Notes on Ninth Grade Health Class....

For covering health, I'm looking at using some books I have at home, such as The Way WE Work; a Nat. Geo. book entitled Body: The Complete Human; a Nat. Geo. book entitled The Incredible Machine; and maybe even a book entitled Medicine: A Treasury of Art and Literature (looking at how medical and health care have evolved over time).

I've pulled a bunch of online lesson plans for various topics, too:

Mental Health

http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/lesson.../Mental_Health (the ones for high school)

...and a variety of other health related topics

http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/lessons.cgi/Health

First Aid

http://www.homepage.montana.edu/~mtp...DoesItHurt.pdf

(And I want him to take CPR/First Aid courses, too....)

Tobacco Awareness Issues

http://www.media-awareness.ca/englis...nd_tobacco.cfm

http://www.pecentral.org/lessonideas...son.asp?ID=930

Parasites and Disease

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xp...parasites.html

Sex Ed Topics (perhaps, haven't reviewed yet)

http://www.safehealthyschools.org/se...on/gateway.htm

http://www.pbs.org/inthemix/educators/lessons/sex1/

AIDS

http://www.discoveryeducation.com/te...os-at-risk.cfm

Sexual Harassment

http://www.discoveryeducation.com/te...harassment.cfm

Health Occupations

http://www.ncsu.edu/pbl/pbl_lessons/...gh_health.html

The Movie Supersize Me

http://www.freedocumentaries.org/film.php?id=98

Lesson Plans to go with that movie

http://www.lessonplanspage.com/PEODo...rSizeMe912.htm

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/te...nutrition.html

Michael Pollan's books; the movie The Future of Food; the book Seeds of Deception

I haven't organized these into any meaningful order of usage yet.  I also want to look at a high school health curriculum entitled "Total Health" to see if I want to integrate it into my plans:

http://www.homeschoolfcgs.com/product_info.php/cPath/34/products_id/4557

Regena

Getting Started in Homeschooling....

This is the time of year when folks just getting into homeschooling inevitably come looking for information.  I just ran across a list of info I created for someone a couple of years ago, so I thought I'd recreate it here before tossing it, just in case....

Comprehensive Curriculum:

BJU Press - very sound in history and science topics

http://www.bjupress.com/page/Home

A Beka - great grammar programming; poor history and science

http://www.abeka.com/?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

Veritas Press - great books!

http://www.veritaspress.com/

Sonlight - more great books!

http://www.sonlight.com/

And in case you haven't linked yet, all the above are Christian.  For at least one secular option, you might look at:

Oak Meadow

http://www.oakmeadow.com/

and just one more:

K-12

http://zsem.k12.com/npages/1_paperclip_dyn.html?st=IN&se=Bing&campaign=Indiana_Local_Intent-Search&adgroup=SL_K12_Curriculum&kw=k 12 curriculum&tt_geocat=local&tt_campaign=k8_brand_search

Oh, and then there's Calvert - pricey unless you can somehow find it on Ebay or used somewhere....

http://homeschool.calvertschool.org/

Or if you're looking to go the cheapest route, there's Alpha/Omega (again, Christian).  I have never found these to be well done.  They are NOT rigorous in any sense of the word, and I do not believe they would ever serve a child well used alone:

http://www.aophomeschooling.com/products.php?utm_source=microsoft&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=alpha%20omega%20curriculum&utm_campaign=Homeschool


The catalogs for the publishers also make terrific informational circulars for you.  Most of them critique products in order to help you decide what might be right for your family.

More good catalog sources:

Home Science Tools - mostly science resources, packaged in small amounts for homeschoolers, rather than in class size batches, so more affordable than Carolina Biological, in general:

http://www.hometrainingtools.com/Default.asp?eid=SEM11071

My personal all-time favorite and the "Bible" of homeschooling curriculum:

Rainbow Resource Center (with a phone book size catalog!):

http://rainbowresource.com/index.php#id=album-4&num=327

They carry both secular and Christian resources, as does Home Science Tools (though they are more Christian oriented)....

