1/3 of the entire investigation book, but I can't find it on a quick search. Hope you can.

 

We never used the CD, although it did come with one. My kid is more of a reader than a watcher.

 

HTH

 

Ruth in NZ

Edited by lewelma
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Yes, SaDonna is right, my ds used Tarbuck (college version) this year. He liked it very much and was disappointed that he only had time to read half of the book.

 

Here is a previous posts I wrote on Tarbuck:

 

We used these 2 books:

 

Text book - this one is an earlier edition (it was cheaper)

http://www.amazon.com/Earth-Science-Edward-J-Tarbuck/dp/0136020070/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329513122&sr=8-1

 

Application and investigation book:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Applications-Investigations-Earth-Science-6th/dp/013600007X/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1329513122&sr=8-4

 

This is the college text. I have looked at the high school text and it is Very similar, just shorter (I don't have the ISBN for the HS one). It uses the same diagrams, graphs, and photos, and even some of the text is word for word the same. We went with the college text because my son is a good reader and the text is not hard (it is for non-majors), and it was cheaper. The main problem is that there is no way that he can finish the text book in a year and he really wants to cover all the topics, so we have had to make some hard choices. He reads 2 pages a day, and we do the review questions at the end of the chapters together every fortnight. I did get the answer CD for the text and the application/investigation book from the company by sending them my homeschool exemption and proof of purchase.

 

The investigation book is very good. you can't really do experiments in earth science because it studies processes affecting the entire earth:D, so investigations are the next best thing. There is a google doc somewhere showing the top 1/3 of the entire investigation book, but I can't find it on a quick search. Hope you can.

 

We never used the CD, although it did come with one. My kid is more of a reader than a watcher.

 

HTH

 

Ruth in NZ

 

Ruth, thanks for replying and including the links & explanation of how your ds used the text!

 

I don't know if you read my post to OhElizabeth, but my dd doesn't like textbooks very much. For science, we have used them simply because I want her to be prepared for college level science. (At this point, she's interested in physical therapy as a career.) Plus, I want this science/lab to count on her transcript. She's an above average student, and works very hard to achieve, so in your opinion, do you think she could finish the college text in a school yr or would the HS text be better? How did you & your ds decide what not to cover? This is always tricky for me to figure out!

 

Thanks,

Jennifer

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Yes, SaDonna is right, my ds used Tarbuck (college version) this year. He liked it very much and was disappointed that he only had time to read half of the book.

 

Here is a previous posts I wrote on Tarbuck:

 

We used these 2 books:

 

Text book - this one is an earlier edition (it was cheaper)

http://www.amazon.com/Earth-Science-Edward-J-Tarbuck/dp/0136020070/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329513122&sr=8-1

 

Application and investigation book:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Applications-Investigations-Earth-Science-6th/dp/013600007X/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1329513122&sr=8-4

 

This is the college text. I have looked at the high school text and it is Very similar, just shorter (I don't have the ISBN for the HS one). It uses the same diagrams, graphs, and photos, and even some of the text is word for word the same. We went with the college text because my son is a good reader and the text is not hard (it is for non-majors), and it was cheaper. The main problem is that there is no way that he can finish the text book in a year and he really wants to cover all the topics, so we have had to make some hard choices. He reads 2 pages a day, and we do the review questions at the end of the chapters together every fortnight. I did get the answer CD for the text and the application/investigation book from the company by sending them my homeschool exemption and proof of purchase.

 

The investigation book is very good. you can't really do experiments in earth science because it studies processes affecting the entire earth:D, so investigations are the next best thing. There is a google doc somewhere showing the top 1/3 of the entire investigation book, but I can't find it on a quick search. Hope you can.

 

We never used the CD, although it did come with one. My kid is more of a reader than a watcher.

 

HTH

 

Ruth in NZ

 

I flipped through the GeodE CD that came with our copy of Earth. It had powerpoint style presentations for each chapter. There were some quick animations of some of the processes. Because the chapters are long and detailed, the cd presentations are also long. I think the chapter I looked at had more than 120 slides. I don't recall seeing an easy way to skip to a specific topic within the chapter.

 

I had one ds go through the slides. His take was that it was harder to do the presentation than to just read. But he is a strong/fast reader.

 

What we've been doing is watching an episode of the TC series How the Earth Works, followed by reading the chapter or chapter section that relates. (There was one lecture so far, on how the earth is heated by radiation decay that I said was informational only and didn't assign reading.) Then I either pick some of the end of chapter questions or DH writes up a study sheet with terms for them to know and questions to answer.

