Science

Middle School Biology

Sixth grade

12 months

Core curriculum

to see where this is scheduled in your curriculum.

Description

This course consists of two components: presentation of new material, and hands-on activities or labs.

The main course book is REAL Science Odyssey, a secular, hands-on science program for homeschoolers. Each lesson consists of reading material, followed by a hands-on activity or lab.

If you do not wish to use REAL Science Odyssey for this course, you may substitute the optional Khan Academy videos, microscope exploration activity and Story of Science book for a less intensive middle school biology course. It is not necessary to complete both the microscope exploration activity and the REAL Science Odyssey labs.

The activities are really the focus of the program, and you will probably spend more time on them than on the textbook. This provides a break from the more reading-intensive subjects in our curriculum, but does require some preparation on the part of parents. Most supplies other than the microscope can be found around the home and yard.

A note about microscopes: Though the microscope activities in this course are optional, they are a lot of fun, and if you purchase a microscope now you will be able to use it through high school biology (when it will be required). The cost of quality microscopes has come down dramatically in recent years. Here are two good options:

1. More powerful, mid-range price: www.amazon.com/200X-2000X-Microscopes-Microscope-Biological-Laboratory/dp/B07WVT6Y7F?crid=1AJ4JSF...

2. Less powerful, budget price: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001ALT6BM?ie=UTF8&psc=1&linkCode=ll1&tag=greatbook069f-20&linkId=d313b...