Science/Math for 7th grade on up

[jbflick3]

Hi,

I think you mentioned that the books used for math and science at Highlands for 7th grade and up are either out of print or hard to find, and I can't recall what you said about what you were going to put into your curriculum packages for homeschoolers. So can you tell me both:

A)What books you actually use at Highlands (or are planning to use going into the future) even if out of print
B)What you currently recommend for homeschoolers or will be putting into your curriculum packages

for both math and science, and for not only 7th and 8th grade, but high school as well.

Thank you so much for all the time you spend answering the questions on this board!

Julie

[tanya]

Julie,

I can tell you easily what we use now for 7th/8th grade math and science, but I don't know yet what we are going to put in our packages for homeschoolers. We'll have to make that decision this summer.

Right now, at Highlands Latin, we use the College of the Redwoods pre-algebra book in 7th grade, and our teachers like it. That's an easy one for homeschoolers because you can buy it on lulu.com for $20! It's self-published by the college and very affordable. We use an out of print Lial/Miller Algebra I book (ISBN 0673188086) in 8th grade.

For science, we don't actually do science in 7th grade. We do world geography, using a course written by one of our teachers, and we add Greek, so there's no room for science. In 8th grade, we do physical science with an emphasis on pre-chemistry using another out of print book - Silver Burdett & Ginn Physical Science ISBN 0382-13472-9.

The problem with these out of print books is that there are no tests or quizzes, and solution manuals are hard to come by. I'm planning to meet with our 7th-8th grade teachers at the end of the year and see what they have to offer me, if anything!

Sorry not to have more information yet, but it's hard to nail the teachers down right now as they work to close out their year.

Regards,

Tanya

[jbflick3]

Thank you very much, Tanya!

[Recreationalscholar]

Tanya,
Do you think you'll have something available for 8th grade science before Fall? I'm trying to make my final choices soonish so I can work on lesson plans in June.
Right now I'm looking at either Holt Physical Science or Prentice Hall Physical Science. I'm also going to look at the book you use at Highlands- but I'm not crazy about making up my own tests. Do you think you would offer some from your school?

Thanks,

Jen

[tanya]

Hi, Jen.

My goal is to have something by fall. If we go with the science book we use at school, we will definitely have the tests you need and a syllabus. I won't really know until the middle of June when the teachers are free to work with me. Check with me then, and I'll have a better idea of whether it's going to happen or not.

Thanks,

Tanya

[SilverMoon]

[QUOTE]In 8th grade, we do physical science with an emphasis on pre-chemistry using another out of print book - Silver Burdett & Ginn Physical Science ISBN 0382-13472-9.[/QUOTE]

This course is on my considering list for fall. You wouldn't happen to know how much lab equipment and any uncommon supplies are needed for this course? Even a rough estimate would be helpful. Thus far I've only used science curricula written specifically for homeschoolers, so the supplies are generally easy to find.

Kara

[tanya]

Kara,

This course doesn't require any lab equipment.

Tanya