Any reviews on DIVE Earth Science?

[Blossom'sGirl]

I know this has been asked before but it is still fairly new. I am looking for earth science for my 8th grader next year and it is either DIVE or BJU. BJU seems interesting, just way more involved than either of us may be able to handle. Plus it is quite expensive.

[Sweet Home Alabama]

I know this has been asked before but it is still fairly new. I am looking for earth science for my 8th grader next year and it is either DIVE or BJU. BJU seems interesting, just way more involved than either of us may be able to handle. Plus it is quite expensive.

 

 

 

I've been watching to see if anyone would answer your thread, and thought I could at least share what I know. I have never used DIVE, and I have only used BJU for 7th grade Life Science 3 years ago.

 

My second child will be in 8th grade this coming year, and together we chose BJU Earth Science 4th edition over DIVE. When we researched both, BJU was a better fit. One disadvantage of DIVE, it seemed, was that it would be hard to know what kinds of notes to take. The material seemed just a little bit out of reach- unfamiliar enough that taking notes would be too frustrating.

 

OTOH, BJU looks interesting to ds. I think he will really enjoy the back-and-forth between the secular scientist and Christian scientist. Although I have not had time to detail my plans, I hope to take a sort of non-traditional approach to BJU's Earth Science. Very generally, I would like for ds to take about one week/chapter reading/answering questions/discussing with me. Then, at the end of each UNIT, he will have two weeks to create a lap book. The lap book's theme will be related to the UNIT's title, and my ds will be able to report on what he thinks is either interesting or important within that theme. I want him to treat the lap book kind of like he would an essay in that there should be a main theme, an opinion to prove, and supporting details. I want all of the information to be organized and clear.

 

I don't plan to use the BJU tests. Instead, the lap book would serve as the evaluation tool. If the lab book is done as described, I *think* it would give him a chance to really grasp and retain the information. The sky is somewhat the limit as far as resource materials go, and he can also use the computer for helping him to organize information.

 

I also bought the lab book.... hoping we can do at least some of the labs.

 

As far as choosing between these two, I think it depends on the student and how he/she learns. For my ds, BJU with experiments and lap booking will use his strengths.... plus, he simply LOVES the material in the earth science book. He has a natural interest already built in.

 

I'm looking forward to planning earth science soon after wrapping up this past year- record keeping, etc...

 

HTH

[Blossom'sGirl]

Thanks for answering. I like your reasons for using BJU. I really like the look of the BJU text and if this was for my oldest, a strong reader, I wouldn't hesitate to use it. Second ds already has a full plate for next year and extra reading may be too much. I like your plan with the lap books for each unit. I often find BJU offers too much in the way of helps and assessment and I end up getting overwhelmed. In contrast, I do like how DIVE is planned out for 4 days per week. Open ended assignments do not generally work well with this child. I am hoping for more maturity this year.

 

There is a BJU motel meeting coming to my area next week so maybe we will check it out and see how deep the interest level is. This ds surprised me last year when he choose AOPS for pre-algebra after I showed him several options.

[Sweet Home Alabama]

Thanks for answering. I like your reasons for using BJU. I really like the look of the BJU text and if this was for my oldest, a strong reader, I wouldn't hesitate to use it. Second ds already has a full plate for next year and extra reading may be too much. I like your plan with the lap books for each unit. I often find BJU offers too much in the way of helps and assessment and I end up getting overwhelmed. In contrast, I do like how DIVE is planned out for 4 days per week. Open ended assignments do not generally work well with this child. I am hoping for more maturity this year.

 

There is a BJU motel meeting coming to my area next week so maybe we will check it out and see how deep the interest level is. This ds surprised me last year when he choose AOPS for pre-algebra after I showed him several options.

 

 

I should have been more positive about DIVE. There are certainly aspects of it that I liked: computer based, somewhat independent, and integrated labs just to name a few.

 

As for BJU, the 3rd edition of Earth Science was written at a level that some deem worthy of high school credit. BJU recently wrote the 4th edition on a more middle school level. This is the edition we are going to use. I don't know if that helps you or not. (The 4th edition does not have the distance learning option yet since it is too new. We'll be on our own.)

 

I totally understand about opened ended assignments not getting done..... I LOVED that everything was open-and-go basically with DIVE. I wanted something that leaned toward independence. DIVE was going to give us that sort of independence. We'll have to be more disciplined with BJU.

 

I forgot to mention that we're going to use The Great Courses Intro to Geology with Dr. John Renton. I already have it, and it will add to the compare/contrast of secular/Christian worldviews which is how the text is organized.

 

My ds will have two classes next year (Algebra I and English Comp I) that will be outsourced. These will be challenging enough for him. Since he has a natural love for earth science topics, I'm envisioning that BJU will be somewhat interest led. I am not going to stress over the details. This is primarily why I'm not going to use their tests. If my ds and I discuss the material, do some labs, and he completes lab books to cement the information, I'll call the course a success. I'm more concerned that he engages with (enjoys) the subject matter for 8th grade science rather than stress over a test grade.

[Blossom'sGirl]

I know this is an older thread of mine, but I finally had a revelation yesterday to just show ds what science options he had and let him pick.  Surprisingly, he choose BJU 4th ed. earth science.  I say surprisingly because he is not usually my reader and I told him BJU would be 5 days a week instead of 4 days per week as with DIVE.  The only downfall is it is much more pricey than DIVE.