So what are you doing for Science for high school for a non-science kid?

[Michelle My Bell]

I am looking for some options for high school science for my daughter. I really don't know what I want to do next year. We use Heart of Dakota but I am not loving the price of the Science they are planning for next year. I am not loving the topic all that much either. Here is the link to what they are planning. Basically it is

 

 

Integrated Physics & Chemistry Full Course Kit $199.99

 

and

MicroPhySci Kit $159.95

 

Frankly, $360.00 is too much to spend on Science as far as I am concerned. So I am looking for some options. She will be a Sophmore. This past year she did Heart of Dakota which was an introduction to chemistry, with biographies of 20th Century scientists, and a study of Creation vs. Evolution. So I am pretty open to anything.

 

So what are you doing for Science for high school for your non-sciency kid?

[trafal]

Michelle,

 

Have you considered Abeka? You can buy used student textbooks very cheaply as well as the quizzes , teacher support materials etc. The textbooks are clearly written and fairly interesting. A friend of mine teaches 7th grade Abeka science to my daughter and hers' once a week. Neither child is terribly interested in science but have enjoyed their Abeka science course this year.

HTH

 

Trafal

[elizabeth rose]

when I was planning my teens 9th grade science, I was going to use Oak Meadow environmental science, and then their bio and so on. It seemed like a great fit for a non science kid. She ended up going inot public school, but I had already purchased the environmental science and I thought it looked awesome.

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

We settled on ACE Paces for Chemistry. I read the first one this weekend and was very impressed. We used Apologia for some of the Biology and Abeka Health for the other part of Bio. Ds said he is really enjoying the health book, said learning about the human body seems so much more necessary then about the classification system and all those micro organisms.

[bobbeym]

We're using DIVE for Int. Physics & Chemistry (their online text) for 10th and Biology (text undecided) for 11th. Most of his labs will be the video labs. We'll do hands-on labs if it uses resources we already have at home or can obtain inexpensively. DS doesn't like science and I'm not going to turn the entire year into a battle over labs. *IF* he even decides to go to college, it won't be anything science-based, so I'm not worried about it.

[Mom22ns]

We used PH Concepts in Action for ICP. We've done it with and without DIVE. DIVE made it easy for me and fit one of my kids, but the other one hated it, so I taught that time.

[Hunter]

I am looking for some options for high school science for my daughter. I really don't know what I want to do next year. ....

So what are you doing for Science for high school for your non-sciency kid?

 

Are you looking at a 4 year college, or a 2 year college or something else?

 

Last night I was reading the 1st edition of TWTM and thinking the 7th and 8th grade Eyewitness books instead of the Wiley guides would work for junior college prep. I was also thinking that the high school book reports and "source readings" would work just fine with modern day science magazines and trade books instead of the classical texts.

[TGHEALTHYMOM]

I remember reading in ond edition of TWTM that Teaching Company has High School science classes on dvd with books avaialble. I have not tried any yet.

 

We are muddling through Physical Science and Astronomy and will start Biology in June. ( Apoologia) and we read books from our library.

[Chris in VA]

We did Apologia Bio in 9th, Apologia Chem in 10th, one semester of physical geog and one of astronomy (using RUnkle and Astronomy Today text books), and one semester of Environmental Science using Miller-Levine (I think it was a semester, because he graduated a semester early and I had him do some other stuff in the summer, and I don't think he had science in the summer).

Everything was easy and didn't require a ton of math.

[goldberry]

We used PH Concepts in Action for ICP. We've done it with and without DIVE. DIVE made it easy for me and fit one of my kids, but the other one hated it, so I taught that time.

 

This is what I am almost decided on for next year! I'm hoping it's not too dry. I was planning on using it with Dive, how did you do it without Dive? Did you get a teachers edition or something?

 

(Anything to sell by any chance??? haha)

[LindaOz]

My VERY non-sciency 11th grader and my 9th grader are using Abeka Science. Dd16 HATED Apologia and so we switched. Ok, so she doesn't love science still, but it ticks the box and she is learning. She has even voluntarily talked about science a couple of times without it being attached to a complaint. Truly, that is good :-) Abeka is nicely set out, illustrated well, and seems thorough.

[Lori D.]

Non-science major DSs here. We did Conceptual Chemistry, Conceptual Physics, Apologia Biology (could NOT find a biology I liked!), and the Anatomy section out of a Miller-Levine Biology textbook. I suggest getting a used edition of any of these textbooks as it is MUCH cheaper! (example: 4th ed. Conceptual Chemistry or c. 2004 Conceptual Physics). We used TOPS units and some kits from Home Science Tools for go-along labs for the Chemistry and Physics. We used the supply kit that you can buy for the Apologia Biology. And there are Conceptual Chemistry videos and Conceptual Physics videos (youtube) -- and here's a great website for helping you use Conceptual Physics.

 

 

One thing I would like to mention: our DSs have now graduated and are at the community college, each working towards an AAS degree, and eventually likely transferring to the university for a BA... even as non-STEM students, they STILL have to take some science courses as part of the general ed. coursework, even to earn the 2-year degrees -- and it IS science at a college level.

 

I would be careful about backing all the way out of using a high school science textbook program because that can make the required college science a nightmare for your student if that ends up being the first exposure to the math, terminology, labs, and technical aspects of science.

 

Just a thought! BEST of luck in finding what works now -- and in preparation for post-high school non-STEM student required science courses! Warmest regards, Lori D.

[Hunter]

Most 2 year schools offer non-lab sciences like nutrition and environmental science that require a research paper, but not labs or math. These are fine for a degree there, but often will not transfer over to the 4 year school's science requirements.

 

It's nice to keep all doors open, but sometimes the act of attempting to keep all doors open closes the ones we want to walk through the most. For many students getting through a watered down TWTM science, followed by a 2 year degree, is the best plan. It's doable.