swimmermom3 Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Chrysalis Academy's terrific thread, where in part, she takes about some exciting ideas she has for high school science. By the time posters like Nan in Mass and Lewelma had weighed in with additional ideas, I was absolutely drooling. Sailor Dude will be a senior next year and he is making noises about taking one of the AP Physics (the easier one, I think) next year. I don't want to short-change him on a physics course if that's what he really wants to do, but the boy is well, a sailor, a hiker, and a traveler. I know he's going on to college and probably a decent one, but I suspect there will be traveling and sailing every chance he gets. I want to build on those passions and try to create a memorable as well as practical year of science. We haven't looked at any kind of Earth Science since maybe 7th grade. What I think ( and I feel a bit clueless) I want to do study things that go with sailing - oceans, tides, marine life - anything that would make increase the satisfaction of scuba diving. I'd like to have some astronomy and geology in there as well. I want him to be able to see, understand, and really appreciate the natural world that he so likes to explore. We live in Oregon, so aquariums, oceans, rivers, lakes, gorges, rock formations are all at hand. Where do I start? Some nature studies? I love fish hatcheries too. Star parties? I can do dissection. Older ds and I did a dog shark. Can we do this at a level that doesn't look weak after AP Biology? He's done conceptual physics and chemistry as well. Conservation is good. Is all of this even possible? I know I am mixing my sciences all together. How do I go about building something like this? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quark Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Lisa, I haven't used this, nor do I know anyone who has, but it has always intrigued me: From Stargazers to Starships (CK12 flexbook) I think this is the original source. Now, I don't know how to make it AP-level (perhaps it already is?). I hope someone here can help. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 I don't know but OIMB (Oregon Institute of Marine Biology) looks like it's worth a visit http://oimb.uoregon.edu/academics/seminarseries/ My kids enjoyed the Bonneville Dam fish hatchery at Columbia River Gorge. Has your son tried traditional sailing navigation by the stars? http://sciencelearn.org.nz/Science-Stories/Tsunamis-and-Surf/Rediscovering-traditional-Maori-navigation Have fun and good luck. ETA: Was this the child that did Castro's Marine Biology? Can't see signatures on phone 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 How about Marine Science OR Oceanography and Marine Conservation? This course would include marine physics, chemistry and geology, and the biology of marine conservation. Sort of mixing all of the sciences together with a focus on Oceans. You could add to this course a research paper on of celestial navigation to get in the Astronomy also. This Marine Science book looks good: How the Ocean Worksby Princeton University Press There is lots of possible hands on work, and you could easily do a great long-term investigation. Let me know if you want me to brainstorm something given your local resources. Ruth in NZ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald Stoker Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 This book might be interesting: http://press.princeton.edu/titles/9834.html 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Lisa - I'm thinking about your question. I think to make this be more than a 9th grade earth science class, you need to incorporate skills. When I did this, I divided the course into a number of pieces which are done each week. Mine spent an hour reading Science News each week, for example, so they were up on what scientists are working on right now. It takes practice to learn to design and properly document an experiment, so they worked on that each week. It takes practice to learn to observe something closely and record the observations. It wasn't just all learning facts. I think the skills part was what made it be something beyond or next to AP Bio rather than something one could do (and we did quite a lot of) in the lower grades. You could look at course titles for some of the environmental science college classes for majors for ideas and see if you can find syllabi. Nan 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted January 28, 2015 Author Share Posted January 28, 2015 Lisa, I haven't used this, nor do I know anyone who has, but it has always intrigued me: From Stargazers to Starships (CK12 flexbook) I think this is the original source. Now, I don't know how to make it AP-level (perhaps it already is?). I hope someone here can help. Quark, this looks like a cool resource. I may preread it before the Tarbuck and Castro texts this summer. Thanks so much. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 I have this edition of Tarbuck's Earth Science There is also a lab book with this. I was never able to get a TE, however. I also have a copy of The Good Earth, which is also college level Earth Science. They probably don't have enough coverage of marine life, but PM me if you have any questions about either. I'd be happy to answer any questions you have. