sweetpea3829 Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 Hi everyone! I'm brainstorming our upcoming science semester (April through September). We will be covering Earth Science...and actually, I may spread this out over two years (so this coming science semester and then next year's science semester). Whether I do so or not, depends on how far we flesh out our topics. So by earth science, I mean geology, meteorology, astronomy and oceanography. I think I may actually throw in geography, too. (Did I miss a major topic?). I totally plan on throwing in some chemistry, physics and biology as it relates to the specific earth science topics. The nitty gritty: Four kiddos...ages 6 going on 7, 7 going on 8, 9 and 10. The 10 yr old has some LDs and is more or less at a 3rd grade level. The 9 yr old is a STEM kid through and through and could totally handle middle school science. The younger two boys are your typical early elementary kiddos. I can adjust easily for the different ages and abilities, but would probably prefer something that is neither too "young" or too "advanced". Last year, I built our science semester for Oceanography/Marine Biology. It was a ton of legwork. I'm not opposed to doing it again, but if I can cut back on my workload a bit, I'd love to, lol. Anyways, we did some lapbooking, some hands-on activities, a lot of living books, some movies, etc. My ideal science program would have an assigned reading on a given topic, preferably from a living book, but a textbook section would be ok, too. Hands-on activities that are realistic and not busy-work. The occasional fun project idea. Lapbooking (but I can add this in myself). Probably some notebooking/journaling for the older two. We are fundie Christians, but I want my children to learn all science viewpoints. I prefer something that takes a neutral stance, or presents theories as...theories, not fact. And quite frankly, many of the Christian science texts I've seen (I'm talking to YOU Apologia) are poorly written with poorly supported arguments. These are the programs I have heard about/seen mentioned here/etc. If you have any experience with any of them, please do share...pros, cons, etc. Elemental Science: Earth Science and Astronomy ---Most likely grammar stage but...I'm a little torn because I think the 9 yr old would be better served with the logic stage. Mr. Q's Earth Science Ring of Fire Science (This seems to mostly focus on geology) R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey (again, I need to make a decision on whether or not to use the elementary level, or the level 2, for grades 5-9, but modifying it for the younger boys). Winter's Promise Rock Around the Earth. ---I have some serious concerns about buying anything from WP, as I hear they take FOREVER to ship. I need stuff in-hand sooner, rather than later. But...the program is listed for 3rd-6th, so that would nicely meet the needs of all four of my kids. And, to be honest, it does look pretty awesome. A Child's Geography: Explore His Earth Prentice Hall Earth Science Dr. Art Does Science LHS GEMS guides Any other really good ones out there? Maybe something I can build my own curriculum around? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 I can only speak to A Child's Geography. If you don't particularly care for elementary Apologia, you probably won't care for this. They are by different authors, but cut from the same cloth. I got around the WP shipping issues by only getting the e-files for WP. All the books, I bought used. Still my most expensive science year ever and we've found it (equine science) only meh. Good luck. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slache Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 Bump. I'm also interested in Christian Kids Explorer Earth and Space if anyone knows much about it. All I know it's intended to be used twice a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 (edited) We just started Christian Kids Explore Earth and Space. Each week has a short lesson and experiment/activity. There is also memory work, vocabulary, coloring pages, and Bible verses related to the topic. In the back of the book are lots of recommended books/DVDs to get from the library. Some resources are Christian, but most are secular. So far I'm really excited about this program. I like the idea of having a spine that we can organize our studies around. I didn't find very many reviews for this program, but it is in Cathy Duffy's top picks, and I usually like what she recommends. FYI, the book came with a CD of the pages needed to print, as well as teacher/student plans. I thought this was very helpful with getting started. I hate photocopying pages, especially from large books! Edited January 19, 2016 by Holly 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 A Child's Geography: I've used this twice now. It seems to work best with the K-4 crowd (in our house). It's very light, but it's also open-and-go, not particularly time-consuming (you can complete this using it a couple times per week) and the explanations are good for the younger crowd. You basically read the section and at the end of the chapter, there are some activities to choose from. You could do some note booking with it, I guess. We basically read the text, discussed what we read and did some of the activities at the end of the chapter. It's a simple program. The book is really thin - like half the width of one of the Fulbright textbooks. The book spends a lot of time on the shape of the continents and the layers of the atmosphere (from what I remember). