wendybern Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 Can you recommend a backup text, gentle and clear, easy reading, to go alongside the GA PBS chemistry course? Dd16 is a future nurse, and we want to keep moving forward in science and lay a good foundation, but need to keep it very accessible for now, as her reading level and confidence are still catching up. Looking for a text where we could look up topics when more info is needed. Thanks! Wendy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SailorMom Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 Hmmm - we used Homework Helpers Chemistry by Greg Curran alongside that videos and the "High School Chem in your Home" curriculum. I think, with a bit of supplementation and labs, the videos and the Homework Helpers book are a great program :) The book really lays it out nicely. In fact - it is the most clearly written, accessible text in Chemistry I've read - but it also covers everything very well. The only issue is the order things are in, but for the most part it is easy to tell which chapters would go with each video lesson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wendybern Posted May 25, 2014 Author Share Posted May 25, 2014 Thanks, Kristy, that looks great! Appreciate the suggestion. Wendy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 We combined Apologia Chem with GPB. To have to do the Apologia a bit out of order, but the table of contents works very well. It is a quick reordering. It has worked very well. They support each other with the GPB giving much more visual explanation and the Apologia give much more historical background and math support. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pemberley Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 We combined Apologia Chem with GPB. To have to do the Apologia a bit out of order, but the table of contents works very well. It is a quick reordering. It has worked very well. They support each other with the GPB giving much more visual explanation and the Apologia give much more historical background and math support. So, you followed GPB as scheduled and changed the order of Apologia, right? As opposed to using Apologia and changing the order of GPB? Also, did you do the labs from Apologia or GPB (or both)? If you used labs from GPB, did you also have the teacher CD materials? Did it provide you with a list of lab supplies needed? Did you use the GPB worksheets and note taking guides, or were the videos more for informational purposes and not really a "working guide?" Did you read first and then watch the video or video first and then text? Sorry to bombard you with questions - but thanks in advance for your input. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 Yep, I followed the GPB and reworked the Apologia. It was not too difficult as the table of contents of the Apologia spells out pretty well what each chapter entails. My son greatly preferred watching first. The GPB (IMHO) is not enough for high school chemistry. What it is great for is to provide a fundamental knowledge in a really approachable way. So DS would watch, do the notes, do the practice problems, and get a really great intro. Then he would read the Apologia and go through their problems. At that point, he felt really comfortable and could easily digest most all of the text. I did use the extra practice from a GPB first, then the Apologia. The math work for the GPB is pretty superficial, but a very good lead in to the Apologia. The note taking was great. It was a gentle lead in to the idea of taking notes. They make a noise, rewrite the terms/questions, allowed my son to pause so he could write. For a kid who had never been in a classroom lecture atmosphere it gave him instant success. By the third or fourth lecture he felt like he was really on it! As for labs, I did not get the GPB CD, so we did Apologia. They weren't overwhelming or crazy. Mainly the GPB was used as a multimedia approach to allow greater understanding in a more approachable way. It meant the Apologia was 100 percent independent study, rather than a situation where I was hearing, "Mom?" Or seeing my son struggle or be frustrated. I do think if I had just handed hi the text, it would have been more of a push from me rather than confidence with the subject. I greatly liked the depth of the text, and felt GPB was weak, so it balanced the two out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pemberley Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Yep, I followed the GPB and reworked the Apologia. It was not too difficult as the table of contents of the Apologia spells out pretty well what each chapter entails. Oh! Thank you for spelling that out!! I did order the teacher CD for GPB and it is very well laid out, but there didn't seem to be enough "meat" or work to do in between video segments. I like your idea of watching first and then reading. I was planning to do it in reverse, but may do your way. Did you cover the entire Apologia book that year? I mean, did the GPB sequence and coverage allow for a complete read of Apologia? I would also like to see what Bozeman Science videos offer for additional video tutorials as well. I guess what I want is something similar to Red Wagon Tutorials (text AND video instruction)...but we simply cannot afford a $400 cash payment at the beginning of the school year. :/ Thanks again!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 There was not. A video specific for each chapter. Some videos covered the gist of two chapters. In example, the chapter on Atomic Theory covered a brief overview on how it came to be and what we have believed about atoms over the last few hundred years. GPB did not cover that. They just talked about what the general idea of an atom's structure looked like, and how the electron orbitals worked. Electron orbitals and really working with them were then covered in greater depth in a specific chapter. So one video covered two back to back chapters. In that way we were able Togo through all of the text using GPB. Some chapters were one chapter a video, some two chapters a video, but in general a video covered each major topic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 I guess what I want is something similar to Red Wagon Tutorials (text AND video instruction)...but we simply cannot afford a $400 cash payment at the beginning of the school year. :/ Check out Virtual Homeschooling Group. They have an at-your-own-pace class for Apologia Chemistry that includes lectures and quizzes for free! http://www.virtualhomeschoolgroup.com/course/enrol.php?id=425 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pemberley Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Check out Virtual Homeschooling Group. They have an at-your-own-pace class for Apologia Chemistry that includes lectures and quizzes for free! http://www.virtualhomeschoolgroup.com/course/enrol.php?id=425 Have you tried this program before? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 Have you tried this program before? No, I signed up for the Saxon Algebra 1 class to look at it closely, but went with DM instead. But, the class is free and you can sign up and review it for yourself to see if you like it or not. I thought the Alg 1 was well done, but T was in between prealgebra and algebra and DM was the better fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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