Purposeful Design Science Elementary 3rd Ed.

The new third edition Purposeful Design Science still maintains an inquiry-based, hands-on approach as students are guided through the wonders of God's creation through a biblical worldview. Learning is based on scientific inquiry investigations and engineering design process activities. At the time of this writing, Grades 1-3 are currently available. Grade 4 is expected to be released in 2024. Each grade level includes an overview of the foundations of science and covers all science branches: life (including the human body), physical, earth, and science and engineering. There is also a focus on Crosscutting concepts.   Furthermore, each lesson meets the NSES (National Science Education Standards) and NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards) while maintaining a biblical worldview within the framework of these three questions: Who is God? Who is Man? and What is the nature of the world around you? Students learn the ideal conditions for life on earth as it points to God's special design for this planet and for those He created in His image. As a result, faith and science are woven together as students read, explore, and investigate the information given. Each grade requires a Teacher Edition and Student Worktext.

The Teacher's Edition is available as a spiral bound book or as an e-book. The new edition still provides an overview of the curriculum, the standards and content of the lessons, a worldview statement, a suggested teaching schedule, the scope and sequence of the lessons, assessment information, and safety guidelines. There is also information on how to access the downloadable teacher resources including blackline masters (including assessments and tests), digital masters, computer presentations, and answers to the blackline masters. Blackline masters are meant to be printed for the student while digital masters and computer presentations are meant to be projected to the student's digital device. All teacher resources, however, can be printed. Each chapter begins with "key ideas" and the objectives of the chapter, vocabulary words, materials needed for the lesson, and the list of standards met. Each lesson gives helpful step-by-step explanations to teach the lesson and includes the objectives, specific materials for each lesson, any preparation needed, and directed instruction. There are also "recovery" and "extension" exercises to further reinforce concepts and meet the varied needs of learners. These exercises will sometimes use the downloadable blackline masters and give specific instruction for which masters to use. At the end of each two-page lesson is a small format copy of the student pages with answers. The last lesson of each chapter is review. A glossary (listing the highlighted vocabulary words from each chapter) and an index are also included in the back. Obviously, there are a lot of resources in the teacher edition and this is clearly set up for a classroom; however, the homeschool parent can easily adapt it to their specific family needs.

The new third edition Student Text has a similar format with new activities. It is softcover with consumable, perforated non-reproductible tear-out pages. There is more content with colorful illustrations and plenty of activities to aid in the student's learning. The "experiments" are now named "investigations". There are no longer "Tech Connect" exercises; however, "Unit Connections" and "Design" lessons have been added to each unit. Unit Connections include information and exercises pertaining to the unit. Design lessons allow students to explore ideas, design a plan, build and test, analyze and redesign, and share results. New vocabulary words are highlighted throughout the lessons and review exercises follow each chapter.

This elementary science program is thorough, meets national standards, and integrates a biblical worldview throughout the lessons. Even though it is written for a classroom, the teacher guide is easy to follow and adaptable for homeschool use. The materials for the experiments and activities are easy to gather and provide a fun, inquiry based, hands-on approach. If you desire to help your student learn the language of science at his/her level while integrating a biblical worldview, this program will certainly satisfy those goals. ~ Gina