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 I never could find a spine I liked for Earth and Space topics. But I can give you some non-spine books we've enjoyed, if you're interested in that. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetpea3829 Posted January 19, 2016 Author Share Posted January 19, 2016 I never could find a spine I liked for Earth and Space topics. But I can give you some non-spine books we've enjoyed, if you're interested in that. I would very much be interested in any and all resources you've used and enjoyed. And the names of ones to avoid. Lol! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wendyroo Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 We are using Mr. Q Life Science, and while we love it for our particular situation, I'm not sure it is what you are looking for. Life Science is officially labeled as being for kids 6-9, but it is almost too easy for my 6 year old. Well, the cross word puzzle boxes are too small for him to write in, but other than that it far from challenging. We are doing Earth Science (labeled for kids 7-10) next year, but my kids will be 7, 5 and maybe 3 if he wants to tag along. My ideal science program would have an assigned reading on a given topic, preferably from a living book, but a textbook section would be ok, too. Hands-on activities that are realistic and not busy-work. The occasional fun project idea. Lapbooking (but I can add this in myself). Probably some notebooking/journaling for the older two. We like the tone of the Mr. Q textbooks; they are conversational and funny. Each chapter has a couple optional worksheets (matching, crosswords, word searches) to reinforce the vocab words. There are also two optional activities/experiments for each chapter, and, at least for life science, they have only required very common household supplies. A selection of the experiments throughout the book focus on teaching the scientific method: forming a hypothesis, independent and dependent variables, multiple trials, graphing results, etc. If you want to get a feel for what Mr. Q has to offer, you can download the entire life science curriculum for free. The earth science table of contents is also available so you can see what topics he covers. Wendy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 (edited) Well, I'll be of NO help here to your actual question, which is looking for reviews of 9 different texts/programs, as I've not used any of them. :tongue_smilie: I just wanted to encourage you to consider "DIY" again this year for several reasons: 1. A few of the resources you list are more middle school level (Prentice Hall, e.g.), and you'll end up having to adapt a lot to fit your younger-aged DC anyways. 2. All your kids are young and it would be easy to keep them together for another 1-2 years, since they are working at a grade 1-4 level -- and up until the oldest is about 6th-7th grade, it's easy to keep that range of ages together. 3. From your post, it sounds like you did a great job last year with your Oceanography science focus, and that it fit your kids' interests and your goals. You can do it again! :) 4. You have a LOT of expectations of what you want to get out of your Science, and there is absolutely NO science program that is going to do all of that for you in one place -- you would STILL be having to sew together multiple programs to get what you want, so why not just commit to that now and use the "best of the best" for your materials. ;) 5. And honestly, at the elementary ages, whatever Science you cover is more than the school systems are doing, and is a bonus to accomplishing your core subjects (Reading, Writing, Math). So if some weeks you don't get it planned out or accomplished and Science falls out of the schedule, at this age it's no big deal. Watch a Magic School Bus or NOVA episode and call it good for the week. ;) re: Geography For a full list of the fields of study covered in Geography, see the Wikipedia article. Typically in elementary/middle/high school, "Geography" is a much more limited subject, and refers to the Social Studies area that covers mapping, states/nations & capitals, physical geography (landforms and major features of Earth), and cultural geography (social, religious, political aspects of human culture -- those aspects of social humanity most closely tied to History, which is the other big area of Social Studies in the pre-college grades). Most of the specialized scientific fields of Geography in that Wikipedia article are NOT covered in the elementary grades -- a few high-interest topics are touched on in the elementary grades, and just a few topics are given a bit more depth (but