Illustrated Guide to Home Bio Experiments and ??

[RhondaM.]

This year my 10th grader is doing the Miller/Levine Biology text along with The Illustrated Guide to Home Biology Experiments. The Illustrated Guide is supposed to be suited to Middle Grade students as well (according to their web site.) I'd love to be able to use this lab book with my 6th grader as well.

 

So..

 

1. Is anyone else using this lab book for middle school? If so, IS it suitable for this age level?

 

And

 

2. Do you think I could line up Elemental Science to go along with it? If not, any suggestions for something (that is inexpensive) that WOULD go along with it?

 

Thanks,

RhondaM.

[Mom22ns]

The book has only been out a couple of months, so you aren't going to get any BTDT advice. We are using the Illustrated Guide to home Chemistry for ds doing chem and for the first half of dd's ICP. I typically do one two hour lab/week. So far I separated them for one week where dd was just going to get nothing out of it, but the other weeks we've been able to combine with ds doing a bit more math to get a deeper understanding. I would expect Biology to work similarly. I would have done that last year when my oldest was doing M/L and dd was doing BJU Life it had been out.

 

The only down side I see is that you might want to use it with your younger when they are doing Biology in a couple of years and then what? Just a though. I'd plan to combine some and separate occasionally.

[AFwife Claire]

I'm using IGHBE with the boys in the high school biology class I teach. I also teach a jr. high life science class, but we use BJU Life Science for that, and we just do the labs associated with that. IGHBE is laid out really well and gives clear explanations. I really like it! I don't see why a jr. higher couldn't use it, except that they probably won't understand quite fully all the concepts about each lab, unless they are pretty advanced in biology. But they could probably follow the instructions and do the labs.

 

I agree with the previous poster though--what will you do when you hit high school and need a high school level lab course? I would just have the 6th grader observe, I think, but not really "do" the labs. Save it for high school, when they will understand and appreciate the actual science more!

[RhondaM.]

I'm using IGHBE with the boys in the high school biology class I teach. I also teach a jr. high life science class, but we use BJU Life Science for that, and we just do the labs associated with that. IGHBE is laid out really well and gives clear explanations. I really like it! I don't see why a jr. higher couldn't use it, except that they probably won't understand quite fully all the concepts about each lab, unless they are pretty advanced in biology. But they could probably follow the instructions and do the labs.

 

I agree with the previous poster though--what will you do when you hit high school and need a high school level lab course? I would just have the 6th grader observe, I think, but not really "do" the labs. Save it for high school, when they will understand and appreciate the actual science more!

 

Good point about saving it for high school. Thanks to both of you for pointing that out. But now I am back to square one. And I really don't have time to do two different sets of science labs. Not sure what I'm going to do. I could really use some suggestions.

 

Thanks,

RhondaM.

[AFwife Claire]

Why does your 6th grader have to do labs? Can't she just observe her older brother? I guess I don't really do a ton of labs until middle school, or even really high school, when they can actually understand what they are seeing and doing. I use the earlier years to build a general base of scientific knowledge, but not trying to do formal labs. Is she really advanced in science?

[RhondaM.]

Why does your 6th grader have to do labs? Can't she just observe her older brother? I guess I don't really do a ton of labs until middle school, or even really high school, when they can actually understand what they are seeing and doing. I use the earlier years to build a general base of scientific knowledge, but not trying to do formal labs. Is she really advanced in science?

 

No, she is not. And observing is what I had mostly intended.

So many people seem to do so much science in the early years that I feel like I've been neglecting an important subject by just reading about science.

And I know that she would enjoy doing some experiments.

RhondaM.

[Mom22ns]

I'd let her sit and and do what she wants. You probably won't use all the labs in the book this year anyway (unless it is different from the Chem book). Just repeat those that she could have gone deeper with and add in those you didn't have time for when she gets to high school. It will be fine :).

[RhondaM.]

This is true too. LOL I'm in agreement with everyone.

 

Actually there is no keeping her away from the microscope while we do labs. We pulled it out yesterday for the first time and all of us enjoyed looking at various items.

 

Thanks,

RhondaM.