CPO Science Users

[Targhee]

I am still trying to figure out how people use the CPO products in a home setting. For those of you who use CPO, could you tell me 1) what level/topic you use, 2) which components of that level you use, and 3) how you procured them? Also, how have you and your student liked them? How much applied math is used? The sample of a textbook I saw looked great. Just don't know how it works out in practice. I am looking for science for my 6th - she's big into science, and math, and catches on quick.

[Embassy]

I'm using CPO Physical, Earth, and Space Science. Here is an example of how I am using it. We are spending half our science time on another topic so we are taking around 2 years to go through it. I purchased the text, investigations manual, and teacher's book from Abebooks. I purchased them used, but they were really new copies. I like it. I needed a text for these topics since this is a weaker area for me. My son likes the investigations the best. There is a bunch of math in the problems and some of the math was over my son's head when we started it. I think the book we are using is a 9th grade book so I don't know the math level in the middle school books. I let him use a calculator for the math problems to save time. I pick and choose problems in the text. My son is big into science, but not so big into math :)

 

HTH

[Luckymama]

I am still trying to figure out how people use the CPO products in a home setting. For those of you who use CPO, could you tell me 1) what level/topic you use, 2) which components of that level you use, and 3) how you procured them? Also, how have you and your student liked them? How much applied math is used? The sample of a textbook I saw looked great. Just don't know how it works out in practice. I am looking for science for my 6th - she's big into science, and math, and catches on quick.

 

 

We used Earth in fifth grade and Life in sixth grade.

 

I purchased the student books and the teacher's guides used from amazon. I printed the lab pages ("student record sheets") from the CPO website in addition to any of the worksheets I wanted to use.

 

There was just a smidge of math in Earth and Life. I would hope there is more math in Physical.

 

Our Earth year was amazing! Dd discovered a deep interest in geology :) We used the book as laid out in the teacher's manual-----usually there was an Investigation followed by a section of the book, then another Investigation and another section, then finishing the chapter.

 

As we read the book sections together and discussed as we went, I could assess dd's level of understanding so I did not have dd answer the end-of-section questions. She answered almost all of the end-of-chapter questions orally.

 

I added in a few books (the teacher's guide has suggestions at different reading levels for each chapter) and we watched corresponding Bill Nye videos.

 

Life was not as successful due to life (ha!) circumstances and dd's lack of interest in anything not related to botany. My dad died unexpectedly in October of that school year, and I spent a gigantic amount of time handling my parents' estate and selling the house. I wasn't able to do as many interesting activities nor find as many additional resources. We skipped a few chapters (dd had studied those topics previously in school and was able to answer the assessment questions) though I did extend the genetics and plant biology sections, based on dd's interests.

 

I think CPO is a great choice for a middle grades student! The books are the best I've read (my older kids used two different series while in private school). Dd enjoyed them, enjoyed the labs (gosh, we had so much fun with Earth), and has retained all that she studied.

 

We opted not to use Physical Science this year (7th) because I felt she was ready for more of a challenge. She was :)

[Targhee]

I'm using CPO Physical, Earth, and Space Science. Here is an example of how I am using it.

 

Thank you for sharing this! You mentioned that your son really enjoys the investigations. Do you have to pull together a lot of resources to do the investigations?

[Targhee]

I purchased the student books and the teacher's guides used from amazon. I printed the lab pages ("student record sheets") from the CPO website in addition to any of the worksheets I wanted to use.

 

I wasn't aware you could do this. That is good to know! Thank you!

 

Our Earth year was amazing! Dd discovered a deep interest in geology :) We used the book as laid out in the teacher's manual-----usually there was an Investigation followed by a section of the book, then another Investigation and another section, then finishing the chapter.

 

Were you able to do all the investigations, or were there limitations because of equipment/materials (in both Earth and Life)?

 

We opted not to use Physical Science this year (7th) because I felt she was ready for more of a challenge. She was :)

Could I ask what you chose that was more of a challenge? I am really looking for something challenging, with applied math and investigations/labs that we can do (does not require equipment that's too expensive for a one or two year use - I think a microscope is a good investment but some of the physical science stuff looked out of our price range. At least the materials package at the CPO website was WAY out of our budget).

[Embassy]

Thank you for sharing this! You mentioned that your son really enjoys the investigations. Do you have to pull together a lot of resources to do the investigations?

 

I usually read the investigation first. Then I determine if we can do it with what we have on hand or what we can easily obtain. If not, I try to think of ways to adapt the investigation so it still teaches the same concept. If I can't think of anything I look for online resources like online activities or Youtube videos that demonstrate the concepts.

