biology high school

[Kathy G]

Looking for ideas for a high school level biology text.   NOT something for the AP test.  I think Campbells might be too much for my 6th grader, but middle school science is way too easy.  I would prefer secular but Christian would be OK if it wasn't too political.  

 

Also- anyone order the dissection specimens from homescience tools?  Were they good?  I know my daughter would love them for Christmas, but the thought of grandparents faces when she opens a present of dead animals is too much!!! ;)  LOL

 

Kathy

[Luckymama]

Dicentra started a great post on the high school board, comparing all types of biology curricula. It's similar to her "pinned" chemistry post.

 

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/468303-homeschool-high-school-biology/?hl=%2Bhomeschool+%2Bhigh+%2Bschool+%2Bbiology&do=findComment&comment=5158582

[JeanM]

I used "Biology Matters" with both my oldest ds when he was in 6th grade. It is fairly readable and definitely less dense than Campbell. Actually oldest ds is now doing a second round of biology using Campbell, but he's in 9th grade now. This is a different edition than we used, but I'm assuming it's similar.

 

http://www.singaporemath.com/product_p/mabiotx.htm

[Matryoshka]

There's more than one Campbell text.  My brother's school uses the "big" Campbell Biology for AP, but another text also by Campbell - Biology: Exploring Life - for 9th grade honors bio.  Has a big lizard eye on the cover.  I do think it's out of print now (replaced by that Miller/Levine text with the dragonfly or mccaw on the cover).  In fact, that's probably another one you could use.  I have both and happen to like the "baby" Campbell a bit better - probably depends on if you want any supplementary materials.  I think you can still get some of the Exploring Life extra stuff, but might be hit or miss.

[EKS]

I liked Miller and Levine when I used it with my then 9th grader.  If you're looking for something a bit gentler, Holt Biology might fit the bill.

[Matryoshka]

A slightly different idea - this year with my 7th grader we're reading through Exploring the Way Life Works by Hoagland.  It's not a traditional textbook.  It's both very much big-picture and at the same time narrowly focused, and goes into much more depth than a middle school text.  It does not have the breadth of a standard textbook.

 

It's organized around big organizing principles of modern Biology (natural selection being a biggie - you said you preferred secular :) ); it also gets into the nitty-gritty of things like photosynthesis and respiration, but with lots of illustration and analogies to make the concepts understandable to a non-specialist.  The end of each chapter has discussion questions (with no answers - I don't know of a teacher's guide).  There are also thinking questions (with answers) sprinkled throughout the text in side boxes. Dd and I have been reading a couple of sections at a time and discussing the relevant questions at the end of the chapter.

 

I've signed her up for outside labs - she's done a bunch of dissections in the fall, and in the spring she's signed up for a different lab-only class - they will not be aligned with the text.

 

I'm not sure I'd think of this as on par with a full high school Bio credit, but I think it's much richer and deeper than what usually passes for middle school Bio, so I'm happy.

[dbmamaz]

Have you looked at Real Science Odyssey Bio 2?  It includes a full section on evolution and many say its intimidatingly advanced for middle school.  I've never seen it personally, but people were raving about it - its new this year

[Donna]

We are dissecting with the specimens from homescience tools. If you get the collection, I think they are a bit small and until we got up to the larger creatures, the parts were difficult to see without a magnifying glass. Also, one of the fish that came with ours was strange inside...dried out maybe. Not sure if you can get larger specimens ordering them individually but I'd recommend larger specimens especially for a 6th grader (my dd has had a hard time finding parts on the tiny specimens). I had ordered some a few years ago from Edmund Scientific (don't even know if it still exists) but they came in a bucket and were much larger and better preserved. 

 

We have had fun taking parts from our specimens and making slides for viewing with the microscope when we finish dissecting.

 

My dd is slowly working her way through Thinkwell's Biology course and using a Biology coloring book. I also didn't want to do an AP level course but something more advanced than middle school level and she's enjoying these.

[Kathy G]

_{Thanks for the ideas- I have more research to do .  Has anyone used Shepard?  I am looking at that and Singapore but will check the other options here thus far- thanks so much!}

 

_Kathy

[Momling]

I considered using a high school biology textbook last year for bio and decided against it. My reasoning was that while the girls could handle it fine, they just didn't need to do it. I figured that there will be later opportunities for high school bio, but there won't be other opportunities for a light, fun romp through biology. So instead we used a combination of Ellen McHenry's Cells, Botany, Brain and Human body supplemented with lots of documentaries, Crash course and Khan academy and YouTube lectures, bio zone Evolution, interesting readings, a visit to a pathologists lab and a zoo and natural history museum, lots of microscope usage, growing bacteria in agar, dissections of chickens (we raise them for eggs and slaughter them for dinner periodically). We had a great time and learned a lot. Ellen McHenry's cells, in particular, was meatier than many high school textbooks chapters on cells and much, much more fun. They'll get biology with a single textbook in high school, but by that time they'll be a bit too old for all the stuff we got to do and I wouldn't feel like I could have as much freedom to play around with science as we did in a middle school context. Anyway, just because a child can be absolutely successful with a heavier course, doesn't mean that you have to go there just yet. It's okay to do something more playful while you can.

[Donna]

We used McHenry's Cells as well for the beginning of bio this year. It was very "meaty"....packed with more information than I got in a high school biology course.

[Kathy G]

Thanks, we did McHenry's cells last year.  We liked it, but thought it was a little dry at times.  Definitely packed with info.  I might try to do more of a zoology course, we are still sorting this out.  We are finishing human anatomy and physiology now.  She loves to dissect.  At some point I want to have a biology text for a spine, but I might wait and get the more advanced Campbell.