NOT like college-level depth) in high school. Personally, since there are SO many topics to cover in Earth Science, I would save the mapping and physical features (landforms) aspect of Geography for part of the Social Studies subject, which ends up giving you more time for other Earth Science topics. ;) In case it helps, below is a topic break-down for the subject of Earth Science to get you started planning. We did Earth Science our first year of homeschooling -- 2 DSs, grades 1 and 2 -- and no WAY we could get to all of the topics in just one year's time -- and we liked doing Science 3-4x/week… So what you could do is compromise, and not make it so intensive for yourself: Decide on one resource, with a few hands-on activities or a go-along kit, for each major area you want to cover (below). Throw in a few library books and a video or two as you find them, let your kids explore topics on their own at kids' sites on the internet, and call it good. I personally find lap books exhausting, so unless your kids LOVE them, I'd put most of my energies into reading some good books and making sure we did some fun hands-on activities or ready-made kits, and watched some good videos. Just what I'd do! :) BEST of luck, whatever you decide. Warmest regards, Lori D. EARTH SCIENCE UNITS Earth's Structure - shape of Earth - structure of Earth's interior - plate tectonics - earthquakes - volcanoes Rocks (Geology) - rocks: rock types, testing rocks, fossils, - minerals, crystals, gemstones - caves - erosion (wind, water (rain, runoff, rivers), glaciers, ocean waves, avalanche/landslide) - land forms - soil: formation, layers, soil life Water (Hydrology) - water cycle: evaporation, condensation, precipitation - water transport: streams/lakes/oceans - rivers: delta, meander, ox-bow lake, rapids and waterfalls, watershed - ground water - water quality Biomes ("climate zones" -- special features, climate, plants, animals) - aquatic: freshwater: stream, pond/lake wetland - aquatic: marine: coral reef, estuary, island, beach/coast, ocean, deep ocean - terrestrial: desert; arctic/antarctic; cave; jungle/rainforest; grassland/savanna; forest; alpine/mountain Oceanography (already done last year) - currents/waves/tides - coastline - coral reef - "layers" of the ocean - special features (example: "black smokers") - geology and mapping of sea floor - ocean exploration/explorers Weather (Meteorology) - sun, temperature - wind, air pressure - water, humidity, fog, clouds, rain, snow, sleet - rainbows, clouds - storms: thunder & lightning, tornados, hurricanes/cyclones, dust storms - equipment for measuring weather - forecasting - air pollution Atmosphere (Aeronomy) - atmosphere layers: troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, exosphere - greenhouse effect - magnetosphere (magnetic field), "northern lights" Again, JMO, but I think Astronomy is such a vast subject on it's own, I'd plan on half a year (one semester) in order to cover all of the topics -- on top of a year to cover all of the Earth Science topics above. Astronomy - solar system features: sun, solar flares, solar wind, moon, eclipse, gravity, astroids, comets, planets, planet rings, planetoids - our planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune - stars: formation, "life cycle", constellations - interesting objects: black hole, white dwarf, neutron star, super nova, quasar, nebula - galaxies - telescopes, night sky viewing - electromagnetic spectrum, x-rays, radio waves, visible light, Dopplar effect - cosmology - space exploration: planetary probes, Hubble telescope, space flight, astronauts Edited January 30, 2016 by Lori D. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 Here are some of the earth/space books we've enjoyed. Most of them are longer and go more in depth, but I did include a few shorter ones. Moon Landing Books Team Moon (if you only do one moon landing book, do this one) The Moon Over Star Reaching for the Moon Other Space Books Child's Introduction to the Night Sky (this one would make a good spine for studying about star watching and constellations) When is a Planet Not a Planet?: The Story of Pluto (looks to be out of print, but it's good) Boy, Were We Wrong about the Solar System! The Mighty Mars Rovers (Scientist in the Field) Earth/Water/Volcanoes/etc Seymour Simon's Extreme Oceans (this one could make a good spine for an oceanography unit) Will it Blow? (Become a Volcano Detective at Mt. St. Helens) Eruption! (Scientist in the Field) Extreme Scientists (Scientist in the Field) Shorter Books I can remember liking The Redwood Forests Flash, Crash, Rumble, and Roll (and other Franklyn Mansfield Branley books) Magic School Bus books (because my kids like them, not because they're high quality information/presentation) Black Holes We've read around 80 books for earth and space so far this school year. Most are "meh" in that if you could find a book on the same topic at your library, it's probably similar quality. The ones I linked were the ones that I'd go out of my way to find and read if we were doing this year over again. As you can see, we like the Scientist in the Field books. They are longer, but they provide the depth in an interesting way by following actual scientists and narrating their work. