The constant repetition worked well for the "classical style learner" in Matthew. ![]() After taking the first test, I can say that it is not terribly hard to do well on the tests if you really put forth a good effort on reading and completing the review questions. (You can see a sample of it in the next section.) Matthew completes that at the end of the unit, doing a first "what do I remember" pass, followed by one last read-through of notes to prep for his test. It's a bit more literal, with some leading and hand-holding. ![]() The second one is a fill-in-the-blank that uses vocabulary words from the text. I think we'll just use loose leaf paper and staple the pages in.) (Though adding more would make the book even larger. My only complaint is I think there aren't enough note-taking pages for us. The book features a new style of note taking for Matthew (he's used to an I/A/1/a outline format), but I actually think it's one that might work better for him. I think it's essential for high school students to learn how to take notes - now is the time to figure out what method(s) are more intuitive for them to both write and recall. Somehow, when it's "what the book says," there aren't any "But can't I read four pages instead of six?" negotiation attempts.Įach module contains pages to take notes. I am always so excited when a course lays itself out, and it's not Mama handing out the assignments. I used to think "I never had this, and somehow survived!" but the more education evolves, I begin to wish I had more structure and direction than a blank composition book and the instructions "learn to take good notes." Honestly, I think a large reason why this has been a success for Matthew while Chemistry and Luke didn't get along is the Student Notebook.Īt the start of the Notebook is a schedule layout. It gives the student a solid frame for learning. It's actually as thick as the textbook! Everything a student needs to master the material is included. The Student Notebook is a huge, everything-you-need, spiral bound volume. I think that we can call this experience a success! However, it's a different class and different kid, so I cautiously approached it with an open mind. While I was very interested in the program because of our prior experience, I was also a bit skittish after Luke and Apologia's high school Chemistry course didn't "gel" well. However, it doesn't have to be Apologia's biology - Matthew's course was not, but so far it hasn't been a problem. Having a good biology foundation is definitely an asset. It assumes the student has an understanding of biologic processes, like cell structure and function, photosynthesis, reproduction, etc., and while it does explain some basics in context, it doesn't describe them in detail. Completion of a biology course is a pre-requisite for the program, and I'd definitely agree with that. 11th grader Matthew is elated to be getting to the "electives phase" of high school, and this is providing a novel elective science for him. This program, when completed with the labs, is a full high school science credit. There was so much about this program to share that the review overwhelmed itself. When I write reviews, I tend to organize my thoughts in my head and let ideas flow from there, but I had to actually break out pen and paper, sort everything out in hard copy, and start over. As I tried to write my first attempts at this review, I found myself getting lost in all the information. To make this more manageable, I'm going to try to divide it into chunks by learning material. (It and the instructional DVD are included with the Superset purchase option.) ![]() Apologia also graciously supplied us with the (optional) Marine Biology 2nd Edition Audio CD, which is a complete audio recording of the course read to the student by Marissa Leinart. I always feel like I forgot something - did I get the student book? The teacher's manual? What about the test book? While there are still other add-on items for the program, and you'll need to purchase lab materials, the Marine Biology 2nd Edition Advantage Set provides a core program of student and teacher materials - student notebook, textbook, and tests with solutions manual - with one purchase. Something that frustrates me about many homeschool companies is their "a la carte" set up. It was one of Jude's first formal homeschool programs and remains a favorite almost five years later, so I was definitely interested when we had an opportunity to use their upper-level marine biology program with Matthew. While we've studied with several Apologia curricula, our very first Crew review was of their elementary level Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day. This is not our first Apologia Educational Ministries science program review, and their high school Marine Biology program is a bit of a homecoming for us.
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