Sounds like a contradiction in terms, doesn’t it? How can chemistry - a word that evokes so much moaning and groaning from high schoolers - be friendly? Not with all that scientific jargon like electron affinities, electronegativities, atomic numbers, and all that other stuff you can only imagine “real” scientists caring about. But it’s true - this is truly a chemistry course designed to be “user-friendly” and it covers all the basics of a chemistry course with simple, clear explanations and fun games and hands-on activities to make the knowledge “stick."

The program was revised in 2008 and is now the 3rd edition. The biggest change is in format; there is now a student book and a teacher’s edition. Both books are housed in sturdy binders. The student book includes the lesson text, worksheets, instuctions for activities, and labs. Worksheets and activity sheets can be reproduced for family use only (not applicable to co-ops). It also comes with all game pieces needed for the course. The teacher’s edition includes an answer key and teacher pages. The teacher pages include the “game plan” for each lesson, teacher instructions for guiding the activities or introducing new topics, tests, and an answer key to worksheets and tests. It seems to be written with a co-op teacher in mind, with directions on leading group activities and games. You can easily adapt it for use with one or two children, however, and change or omit activities that you may not have time to prep for.

There are 32 lessons in all, each containing informational text and activities. Each lesson begins with several pages of text which introduce and explain the chemistry topic covered. As you read through it, the first thing you notice is how personable the text is. Although it explains everything you need to know, it really takes the time to put each concept into the simplest of terms so it’s easier for young students to understand. For example, instead of a tiny paragraph on energy levels of electrons, pages are devoted to it. These are the same topics covered in chemistry textbooks, but explained at a level that everyone can understand. This really prepares the way for a heavier chemistry course, because you already will have covered the concepts and will be prepared to study more advanced ones. The lessons begin with the basics, acquainting students with the structure of the atom, neutrons, protons, electrons, elements and symbols, the periodic table, and atomic numbers. It then progresses to energy levels, notations, valence electrons and element families, reactivities, ionization energy, affinities, atomic radius, ions, chemical reactions, compounds, bonding and types of bonds, equations, stoichiometry, molarity, and gas laws.

For extra reinforcement, there are worksheet activities, hands-on activities and better yet, games and manipulatives! After you read about the major concepts, there is often a game that is designed to really cement it in your mind. For example, after you read about the filling order of electrons, you get to play “Doo-Wop,” with the special Doo-Wop board included with the game pieces. And after you learn the element families, you get to play “Friendly Neighborhood.” There are also bingo games, a game like war with atomic radii, and more. Manipulatives include transparent colored chips, 1 die, gameboards, and card sets. All the rules for the games are included in the teacher’s manual in the lesson that correlates with the game play.

The teacher’s edition is necessary to teach the course. Not only does it contain the answers, tests and final exam, but also all teaching information for the course. Teacher pages are divided by lesson, and each lesson begins with a “game plan” which lists the activities in the order that they should be done. Following the game plan are in-depth instructions for preparation and/or teaching helps for each part of the lesson. As mentioned previously, the directions anticipate use with a group, but most activities will be easy to tailor to your specific needs.

Basically, this is an excellent introduction to chemistry for any age, but if you were planning on using a full-fledged lab course in the high school level (like Bob Jones Chemistry), this would probably be best used in middle school to familiarize students with the important concepts they’ll have to tackle later on. If your students are not intending to take higher-level science classes you could use this at the high school level, although you may wish to combine it with a more lab-heavy book like Experiences in Chemistry (by Kathleen Julicher) for a complete high school lab science. - Jess