kbutton Posted May 11, 2019 Share Posted May 11, 2019 I am looking for an ecology textbook for high school students. Many biology texts have scant coverage of ecology, and I'd like this to be a semester course as part of a Biology/Ecology duo. I found a book that covers the topics I'm interested in, but it's college level, and I am not sure my 2e kid is ready for the level of writing. This is from @Targhee in a totally different and old thread, but it sums up my feelings on the topic. Quote If you are debating ecology vs environmental science I say ecology all the way. I would suggest taking something in geology or environmental science as a complement to ecology, but env science usually only scratches the surface of ecological principles (things like predator-prey graphs, carrying capacity, habitats/niches, succession, biome distribution, etc) because it spends a lot more time on abiotic factors and the human (especially economic and political) factors. However, because there is no math pre-req my guess is this is ecology for non-majors. So, if that is the case i think it better to go for mo bio/cell bio until math is commiserate with major level ecology (usually requires at least applied Calc if not calculus). I thought all biology courses had robust coverage of ecology since it was standard in my high school and was also part of my college biology class (the weed it out class for bio majors, though I was not a bio major). It's been really difficult to find a text that isn't environmental science, and both my DH and I think that straight ecology is more fun and interesting. I have found some things on Teachers Pay Teachers, but I don't want a ton of fiddly notebooking stuff, lol! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted May 11, 2019 Share Posted May 11, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, kbutton said: I am looking for an ecology textbook for high school students...I found a book that covers the topics I'm interested in, but it's college level...... It's been really difficult to find a text that isn't environmental science... ...I have found some things on Teachers Pay Teachers, but I don't want a ton of fiddly notebooking stuff, lol! Perhaps make a list of topics to cover from the table of contents from that college textbook, and use slightly younger materials? I can't find any high school threads on *ecology* (there are some on *environmental science*), but here are some threads with Ecology ideas for middle school or elementary ages, in case the middle school materials might work for you:"Suggestions for Ecology/Environmental Science programs or books" -- high school"Ecology Study" -- poster was looking for 4th and 8th grade ages"Resources for Biome/Ecosystem unit study (5th grade)" -- this had some links to interesting possibilities that you might be able to beef up In case you'd like to skim through threads on Environmental Science for possible overlap resources, there are several linked on PAGE 5 of the pinned thread "High School Motherlode #2": Environmental ScienceEnvironmental ScienceOak Meadow Environmental Science - 1 semester?AP Environmental Science with PA Homeschoolers? [online course provider]1 semester online Environmental Science?Favorite resources for Environmental Science? Edited May 11, 2019 by Lori D. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyDay Posted May 11, 2019 Share Posted May 11, 2019 have you looked at Holt Environmental Science? I know you said you wanted more ecology than environmental......but take a look at the table of contents and see if any of it might work Also Khan Academy has an Ecology section that looks really interesting 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted May 11, 2019 Share Posted May 11, 2019 (edited) A few more ideas at high school level: Easy Peasy: Introduction to Ecology -- free online daily lesson plan and linksAnnenberg Learner: The Habitable Planet -- multimedia ecology/environmental science resources: online textbook; videos; interactive ecology labs; go-along visuals; glossaryEcology by Inquiry -- free pdf 7-unit classroom-based detailed lesson planNGSS Ecology lesson plans -- 28 lesson plans (middle/high school) under the sub-topics of Environment Science, Population Ecology, Biological Communities, Energy Flow, Biogeochemical Cycles Here's a very detailed list of topics/sub topics for making your own Ecology course. Edited May 11, 2019 by Lori D. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted May 11, 2019 Share Posted May 11, 2019 Biozone has an Ecology worktext that is really good. They also have environmental science worktext. Both have full text previews so you can see what it covers and the kind of questions it asks. I love Biozone. https://www.biozone.co.nz/products/ms8/ecology-modular-workbook/ Ruth in NZ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SanDiegoMom Posted May 11, 2019 Share Posted May 11, 2019 I second the biozone (though it says they are low on stock -- I don't think they are publishing it anymore so it might be hard to find). I bought the biology workbook and just did the ecology sections for my kid who focused on zoology and ecology this year. However we have been just sampling things this year as she is in Middle school so we didn't have a hard and fast sequence to follow! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmingMomma Posted May 11, 2019 Share Posted May 11, 2019 Fish & Wildlife: Principles of Zoology and Ecology, by L. DeVere Burton 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted May 11, 2019 Share Posted May 11, 2019 Thanks for asking this. I took a Field Biology and Ecology class in high school and I *loved* it. It is a big reason I chose the career field I did. I am hoping for my kids to have the same type of class but I wasn't sure what sort of texts exist for it. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbutton Posted May 13, 2019 Author Share Posted May 13, 2019 On 5/11/2019 at 12:34 PM, cintinative said: Thanks for asking this. I took a Field Biology and Ecology class in high school and I *loved* it. It is a big reason I chose the career field I did. I am hoping for my kids to have the same type of class but I wasn't sure what sort of texts exist for it. Now I am curious what your career field is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 13 hours ago, kbutton said: Now I am curious what your career field is. My current career is homeschooling my children. 😃 Prior to that, I worked as an environmental consultant. I did site assessments, regulatory compliance assistance, and permitting. My dream job post-homeschooling is to be a naturalist. 😃 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theelfqueen Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 Not a text but check some of the MOOC providers https://www.coursera.org/learn/ecology-conservation Also Crash Course offers a 12 part Ecology series (we are using it to lightly cap off biology right now) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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