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My stuff is the college level. My dd isn't a textbook person either. She can put in the effort if she's really, really, really engaged, which is honestly mind-boggling to watch. But for regular stuff, something where's not engaged, it's seriously a problem. To be honest, I don't see how this Tarbuck can work for you. Maybe the high school, but not the college.

 

The other thing is, and maybe you've already thought about this, you're saying things that make it sound like she could use an evaluation to see what's going on. She may benefit from some accommodations. If you have concrete explanations for "hard time focusing on the material... mind wanders a lot..." you might find some solutions. Sometimes it's meds. Sometimes it's self-treatment with caffeine. (Caffeine makes some of these kids really sleepy chilled, the total opposite of what it does to regular people.) Might be looking in some books for more suggestions on active reading. Some people for instance will read with a highlighter in hand and highlight everything they read, like every single line. It slows them down and helps them focus. So I would check into some evals to get some explanation. Just suggesting. :)

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but my dd doesn't like textbooks very much. For science, we have used them simply because I want her to be prepared for college level science. (At this point, she's interested in physical therapy as a career.) Plus, I want this science/lab to count on her transcript. She's an above average student, and works very hard to achieve,

 

What I don't like about most highschool texts is that they are busy with side bars, and study tips, and cutsy notes, etc. I just want text that clearly explains the graphs/photos/diagrams, which is what the college Tarbuck is. It is very well written. Tarbuck was the first textbook in any subject that my ds has used. It was a good level for him as long as he could go at his speed (2-4 pages per day). However, he had no preconceived notion that he would dislike textbooks.

 

Given that your daughter is going into a science-based career, she does need to learn to read textbooks. I would recommend you go to your library and get out a few to look at the different styles. Does she find that the fancy ones with all the extras are engaging? or is all that clutter distracting from her learning the material? This answer will inform your purchase. It is not that she will have a choice in college; however, finding something now that is workable will go far to improving her attitude about textbook learning. It has been a long time since I saw the HS version of Tarbuck so I don't really remember the format. I do know that a lot of the text and photos/graphs are the same between the textbooks. The HS text is shorter.

 

so in your opinion, do you think she could finish the college text in a school yr ?

 

She absolutely can NOT finish the college text in one year. It is just too long. But this is a high school class not a college class, so you do not need to finish the book to still count it as a rigorous highschool course. I think it would be fair to count it if you finished 1/2 of the textbook and 1/2 of the corresponding investigations.

 

As to how you pick, if you are after *earth* science, drop all the astronomy and 1/2 of the oceanography that deals with life in the oceans. Then dump 2 -4 more chapters that do not interest her.

 

If she wants to do all 4 topics: astronomy, oceanography, meteorology, geology, then drop 1/2 from each topic. Tarbuck goes in depth. She will still know more than most college students about earth science.

 

I have taught both high school and college science, no one EVER finishes a textbook. Plus, it is more important for her to learn to read and process a textbook, so spend the time now teaching her how, rather than rushing through too much material for her to process. At this point, it sounds like this science class really needs to be about reading comprehension and study skills. What will be more important to your dd in university, that she can identify the different types of clouds and soil strata, or that she can read and process difficult material independently?

 

good luck,

 

Ruth in NZ

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My stuff is the college level. My dd isn't a textbook person either. She can put in the effort if she's really, really, really engaged, which is honestly mind-boggling to watch. But for regular stuff, something where's not engaged, it's seriously a problem. To be honest, I don't see how this Tarbuck can work for you. Maybe the high school, but not the college.

 

The other thing is, and maybe you've already thought about this, you're saying things that make it sound like she could use an evaluation to see what's going on. She may benefit from some accommodations. If you have concrete explanations for "hard time focusing on the material... mind wanders a lot..." you might find some solutions. Sometimes it's meds. Sometimes it's self-treatment with caffeine. (Caffeine makes some of these kids really sleepy chilled, the total opposite of what it does to regular people.) Might be looking in some books for more suggestions on active reading. Some people for instance will read with a highlighter in hand and highlight everything they read, like every single line. It slows them down and helps them focus. So I would check into some evals to get some explanation. Just suggesting. :)

 

I appreciate your candor, but I don't think there's a real issue of "learning disability" as much as the text just bores her. When that happens the mind wanders.

 

Based on your response & Lewelma, I think the HS text will be a better fit for us. So I guess that means I'll have to cough up a little more money to buy it & pass on your kind offer to sell the college stuff.

