The Illustrated Guide to Home Biology...question.

[5LittleMonkeys]

Dd14 is using this this year along with the MillerLevine text. I just need to get some feedback as to how long it has taken others to work through the labs to determine if we are on track or woefully slow. I schedule her labs for days when she has no work to do from the text. So far it has taken close to two hours per lab (we just did lab 3-1 yesterday). She has 3 labs to do this week plus a day to do review and assessment of the chapter in the text that she went through last week. So, she will have done 7 hours of Biology this week. It was similar last week. Is this an average amount of time for highschool labs?

 

She is getting very frustrated with the amount of time these labs are taking. I looked through to see if I could choose only the labs that would benefit her the most, since it's obvious we can't do them all, but I'm afraid I am less science minded than I thought and I just can't seem to filter the more necessary from the less. Any suggestions for paring these labs down?

 

 

Thanks.

Edited August 1, 2012 by 5LittleMonkeys

[TammyS]

Your daughter is 9? She definitely doesn't need to do all the labs. 2-3 hours per lab sounds about right. I would choose one per week or chapter, whichever suits you better and call it good. Honestly, I don't think it matters all that much which one you do for each chapter, especially since she will come back to bio again (unless this is high school for her, Miller Levine is a highschool text). I would probably pick whatever had the most items on hand already, unless she has an express interest in a different one.

[5LittleMonkeys]

Ooppss! I meant to say dd14' in 9th grade.:D

[lewelma]

For a 9th-grade first-year Bio class, I think 5-6 hours per week is appropriate, which would include 1 hour per week of lab work, so 36 hours per year. If the labs are taking too long, you can do a 2 hour lab every other week, which would be 18 bigger labs. I have not used the lab book you referenced, so I can't tell you if you are slow.

 

In contrast, my sister's AP class does 2 hours per week of labs (they have a double period set up. she teaches at a private school). To get the whole course completed in a school year, she starts 2 weeks early and runs an "intensive" (every day class), and she also runs a saturday lab class once per month.

 

HTH,

 

Ruth in NZ

[Mom22ns]

I suggest you ask the author for suggestions. He is very responsive. His user id on TWTM is theHomeScientist. His name is Robert Thompson.

[5LittleMonkeys]

Thanks all. I have Robert's email...I planned to send him a note about the time per lab. I was just curious to hear from those parents who have this guide and have used it.

 

I've gone back and rescheduled so that she only has one lab per week. I feel better about her spending 2 hours on a lab if it is the only one she has each week. So, now she has, on average, 5 hours per week with only a few 6 hour weeks.

[StephanieZ]

The book is brand new, so I don't think you will find many/any others who can give BTDT advice. :)

 

I am using it along with the miller Levine macaw book this year, and we start Monday, so I'll be a guinea pig along with you.

 

I have scheduled 2 hr lab per week. (actually a three hr session of lab plus disussion) I am hopeful we will do most/all of the expt book this yr, but if they go slowly, Ill just rejigger things a bit to skip some.

[RhondaM.]

Thanks all. I have Robert's email...I planned to send him a note about the time per lab.

 

:bigear:

[Candid]

I suspect that you've learned why high school students in classrooms don't do a lot of labs, they take time.