What do you need for Campbell's Bio to prep for AP?

[MamaSprout]

I like to pick up used texts in January and February because the prices tend to be lower. Tentatively we have Campbell's big ol' Bio book for next year and it seems to be the book of choice according to dd. What other resources have you used/ liked for this book? There seems to be plenty of study guides and other extras. What is useful?

The MIT OCW doesn't cover enough for the AP or the SAT subject, so we would end up piecing things together. I don't want to re-invent the wheel. I don't think the Thinkwell videos would go over at all here.

[daijobu]

If you haven't already, I would sign up to be an AP teacher and submit one of their sample syllabi for approval.  Not only will you have a bunch of sample syllabi to work from, you will also have access to a lot of old exams for practice.  

[3andme]

Definitely, get Preparing for the Biology AP. It's a study guide designed to accompany Campbell that is focused on the AP.  It really helps highlight the most important concepts in Campbell's. Also, Bozeman Science has good videos specifically for the AP Bio exam. Some other videos include Crash Course Biology, GetaFive AP Bio, Mr. J

[MamaSprout]

Are any of the Campbell add ons useful? Study guide, workbook or lab manual?

 

[MamaSprout]

8 hours ago, 3andme said:

Definitely, get Preparing for the Biology AP. It's a study guide designed to accompany Campbell that is focused on the AP.  It really helps highlight the most important concepts in Campbell's. Also, Bozeman Science has good videos specifically for the AP Bio exam. Some other videos include Crash Course Biology, GetaFive AP Bio, Mr. J

Thanks for the Preparing book- I hadn't seen that before.

[MamaSprout]

11 hours ago, daijobu said:

If you haven't already, I would sign up to be an AP teacher and submit one of their sample syllabi for approval.  Not only will you have a bunch of sample syllabi to work from, you will also have access to a lot of old exams for practice.  

There is some language on the site about having an administrator approve the form. How do you do that? Do I need to sign up as an administrator first?

[daijobu]

 

9 hours ago, MamaSprout said:

There is some language on the site about having an administrator approve the form. How do you do that? Do I need to sign up as an administrator first?

 

I'm sorry it's been some time since I had a syllabus approved, so I don't remember all the steps exactly.  But I do know that if you select one of their sample syllabi, then approval is automatic.  And after that, the CB will prompt you annually to renew your certification (they call it an audit) which only requires a few mouse clicks.  Weirdly, in their agreement, you don't need to even follow the approved syllabus either.  And you still get to call yourself a CB-approved AP class, which you can put on your transcript.  (Homeschoolers make a big deal about what qualifies as being an official Advanced Placement course, but frankly, I don't see any CB police reading student transcripts.)  

Some people on this board have found the CB teacher discussion board to be useful, but I didn't make use of them. 

If you have trouble, copy/paste a screenshot here.    

[AFwife Claire]

The study guide does have some good questions for review, but honestly, you are better off with the Preparing for Biology AP book referenced above. That book is definitely the gold standard for AP bio prep (ha, my amazon review is one of the top ones--I'm "Mom of Many", lol). I got my study guide used really cheap, so it's nice to have, but not essential.  

I have used the "Biological Inquiry:  A Workbook of Investigative Cases for Campbell Reece Biology" book to supplement labs.  There are case studies in there where you use the data and think through situations, and I have found them helpful in getting students to think scientifically.  I don't know that there is an answer key though, although some chapters have the answers online.