HOD question

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

How intense is their science for Bigger? We just finished MFW Adventures and found the science very lacking. More of supplemental science lesson to say science got done for the year type of thing. Is HOD similar? Or is their science portion a "real" science course and treated with as much weight as history?

[AngelBee]

Taking notes....

[Chelli]

I have not used Adventures so I have no idea how it would compare. I was nervous about the science in Bigger because I had not heard great things about it, but I was pleasantly surprised. My dd has really enjoyed it and learned quite a bit. That being said, we are also doing Apologia Zoology 1 two days a week at a very slow pace just because dd enjoys science.

 

Here is an example of a week of science in Bigger:

 

From Unit 17

 

Day 1: Read One Small Square: Woods, p. 24-25. Have your students orally narrate or retell the portion of today's text that was read.

 

Day 2: Today you will add to your science notebook. Say, At the top of an unlined paper, copy Isaiah 11:1. Beneath the verse, draw the diagram of the "root tip", "root hair", and "cap" from the bottom of p. 25 of One Small Square: Woods. Label each part of the root you drew. Copy the paragraph from p. 25 that tells about the parts of the root. When you finish, store your assignment in the place you have chosen for it.

 

Day 3: Read One Small Square: Woods, p. 26-27. Turn to the science experiment section in your science binder or sketchbook. At the top of a blank page, write: What is mold? Under the question, write: Guess. Have students write down a guess to answer the question. Say, Mold is a microrganism. It causes food to spoil. But, mocroorganisms also have useful purposes. They break down dead plants and animals into bits until they are small enough to become rich soil. Then, the soil is used again by new plants. Put a damp paper towel in a ziplock bag. Choose a scrap of food such as a banana or a chunk of potato to put inside the bag with the paper towel. Seal the bag, leaving air inside it. Place the sealed bag in a warm, dark place. Check it each day for several days to see what changes you notice. Next on the paper write: Procedure. Have students draw a picture of the experiment. They should add to their picture over the next several days. At the bottom of the paper, students should write: Conclusion and explain why their Guess was correct or incorrect.

 

Day 4: Read One Small Square: Woods, p. 28-29. Have your students orally or retell the portion of today's text that was read.

 

Day 5: Read One Small Square: Woods, p. 30-31. Ask, How do bees help pollinate flowers? Have your student share their guesses. Set out 2 glasses or cups to be flowers. Place a cotton ball in each cup to be the center of the flower. Sprinkle two different colored powders on the two cotton balls to be pollen. For the pollen, either use flavored drink mix, powdered tempera paint, colored chalk rubbed on the cotton balls, or colored sugars for decorating cookies. Say, Wet the end of a cotton swab to be the bee's body. Then, dip the swab on the pollen of one flower. Ask, What happened to the pollen? Say, Now, have the bee fly and land on the other flower. Dip the swab on the other flower. Ask, What do you notice about the pollen? Why is there more than one color of powder on the cotton ball? What can you learn about how bees spread pollen from this activity? As bees gather nectar, the pollen sticks to their feet and bodies. The pollent is carried by the bee to the next flower it visits. This is pollination. Ask, Was your guess about how bees help pollinate flowers correct? Explain why or why not.

 

 

And that is a week's worth of science from Bigger. Pretty much all of the weeks follow this same general pattern: reading with narration, reading with notebooking, reading with experiment, reading with narration, reading with demonstration.

 

Hope that helps! :001_smile:

[mohsmom23]

My dd did MFW Adventures last year, and we also found the science very lacking. We dropped it and ended up doing Apologia Astronomy.

 

We are now into our 4th week of Bigger, and I feel the science is much better in Bigger than it was in Adventures. It is not as rigorous as Apologia, but I feel it is sufficient. Dd really enjoys it and has been learning a lot so I'm happy with it.

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

I have not used Adventures so I have no idea how it would compare. I was nervous about the science in Bigger because I had not heard great things about it, but I was pleasantly surprised. My dd has really enjoyed it and learned quite a bit. That being said, we are also doing Apologia Zoology 1 two days a week at a very slow pace just because dd enjoys science.

 

Here is an example of a week of science in Bigger:

 

From Unit 17

 

Day 1: Read One Small Square: Woods, p. 24-25. Have your students orally narrate or retell the portion of today's text that was read.

 

Day 2: Today you will add to your science notebook. Say, At the top of an unlined paper, copy Isaiah 11:1. Beneath the verse, draw the diagram of the "root tip", "root hair", and "cap" from the bottom of p. 25 of One Small Square: Woods. Label each part of the root you drew. Copy the paragraph from p. 25 that tells about the parts of the root. When you finish, store your assignment in the place you have chosen for it.

 

Day 3: Read One Small Square: Woods, p. 26-27. Turn to the science experiment section in your science binder or sketchbook. At the top of a blank page, write: What is mold? Under the question, write: Guess. Have students write down a guess to answer the question. Say, Mold is a microrganism. It causes food to spoil. But, mocroorganisms also have useful purposes. They break down dead plants and animals into bits until they are small enough to become rich soil. Then, the soil is used again by new plants. Put a damp paper towel in a ziplock bag. Choose a scrap of food such as a banana or a chunk of potato to put inside the bag with the paper towel. Seal the bag, leaving air inside it. Place the sealed bag in a warm, dark place. Check it each day for several days to see what changes you notice. Next on the paper write: Procedure. Have students draw a picture of the experiment. They should add to their picture over the next several days. At the bottom of the paper, students should write: Conclusion and explain why their Guess was correct or incorrect.

 

Day 4: Read One Small Square: Woods, p. 28-29. Have your students orally or retell the portion of today's text that was read.

 

Day 5: Read One Small Square: Woods, p. 30-31. Ask, How do bees help pollinate flowers? Have your student share their guesses. Set out 2 glasses or cups to be flowers. Place a cotton ball in each cup to be the center of the flower. Sprinkle two different colored powders on the two cotton balls to be pollen. For the pollen, either use flavored drink mix, powdered tempera paint, colored chalk rubbed on the cotton balls, or colored sugars for decorating cookies. Say, Wet the end of a cotton swab to be the bee's body. Then, dip the swab on the pollen of one flower. Ask, What happened to the pollen? Say, Now, have the bee fly and land on the other flower. Dip the swab on the other flower. Ask, What do you notice about the pollen? Why is there more than one color of powder on the cotton ball? What can you learn about how bees spread pollen from this activity? As bees gather nectar, the pollen sticks to their feet and bodies. The pollent is carried by the bee to the next flower it visits. This is pollination. Ask, Was your guess about how bees help pollinate flowers correct? Explain why or why not.

 

 

And that is a week's worth of science from Bigger. Pretty much all of the weeks follow this same general pattern: reading with narration, reading with notebooking, reading with experiment, reading with narration, reading with demonstration.

 

Hope that helps! :001_smile:

Yes, this is very helpful. It gives me a better picture then what I saw in the examples.