Rod and Staff Publishers is a Mennonite concern.  They do not use the internet.  They have sound grammar resources, if you don't mind their perspective.  You can call for a catalog:

606-522-4348

They are extremely kind and patient to deal with - please be courteous in return!

Check with your city/county school board office to see if your area may still have a book warehouse and if they will allow educators to obtain free textbooks for use from said facility.  Our county just recently closed theirs and began selling the books online in large lots.  I'm not sure how many of these may be left around the country, but if you don't mind using textbooks (which I must say I abhor, in general), then it might be worth your time to check out this possibility for free materials.

Other online info to check out:

Homeschool Buyers' Co-op Guild - a group that offers group discounts of various sorts of different types of learning materials:

http://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/field-trips/

MSNucleus.org - free elementary and middle level science curriculum online.

Mr. Q's science lab - free elementary biology curriculum online and other sciences for sale:

http://eequalsmcq.com/homeschoolers.htm

Some learning channels on TV offer free, online curriculum to go along with some of their programming.  These include National Geographic, the Discovery Channel, the History Channel, etc.

Edhelper.com provides literature study questions, etc. to help with lit studies.  Cost is about $20 per year.  This is for elementary and I think they also have some middle school stuff, too....

http://www.edhelper.com/

Free, online math:  MEP math

Free, online grammar: KISS grammar

Please see my links page, listed on the right, for links to those and other free, online materials.

Good sources for high school level coursework:

Khan Academy

http://www.khanacademy.org/

Hippocampus

http://www.hippocampus.org/?select-textbook=42

I hope this information helps someone who has questions about homeschooling,

Regena

Ninth Grade Biology Notes....

These are the basics of what I did for biology with my older son, so far as I can recall. I recently recreated this for someone I talk to on the WTM boards.  The Hoagland book I used as my spine is evolution based. I also had my son reading a lot of Dawkins, because his works were heavily recommended in the chapter recs of that book. I would not do that again. I simply despise Dawkins. I'd use things like Francis Collins's Language of God, Michael Behe's Edge of Evolution, a graphic novel version of Darwin's Origin, etc. At the end, you'll see a link to a website (Quarks and Quirks) where another lady used this book for bio studies since me. She has some very good links that are still viable to use along with each chapter. A lot of the links that go along with the Hoagland book are broken now....  I am going to combine what I did with what she did for next time around!

It looks like I allotted about an hour for science reading/work each day.... I've listed the other resources we used, too, as we didn't use just this book for the year....

Week 1

Read Chapter 1 and prepare index cards of selected vocabulary - days 1 and 2 (Setting the Stage - cells)

Day 3 - finish index cards and begin work on chapter questions

Day 4 - complete questions

Day 5 - begin Ascent of Man


Weeks 2 and 3 - continue with Ascent of Man and write a position paper over it

(This was my auditory processing problem child who absorbed more reading on his own and writing about what he'd read, rather than discussing it orally. With my current student, who I'm beginning to suspect of dysgraphia, I'd do much more of this orally and might change up some of the books to things I know about now that are more interesting than those things suggested at the end of the Hoagland chapters. But for this first round I used their book suggestions.)

Week 4 - read through the web links for chapter one all week. I had access to these because I was previewing the book to possibly use for a co-op and the company had given me access, I think (it's been a while). I'm not sure if there are still links online that work for this book, or not.... A lot of these were interactive, too, and I believe there were some game type links, as well.... [Update: these links are available to all and are still online, but many of them are broken.]

And perhaps I should interject here that my son also had an hour long co-op class for 20 weeks during this year that covered biology. His fall semester teacher was a lady with a Masters in ecology who talked with the kids about various topics related to that subject and they did some papers for her, too, I think. In the spring, he had a college student who was a bio major who lectured from a more traditional textbook and they did some dissection work. He also got interested in biorhythms and did a science fair project related to Circadian rhythms that year. We obtained some free materials (CD's, etc.) from The Howard Hughes Institute that were used as research for this work. I also got a DNA model kit from Michael's (now there are genetics kits available....) and he did some animal and plant cell labeling; looked at prepared slides of cells using our microscope, etc.