 

Usually, I give my husband a list of what I need every month or two and he gets them when he goes grocery shopping. I usually need simple things that can be easily found. For example, our last investigation required a thermometer and Magic Shell. He found an outside thermometer, but plastic was in the way of getting the temperature of the substance. So I broke off the bottom plastic portion and it worked fine. We also don't have the great accuracy that the equipment will give you. In our last investigation one son called out every 5 seconds and I noted the temperature for the other son to write down. While not exactly accurate, it taught the concept. We graphed out our results and noted the temperature change and the plateau where the substance was changing.

[redsquirrel]

We used earth and space in 6th grade. With my next kid, we will use CPO life science in 5th. I also have the teacher's books, because it has the answers to the explorations, the unit questions, and a schedule for what happens when. It came in very handy.

 

I read through the explorations (called Student Record Sheets on their website) and figured out what we needed. I always buy most of my science materials ahead of time, so I had it all ready to go in August. But, that is just me. If I don't make myself buy it, it doesn't get used.

 

With Earth and Space, I was able to do almost all of the explorations. There was very little we couldn't manage, rig, finagle... you get the picture.

[Matryoshka]

I used CPO for three years thus far. We did Life in 6th, Earth in 7th, and Physics: A First Course in 8th.

 

I did all three with a small group of families. We did about a chapter every two weeks, then met at the end for the labs. I think you're supposed to do one lab before doing the chapter and one at the end, but this worked better for us logistically. We also felt free to substitute other labs if we thought they'd work better, or there was problematic materials. I had the kids do the end-of-chapter assessments, as well as selected Skills Sheets from online.

 

Life went well in 6th; I think Earth was too lite for 7th - it was written for 6th, and many do it in 5th. That was my bad; I'd wanted to do Life in 6th, and Physics in 8th, and Earth was what was left in the middle...

 

Our best year was the Physics. The book we used was one of CPO's high school classes for 8th-10th, not their middle school Physical Science - chock full of math. We went in on the car and track and timers, which made the labs in the first sections easier. That would be the hardest thing to substitute. The rest of the labs we were able to do fine without specialized CPO equipment. I used the Skill Sheets even more heavily in this year - some really great stuff in there that extends/deepens what's in the text, let them do the Chapter Assessments orally with me rather than writing it (since they were doing more writing elsewhere) and bought the Test Bank and gave them proper tests every 4 chapters or so.

 

For my next dd, my plan is to only use the Physics in 8th. She's not as textbooky a girl. However, she is mathy, and I think she'll get into the Physics. I'm planning to use Exploring the Way Life Works for Bio and Mr. Q Advanced Chemistry. She did some Earth Science this year with Plato, but that was a bit of a bust.

[Sweet Home Alabama]

We used CPO Foundations of Physical Science last year... 3rd edition, I think...

 

Just a word of caution... there were mistakes/wrong answers in both the student and teacher's books. Dh went through the book with dd, and he is a mechanical engineer- he really disliked the book. If dh had not discussed the chapters with dd, she would not have understood some concepts because there were enough mistakes over time that that the content was not always credible. Some of the chapters were better than others. It's not that the entire book was just awful, but before the end of the year it was clear that we would not use Foundations again.... I won't pass it on to anyone either.

 

This sounds so terrible after reading such glowing reports about the other CPO books. Believe me, we wanted to love CPO Physical Science. The book was beautiful, and dh was able to substitute for some of the lab supplies and use the lab book. It could have been great. It's like CPO didn't have a final edit of this curriculum. They could have/should have caught some of the errors.

 

Anyway, I just wanted to offer a heads-up. This was our experience. Maybe others would be able to be more encouraging.

[TarynB]

We used CPO Foundations of Physical Science last year... 3rd edition, I think...

 

Just a word of caution... there were mistakes/wrong answers in both the student and teacher's books. Dh went through the book with dd, and he is a mechanical engineer- he really disliked the book. If dh had not discussed the chapters with dd, she would not have understood some concepts because there were enough mistakes over time that that the content was not always credible. Some of the chapters were better than others. It's not that the entire book was just awful, but before the end of the year it was clear that we would not use Foundations again.... I won't pass it on to anyone either.

 

This sounds so terrible after reading such glowing reports about the other CPO books. Believe me, we wanted to love CPO Physical Science. The book was beautiful, and dh was able to substitute for some of the lab supplies and use the lab book. It could have been great. It's like CPO didn't have a final edit of this curriculum. They could have/should have caught some of the errors.

 

Anyway, I just wanted to offer a heads-up. This was our experience. Maybe others would be able to be more encouraging.

 

 

Thank you for taking the time to post this. I'm taking notes, and glad to hear this from a subject matter expert, since *I* certainly wouldn't have known mistakes were made if I had read it.