High school science students really benefit from the general approach of Alpha Omega Lifepac.  Designed to inspire and motivate non-science minded students and reluctant learners, this college preparatory science course for 10th grade biology has some unusual and successful features.  A unit workbook format is especially unusual at the high school level, but proves very helpful.  Mastery learning is important as well.  Perhaps the best feature of all in a high school biology textbook is the unabashedly Christian perspective.

Topics and Methodology:
The challenging and interesting 10th grade biology topics include cells and cell theory; plant anatomy; human genetics; microorganisms; sexual and asexual reproduction; elements and compounds; classification and taxonomy, and much more.

For the 10th grade biology student, … Read the rest of this post…

There are many great biology resources available for homeschool students of all ages.  Younger students can perform projects growing butterflies, plants, or an ant farm.  Older students can perform dissections, or examine fungi under a microscope.  From project and lab supplies to group classes and tutoring, biology resources can be as close as a few clicks on the computer.

To come up with resources for biology projects for younger students is easy and fun.  Many great projects can be conducted with household materials.  When studying plants, for instance, children can grow a sweet potato vine, sprout beans or seeds from fruit, and they can dye a daisy or some celery with food coloring.  When studying animals or insects, they can … Read the rest of this post…

Your student can dive right into high school biology with Exploring Creation with Biology, from Apologia Educational Media. Designed as a student’s first high school science course, to be taken alongside Algebra 1, this homeschool curriculum is colorful, interesting, and down to earth. The course is divided into 16 “modules” which typically would take about two weeks to complete, for a total of 32 weeks. Most experiments can be done with household equipment, but for a full lab credit, you will need a microscope, slide set, and dissection kit (as well as specimens).

This is the second edition, which means Apologia science has added many great features added in which were not present in the first edition of Exploring Creation … Read the rest of this post…

TITLE: Switched On Schoolhouse 10th Grade Biology
PUBLISHER: Alpha Omega Publications
GRADE LEVEL: 10th Grade
PREREQUISITES: 9th grade science
REQUIRED MATERIALS: Computer, lab materials if labs will be performed

GENERAL APPROACH
If your homeschool student loves to spend time on the computer, this might be the perfect approach to biology. This Christian curriculum with a Bible-based approach uses a fun-filled media rich format to convey a challenging 10th grade biology curriculum. Projects and experiments completed apart from the computer lessons provide a lab component. Video instructions on the computer support the lab and show students “how it’s done.” Games provide interactive learning fun while helping students remember key material.

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES
The computer approach of Switched on Schoolhouse 10th … Read the rest of this post…

Apologia biology textbook Exploring Creation With Biology was written by Dr. Jay Wile specifically for homeschoolers.  It is a textbook that does not read like a textbook.  Just like a good professor who lectures in a conversational style and lets his own enthusiasm show, this textbook, with its informal tone makes it easy for students to stay interested and follow along.

The informal style, however, does not mean that content is lost.  Dr. Wile teaches the important details that some curricula might overlook.  Some homeschool students have even gone on to pass the CLEP exams after completing this book.  Part of the strength of the Apologia biology curriculum is the labs.  Dr. Wile has home-schooled his own daughter, so he … Read the rest of this post…

If you are looking for a solid biology homeschool curriculum for your high school student that teaches the main points and is strong on microbiology, in a very understandable way, this is it. The best part is that Apologia science gears everything so that the student can study independently. With the lab option, your student will have a fully college preparatory biology course and know more about science than many public school students.

The layout of the Apologia science homeschool curriculum is divided into 16 modules, which the student completes independently. This is followed by a study guide which should be taken closed book, then graded and the wrong answers studied to prepare for the module test (a great way … Read the rest of this post…

Apologia Biology is a high school level course intended to prepare students to study college level biology.  This is really the first exposure that most students have to a rigorous science curriculum.  We used this Apologia science curriculum in the freshman year and found it to be challenging both on a scientific level and in the level of effort required by the student in order to be successful in the course.

Strengths:
This biology curriculum is student-centered taking the burden of teaching the subject off the home school teacher.  The text is divided into modules and written in a conversational style which makes reading and learning from the text very easy.  The introduction of the text clearly outlines what is … Read the rest of this post…

Strengths:
The Alpha Omega Lifepac course for 10th grade biology teaches at a good, challenging level.  I’m surprised and impressed.  It covers advanced science vocabulary and brings in a lot of chemistry.  The course sticks with the unit workbook format that is so helpful for motivating students, but adds in essay questions and even reports.  It is a Christian curriculum, which I think is very important in high school science.

This is definitely a lab course.  In fact, experiments are assigned in every 10th grade biology lesson, and the information is pretty essential if you want to be able to complete the lesson.  The increased challenge means that the unit workbook format is an even more welcome than in earlier … Read the rest of this post…

You have a biology test in three days and no idea how you’ll master the material?  Don’t worry!  With a study guide and good dose of determination, that’s plenty of time to score high.  There are three steps to making and using a good study guide for biology and you can do one on each day.

The first step to make a good study guide for biology is to collect material.  Think about the things you have learned so far.  Look back at homework sheets and quizzes.  What did the teacher say was going to be on the test?  Those items you should definitely put on your study guide!  Were there any other items the teacher said, “Now this is … Read the rest of this post…

The most successful biology study guides are those the student makes himself.  The effectiveness comes from the process of creating it, more so than the use of it when complete.  There are so many mental triggers that are created in the process of making it that many students find that an hour of later study with these hand made biology study guides is worth at least two hours with a teacher or textbook-produced guide.

There are two primary types of biology study guides a student can make, the full-color compiled as they go, or the last-minute list.  The first has some advantages over the latter, but either one will do wonders to improve study efficiency and boost grades.  The key … Read the rest of this post…