housemouse Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 I would love some suggestions. Ds will be 8th this fall and wants to get high school biology out of the way and be done with it so that he can concentrate on more interesting things like chemistry, physics, astronomy and such. The thing is that he loathes biology- has zero interest in it. We are finishing up RS4K High School Chemistry right now which took a bit longer than the 10 weeks (1 week per chapter) and he is averaging 90 on his quizzes. What can we do for biology in this situation? I know in the past, on topics that were not "loved" we did God's Design for Science a lot- short lessons but packed full with information and he remembered most of it too. What is there that is similar but on high school level- some color, and maybe a video component would be a plus but not required. Thank you in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 Christian or secular? Do you want a full curriculum with tests and such or textbook suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald Stoker Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 Would something like this be of interest? http://education.cambridge.org/ca/subject/science/biology/cambridge-igcse-biology-(third-edition)/cambridge-igcse-biology-coursebook-with-cd-rom-(third-edition) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 (edited) My kids don't mind these secular ones. Bozeman Biology (videos) http://www.bozemanscience.com/biology-main-page/ Miller Levine Biology textbook - Macaw or Dragonfly edition or iBook ETA: They like hands on but not the memorizing aspect of biology. Edited January 31, 2016 by Arcadia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 My daughter did the following sciences while in high school.9th: Physical Science10th: Chemistry (Lab)11th: G 101: Earth's Dynamic Interior (Lab)11th: G 102 Earth's Dynamic Surface (Lab)11th: G 146: Rocks and Minerals (Lab)12th: ENVS 181: Terrestrial Science (Lab)We allowed her to study the sciences that interested her at the community college in 11th and 12th grades (namely Geology and Environmental Science) rather than mandating that she study the more traditional Biology in which she had no interest. None of the ten colleges to which she applied specifically requested Biology though all did require at least three years of science. She was accepted at eight of those colleges and wait listed by the ninth. Bear in mind that she went on to major in Latin rather than the hard sciences. (She did minor in Geology.)Regards,Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 What exactly is it about biology that he doesn't like? If he doesn't like organismic biology, the good news is that you don't have to do any of that. That means that you can skip (gasp!) all of those sections that go over plant, animal, and human anatomy and physiology. Seriously. And no dissections either. With that out of the way, all you need to focus on to provide a solid course in modern biology is biochemistry, molecular and cell biology, genetics, evolution, and ecology. A great book for this is Essential Biology. We used MasteringBiology with it and added in labs from various sources. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen in NY Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 I was surprised to find that the APBio courses my girls took were much more chemistry laden than any Bio course I ever took in high school - IOW, it was mostly chem. I wonder if it would be worth doing an integrated frosh course that includes Phys/chem/and bio, and then moving on to AP courses. Just something to consider.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
housemouse Posted January 31, 2016 Author Share Posted January 31, 2016 Christian or secular? Do you want a full curriculum with tests and such or textbook suggestions? I am not picky- anything goes as long as it might work for us. Test/quizzes would be helpful but not absolutely required. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
housemouse Posted January 31, 2016 Author Share Posted January 31, 2016 I was surprised to find that the APBio courses my girls took were much more chemistry laden than any Bio course I ever took in high school - IOW, it was mostly chem. I wonder if it would be worth doing an integrated frosh course that includes Phys/chem/and bio, and then moving on to AP courses. Just something to consider.... Do you have specific text/ course suggestions for a solid integrated science? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 I am not picky- anything goes as long as it might work for us. Test/quizzes would be helpful but not absolutely required. My dd, definitely not a bio lover, used the ibooks version of Miller and Levine's Biology this fall semester (she did the whole book in a semester block). I took test questions from all kinds of things I found online. We did labs from a variety of sources. I'd be happy to share the websites with you if you'd like :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
housemouse Posted January 31, 2016 Author Share Posted January 31, 2016 My dd, definitely not a bio lover, used the ibooks version of Miller and Levine's Biology this fall semester (she did the whole book in a semester block). I took test questions from all kinds of things I found online. We did labs from a variety of sources. I'd be happy to share the websites with you if you'd like :) Yes please. I would love the resource list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 Yes please. I would love the resource list. I'll post it tomorrow! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen in NY Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 Do you have specific text/ course suggestions for a solid integrated science? Unfortunately, I don't. We went with 9th Grade Chem, and then AP or Dual Enrollment for 10th-12th. There are some folks on the board that do integrated science, though. Maybe a quick search? PS... we like Miller and Levine too. Lots of stuff out there for tie ins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 My dd was in Honors Biology in ps this year, and I think it was partly that class that did her in and made her want to come home. Silly me, that was her sisters' favorite class in high school. Very different kids! So, this spring I signed her up for Zoology at the CC. It's still Bio, but all in the context of animals, and she does love animals. (The stuff in school was a lot of microbiology, things like cell respiration and photosynthesis, and human body systems - digestive, neurological, etc.) The only topic she found interesting was the Biochemistry, because she does like Chemistry. Only one week in, but she seems to already like the Zoology much better. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JadeOrchidSong Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 My dd, definitely not a bio lover, used the ibooks version of Miller and Levine's Biology this fall semester (she did the whole book in a semester block). I took test questions from all kinds of things I found online. We did labs from a variety of sources. I'd be happy to share the websites with you if you'd like :)I'd like to see th websites, too. Thanks! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tess in the Burbs Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 I too would like to see your resources. My ds is pushing Biology off a year and doing environmental science instead. He dreads doing it. thanks for sharing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 (edited) My dd, definitely not a bio lover, used the ibooks version of Miller and Levine's Biology this fall semester (she did the whole book in a semester block). I took test questions from all kinds of things I found online. We did labs from a variety of sources. I'd be happy to share the websites with you if you'd like :)Quoting myself :lol: I'll add to this list: Labs came from: Bryn Mawr http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/sci_edu/waldron/ --We used enzymes, diffusion, osmosis, mitosis, meiosis, and Dragon Genetics (the second one). Explore Biology http://www.explorebiology.com/regentsbiology/labs/ --We used cell studies and leaf structure. Cornell http://cibt.cornell.edu/labs-activities/ (website has changed since I printed info) --We use Bouquet of Flowers (not part 2; adapted part 4) and there are more but names have changed so I need to look through them all Edited February 1, 2016 by Luckymama 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quark Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 Would funny help? Thinkwell has bio and AP bio with a great presenter and chapter quizzes and tests. The guy is very funny. Thinkwell often posts discounts through homeschool buyers coop. My DS did just that for 9th grade level. He will be following up with a lab bio based science later because he wants to. He wasn't interested in an involved general bio. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 My daughter thought Miller and Levine was fairly painless, and she enjoyed all of the online activities that went with it. We had a hard copy of the book, but all the activities, quizzes, little videos to watch, etc., were online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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