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kateingr Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 Not a full curriculum, but my kids and I have been enjoying using DK's Geography as our earth science spine this year. It covers nearly all the topics Lori D. listed, with gorgeous pictures. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefgazer Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 Have you considered Real Science 4 Kids? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lorisuewho Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 (edited) I'm doing Mr. Q's Earth Science this year with a third and fourth grader. It's good. (FWIW, I personally dislike science in general so I'll probably never be WOO HOO about any science). The boys enjoy the text reading. They think it is funny. We choose one activity to do a week and they are very do-able. They like the activity day. I usually am selective about the worksheets they do. They usually only do one or two a week to go with the chapter. Other than the activity, the boys work this program rather independently. Edited January 20, 2016 by lorisuewho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My3girls Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 We haven't used their Earth Science program, but we are using RSO Physics and really like it. We plan to stick with them through middle school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetpea3829 Posted January 21, 2016 Author Share Posted January 21, 2016 Thanks so much for the help and advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetpea3829 Posted January 21, 2016 Author Share Posted January 21, 2016 We haven't used their Earth Science program, but we are using RSO Physics and really like it. We plan to stick with them through middle school. Which level of RSO are you using? And why did I think there was a RSO Earth Science level 2? But I can't seem to find it now. It says the level one is good for grades 1-4...do you think a 4th grader that is a little above grade level would find it boring? Could I easily adapt it for my older kiddos? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esse Quam Videri Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Coming from a CM background (lots of living books and hands on nature study), Elemental Science Earth and Space was a bust for us... So incredibly boring. Poorly chosen reading material and simplistic/silly experiments IMO. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3 ladybugs Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 We had issues with REAL Science Odyssey. We got through it but we felt that little was retained for our son. I should also point out that we used it for "first" grade and not "second" grade so maybe that was the difference? We also had issues with some of the experiments not working as intended. We are now doing Elemental Science Classics for Biology and my son is doing MUCH better and seems to be retaining too. So that is good. Know that probably wasn't much help, but thought I would throw it out there anyway. Good luck with your decision! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pink and Green Mom Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 I have used all the grammar stage Elemental Sciences and the logic stage biology one only. I loved them. My kids loved them. When my oldest went to private school in 6th they asked if he had been in a special gifted science program because of his knowledge (and this child is not a great student to begin with). I think, however, that for earth science, the spines are very juvenile. (Caveat: I did this program years ago - maybe they have changed recently). I ditched the spines and found a few series of kids books that our library carried and just got those for the week. I think you can require longer narrations for the older kids and use kid friendly library books on the topics while using the recommended spines for the younger kids and get by with just the grammar stage curriculum. Like someone else mentioned above, I usually do geography as a separate subject (for example, science teaches about the ocean and waves, etc. but I save the naming and finding of specific oceans for a separate geography class). I am very lazy and when I buy curriculum I hate having to tweak it. But it really didn't require much effort other than making sure I requested the books in advance at the library. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms.Ivy Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 I used REAL Science Odyssey Earth Science as a supplement to BFSU. I liked the sections on rocks and minerals. The kids learned a lot by performing the tests and classifying rocks and minerals, and recording their results on the "lab" worksheets. The astronomy was good for a summary of facts about each planet. But as for the other earth science topics, my kids learned more earth science through watching the Magic School Bus. I guess REAL Science sort of provided a review, but it was pretty simplistic, and definitely meant for young children. We learned WAY more astronomy by using Classical Astronomy by Jay Ryan. We just did a cursory read through, and I wasn't expecting my kids to understand it all. We'll go through it again in a couple of years. Anyway, my kids learned SO MUCH practical astronomy, and we all love being able to go outside and see zodiac constellations and know what they are, and to see the moon and know what phase it's in and what it will look like tomorrow. They love finding the North Star and knowing why the sun is lower in the sky in the winter. I highly recommend classical astronomy with young kids over memorizing astronomy facts about stuff you can't see with the naked eye. You just can't beat the feeling of familiarity the night sky. Apparently even the US Navy is bringing back celestial navigation as a backup, because nobody can hack into that system! My kids learned the most about weather when I took them to the National Weather Service. The NWS scientists were amazing! They were happy to share what they were doing, explain weather and weather observation, and show us all the tools and computers. They even gave me instructions for experiments to do at home. They have a lot of free educational materials, too. That one trip was worth more to us than an earth science curriculum book would have been. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My3girls Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Which level of RSO are you using? And why did I think there was a RSO Earth Science level 2? But I can't seem to find it now. It says the level one is good for grades 1-4...do you think a 4th grader that is a little above grade level would find it boring? Could I easily adapt it for my older kiddos? Yes, they only have level 1 for Earth Science, right now, but should be coming out with level 2 sometime this year. I haven't used it so I am not sure if he would or not. Check the site and look at the examples they have. That should give you an idea anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caviar Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 How about the Ultimate Science curriculum by Aurora Lippor? It's pricey, to be sure, but DVD based. I haven't used it, but I am considering it for next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbutton Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 We used RSO Earth and Space, and while we didn't dislike it, we didn't like it anywhere close to as much as we liked RSO Chemistry. I haven't seen the earth science portion of this curriculum, but we are looking at it for a general science at some point: http://www.eagleswingsed.com/product/considering-gods-creation/ You should check out the free section of Ellen McHenry's site. She has a lot of free stuff, including games. You might find a few things you can use there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetpea3829 Posted February 8, 2016 Author Share Posted February 8, 2016 Well...looks like I'm making my own again, lol. I just can't fully buy into any one Earth Science Curriculum. I sat down last night and drew up the "frame". I've got until April to pull it all together, lol 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetpea3829 Posted February 9, 2016 Author Share Posted February 9, 2016 Well, I'll be of NO help here to your actual question, which is looking for reviews of 9 different texts/programs, as I've not used any of them. :tongue_smilie: I just wanted to encourage you to consider "DIY" again this year for several reasons: 1. A few of the resources you list are more middle school level (Prentice Hall, e.g.), and you'll end up having to adapt a lot to fit your younger-aged DC anyways. 2. All your kids are young and it would be easy to keep them together for another 1-2 years, since they are working at a grade 1-4 level -- and up until the oldest is about 6th-7th grade, it's easy to keep that range of ages together. 3. From your post, it sounds like you did a great job last year with your Oceanography science focus, and that it fit your kids' interests and your goals. You can do it again! :) 4. You have a LOT of expectations of what you want to get out of your Science, and there is absolutely NO science program that is going to do all of that for you in one place -- you would STILL be having to sew together multiple programs to get what you want, so why not just commit to that now and use the "best of the best" for your materials. ;) 5. And honestly, at the elementary ages, whatever Science you cover is more than the school systems are doing, and is a bonus to accomplishing your core subjects (Reading, Writing, Math). So if some weeks you don't get it planned out or accomplished and Science falls out of the schedule, at this age it's no big deal. Watch a Magic School Bus or NOVA episode and call it good for the week. ;) re: Geography For a full list of the fields of study covered in Geography, see the Wikipedia article. Typically in elementary/middle/high school, "Geography" is a much more limited subject, and refers to the Social