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted January 28, 2015 Author Share Posted January 28, 2015 I don't know but OIMB (Oregon Institute of Marine Biology) looks like it's worth a visit http://oimb.uoregon.edu/academics/seminarseries/ My kids enjoyed the Bonneville Dam fish hatchery at Columbia River Gorge. Has your son tried traditional sailing navigation by the stars? http://sciencelearn.org.nz/Science-Stories/Tsunamis-and-Surf/Rediscovering-traditional-Maori-navigation Have fun and good luck. ETA: Was this the child that did Castro's Marine Biology? Can't see signatures on phone Arcadia, we went there this weekend after I started this thread! Most of our time at OIMB was spent watching a shark necropsy. We couldn't have timed our visit more perfectly. Ds and a sailing friend that came with us are both taking AP Biology and the friend is especially interested in doing similar research in college. The cause of death was pretty straight-forward. It was a salmon shark that had been caught in a net on a fishing vessel. The rapid change in pressure was the culprit. We then spent a bunch of time at the aquarium nearby. I think dh and I must have stood for 15-20 minutes watching the flatfish change color as they swam from a dark-colored sand environment to a light-colored one. There were also amazing tide pools in the area that would afford ample opportunity for study. The link for the navigation by stars is very cool. Thank you. The dinghies ds sails don't afford much opportunity to practice navigation skills, but this would definitely pique his interest and make the science more accessible. He has not done Castro's Marine Biology. I have ordered the book for my summer reading. I did a semester of Marine Science with his older brother with Connections Academy. We loved the subject matter, but the course had some suspect resources. We did a day of dissection starting with earthworms and clams for Sailor Dude who was in 7th grade. His older brother was fairly good at dissection and did the teaching. Then we did a big squid who had been preserved poorly and a dog shark. It was a great day and I've kept the rather lovely clam shell as a memento. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted June 4, 2015 Author Share Posted June 4, 2015 So I am a little further along in the planning for this class, but could really use more feedback and expertise please. I have Castro's Marine Biology (5th ed.), Tarbuck's Earth Science (12th ed.), and Applications & Investigations in Earth Science (4th ed.) for spines and labs. Both books are used for semester-long honors high school classes or introductory college classes. There is a slight bit of overlap between the two books with regards to topics like scientific method and the three chapters on the oceans in the earth science book. I usually plan for about 34 weeks, just in case there are problems. After getting dh's input, here is what I would like to cover this year and our goals: marine science/biology/oceanography - basic understanding of marine environments and marine life for sailing and scuba diving earth science - rocks and minerals, weathering, soil, running water/ground water, glaciers, deserts, winds, plate tectonics, earthquakes, volcanoes, atmosphere, air pressure & wind, weather patterns, climate change (for hiking) astronomy - basics understanding of astronomy, being able to identify what's in the night sky (just for pleasure) nature studies - able to identify birds, flora, and fauna native to PNW for hiking (it's good to know what poison oak looks like) Dh and Sailor Dude went on an amazing hike this last weekend through an area with 100 yo train trestles and tunnels. Ds was asking dh about some of the plant life and trees and dh could only answer a few of his questions, which is why we have added the nature studies part. I have been thinking about what Nan said as far as skill development really being the key to cranking this class up to the level of an AP class. There are tons of opportunities to develop useful skills out "in the field." The earth science classes often have some kind of mapping lab; our local REI offers a class on "Back Country Navigation with Maps and Compass," as well as an "Essential Wilderness Skills class." I would also like ds to work on his drawing skills, because I suspect he will travel where technology is problematic, so keeping field notebooks for rock collecting or bird and nature journals would be good practice as well as a partial record of what we have done this year. I am completely open to replacing parts of the spines with resources that make our studies live and breathe even more. For example, a couple of years ago, Corraleno recommended The Practical Geologist, which is a terrific book, as well as Hiking Oregon's Geology. We have done several of the hikes in there and have plenty more to cover. What I don't have are good resources for are the astronomy and the nature studies. If you have any suggestions, I would like to hear them. What do you all think of spending maybe 12 weeks on the marine portion, 10 weeks on the earth science portion, and then 6 weeks each on the nature studies and the astronomy? On the other hand, the nature studies could occupy one class a week all year with the changing seasons? Then I need to figure out the sequence of when it would be best to study each section as in I probably don't want to do the astronomy in dead of a rainy Oregon winter? I am also playing with adding one book a quarter like Durrell's My Family and Other Animals, (nature studies) or Steinbeck's Sea of Cortez: A Leisurely Journal of Travel and Research. (marine biology) Any thoughts? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxbridgeacademy Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 What about Environmental Science with a Marine/Conservation focus? I don't think that would look weak at all and would show his interest while still ticking the "standard H.S. Science" box, plus he could still do the AP for it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie of KY Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Lisa, I don't have anything productive to add to this conversation -- I just wanted to say that your course sounds really cool! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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