Week 5 - Chapter 2, all week (Patterns: An Overview)

Week 6 - make index cards for selected vocab; days 2 and 3: work on questions; day 4: complete questions and begin looking over web links; day 5 continue with web links.

Week 7 - read from The Casebook of Forensic Detection - use caution with this book! Some things are going to be just too gruesome for a young teen....

Week 8 - read from The World Beneath our Feet - all week (end at invertebrates)

http://www.amazon.com/World-Beneath-.../dp/0195139909

Make and use a Berlese Funnel

http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/course/ent591k/berlese.html

Look at samples of algae (pg. 45 in WBoF) - I think I got mine from Home Science Tools and still have them; they are still good

Look for fungi and lichens; take protozoa samples from lake and look at under our microscope

Week 9

Read Chapter 3 (Energy - Light to Life)

Day 3 - 5 work on index cards of selected vocabulary and review earlier cards with me (done periodically through the year)

Week 10

Days 1-2 answer chapter 3 questions

Days 3-5 look at web links for chapter 3

Week 11

Read A Brief History of the Mind: From Apes to Intellect and Beyond, William Calvin

Week 12

Complete book and discuss; review all vocab cards

Week 13

Read Chapter 4 (Information - The Storehouse of Know-How)

Day 4 - prepare index cards on selected vocab

Day 5 - answer chapter 4 questions

Weeks 14 and 15

Read The Selfish Gene and do position paper on it

(I'm sorry, but I detest Dawkins; I'd choose other things next time around, I think, or perhaps read excerpts and juxtapose with others....)

Week 16

Read through web links for chapter 4 all week.

Week 17

Read Chapter 5 (Machinery - Building Smart Parts)

Day 3 - prepare index cards on selected vocab

Day 4 - answer chapter 5 questions

Day 5 - look over web links for chapter 5

Weeks 18 and 19

I had him reading the introductory chapter of a college level Botany book during this week. If I had it to do again, I'd use Kym Wright's Botany Unit Study, which is really a stand-alone course and includes a ton of lab work....

Week 20
Complete looking over the rest of the web links related to chapter 5 and choose one on which to report.

Week 21

Read Chapter 6 (Feedback - Signaling, Sensing, Reacting)

Day 3 - complete index cards on select vocab

Day 4 - complete questions

Day 5 - read over web links.

Week 22

Read The Ages of Gaia (Or, now you could just watch Avatar, lol.... Actually, it might be a good idea to read the book and then watch the movie and discuss!)

Week 23

Complete the rest of the web links for chapter 6 and answer discussion questions. (I guess there were some at one of the links....)

Week 24

Select a topic and write a thorough report on it. Review vocab cards for the year for the rest of the week.

Week 25

Read Chapter 7 (Community)

Day 4 and 5 - prepare index cards on selected vocab

Week 26

Answer chapter 7 questions

Day 2 - complete questions and begin reading through web links

Day 3 - continue web links

Day 4 - read The Blind Watchmaker

Week 27

Continue The Blind Watchmaker all week (again, I'd chuck Dawkins and find someone more even-handed)


Week 28

Read Three Scientists and Their Gods


Week 29

Read Chapter 8 (Evolution)


Week 30

Prepare index cards for selected vocab - days 1 and 2

Day 3 - answer questions

Days 4 and 5 - look over web links


Week 31

Read from World Beneath our Feet - begin with invertebrates (end at vertebrates)

Make and use a Baermann Funnel

http://www.plantpath.iastate.edu/dep...tylka/node/108

Keep earthworms; snails; and woodlice (roly-polys)


Week 32

Read The Beak of the Finch


Week 33

Read [B]Chapter 21 [/B]"The Sciences: An Integrated Approach" (this is the book that goes along with the Joy of Science course from the Teaching Company) - chapter 21 covers cells

Day 4 - watch Joy of Science lecture and take notes

Day 5 - look over the suggested web links and try some of the investigations (these must be links in The Sciences book, I guess....)


