High School Biology - input desired

[deltagal]

Hello all,

I'm looking at Carrie's suggestions (from 2011) for High school Biology which include either BJU or Pacworks. Has anyone used either of these and what did you think? My son is VERY science minded. It is his favorite course. I don't know if he will go into a science field, but that is definitely an area of strength. Any thoughts?

[Carrie]

deltagal,

I actually need to update my thoughts on this area, as we ended up using School of Tomorrow's (ACE) Biology with my oldest son this year and have really enjoyed it. We decided to try it based on Cathy Duffy's review. We did use the DVD's with it, which really added a lot to the program. Since Biology is such a vocabulary intensive year of science, we decided to try a different route than we were used to doing, while still trying to have it be as living as possible. We found the ACE text to be much more living in its writing style than any other biology text we looked at, and we loved the fact that the study included human anatomy as a part of the Biology coursework.

The DVD option did make the ACE Biology expensive, but there is the option to do it with just the paces and the Biology Lab DVD only. This is a viable option for families also, as the pace text does include all the text from the DVD's. (You just won't get the great footage on the DVD's along with the course then.) While the workbook-style paces are far from the CM style narration and notebooking we love, we have found it to be a good fit for our son for Biology. It seemed to help the information stick with him better than any other biology course I had in the past, and I was the "queen of memorization" in high school and college. We are leaning toward this option for Biology for our high school guides right now.

We also chose to do Health this year, as it paired well with the year of Biology. We used Total Health, which we have enjoyed immensely. The pairing has been outstanding. Both programs are Christian through and through and were so refreshing in their presentation.

Anyway, I just wanted to give an update on this area, so you could know our current thoughts.

Blessings,
Carrie

[deltagal]

Carrie,

I am beyond grateful for you taking the time to respond. Thank you. You are truly a marvel. God bless.

A question - as we use these resources which are not in your HOD plan as of yet, but which you have recommended, is there a way for you to receive credit when we make a purchase?

[MicheleW]

We also chose to do Health this year, as it paired well with the year of Biology. We used Total Health, which we have enjoyed immensely.

Carrie,

Do you think you will be scheduling this Health in a future guide? Or should we think about adding it into a guide?

[deltagal]

Carrie,

Do you feel that the ACE program is a good choice for a science-minded student who is college bound and may have a science related field?

[MeadowWay]

We are planning on using Biology 101 dvd. in the fall with our 10th grader, who is not science oriented. But I believe will come away with a good and thorough understanding w/o all the verbage...
my .02
KK

[mamas4bugs]

Thanks for the update, Carrie! Definitely food for thought.

ps--I'm hoping that Biology is scheduled in the Geography guide--that way I get to follow your schedule instead of coming up with my own!

[deltagal]

I'm still looking at biology materials and am wondering if anyone knows how Science Shepherd compares with the ACE Biology that Carrie mentioned? Carrie, if you happen to pop-in did you look at Science Shepherd. I like the fact that it includes human anatomy.

[Liberty Carriage]

Carrie,

Could you explain more about the Biology DVD's. Do they show the experiments and such?

Liberty

[Sharon]

Carrie I wonder if you have any thoughts on my line of thinking for next year:

I've been pondering doing ACE Biology next year instead of another year of Physical for 9th grade. I would then like to follow it in 10th grade with BJU DVD Biology. DD's focus is physical therapy/nursing. I felt we've had enough Physical Science from REV to REV and I was thinking of 9th grade as sort of a free year. I thought doing ACE would allow her to concentrate on vocabulary and then be able to go deeper with the BJU Biology the following year.

I will have to wait till the Arlington Homeschool Bookfair to really compare the two, but just looking at sample I felt BJU was more advanced than ACE, but it is hard to compare when using only a small sample! I would appreciate any insight you may have if you have compared the two and also your thoughts on doing 2 years of biology!

There are some samples of the ACE Biology dvd's on a blog called Rockinhsmom5. I am unsure about posting a link, but you can google that name plus ACE samples and it will come up.

[Carrie]

Ladies,

I am sorry that I am just getting back to this post now. We are in the stage of wrapping up the catalog for the printer, getting the new book content together on the website, going to conventions, and still homeschooling our 4 boys (who are also working hard in the warehouse multiple hours daily), so I haven't been able to get back to posts like I would like to be doing! For purposes of brevity, I will call School of Tomorrow's Biology, ACE Biology below. However, I'll just mention that ACE changed its name to School of Tomorrow several years ago. ACE and School of Tomorrow are the same company.

