QUICK SHOPPING
Exploring Creation with General Science Student Text 3rd Ed softcover
| Item #: | 031943 |
|---|---|
| ISBN: | 9781946506573 |
| Grades: | 7-8 |
Product Description:
Publisher Description:
NOTE: Students will require both the textbook and a student notebook to complete this course.
This is a true general science course covering a wide range of the branches of science. There is a large component of Earth Science (modules include astronomy, meteorology, oceanography, earth study, geology, paleontology, and environmental science) to give students a great foundation of that broad field of study. The students will learn what science is and, in a detailed and engaging way, how to utilize proper scientific method.
Students are walked through how to record data and report it. Too often, students are not given instruction in how to read and create graphs (a skill that is found on SAT and ACT exams!), however they are taken through the process of creating several graph types, learning how to properly design and read them, too.
The final module is a fun and exciting culmination of the course. It has no exam, rather students are given step-by-step instructions to build a final project of creating a Rube-Goldberg machine, incorporating many of the scientific principles they learned throughout the year (such as combustion, buoyancy, simple machines, and more). Between the project set-up instructions, students will read testimonies from modern-day scientists, sharing how they see God's hand as they work in their respective fields of science. Lesson Plans and Materials: The course is designed to be done 4 days a week (as compared to 2 days a week for our elementary series and 5 days a week for our high school courses). The book is written in a conversational format as the author talks directly to students, walking them through how to complete experiments, how to identify the important parts of the information presented, and where and how to take notes as they progress. The student notebook pairs perfectly with this process, providing easy-to-understand graphics where students fill in the blank spaces as they read. Thus, they are learning how to take information out of a text, identify key points, and critically think through what they are learning. Daily lesson plans are included in the student notebook so students easily understand what is expected of them each day, yet there is still room for flexibility in the schedule to meet the needs of the student and the family.
Experiments: In early modules, specific portions of the text are highlighted so students know where to find important information for lab write-ups, and they are guided through that process. Although the students might complete more than one experiment in a module, they are given the opportunity to choose a single experiment on which they want to complete a formal lab report, thus providing the opportunity to build on interest-driven learning. Lab report samples are provided so the students learn proper formatting and what is expected of them. All of the experiments in this course utilize easy-to-obtain household materials, so no special equipment is necessary, yet complex scientific principles are easy to explore and understand.
Bonus Hands-on Work: Middle school-aged children still greatly benefit from hands-on exploration, so like our elementary series, we include several optional activities (called Explore More) to allow students to further explore the scientific concepts presented in each module.
Tests: There are tests provided for each module, however, students are given many study helps via their student notes within the Student Notebook, and a practice Study Guide they complete once they complete a module. The first two module tests are assigned to be given as open-book tests so that students learn the format of this course and more easily transition to improve the skill of test-taking, thus preparing them for upper grades and even college work.
Character-building: Middle school-aged students are in a transition period between childhood and adulthood, and we believe it is important to emphasize the importance of character. Thus in each module, parents are encouraged (and guided) to incorporate character performance into their student's grade.
Grading: Complete, step-by-step grading rubrics are provided to the parents, showing how to calculate a module grade from the student's module test, lab work, and character displayed throughout the module.
Seeing God's Creative Hand: Throughout the course, students are able to see evidence of God's creation as they learn scientific principles. Additionally, they will be excited to learn about many great scientists in history who were driven to study our world out of a desire to better know God as its creator. The course is sandwiched by this historical information within the first module and a presentation of testimonies by modern-day scientists in the last module to help encourage students to study science to better know God and give him glory!
NOTE: Students will require both the Textbook and the Student Notebook to complete this course.
Revised in 2019, this course has a fresh new look and feel. With a goal to create an easier transition from the Apologia Young Explorer’s series for elementary students to the upper level Apologia courses, this course focuses on teaching students to learn independently. The content has also been modified, with fewer modules (14) and a 4 day per week schedule. Topically, the new edition covers the history of science, the scientific inquiry and method, documenting and interpreting experimental results, scientific analysis and history, and science and creation. The three branches of Science: Physical, Earth and Life are covered thoughtfully except for anatomy and physiology which has been removed to prevent overlap of content from the Young Explorer’s Anatomy and Physiology course. Within these branches, students will study astronomy, geology, paleontology, meteorology, oceanography, marine science, life science, environmental science and a basic overview of chemistry, physics and biology. A biblical worldview is evident through scripture references (NIV/NLT), creation connections, and through the experiences of various scientists from history and the present, who believe science is the best avenue to learn more about the God who created it.
There are 3 core components: The softcover Textbook, the spiral bound Student Notebook and the paperback Solutions and Tests. The Textbook is divided into 14 modules and contains all the student readings, On Your Own Questions (and answers) and the hands-on experiments/activities. Written conversationally, the author strives to engage students through text, graphics and activities. The course contains a total of 76 hands on experiments or activities. While students should complete all the activities, only one formal lab report is required per module. It is expected to take one hour per day to complete each science lesson. Additional student resources are available through the link and password provided in the textbook. The appendix includes a list of lab supplies for each module. Each module will take 2- 2 ½ weeks to complete. Lab supplies are easily found items, although we offer a Lab Kit from Nature’s Workshop Plus for your convenience.
The Student Notebook contains the suggested daily schedule, grading rubrics, space to record answers to the on your own questions and the study guide questions, write the definitions to vocabulary words, document lab experiments, note-taking prompts and graphic organizers, and occasional fill in the blank summaries. At the end of each module is a Creation Connection response page for writing out personal thoughts or questions related to the module.
The Student Notebook is considered a required component. However, with the exception of the daily schedule, occasional summaries and the note taking prompts, instructions for the notebooking exercises are provided in the textbook. Advanced students may choose to create their own science notebook following the instructions in the text.
