Clear Creek Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 If you were going to design a natural history course for an 8th grader, what would you include? Any books, field guides, anything...I have an idea that it is like nature study on steroids, but I don't have a clue where to begin or what it would actually entail. The original plan was to study physical science; my daughter thought it sounded good and thought the textbook looked interesting, but after four weeks it is not going well. She enjoyed the PHSE textbooks we used in the past (we don't use science textbooks in a traditional manner), so I didn't think using a textbook again this year would be a problem, but she hates it and she isn't learning a thing. She has not cried this much over science since we tried R&S science in 3rd grade, and since she wants to go into a science field I really don't want to kill her love of science...the textbook is going on the shelf and we are making a plan B. She said she would much rather study (in her words) "plants, biology, and the world around me," so I think a year of natural history would be right up her alley. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 Maybe have her study from an Environmental Science book with some supplements, like Silent Spring and The Forest Unseen. There's also Ellen McHenry's Botany in 8 Lessons course that shouldn't take too much time out of your year. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted September 20, 2015 Share Posted September 20, 2015 Well, it depends on where you live, but field guides for sure. I have a ton of CA-specific resources but I don't know how relevant they'd be for you. But get native plant guides, wildflower, bird, insect guides, and find a place you can visit regularly and make observations and identify the flora and fauna around you. One nice nature journaling resource is this one: http://www.cnps.org/cnps/education/curriculum/ it's a free download or you can buy a printed version. We are really enjoying two books, which we are reading over the course of the year (they have dated entries): The Year of the Turtle - David Carroll - he's got other books on wetlands, swamps, and trout but we've really been enjoying the turtle book. He's a fantastic writier. The Forest Unseen: A Year's Watch in Nature - David Haskell Definitely read things like Silent Spring, Sand County Almanac, A Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, and other classics. Maybe it's too soon for Walden, but that's on my someday list. Letters to a Young Scientist - E O Wilson Not really curricula, but books we love. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kfamily Posted September 20, 2015 Share Posted September 20, 2015 Here is what I might consider: The First Book of Botany by Eliza Ann Youmans and follow it with the Second Book of Botany (free in the public domain) How to Keep a Naturalist's Notebook by Susan Leigh Tomlinson The Cloudspotter's Guide: The Science, History and Culture of Clouds by Gavin Pretor-Pinney The Sea Around Us by Rachel Carson (Special Ed. for Young Readers) Hungry Hollow: The Story of a Natural Place by A. K. Dewdney Fabre's Book of Insects by Jean Henri Fabre King Solomon's Ring by Konrad Lorenz Also, I think that Nan in Mass talks about Natural History during the High School years, so you might look for some of her threads too. :) Here is a tagged link for two of them: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/tags/forums/natural%2Bhistory/ Here is another thread on modifying it for middle school ages: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/186540-modifying-natural-history-syllabusmodg-for-a-middle-school-student/ Sorry, the formatting is so messy, I was having trouble with posting this. All of these books are in my curriculum, but I moved them around from multiple years and put them into one year. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald Stoker Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 Here's a thread: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/512411-what-do-you-think-about-natural-history-as-a-science-credit/ And another one: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/542702-favorite-natural-history-resources/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clear Creek Posted September 21, 2015 Author Share Posted September 21, 2015 Well, it depends on where you live, but field guides for sure. I have a ton of CA-specific resources but I don't know how relevant they'd be for you. But get native plant guides, wildflower, bird, insect guides, and find a place you can visit regularly and make observations and identify the flora and fauna around you. One nice nature journaling resource is this one: http://www.cnps.org/cnps/education/curriculum/ it's a free download or you can buy a printed version. We are really enjoying two books, which we are reading over the course of the year (they have dated entries): The Year of the Turtle - David Carroll - he's got other books on wetlands, swamps, and trout but we've really been enjoying the turtle book. He's a fantastic writier. The Forest Unseen: A Year's Watch in Nature - David Haskell Definitely read things like Silent Spring, Sand County Almanac, A Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, and other classics. Maybe it's too soon for Walden, but that's on my someday list. Letters to a Young Scientist - E O Wilson Not really curricula, but books we love. That is what I was really hoping for, books that could inspire and inform her. Thank you for your recommendations! Maybe have her study from an Environmental Science book with some supplements, like Silent Spring and The Forest Unseen. There's also Ellen McHenry's Botany in 8 Lessons course that shouldn't take too much time out of your year. I forgot about that one! She really enjoyed the Elements and Carbon Chemistry last year, so I will keep that in mind. Here is what I might consider: The First Book of Botany by Eliza Ann Youmans and follow it with the Second Book of Botany (free in the public domain) How to Keep a Naturalist's Notebook by Susan Leigh Tomlinson The Cloudspotter's Guide: The Science, History and Culture of Clouds by Gavin Pretor-Pinney The Sea Around Us by Rachel Carson (Special Ed. for Young Readers) Hungry Hollow: The Story of a Natural Place by A. K. Dewdney Fabre's Book of Insects by Jean Henri Fabre King Solomon's Ring by Konrad Lorenz Also, I think that Nan in Mass talks about Natural History during the High School years, so you might look for some of her threads too. :) Here is a tagged link for two of them: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/tags/forums/natural%2Bhistory/ Here is another thread on modifying it for middle school ages: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/186540-modifying-natural-history-syllabusmodg-for-a-middle-school-student/ Sorry, the formatting is so messy, I was having trouble with posting this. All of these books are in my curriculum, but I moved them around from multiple years and put them into one year. It was actually a post by Nan in Mass that started this search, lol. I read a couple of her posts and thought it sounded exactly like what my daughter would enjoy; I just couldn't seem to wrap my brain around what it would involve. I followed all the trails in the threads that you and Emerald Stoker linked, and I also read Nature Study for the Whole Family by Laurel Dodge this weekend, and I think I have a better idea of what a study of natural history would include. I like the looks of the syllabus linked in the second thread, but I think I will hold off on it until my daughter takes biology and then combine the two. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clear Creek Posted September 21, 2015 Author Share Posted September 21, 2015 So, here is my general plan. It may adjust if she shows interest in one of the areas. I have some books on being a naturalist; she will read them at her own pace: Naturalist’s Guide to Observing Nature by Kurt Rinehart Nature’s Beautiful Order (Memoria Press, just the reader) The Amateur Naturalist by Gerald Durrell I am going to have her read these books in order to build a foundation of knowledge from which to base her study of nature: Book of Insects and Book of Trees (both from Memoria Press) What’s That Bird by Joseph Choiniere and Claire Mowbray Golding For the occasional project ideas, I have ordered these books: Kid’s Guide to Exploring Nature (Brooklyn Botanical Gardens) Attracting Wildlife to Your Backyard by Marcus Schneck I am going to get her a good sketchbook and give her this book for ideas, instructions on how to draw, and examples: How to Keep a Naturalist’s Notebook by Susan Leigh Tomlinson I will also use the Nature Journaling resource that Rose linked as a guide for me to help her. I made a huge list of book suggestions from the ones y'all gave and the ones in the linked threads; and I am going to start with the ones available at my library and go from there. My plan is for her to read every week, then spend time outdoors at least a couple times a week sketching something new and using the field guides I ordered from Amazon to identify and label it. I am not going to tell her what to do; my goal is for this to be very interest-led. As long as she rotates between plants, insects, and wildlife each season (so she can begin to track the changes in different things), I am going to stay out of it. Our property has a desert-ish front yard (dead grass, lizards, and cacti, lol) and a creek with woods along it in the back, so it will be years before she runs out of things to observe right here in our yard. Thank you all so much for your help! :hurray: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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