Farmgirl70 Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 We are just entering high school age around here. I am wondering which science to do for ninth grade--a general or a biology. We've done lots of science, but never a curriculum. I will probably go more "curricular" this year. So, what would you choose and why? Does it matter in any way in the long run or would it be our personal preference? Child doing the learning is not likely to end up in a science related profession, if that matters. Thanks for the collective wisdom. We've homeschooled all along, but high school is throwing me for a mental loop! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaLisa Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 If so, I would strongly suggest going bio. First, I'm not even sure General Science would count as a high school credit. And, secondly, Apologia Biology is very manageable even if the student has had little or no structured science. If you've not used many texts, then you may need to teach your dc outlining, notetaking and general study skills. My oldest completed Apologia bio with very little previous structured science and, while he needed to nail down his study skills, the material itself was not too difficult. Plus, biology is just so interesting. That's my vote! Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharon in MD Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 We totally skipped Apologia's General Science and Physical Science courses. Those are usually recommended for either 7th and 8th or 8th and 9th grades. If you like science around your home and are expecting your kids to possibly pursue an advanced science as seniors, then it is best to hit the basic Bio, Chem and Physics in 9-11th grades and then you can choose something more challenging in 12th. I actually wish we had started Bio even sooner than that so that ds could have had time to hit both the adv. chem and adv. Physics....but we did not think of that soon enough. We did an Anatomy and Physiology course when ds was in 8th grade, BTW. It covered health types of things as well. I mention this because I know there has been mention on the boards about Apologia's like (make that LACK!) of human anatomy coverage in their Bio book....they cover it in adv. Bio instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 Yep, most colleges want to see Bio, chem and physics--we opted out of physics in favor of environmental science, and added in physical geog and astronomy. Bio has lots of vocab, so be prepared to drill that, or find other ways to learn it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolfpup Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 my DD is entering 9th grade (first year to hs) and we are going with Apologia Biology. She actually begged me for biology over general / physical science. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
threetreasurs Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 Starting with Biology would give time to do science at a CC senior year or an AP class at home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoriM Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 Definitely Biology...or even Physics or Chemistry first (some people think Algebra II is a prerequisite to Chemistry, but I found I could teach the necessary math "just in time" for the applications more easily than teaching un-applied math (grin) in anticipation of someday doing some real science stuff). We used college textbooks for science all the way through high school, and did at least one lab each week, but sometimes two and sometimes days-in-a-row of science experiment in lieu of "textbook" science. If you have laid the necessary groundwork for high school science, then your student should already be familiar with all the science terminology and definitions for the different areas, and you are ready to press on into actual experimentation and discovery. Spend as much money on equipment and materials as you can possibly afford. :c) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisawa Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 :iagree: We went right into Biology in 9th grade. My son used Apologia in a co-op setting with labs. My daughter also used it last year also 9th grade. The general will cover just that, general and since your dc is in high school or entering.... biology would look better on the transcript. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
threetreasurs Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 None of my kids appreciated the Physical Science text by Apologia but they liked the Biology. Something to think about.:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 ...and although it's good, it doesn't look like a high school level text to me. If you do Apologia Biology, I believe that Vocabulary Vine's Science Roots program is a good precursor to it. It brings some logic and knowlege into the nightmare that is learning scientific vocabulary from scratch. And it is reasonably priced and easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmgirl70 Posted July 29, 2008 Author Share Posted July 29, 2008 I think we'll be doing a Biology curriculum. I'm not settled on Apologia, but I think we'll go with Biology as a subject. Thanks for your input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hswarden Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 I was interested in that resource on vocab, and got this link for anyone who's interested. http://www.redshift.com/~bonajo/latinlifesci.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momof2boys Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 My youngest son is going into the 9th grade and we are going to use Apologia biology. He requested to do biology. Chris in VA I was wondering what you used for environmental science and physical geography and astronomy? My oldest son does not want to do physcis or any of the advanced Apologia courses so I think this might be a good alternative for him. thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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