Holt Science and Technology Questions

[Nemom]

I haven't been happy with Apologia Science for my 6th grader so I purchased a used copy of the Holt S&T Life Science book to check it out. I really like the looks of it and think I want to switch over for the rest of this year and moving forward.

 

I only purchased a used 2004 student edition. I've learned the hard way that I need more of a open and go type curriculum rather than something that takes a lot of planning on my part. However, dd likes me to be a large part of her school day and does not like going it on her own all day. My question is 1) if you purchased a used book how are you implementing it? 2) Have you found worksheets or something else to reinforce the materials?

 

3) Has anyone purchased the books new and found that easier to use? I'm thinking about purchasing the new Earth Science book for next year with the teacher disks rather than the hardcopy teacher book. 4) Is there a lot of additional worthwhile material in the full set?

 

DD really enjoys science and likes the hands on experiments. She may be headed towards some sort of Vet career so I feel like we need to do a thorough job in the sciences.

 

Thanks

[RootAnn]

Until someone chimes in who has some good answers for you, here are some past threads & links that you might find useful in answer to your questions:

 

Note:  User KarenNC has a lot of posts in these threads, so you could consider sending her a PM with additional questions you have.

 

FYI: Holt Science PDFs - A thread with links on a variety of online Holt textbooks -- includes some study guide links, although not necessarily to the book you own.

Holt Life Science - A couple ideas on how to implement the text

Saxon online (free) PDFs of Lesson plans for use with their Life Science text & link to their homeschool package

Holt Science & Technology Short Course - second post has info on what is in the TM

Holt Secular Science @ Rainbow Resource - Info on the package at RR - what's included

Holt Science & Technology - What extras are useful?

Best Choice for Life Science - post linked has what extras someone uses w/Holt's text.

Life Science Recommendations for 6th Grade - post linked has how one user implements actual usage of Holt's Life Science text.

[Nemom]

Thanks!  This is really helpful.

[Haiku]

We have used copies of the books. There is enough in there that I don't feel the need to look for anything extra. We do most of the chapter-beginning activities, and I have the kids keep a science dictionary with the vocabulary words. There are SciLinks listed in each chapter, although those have been less helpful because there are so many I'm overwhelmed. But if you enjoy browsing through them, it's a great supplement. There are also codes to enter at go.hrw.com, and you can find worksheets for the chapters there, too. We also do many of the quick-labs, although the regular labs often require materials and tools we don't have at home. I also often just look for a YouTube video of an experiment relating to what we are learning (we just discovered Crazy Russian Hacker this way). For review your child can just work through the section and chapter reviews. We are finishing up our third HST Short Course book, and we will be doing one more, and then for next year we will be switching over to Ellen McHenry for chemistry. My dd really likes the HST books, and so do I, but my son, who has language processing issues, finds them too wordy, so we are going for something more ands-on next year. HTH!

[Heathermomster]

We used the Life Science text as a spine last year.  We tried a handful of life science books, and the Holt was our favorite.

 

I taught DS to outline from the book and read other books to coincide with it.  During the cells portion, he used the microscope and looked at homemade and pre-made slides that I purchased.  I supplemented with animal documentaries, youtube videos, aquarium trips, a human body atlas, The Way We Work by Macaulay, VanCleave's Biology experiments, and the Biology Corner website.  I tried to make the subject intersting as DS grew to hate science while sitting in a classroom, and it was our first year home.

[TarynB]

We used the Life Science text as a spine last year. We tried a handful of life science books, and the Holt was our favorite.

 

I taught DS to outline from the book and read other books to coincide with it. During the cells portion, he used the microscope and looked at homemade and pre-made slides that I purchased. I supplemented with animal documentaries, youtube videos, aquarium trips, a human body atlas, The Way We Work by Macaulay, VanCleave's Biology experiments, and the Biology Corner website. I tried to make the subject intersting as DS grew to hate science while sitting in a classroom, and it was our first year home.

Thanks for this and for mentioning the Biology Corner website. I'm planning bio next year and that's one I had not seen before.

[Nemom]

I love the extra's on the HRW website. Has anyone been able to access the answers to the worksheets, puzzles, etc on the teacher section? I tried to register but the site won't let me.