Heather in VA Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 I know this is the high school board but I asked this on the middle school board and didn't get anything. Then it occurred to me that maybe people who have used this in the past are now on the high school board. I'm looking at Oak Meadow Physical Science (8th grade). Has anyone used this? I'd love some feedback either pro or con. The text samples have a very readable quality to them. Does anyone have any other suggestions that would be more readable than a traditional science text? It can be secular or Christian. I really dislike Apologia - I find it wordy rather than readable. Thanks 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourisenough Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 Sorry, no BTDT advice, but I'll be interested to read any responses you receive. I was looking at it for my DD11 for next year. I think I'm going to go with DO, but I could be persuaded to re-consider OM if someone raves about it. My science must be 100% secular, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in VA Posted February 24, 2016 Author Share Posted February 24, 2016 Have you used DO science before? I'm assuming you mean Derek Owens. Are his classes self-paced? I'm concerned about the level of math for my student. She's not strong in math so this is going to be a challenge for her. I was worried that DO classes would move too quickly for her. When I'm the teacher, I can control that. I usually use DIVE because it's very good and not as expensive as an online class (plus I can choose a secular text for Biology since I'm not as young earth as the teacher is) but their Physical Science course recommends already being into Algebra 1 and we won't be there yet. It's the most math heavy of the middle school science courses I've seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 I usually use DIVE because it's very good and not as expensive as an online class (plus I can choose a secular text for Biology since I'm not as young earth as the teacher is) but their Physical Science course recommends already being into Algebra 1 and we won't be there yet. It's the most math heavy of the middle school science courses I've seen. We used DIVE Physical science and I definitely agree with this. It is somewhat math heavy. It matched PH Physical Science Concepts in Action quite well (for level). I can't recommend any other Physical Science courses though, because my first just used the PH book and my second used the book with DIVE. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in VA Posted February 25, 2016 Author Share Posted February 25, 2016 We used DIVE Physical science and I definitely agree with this. It is somewhat math heavy. It matched PH Physical Science Concepts in Action quite well (for level). I can't recommend any other Physical Science courses though, because my first just used the PH book and my second used the book with DIVE. Yea - that was what I liked about it when I used it for my older ones but they were much more advanced in math. This one is not and wouldn't be able to handle it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourisenough Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 Have you used DO science before? I'm assuming you mean Derek Owens. Are his classes self-paced? I'm concerned about the level of math for my student. She's not strong in math so this is going to be a challenge for her. I was worried that DO classes would move too quickly for her. When I'm the teacher, I can control that. I usually use DIVE because it's very good and not as expensive as an online class (plus I can choose a secular text for Biology since I'm not as young earth as the teacher is) but their Physical Science course recommends already being into Algebra 1 and we won't be there yet. It's the most math heavy of the middle school science courses I've seen. Yes, I mean Derek Owens. No, this will be our first DO course. Yes, it is self-paced and I think I will go with the half-priced/no grading version. It is my understanding that he will give access to the videos, homework, tests, quizzes, and answer keys, but not offer any grading/teacher support if you go this route. I think that should work best for us because I may want to slow it down depending on how heavy her workload turns out to be. (I know what I've planned, but sometimes things take longer than expected!) I think I have heard that a student could do DO Physical Science while in Pre-Algebra, but my DD will be studying Algebra 1 concurrently. She is a strong math student, but she's young. I think your concern re: the math involved in the course is a legitimate one. We watched a few of the sample videos and the problems he worked out definitely required algebraic thinking. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in VA Posted February 25, 2016 Author Share Posted February 25, 2016 Thanks for letting me know that there is an option with DO for non-grading. I missed that when I was looking. I only saw the "live" or "not-live". Non-grading would definitely work better for us for the same reasons you said. I'm not sure if she's ready for something like that now but it's nice to know that in the future this is an option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GThomas Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 We've been happy with Elemental Science. The Logic Stage series is for 5th-8th graders. They use science encyclopedias as their spines. We're in our second year of using it. I've done a lot of tweaking to get it to work for us. It's set up to be very flexible whether it's for individuals or a co-op setting (which makes it not particularly an open and go curriculum). We've cut out most of the writing it requires and I make flashcards on Quizlet in advance so my son doesn't have to write them all out. If my son was in 8th grade, I'd probably have him do the writing components. Built in is an annual science fair project. Good luck in your search! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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