Studies area that covers mapping, states/nations & capitals, physical geography (landforms and major features of Earth), and cultural geography (social, religious, political aspects of human culture -- those aspects of social humanity most closely tied to History, which is the other big area of Social Studies in the pre-college grades). Most of the specialized scientific fields of Geography in that Wikipedia article are NOT covered in the elementary grades -- a few high-interest topics are touched on in the elementary grades, and just a few topics are given a bit more depth (but NOT like college-level depth) in high school. Personally, since there are SO many topics to cover in Earth Science, I would save the mapping and physical features (landforms) aspect of Geography for part of the Social Studies subject, which ends up giving you more time for other Earth Science topics. ;) In case it helps, below is a topic break-down for the subject of Earth Science to get you started planning. We did Earth Science our first year of homeschooling -- 2 DSs, grades 1 and 2 -- and no WAY we could get to all of the topics in just one year's time -- and we liked doing Science 3-4x/week… So what you could do is compromise, and not make it so intensive for yourself: Decide on one resource, with a few hands-on activities or a go-along kit, for each major area you want to cover (below). Throw in a few library books and a video or two as you find them, let your kids explore topics on their own at kids' sites on the internet, and call it good. I personally find lap books exhausting, so unless your kids LOVE them, I'd put most of my energies into reading some good books and making sure we did some fun hands-on activities or ready-made kits, and watched some good videos. Just what I'd do! :) BEST of luck, whatever you decide. Warmest regards, Lori D. EARTH SCIENCE UNITS Earth's Structure - shape of Earth - structure of Earth's interior - plate tectonics - earthquakes - volcanoes Rocks (Geology) - rocks: rock types, testing rocks, fossils, - minerals, crystals, gemstones - caves - erosion (wind, water (rain, runoff, rivers), glaciers, ocean waves, avalanche/landslide) - land forms - soil: formation, layers, soil life Water (Hydrology) - water cycle: evaporation, condensation, precipitation - water transport: streams/lakes/oceans - rivers: delta, meander, ox-bow lake, rapids and waterfalls, watershed - ground water - water quality Biomes ("climate zones" -- special features, climate, plants, animals) - aquatic: freshwater: stream, pond/lake wetland - aquatic: marine: coral reef, estuary, island, beach/coast, ocean, deep ocean - terrestrial: desert; arctic/antarctic; cave; jungle/rainforest; grassland/savanna; forest; alpine/mountain Oceanography (already done last year) - currents/waves/tides - coastline - coral reef - "layers" of the ocean - special features (example: "black smokers") - geology and mapping of sea floor - ocean exploration/explorers Weather (Meteorology) - sun, temperature - wind, air pressure - water, humidity, fog, clouds, rain, snow, sleet - rainbows, clouds - storms: thunder & lightning, tornados, hurricanes/cyclones, dust storms - equipment for measuring weather - forecasting - air pollution Atmosphere (Aeronomy) - atmosphere layers: troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, exosphere - greenhouse effect - magnetosphere (magnetic field), "northern lights" Again, JMO, but I think Astronomy is such a vast subject on it's own, I'd plan on half a year (one semester) in order to cover all of the topics -- on top of a year to cover all of the Earth Science topics above. Astronomy - solar system features: sun, solar flares, solar wind, moon, eclipse, gravity, astroids, comets, planets, planet rings, planetoids - our planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune - stars: formation, "life cycle", constellations - interesting objects: black hole, white dwarf, neutron star, super nova, quasar, nebula - galaxies - telescopes, night sky viewing - electromagnetic spectrum, x-rays, radio waves, visible light, Dopplar effect - cosmology - space exploration: planetary probes, Hubble telescope, space flight, astronauts Here are some of the earth/space books we've enjoyed. Most of them are longer and go more in depth, but I did include a few shorter ones. Moon Landing Books Team Moon (if you only do one moon landing book, do this one) The Moon Over Star Reaching for the Moon Other Space Books Child's Introduction to the Night Sky (this one would make a good spine for studying about star watching and constellations) When is a Planet Not a Planet?: The Story of Pluto (looks to be out of print, but it's good) Boy, Were We Wrong about the Solar System! The Mighty Mars Rovers (Scientist in the Field) Earth/Water/Volcanoes/etc Seymour Simon's Extreme Oceans (this one could make a good spine for an oceanography unit) Will it Blow? (Become a Volcano Detective at Mt. St. Helens) Eruption! (Scientist in the Field) Extreme Scientists (Scientist in the Field) Shorter Books I can remember liking The Redwood Forests Flash, Crash, Rumble, and Roll (and other Franklyn Mansfield Branley books) Magic School Bus books (because my kids like them, not because they're high quality information/presentation) Black Holes We've read around 80 books for earth and space so far this school year. Most are "meh" in that if you could find a book on the same topic at your library, it's probably similar quality. The ones I linked were the ones that I'd go out of my way to find and read if we were doing this year over again. As you can see, we like the Scientist in the Field books. They are longer, but they provide the depth in an interesting way by following actual scientists and narrating their work. Both of these posts are very helpful, thank you both! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Have you been to this site? http://www.oklahomahomeschool.com/geologyUnit.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrousel Posted May 18, 2016 Share Posted May 18, 2016 Sweet pea, checking in on how your plans are going and any recommendations you have? We don't start earth science until August, but I've been following along and as we wrap up this year, ready to plan! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetpea3829 Posted May 19, 2016 Author Share Posted May 19, 2016 Sweet pea, checking in on how your plans are going and any recommendations you have? We don't start earth science until August, but I've been following along and as we wrap up this year, ready to plan! I ended up writing my own! It took FOREVER and I nearly wanted to pull my hair out. Plus, by the time I was done putting it all together, I hated Geology...lol! What I ended up doing was...I split "Earth Science" into two years. This year, they are covering Physical/Chemical Science (mostly just an introductory unit on Atoms, Elements, and Matter), Geology, and Biomes. Next year, they will cover Oceanography, Meteorology, and Astronomy. I haven't developed those three units yet, and probably won't until the fall at the earliest. I found many great resources all over the internet. I made tons of lapbook pieces on my own, and I also bought a few sets of different topics on TPT. We are five weeks in and so far so good. We wrap up the first Unit on Physical/Chemical Science this week and dive into Geology next week. If you have any specific topics you want some info on, fire away and I'll tell you what I was able to find! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver Posted May 19, 2016 Share Posted May 19, 2016 If anyone finds this thread and wants a spine, you could take a look at B is for Blue Planet: An Earth Science Alphabet. It has 26 earth science topics along with a short introduction to the topic. One could use it as a spine, getting extra books from the library for each topic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strawberryjam Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 (edited) I'm currently putting together my own earth science curriculum with CPO Earth Middle School as the spine. In the CPO Earth teachers guide it gives literary suggestions for grammar, logic and rhetoric stage for each unit!! So I can do this with both my 7 yr old and 10 yr old next year. Then I'm just adding books to each unit, mostly for independent reading as my older one is a strong reader. There will be a couple read alouds for each unit that my younger one can join in on. After working on this for a while I've realized I can even use this as the spine for our entire curriculum, not just science. There is a lot of extra optional math and language arts in the CPO curriculum (the skill and practice sheets online, the investigations, and in the teachers guide). I'm really excited for that as having a history based spine was not working out well for us and we are a science-crazy family. :) ETA: I'm also adding YouTube videos to each unit. After reading what each unit was about, I realized some of the expensive CPO experiments were not necessary. You can find easier ways of replicating the same style of experiment with different equipment. For some things we are just going to watch the experiment instead of doing it. We'll also be doing a bunch of experiments throughout the year that are not connected to earth science. We'll also be using the topics and suggestions in the teacher's guide as jumping off points for writing projects (both reports and creative writing). Edited May 20, 2016 by strawberryjam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventuresinHomeschooling Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 (edited) We have used Elemental, but not on this topic. They are neutral, as I look for the same. You could get the logic too, but we used physics this year with my 4th grade son, and we just added some deeper stuff for him. The jump to logic stage is a step up I didn't feel we were ready for yet in the biology topic, so we postponed it a year. You might check RS4K. We are using their geology for a semester next year, and you could do astronomy too. What I like is that is a ten week focused schedule with a text (but not too dry) and experiments and notebooks. But, then I can get a science kit and go deeper on a topic or