Week 34

Read Chapter 22 The Sciences (Organic Molecules)

Day 3 - watch lecture and take notes

Day 4 - look at suggested web links

Day 5 - make index cards for chapters 21 and 22 of any vocab we don't already have in our set of cards


Week 35

Read Chapter 23 (Genetics)

Day 3 - watch video lecture and take notes

Day 4 - look over suggested web links

Day 5 - do number 5 investigation (I have no memory of these at this time, sorry!)


Week 36
Read Chapter 24 (Genetic Technology)

Day 3 - listen to video lecture and take notes

Day 4 - look over suggested web links

Day 5 - read Chapter 25 and watch video lecture (guess I was running out of time....) - chapter 25 is on Evolution

ALSO, this lady's blog has a terrific plan for using this same book and I really like her online info! A lot of the web links that came with the book are broken now, because the book is older, but this lady's links are still good:


http://quarksandquirks.wordpress.com...l/#comment-492

Regena

Physics Readings for Younger Students....

Following are some books that we used for physics study in fourth grade.  Some of these are simpler and can be read alone easily by even younger kids.  Some would be better as read alouds (such as the Asimov books, perhaps).


Year 4 Physics Books:

Astrophysics:

Stephen Hawking, Harry Henderson
Light, Gallimard Jeunesse, et al
Fires in the Sky: The Birth and Death of Stars, Roy Gallant

Biophysics:

Big Bang, Heather Comper, et al



Gravitation:

The Science Book of Gravity, Neil Ardley
Motion and Gravity, Jeanne Bendick
Gravity is a Mystery, Franklyn Branley
Which Way is Up?  Gail Haines

Force and Energy:

Energy and Forces, Neil Ardley
Making Things Move, Neil Ardley
Force and Machines, Terry Jennings
The Forces With You,  Tom Johnson
The Science of a Spring, John Stringer



Nuclear Energy:

How Did We Find Out About Nuclear Power?  Isaac Asimov
Inside the Atom, Isaac Asimov
Atomic Energy, Irving Adler
Quarks and Sparks: The Story of Nuclear Power, J.S. Kidd

Geophysics:

Earth: Origin and Evolution, Anna Alessandrello



Magnetism:

What Magnets Can Do, Allan Fowler
Electricity and Magnetism, Maria Gordon
Magnetism:  What it is and how Man has used it From Ancient Times to the Present, Raymond Holden
Magnets and Generators, Peter Lafferty



Quantum Theory: Relativity:

The Ideas of Einstein, David Fisher
Albert Einstein and Relativity, Steve Parker
Relativity: From Einstein to Black Holes, Gerald Tauber
It’s All Relative, Necia Aptel

Matter:

Solids and Liquids and Gases: From Super-conductors to the Ozone Layer, Melvin Berger
Atoms and Elements, David Bradley
What is the World Made Of?  All About Solids, Liquids and Gases, Kathleen Zoehfeld
Changing Things, Robin Kerrod



Motion:

Why Doesn’t the Earth Fall Up? And Other not Such Dumb Questions About Motion, Vicki Cobb

Acoustics: 

The Science Book of Sound, Neil Ardley
Sound Waves to Music, Neil Ardley
The Science of Music, Melvin Berger

Mechanics:

Push and Pull, Jack Challoner
Windmills, Bridges and Old Machines: Discovering our Industrial Past, David Weitzman
Ancient Machines: From Wedges to Waterwheels, Michael Woods
It Works Like This: A Collection of Machines From Nature and Science Magazine, Thomas Aylesworth, ed.

Heat:

Hot and Cold, Irving Adler
Heat and Drought, Lionel Bender

Light: 

The Science of a Light Bulb, Neville Evans
The Light Bulb, Joseph Wallace
The Story of Light, Irving Adler
Light and Sound, Jonathan Allday
Light and Color, L.W. Anderson
Light, Neil Ardley
Day Light, Night Light: Where Light Comes From, Franklyn Branley
Prisms and Lenses, Jerome Meyer
Rainbows and Lasers, Kathryn Whyman