ereks mom Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 (edited) I teach teen girls who struggle academically in most areas. I have one 10th grade student who is tentatively interested in enrolling in the dental hygienist training program (associate degree) at our area's technical college. Due to her learning issues, I am not at all sure that she will be successful in this program, but I am planning to teach an introductory chemistry course (actually, I'd prefer an integrated chemistry & physics course) next year to help her prepare. Please understand that due to her limitations (very poor reading and math skills) there is ABSOLUTELY NO WAY that this student will be able to pass an average high school chemistry course, so I will need to offer her a "chemistry lite" high school course or even a middle school chemistry course just to expose her to the material. Of the options below, which would you recommend for this student? Feel free to recommend others that might work. ETA: Apologia Chemistry is NOT an option. It would be WAY too hard for this student. She has very limited academic abilities, so she would have difficulty comprehending the text and she would not be able to do the math. At 17, she is in 10th grade (repeated 9th) and has a "B" in TT Pre-Algebra (her second time through), and she reads on a 7th grade level. She wants to be a dental hygienist, and the technical college course of study includes Chemistry. With that in mind, which, if any, of the following would be "real" Chemistry so she will have something to build on later, but light--less/easier math than Apologia? Tall order, I know. :-/ Kolbe Introduction to Physics & Chemistry ACS Middle School Chemistry Ellen McHenry: The Elements and Carbon Chemistry Rainbow Science, Year 1 CPO Middle School Physical Science Friendly Chemistry Bob Jones Physical Science ABeka Physical Creation (9th) PAC Integrated Physics & Chemistry by John Hudson Tiner Edited February 23, 2016 by ereks mom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 I'd be inclined towards Rainbow Science, based on my good experiences with Spectrum Chemistry. Ellen McHenry stuff is fine, but, really, I did it with my daughter and a friend when they were around 9. If you have to go THAT simple, then I can't fathom the girl being successful in a dental hygienist program. I'm not familiar with the rest. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loesje22000 Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 BJU Physical Science is mostly Physics in my eyes. And dd (13) considers it a tough, mathy course. We use / will use IGCSE Complete Chemistry http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Chemistry-Cambridge-IGCSERG-CD-ROM/dp/0199138788/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1456211112&sr=1-4&keywords=igcse+chemistry And an,older edition of http://www.amazon.com/Introduction-General-Biochemistry-Frederick-Bettelheim/dp/1133105084/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1456210938&sr=1-2&keywords=bettelheim The IGCSE covers the essentials IMO and is written voor grade 9/10 I think it might be a good fit. To pass the grade 12 exam we will need a few chapters from the Bettelheim book, too. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 I would go with Plato chemistry. https://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/plato-high-school-science/?c=1I use it as a supplement for our chemistry courses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 I recommend Conceptual Chemistry by Suchocki: http://conceptualchemistry.com/ Lots of helpful online material, worksheets, and video lectures. This is a high school chemistry course that teaches the concepts of chemistry without delving deeply into the math. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedClams Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 My dd is taking apologia in a coop and I'm shocked at how easy it is. I think their other sciences are harder, but I'd look at their chem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 We had a good experience with Friendly Chemistry as a semester long introduction. If you take it slow over a year, I think it might work for you. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnMyOwn Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 What about Guest Hollow's new Chemistry in the Kitchen course. I believe she said it is a practical chemistry course and does not include the math you typicallt find in chemistry. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 (edited) . Edited May 23, 2023 by SilverMoon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunshineMom Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 (edited) Georgia Public Broadcasting has a video online based chemistry and physics course which may work for your situation. Edited February 23, 2016 by jewel 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted February 23, 2016 Author Share Posted February 23, 2016 My dd is taking apologia in a coop and I'm shocked at how easy it is. I think their other sciences are harder, but I'd look at their chem. Apologia Chemistry would be WAY, WAY over her head, both in the reading and the math required. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie of KY Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 If her understanding is decent, but limited by the reading ability, then I'd pick something conceptual on a high school level and have her listen to it. Does she have a reading disorder diagnosis? If so, then she can listen to many textbooks through Learning Ally. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 I like the ACS Chemistry. IIR it's mostly teacher led with activities and slides. I think there was a bit of reading at the end. I think it would be good. We didn't finish bc I had a toddler and I needed something less teacher intensive. I also agree to look at the Guest Hollow course. Apologia would not be good for a non-mathy child. I would not call it easy. It's not the most rigorous--but not light, really. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted February 23, 2016 Author Share Posted February 23, 2016 From that list I'd vote for Friendly Chemistry. The McHenry books actually have a lot packed into them, but they may seem babyish to an older kid. My 7th grader enjoyed reading them this year, but found most of the activities to be beneath his dignity. Have you ruled out the Chemistry 101 dvd course? It's made for high school and claims to be a whole credit, but it's more middle school level. There's a schedule that will suggest writing assignments (very basic), extra reading, and such. I haven't really considered Chemistry 101 because I was actually looking for something with a textbook so that I can work through with my students. Maybe I should add it to my list. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted February 23, 2016 Author Share Posted February 23, 2016 If her understanding is decent, but limited by the reading ability, then I'd pick something conceptual on a high school level and have her listen to it. Does she have a reading disorder diagnosis? If so, then she can listen to many textbooks through Learning Ally. There's no reading disorder diagnosis, but I think she does have one--a processing disorder of some kind, IMO. She does have an ADD diagnosis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corraleno Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 Conceptual Physical Science Explorations is the lowest level of the Hewitt/Suchocki conceptual science texts. It's covers basic chemistry and physics, with lots of cartoony illustrations and decent sized type. There are teacher's guides and practice books available for it, and the 1st edition is usually quite cheap. There are free videos aligned to it at conceptualacademy.com. There is another book in the same series called Conceptual Integrated Science Explorations, which includes some basic bio and earth/space science as well, but I can't remember if the chem and physics chapters are reduced because of the extra material. The Conceptual Academy website includes videos for this book, as well as all of the Hewitt/Suchocki "Conceptual" texts. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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