The Solutions booklet with Test Pages contains the module exams, and the solutions to the study guide questions and exams. Tests are not reproducible. Also available is a packet of Tests Pages for additional students.
The Exploring Creation with General Science 3rd edition Set includes the Textbook, Student Notebook, and Solutions Booklet with Test Pages.
The Exploring Creation with General Science MP3 Audio CD contains an audio reading of the textbook and on your own questions. It does not include an audio reading for the study guides, tests, and answers. Please note, this is an MP3 audio. To play this CD, you will need a MP3-compatible CD player or on a computer. It will not play in a standard audio cd player.
The Exploring Creation with General Science Video Instruction Thumb Drive provides additional instructions for each of module in the textbook modules through lectures, visual animations, on-location video clips. Sherri Seligson engages students through her lively teaching and 3-D animations. Additionally, videos of all the experiments are included for reference and include detailed explanations. It is recommended students complete the lab activities at home. The Thumb Drive is a supplemental teaching support and the Textbook, Student Notebook and Solutions and Test Book are required.
The Exploring Creation with General Science Deluxe Set includes the Textbook, Student Notebook, Solutions Book with Test Pages, the MP3 Audio CD and the Video Instruction Thumb Drive.
The General Science course, designed for 7th grade, transitioned to the 3rd edition in 2019. The 2nd edition is now out of print and we are out of stock on most of the course components.
Written specifically for use in a homeschool environment, these biblically-centered courses take a lot of pressure off the parent teaching the course. The main component of each course is the textbook. Please note that most textbooks have switched from hardcover to softcover format. The student text includes all the student reading, instructions for labs, "On Your Own" exercises, and fifteen to twenty "Study Guide" questions at the end of each chapter. Unlike many upper-level science texts, we have found these to be extremely readable! The text has a conversational tone, and concepts are explained in an easy-to-understand way. Plenty of helpful diagrams and pictures are included which add interest and break up the text. Answers to the "On Your Own" exercises are also included with discussion at the end of each chapter. The labs are designed to be done easily, and most require only household items to complete; unlike high school courses, like Bob Jones which require investing in some lab equipment and chemicals to complete the labs. Where a microscope or dissecting materials are required, a reasonably-priced complete kit of materials is available, for ease in collecting the items.
The Solution Manual contains test questions for each chapter, answers to the test questions and solutions to the "Study Guide" questions. For some courses, a separate Perforated Tests booklet is available; please note that this is only necessary if you want an extra copy of the test questions.
TheStudent Notebooks are a user-friendly companion that provides space for answering the On Your Own and Study Guide questions as well as for developing Lab Reports. Study helps include graphic organizers and a Module Summary for each module (fill-in-the-blank). Digging Deeper sections provide opportunity for practical applications and writing activities. For the teacher there are grading rubrics for lab reports and suggested answers for some of the graphic organizers. The History of Science module includes a nicely done timeline. Grading rubrics for the lab reports are provided in the Appendix.
MP3 Audio CDs are also available for most courses. The audio files are in MP3 format, and will require an MP3-compatible CD player to use (these can also be run on most computers). Tests, study guides, and answers are not included - this is simply an audio version of the text.
Apologia also offers Video Instruction for Biology, Chemistry, Marine Biology and Advanced Biology. These have transitioned to USB flash drive format. Sherri Seligson, author and scientist, is your host and takes you to interesting locations, incorporating animated diagrams (over 20 hours of instruction) to help students better understand the concepts being taught. The content is more of a summary of the textual information found in each section of the modules than a narration of the text. Students will either see Sherri Seligson on location or in a lab during the speaking portions or they will see animated illustrations and examples. Sherri takes students through each lab and talks about what needs to be done and the results of the experiments.
System requirements for USB drives: USB port (PC or Mac), media player capable of playing mp4 files, and an internet browser. DVD requirements: DVD drive on your computer (PC or MAC) capable of playing mp4 files; these are not compatible with a DVD player.
We now offer SuperSets and Advantage Sets which include multiple items. Advantage Sets include the text, solutions manual (with a copy of the test), notebooking journal, and the MP3 Audiobook CD. SuperSets include everything in the Advantage Set (text, solutions manual with tests, otebooking journal and MP3 CD) plus the Video Instruction USB Flash Drive.
Apologia Science courses are written from a Biblical worldview with the homeschool in mind. At the elementary level, courses follow a Charlotte Mason-inspired methodology, with lessons organized around narration, notebooking exercises and hands-on activities or projects. Children at different ages can use these together, learning at their own level. Each course is designed to be teacher-student interactive, so teacher involvement is fairly high at this level. At the junior high and high school levels, science courses are more traditional in nature, with the textbook written to the student. Teacher involvement time at this level is much less than at the elementary level. Textbooks contain student reading, lab instructions, "On Your Own" questions and Study Guide questions. A Solutions Manual provides the answers to these and the test questions. Lab kits are available separately for both the elementary and upper-level science courses which include most of the harder to find items you will need.
Items listed in this section tend to be complete science programs with a teacher and student component, requiring few supplements besides science supplies.
- Reply
- Inaccurate
- Sara C. Staff on Aug 29, 2022
- Reply
- Inaccurate
- Sara C. Staff on Aug 29, 2022
- Reply
- Inaccurate
- Susan S on Aug 7, 2020
- Purchased on Jun 12, 2019
Item #031943 includes only the text.
- Reply
- Inaccurate
- Janice Staff on Jun 12, 2019
- Reply
- Inaccurate
- Jay W on Jun 4, 2019
- Purchased on May 20, 2019
2. Are there 11 modules? Apologia usually has 16.
- Reply
- Inaccurate
- Janice Staff on Jun 4, 2019
