Campbell? Holt? Miller/Levine? Biology

[~Amanda~]

Is there a single location to compare/contrast/read reviews on these biology books for HS biology?  They seem to be the main ones used by most people, and I'm not sure which to pick.  All the samples online are for the newest editions, and honestly none of them are appealing.  I was going for holt because it was what was used for oak meadow,,,, I'm just at a loss.  If you have any words of wisdom for me, I'd love any input.

[Acorn Island]

We tried using Holt.    It looked good -- until you actually try to teach from it.   The kids were confused, I had to add a lot of things on.   Not great.    We switched to Campbell.   MUCH better -- well organized, clear explanations, etc.     Note that there are different versions of Campbell -- some are AP level or college level.   The version we used was designed for a standard high school level course -- and it was still plenty 'meaty'.  We used Campbell's "Exploring Life" - the 2004 edition.  (ISBN 978-0130625922).  

 

The other one I liked was the Miller-Levine with the dragonfly on the cover.   That is also clearly written.  I don't think you would go wrong with either of them.

[Mom22ns]

Before we did Biology, I looked at all three Campbell texts and Miller/Levine.

 

Campbell's Exploring Life was too much like what we had already covered in LIfe Science and Campbell's Biology was too much for us. I put Campbell's Concepts and Connections and Miller/Levine Biology side by side. They covered a very similar depth and breadth but with very different approaches/styles. We preferred Miller/Levine. We used the current version and loved it - both kids 2 years apart. They never both love the same thing, but it was a hit twice. Just because it fit us doesn't mean it will fit you though. Does your library have a good Inter-Library Loan? Try requesting all the texts you are considering and see what you can get. Libraries often have older editions which is fine for preview, but Biology is not a subject where old textbooks are just as good as new ones. The field is changing too rapidly.

 

If you have specifics that you like or dislike in a text, I have looked at, read portions, compared TOCs on all of these. I never considered Holt. Here it is used in the public schools for Honors Life Science in Jr High. That made me write it off, perhaps completely unfairly, but there it is.

[~Amanda~]

It's the concepts and connections I'm looking at; I didn't realize there were other books.  I've looked at the Miller/Levine site; they have a new one this year, the "Texas edition" I didn't really know what that meant until I got into looking at the teacher manual, and every single chapter has some TEKS study questions.  No thanks.  I liked the TOC pretty well, though; I havent' gotten a hold of a TOC for the Campbell, except the newest one.... Our library is pretty podunk. lol

[Mom22ns]

There are two main differences in Concepts and Connections v Miller/Levine in my mind.

 

The first is layout. Concepts and connections was 2 column, fewer pictures, pullouts, less busy. If you like straight through read - no distractions, you might prefer it. We like lots of pictures and also all the side notes and interesting facts etc. They help keep us from getting bored.

 

The second is order of concepts. I found the editions I checked covered the same material at similar depth with the exception of C&C does not include human anatomy. However the concepts are covered in a very different order. You can find the TOC for Concepts and Connections here. The TOC for Miller Levine is here.

 

That is a significantly newer Concepts and Connections than I looked at, its been a couple of years since I had to pick Biology, so my comparison may no longer be valid.