 

Thanks so much,

Jennifer

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What I don't like about most highschool texts is that they are busy with side bars, and study tips, and cutsy notes, etc. I just want text that clearly explains the graphs/photos/diagrams, which is what the college Tarbuck is. It is very well written. Tarbuck was the first textbook in any subject that my ds has used. It was a good level for him as long as he could go at his speed (2-4 pages per day). However, he had no preconceived notion that he would dislike textbooks.

 

Given that your daughter is going into a science-based career, she does need to learn to read textbooks. I would recommend you go to your library and get out a few to look at the different styles. Does she find that the fancy ones with all the extras are engaging? or is all that clutter distracting from her learning the material? This answer will inform your purchase. It is not that she will have a choice in college; however, finding something now that is workable will go far to improving her attitude about textbook learning. It has been a long time since I saw the HS version of Tarbuck so I don't really remember the format. I do know that a lot of the text and photos/graphs are the same between the textbooks. The HS text is shorter.

 

 

 

She absolutely can NOT finish the college text in one year. It is just too long. But this is a high school class not a college class, so you do not need to finish the book to still count it as a rigorous highschool course. I think it would be fair to count it if you finished 1/2 of the textbook and 1/2 of the corresponding investigations.

 

As to how you pick, if you are after *earth* science, drop all the astronomy and 1/2 of the oceanography that deals with life in the oceans. Then dump 2 -4 more chapters that do not interest her.

 

If she wants to do all 4 topics: astronomy, oceanography, meteorology, geology, then drop 1/2 from each topic. Tarbuck goes in depth. She will still know more than most college students about earth science.

 

I have taught both high school and college science, no one EVER finishes a textbook. Plus, it is more important for her to learn to read and process a textbook, so spend the time now teaching her how, rather than rushing through too much material for her to process. At this point, it sounds like this science class really needs to be about reading comprehension and study skills. What will be more important to your dd in university, that she can identify the different types of clouds and soil strata, or that she can read and process difficult material independently?

 

good luck,

 

Ruth in NZ

 

Ruth, I can't tell you how incredibly helpful you have been. Based on what you & Oh Elizabeth have said, I think the HS text will be a better fit for my dd. I agree wholeheartedly that our emphasis should be on reading & study skills. This truly has been one of my foremost goals in homeschooling--preparing my dc to know "how" to study in college. Thank you for offering suggestions on what to possibly cut. As the teacher, this has been one of my most difficult skills to master--knowing what to leave out. This has helped my perspective and focus, but has also given me some very reasonable expectations.

 

Thank you so much for your time!

Jennifer

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Wow .. I was just trying to point you in the right direction and I have learned so much myself! lol. I love hearing how to integrate a college text into a year curriculum. I also appreciated hearing that they are a 'cleaner' look, as I am having a hard time appreciating the ps colors & boxes approach to learning that I see in many middle school level texts (I presume the hs are the same way). Thanks for the information!

 

You know I keep going back and forth between CPO Earth next year and your college level text Lewelma. Did you ever look at CPO? Was there a particular reason you chose the text that you did? I would love to know what your selection process is like.

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You know I keep going back and forth between CPO Earth next year and your college level text Lewelma. Did you ever look at CPO? Was there a particular reason you chose the text that you did? I would love to know what your selection process is like.

 

SaDonna,

 

A number of years ago I bought some Prentice Hall middle school textbooks. I wanted to like them, I really did. But they were just too busy. Also, I did not like the explicit instruction on "how" to read a textbook written into every page of the text. I would rather teach my ds this material on a as-needed basis.

 

Then, I read something by Regentrude that she felt the same, and once her kids got to High School level science, she started using non-major's college textbooks. This got me interested.

 

Now, we are a very sciency family, and my kids know a LOT about science. My ds(11) has watched a science or history documentary or lecture every day for 7 years. That is more than 2000 documentaries (some he watched over and over like David Attenborough and Modern Marvels). So now when I go looking for a science curriculum/textbook I have a problem - he knows most of the stuff in middle school text books. Which is why I started looking at high school texts. He still cannot do all the output/writing/tests or a whole year's worth of material in a high school text, and it has been quite a learning curve for him to be able to read Tarbuck college, but slow and steady wins the race. He did get through a little less than 1/2 of the textbook.

 

So, all this is to say, you do not want to do Tarbuck College level with a middle schooler unless dd is ready and willing for that kind of challenge. I needed to sit with ds to help with the difficult wording in the investigations and with answering the review questions. I also had to make time to teach him how to read a text book, and how to interpret difficult sentences, and how to read the graphs. All this had to happen eventually, but it might have been easier if we had waited a few years. My ds just never does things the standard way!

 

I like CPO, I really do. He just knows it all.:001_huh:

 

HTH

 

Ruth in NZ

Edited by lewelma
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