ScienceWorks - Simple Machines

Very well done unit studies for primary grade children. While written for a classroom setting, I found very few adaptations needed to use in the home environment and very little preparatory work (outside of gathering some resource books and materials) required. They emphasize process skills and scientific thought at a level appropriate to this age - observation, prediction, recording information, critical thinking, analysis, and comparison. Each contains two reproducible forms for a student logbook, one used to record what was learned each day (like a learning diary), the other for recording investigations (What we did, What we saw, What we learned). The books are organized by major concept. For example, Exploring Space book covers:

Background, step-by-step instructions for the lesson and a list of reference books are included for each. Investigations are clearly explained and illustrated and use household materials. There are also reproducible worksheets, mini-books, and other manipulatives and patterns to use with the lesson.