add in something else I want to cover. Or I can take a break for a few weeks and feel like I accomplished science or catch up for weeks it didn't get done. :). It appears neutral as well. Our charter school promotes it, but I have read through and didn't see anything I find questionable. I only have chemistry in hand though. Eta: I didn't realize this was an older post and that you were already well underway in your own curriculum. Edited May 20, 2016 by AdventuresinHomeschooling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrousel Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 I ended up writing my own! It took FOREVER and I nearly wanted to pull my hair out. Plus, by the time I was done putting it all together, I hated Geology...lol! What I ended up doing was...I split "Earth Science" into two years. This year, they are covering Physical/Chemical Science (mostly just an introductory unit on Atoms, Elements, and Matter), Geology, and Biomes. Next year, they will cover Oceanography, Meteorology, and Astronomy. I haven't developed those three units yet, and probably won't until the fall at the earliest. I found many great resources all over the internet. I made tons of lapbook pieces on my own, and I also bought a few sets of different topics on TPT. We are five weeks in and so far so good. We wrap up the first Unit on Physical/Chemical Science this week and dive into Geology next week. If you have any specific topics you want some info on, fire away and I'll tell you what I was able to find! I'm worried I'll hate geology too, dropped that class in college after only a week! My plan is to do 3 units, roughly 12 weeks per unit: Earth, Space, Water. We've covered chem and physics this year. I'd be interested in what you are using from TPT, here ar some of the things I'm considering from TPT. Doodle style notes, these would be right up DS's alley I think, maybe better than note booking: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Earth-Science-Doodles-SET-of-8-BUNDLES-at-25-OFF-1554934 Interactive notebook, power points and notes, middle school level, may buy just a few units: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/EARTH-SCIENCE-CURRICULUM-ULTIMATE-BUNDLE-v-20-2419897 Less involved notebook: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Earth-Science-Interactive-Notebook-335412 Activities to go with notebook, this is the space topic one: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Space-Stations-A-Big-Science-Stations-Unit-1117903 Interested in what you're using from TPT, that site may be worse than Pinterest as a time suck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetpea3829 Posted May 20, 2016 Author Share Posted May 20, 2016 Just a few of their lapbook pieces. I purchased a few, but for others, I ended up making my own similar piece from scratch. I bought this one for a few of the lapbook elements, to use with our Biomes unit: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Ecosystems-2066453 This one for States of Matter, plus vocab for changes in property: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/States-of-matter-Fold-and-Learn-294960 And this one for certain lapbook pieces: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Rocks-and-Minerals-Lapbook-Interactive-Kit-1167610 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted May 21, 2016 Share Posted May 21, 2016 I'm currently putting together my own earth science curriculum with CPO Earth Middle School as the spine. In the CPO Earth teachers guide it gives literary suggestions for grammar, logic and rhetoric stage for each unit!! So I can do this with both my 7 yr old and 10 yr old next year. Then I'm just adding books to each unit, mostly for independent reading as my older one is a strong reader. There will be a couple read alouds for each unit that my younger one can join in on. After working on this for a while I've realized I can even use this as the spine for our entire curriculum, not just science. There is a lot of extra optional math and language arts in the CPO curriculum (the skill and practice sheets online, the investigations, and in the teachers guide). I'm really excited for that as having a history based spine was not working out well for us and we are a science-crazy family. :) ETA: I'm also adding YouTube videos to each unit. After reading what each unit was about, I realized some of the expensive CPO experiments were not necessary. You can find easier ways of replicating the same style of experiment with different equipment. For some things we are just going to watch the experiment instead of doing it. We'll also be doing a bunch of experiments throughout the year that are not connected to earth science. We'll also be using the topics and suggestions in the teacher's guide as jumping off points for writing projects (both reports and creative writing). Where did you buy this? I am looking at their prices on their website and it is very expensive. Did you just buy the teacher's guide or the student book also? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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