Science for 6th and 3rd (slight repeat of earlier post)

[Slipper]

I'm reposting in the hopes that I can tidy up my science into one neat summary that I can follow. I still am not happy with astronomy and feel like I need something more. My 6th grader is gifted and learns quickly and easily. She wants to go into some type of medical research or just the medical field in general. My 3rd grader claims to dislike science but enjoys exploring and investigating so I think she will come around. ;) She is a bit of a lazy learner. :) She'll do her work if I'm nearby. She might 'forget' if I'm not around.

 

My goals for my 6th grader:

I want her to learn how to write lab reports. She needs to learn how to take notes. (She is capable of being heavily challenged and enjoys it).

 

My goals for my 3rd grader:

Improving reading and note-taking skills. (This is difficult for her). Writing/drawing basic observations. Learning how to research a simple subject. Study skills. (She has low self-esteem. She enjoys reading but is behind in both writing and math. I work a bit slower to build confidence and a strong base of knowledge.)

 

They are both working in Physical Science this year through Noeo. 6th grader is in Noeo Physics II and 3rd grader is in Noeo Physics I. (We purchased the full kits for Noeo).

 

3rd grader:

 

Noeo - http://www.noeoscience.com/physI.html

 

 

Sub-topics (Noeo Text): Forces and Motion, Light and Color, 'Levers, Wheels and Pulleys', 'Electricity and Magnetism', Inventions, Sound, Flight, Space

 

I want her to be able to maintain a lab journal, science notebook and research.

 

Hands On:

Noeo supplies, Snap Circuits, K'Nex Levers and Pulleys

Daily for 45 minutes.

 

Additionally, she will do a study on any subject she wants - she picked out studying fish (mostly ponds/creeks/rivers). We have a membership to a science center and the zoo. We are getting books about fish and microscopic life.

 

6th grader:

 

Noeo - http://www.noeoscience.com/physII.html

 

Subtopics: Energy, Forces, Motion, Light, Sound, Electricity, Astronomy

 

I want her to maintain a Lab Journal, Science Notebook and be able to do advanced research.

 

Hands On:

Noeo Supplies, Snap Circuits, Solar Power Study kits, Programmable robot (simple and small), week-long robotics camp at science center

 

Books:

Noeo texts, "Touch This! Physics for Everyone", "Physics for Entertainment", "How to Teach Physics to your Dog", "The Wormhole Adventures"

 

She picked the human body for a year-long study. We purchased a full-size skeleton (that she will label this year), and the anatomy books from apologia. We also purchased an anatomy coloring book (Gray's Anatomy).

Daily for 45 minutes

 

 

Thoughts would be greatly appreciated :)

[Penelope]

I can't tell for sure, but it sounds like you might have really high expectations for the beginning of third grade. Do you think you might be comparing her to her older sister at the same age? I ask because I have been guilty of the same thing. But I don't think most kids entering third grade have anything but the most rudimentary (if any!) skills in research, note-taking, and studying.

 

My oldest two are the same ages and grades. I am using different resources for the sixth grader and writing lab reports is not a big goal of mine for this age. But if you want to have her do it, the kits used with Noeo should be conducive to that.

 

For the research, though, I am planning on having my son choose one topic, five or six times this year, on which to do research and write a report. He can use encyclopedias that we have, but also will need to go to the library and have at least two or three additional sources, and use citations in his paper. He will be outlining science materials, his text as well as articles from magazines and library books. We plan to listen to and watch some different lectures this year to practice note taking .

[lewelma]

Hi Slipper,

 

Clearly, you have worked hard to find a program that will work for your kids!  good for you.  It is always so nice to have things laid out and have all the supplies in hand.  I also really like the idea of having a topic for the year and then a separate focal study of the student's choice.  very cool.

 

As for Astronomy, I have lots of ideas, but if you don't mind could you answer a few questions for me first.  Specifically, I'm not clear on how you want to augment astronomy.  Your kids are studying physical science with Noeo, and it includes astronomy.  Is it not very complete for astronomy?  Or do you want more hands on?  Or is the text too simple for your 6th grader?  I have lots of ideas but I am just not clear what it is that you are looking for.

