Cottonwood Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 DS's situation: In 6th grade he was in public school. They spent each quarter of the year on a different science. They got quite in depth with physics, earth science, chemistry and some biology. He's in 7th with me now, and he is finishing up a chemistry course but will likely enter 8th grade with some yet to complete. I know in high school he will go even deeper into 3 sciences so for what will remain of 8th grade science, after he's finished this chemistry course, I feel like I can be sort of casual with his science course. He wants to choose and piece things together he's interested in and I"m all for that. Of what I have on hand that he hasn't worked on is the following units and says he would like to do: (need to pare this down, of course) Forces and motion (3 wk unit) An Energy unit (3 wk unit) The biggest Snap Circuit kit they sell that includes curriculum (could last most of the rest of 8th) Microbiology, Cell Theory/Genetics and DNA/Living Organisms (3 units in total, 9 weeks) He is also SUPER interested in continuing to code but more in depth. I have toyed with having him just do the snap circuits curriculum and weaving in coding. Or doing the snap circuits till that's done then bringing in coding full time. Is coding considered Computer Science? The above are the only things he feels like he didn't cover in 6th or won't immediately cover in 9th or 10th. It's been pretty tricky trying to teach him new things since his 6th grade was for gifted kids and they pretty much did 7th grade work. I've tried to match that up and move forward and have done pretty good, except for a good science fit. I'm thinking it could be so fun for him to just get to choose it all for himself...as long as he completes what he chooses. Suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 What about Derek Owens physical science? It is algebra based http://www.lucideducation.com/?p=PhysicalScience.php I bought the course. You watch the videos and while you do that you fill out the student workbook. There are tests as well. It is a bit advanced for 7th grade, but it says in your sig that he is doing AoPS pre-A so he should have enough math. You could continue with snap circuits, and if he likes to code then by all means, he should continue The only reason I suggest Derek Owens is that def by 8th grade there should be more math in his science. High school science has a lot of math, so it's good to get that introduction out of the way by the end of middle school. If it seems a bit too much math, then your plan of snap circuits and coding is great for 7th grade, and the physical science can wait until 8th grade. Another possibility is a year of earth science. Middle school is pretty much the last time they get to study earth science. It's difficult to fit it into a high school science rotation. Are you familiar with TOPS science? It is all hands on and great for middle grades science. You buy a book or a "unit" and do all the prep ahead of time. Then your child can be self directed. It does take some dedication to put it all together, to make a 'science station' but when you are done, you are done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cottonwood Posted May 28, 2015 Author Share Posted May 28, 2015 What about Derek Owens physical science? It is algebra based http://www.lucideducation.com/?p=PhysicalScience.php I bought the course. You watch the videos and while you do that you fill out the student workbook. There are tests as well. It is a bit advanced for 7th grade, but it says in your sig that he is doing AoPS pre-A so he should have enough math. You could continue with snap circuits, and if he likes to code then by all means, he should continue The only reason I suggest Derek Owens is that def by 8th grade there should be more math in his science. High school science has a lot of math, so it's good to get that introduction out of the way by the end of middle school. If it seems a bit too much math, then your plan of snap circuits and coding is great for 7th grade, and the physical science can wait until 8th grade. Another possibility is a year of earth science. Middle school is pretty much the last time they get to study earth science. It's difficult to fit it into a high school science rotation. Are you familiar with TOPS science? It is all hands on and great for middle grades science. You buy a book or a "unit" and do all the prep ahead of time. Then your child can be self directed. It does take some dedication to put it all together, to make a 'science station' but when you are done, you are done. I'll check out these suggestions, thanks! What does TOPS stand for so I can google it? I do have a full course of Earth Science sitting here but he is fully revolting against it. lol It's completely off the table, unfortunately. I love earth science. I think I may have written this in a confusing way..sorry! He's at the very end of 7th grade now, will carry a little chemistry into 8th grade to finish and will need to choose what science will finish 8th grade. So we need about 3/4 a year of science content. off to google! He's doing some Alg 1 staggered into his current pre-A work and his current chemistry course has math in it, so we are on our way with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 TOPS science just google that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staceyshoe Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 Ellen McHenry's Cell unit (The Anatomy and Physiology of Animal Cells, I think may be the exact title) would cover one aspect. She goes very indepth (more than my HS Bio course covered), but the unit is short and kid-friendly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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