Bju physical science for young 8th grade?

[bethben]

Would bju physical science be too difficult for a young 8th grader (will turn 13 in September)? He will have completed algebra 1 by that time. I was thinking of using it with the Dive CDs or the bju DVD option.

 

Beth

[AFwife Claire]

My second DS took it as a 7th grader last year, but it was in a small class (5 kids, and I taught it), rather than on the computer. It is a difficult class--the BJU book is very detailed, and I didn't feel like they did a great job of always explaining concepts very clearly. That is where I think it was good for DS to have an actual teacher to answer specific questions he had. He did really well in the class, but it was definitely not his favorite. The math is not actually that technically difficult--they really just need to be able to manipulate equations--but sometimes it is not clear right away how to apply the math for a specific problem. It is a very thorough course, though, and an excellent preparation for higher level sciences!

[PeterPan]

The dvd/online classes for the BJU physical science are 45 minutes. My dd likes Mr. Harmon, but they're definitely long for her. We got them mid-year, just to see what we were missing. The labs have quite a bit of math. Given that he'll have completed saxon algebra 1, he should be fine. However they're still pretty complicated. To us the labs are the best part. I'm sure each person has their thing, but there you go. So if he likes to do labs, I'd find the lab book you feel like you can actually get done and put your energy in that direction. We're doing the PH CIA labs too, and they're good. You can download the lab book for Conceptual Physics for free. I think if I had a student in your position, I'd probably look into doing Conceptual Physics for a year, Conceptual Chem for a year, then... (as in knock out freshman stuff and get into AP sooner)

 

The BJU text is, yes, pretty dry. Actually like a dictionary would be more precise. Somehow along the way they managed to kill it with the new editions, upping the ante so much. But you know, maybe your kid will LOVE it. Look at the samples. It's definitely on the rigorous end. We enjoy doing the labs, and it's definitely thorough. You just have a lot of time into it if you watch 45 minutes of dvd every day AND do the labs AND do the text.

 

Just so you know, if physical science is what you want, the Prentice Hall Concepts in Action text (and lab book) is worth looking at. The online samples looked to be quite readable, and the labs are still good. The blend nicely with the BJU. They just aren't so hard, requiring so much math. With PH CIA that math appears to be in the textbook, which is actually nice for a student who likes textbooks and gravitates to that.

[bethben]

I have no idea where to look for conceptual physics or chemistry. Looking at bju samples, I would probably go with the Dive cd anyway .

 

Beth