 

Also, I would agree with Penelope that your expectations for a 3rd grader are too high, especially for one who is not thrilled with science.  Even though my 3rd grader had already done 3 science fair projects by that age, there is NO WAY that he could have maintained a science log or notebook, and certainly he could not have taken notes.  He still can't in 4th grade. There is just a huge difference between 3rd and 6th grade, just huge.

 

Also, I would agree with Penelope that writing up lab reports is not important to me.  Perhaps have your 6th grader do 4 for the year, but not every week.

 

I'll write more when you can explain the astronomy problem to me.

 

Ruth in NZ

[Slipper]

Ruth and Penelope, thanks for your input. It's possible that I'm comparing my 3rd and 6th grader. All of my kids have had such different learning styles that I feel like I'm bouncing to extremes at times. :)

 

Noeo comes with printable sheets that they fill out and place in a binder. I consider that to be a science notebook. I will scale back my expectations on labs to be what Noeo recommends (filling out a simple form). I'd like her to do a science project, similar to a science fair presentation, for her fish study. My expectations for research are that she will learn how to look for information on a certain topic and make a tri-fold display and short paper (similar to a book report).

 

For my 6th grader, the Noeo kit comes with about 6 experiments. I want her to do more than the simple fill in the blank sheets that Noeo provides. She enjoys sketching, writing and explaining. Noeo typically provides two pages for her age/grade to fill out for labs. She uses about 6. I'd like to move her from fill in the blank to actually writing/typing it out on regular paper. That is what I'm calling a lab report.

 

My 6th grader truly inhales information effortlessly. She retains information easily as well. She moves quickly through things and I'm stuck with the choice of either moving ahead to the next level or providing more depth in what she's studying.

 

I love Noeo because it provides everything I need along with lesson plans. Looking through the books, kits this year, I noticed that astronomy has a couple of simple books for each grade - one is a biography and the other a book about planets. The biographies will be interesting, but the factual content is probably something they already know. The two labs on astronomy include making a solar system and making a constellation box.

 

I had previously been opposed to simply looking at the stars through a telescope. After further thought, it seems a shame to waste our view of the stars. We live out in the country (no street lights) and it is sometimes so bright outside (from the stars) that we don't even need a flashlight to see. We've looked at craters on the moon, moons of certain planets and so on. It's fascinating but I'd like to do something more than only star-gazing.

 

I'm looking for a bit more text (both girls enjoy reading about space) and projects. I would probably want a couple more books for my 3rd grader and several for my 6th grader.

 

I'd like the projects to be something they can do together, with more complexity for my 6th grader.

 

I hope this answers the questions :) Thanks again.

[lewelma]

Given your 6th grader's passion for science and innate capability, I would take this opportunity to really ramp it up.  My ds loved the astronomy unit in Tarbuck's Earth Science when he was in 6th grade. You can get the 12th edition for $9 used.  I am also sure that you could use the 11th edition because astronomy does not change! http://www.amazon.com/Earth-Science-Edward-J-Tarbuck/dp/0136020070/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375489343&sr=8-1&keywords=tarbuck+earth+science+12th+edition

This book is very very readable, and the astronomy section is excellent.  Here is a link to a sample chapter.  Unfortunately it is on volcanoes, but it should at least tell you if your dd's reading skills are up to it.  This is the 13th edition, but the 12th and 11th editions are almost the same. http://www.pearsonhighered.com/tarbuck13einfo/sample-chapter.html

 

As for your 3rd grader, this is the book that we used at the same age.  It is really really good. http://www.amazon.com/The-Way-Universe-Works/dp/0789488906/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1375489890&sr=8-2&keywords=way+the+universe+works

 

As for activities, this is what we did with both children.

We observed the night sky with binoculars.  We did this over different seasons and then discussed why the stars were moving.  We also watched how the stars moved throughout the night and compared this to the planets'  movement.

We charted the moon cycles: where in the sky given the phase.

We Made a scale drawing of the solar system (you need to tape together a number of sheets of paper, and make each planet a dot)

We charted the change in altitude of the sun over the seasons (this will go from August to November)

We charted the location of the sun in the sky (also from August to November)

 

Your third grader could just enjoy the observation, while your 6th grader could work to really understand the why's behind it all.

 

Hope that helps. 

 

Ruth in NZ

 

 

[Slipper]

Thanks so much! :)