Deltagal,
I do think that ACE Biology is a good, strong course even for those who are going into a science-related field. It is very solid in its presentation and does also include human anatomy too, which we really loved. We did look at Science Shepherd and for us the text was just too far away from a more living approach to science. The labwork also looked pretty overwhelming in its presentation and directions, which was a factor for me this year with three younger brothers still running around at our house!

MicheleW,
We are planning to schedule health in one of our guides through Total Health. The couse was wonderful this year when we did it with our oldest son who is a sophomore. Bear in mind that Total Health does include topics on STD's, abstinance, teen pregnancy, drugs, and alcohol and does go fairly deeply into those topics. So, I wouldn't want to use the text with students younger than grade 10 in order to really be able to openly discuss those areas. But, the text is done a very Biblical, God-honoring way and was a huge blessing to me and to my son.

Liberty,
The DVD lessons for ACE Biology are watched daily. They involve real footage of animals, trees, plants, etc. while the text is narrated. The footage also include charts and diagrams. There is a lab CD that includes all labs, with up close views of the labwork being done so you can follow along. The DVD's are very well-done and add a whole new component to the study of Biology. They are not just a teacher standing in front of a class, but rather are filled with footage to get you involved in the study of Biology.

You could do the ACE Biology without DVD's if needed, because the text in the PACE's is what is read on the DVD (and the paces do include pictures and diagrams). But, if you can afford the DVD's, they are well worth the purchase in may mind. Either way, you would definitely need the Lab DVD. As far as the HOD guides go, our tentative plans at this point in time are to offer ACE Biology with the option of purchasing the DVD's or not (but either way families would need the Lab DVD, which can be purchased separately from the other set of DVD's).

Sharon,
With your daughter's area of interest in mind, I can see where you may wish to forego another year of physical science, especially if you have done Rev2Rev's science (which is very solid). I do think BJU's Biology is one of the most rigorous biology courses out there. It has two huge textbooks and much related lab-work. I know families who have taken two years to complete it, because there is so much information in it that it can literally be too much to do well in a year.

I likely would shy away from doing both ACE Biology and BJU Biology, as the topic coverage would be too similar, but rather I would lean toward a couple of other options. First, you could do ACE Biology and then follow it up with an Advanced Biology course. Second, you could do BJU Biology, spreading it out over two years. Third, you could do BJU Biology in one year and follow it up with an Advanced Biology course. I'd lean toward doing both Biology and Advanced Biology if this is an area of interest and strength for your daughter. In this way, you can offer a full credit each for Biology and Advanced Biology.

While ACE does not seem as rigorous overall when compared to BJU Biology, I do think that the way the content is presented lends itself toward better retention and understanding. To demonstrate a bit more on why I think this, I'll share that I took two years of Advanced Biology at the college level with advanced biology labs both years. I was not a biology major, but this was the only biology course still available when I changed my major from nursing to teaching. After taking one year of advanced biology, I discovered that the university I was attending required two consecutive years of the same biology level, so I had to do a second year of advanced biology too. To say the least, the coursework was very challenging. Yet, I had always been a straight 'A' student and was a great memorizer. So, I got through two years of Advanced Biology with good grades.

However, as soon as my classes were done I no longer retained any of what I had learned. To me, the text and classes were just endless terms to memorize and the subject of biology never really came together in my mind in an interesting way. This is what I wished to avoid with my oldest son on his first trip through regular Biology. So, I pretty much searched through everything out there until I found the fit I was seeking for him. He has had a terrific year and has really enjoyed his Biology course. He will often share with me things he has learned through the Biology DVD's or his paces. I can tell when he explains things to his brothers about plants, animals, the body etc. that he has really retained what he learned and is able to apply that learning to real life. So, I am very pleased.

I will share that the actual paces are very much fill in the blank, vocabulary intensive workbook type exercises; but I was willing to overlook that in my quest to have a more living text and interesting DVD content (along with interesting labs). I had pondered doing the ACE Biology in a more CM-style fashion, but ultimately decided that Biology is a vocabulary-intensive course and really needs to be! On a sidenote, I also appreciated my son being able to hear the vocabulary words spoken correctly on the DVDs in the course of his daily sessions.

I realize that each family will have its own thoughts in this area and that not one size will fit all (depending on whether a student is headed for a science-related field or not). But, ACE Biology is definitely one to consider as you ponder your options.

Blessings,
Carrie

[deltagal]

Rock on, Carrie Austin!!

This REALLY helps. I really appreciate you taking the time to explain in more depth about why you feel it is a solid course. I was so interested in it when you initially mentioned it and was wondering why it did not receive such high-marks from others for its content, but your experience with it clarifies a great deal.

Thank you!

[Sharon]

Carrie thank you so much for taking time to answer our questions. I so appreciate your knowledge and willness to share with all of us!