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Biology

Home Up Biology Earth Sci Astronomy Chemistry Physics

David Burnie's How Nature Works is our "spine" for Biology.  The kids haven't been so crazy about it, so I'm just using the topic headings as our base and having them diagram & do their research out of Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia & LOTS of experiments from various sources. 

  

 I wasn't sure I could pull off putting together my own program a la TWTM. My kids haven't found David Burnie's book very engaging, but the pictures are cool. We are using the chapter-headings as our spine, mainly getting our information from KFSE and pulling exp & activities from lots of other sources we've been gathering (our local zoo has teacher boxes / DK & Nat'l Geographic movies / Magic Tree House Books & TM / CHC Sci 2&3 / Sam's club books / Anatomy coloring book for memorization of body systems...)
It's going really well and the kids LOVE science. I even pulled science off our academic schedule because they think it's just a fun-day when we have sci co-op (although they don't love the write-up part afterward).

David Burnie's How Nature Works
Unit 1 Looking @ Life - 3 weeks
p14 What is life? K 49, 50-51
16 cells S5 15-18 ditto: label plant cell parts, craft: make a 3D cell
18 chemicals of life
20 evolution    
22 Natural Selection
24 Classifying living things S3 23-26 Vertebrate vs. Invertebrate
26 Bacteria, fungi & plants K 55
28 Protists & Animals   S3 27- 30 Amazing Animal Facts
30 Ecology S5 25 ditto: ecosystems, activity: illustrate & describe 1 small square / Zoo Box Rain Forests Grades K–6 / Africa Grades 2 & up / Australia Grades 2 & up / Indiana Family Farm Grades 2 & up / Indiana Animals Grades 3 & up / Indonesia Grades 2 & up / Deserts Grades 3–5 / Snowy Tundra Grades 3–5 / Animal Adaptations Grades 3 & up
32 Surveying the plant scene
34 Food chains    
Unit 2 Plants & Fungi - 6 weeks or 4 S5 7-10 nature walk & cards to classify plants
38 Flowering plants K 59
40 Plants make food C2 74
42 Plants make food PW 142, 144, 146, 148, 150, 152, 174, 176, 178, 180, 182
44 Growth & movement    
46 Structure of flowers K 56, K57 / PW 184 craft / S5 12 craft: make flower & parts, 13 ditto: itentify/label parts of flwr
48 Studiing flowers K 59
50 Fruits & Seed dispersal C2 77 / UE 58, 59, 60, 61 growing stuff
52 Seeds & germination K 62, 66
54 Trees K 64 / Zoo Box Deciduous & Coniferous Forests Grades 3–5
56 Stucture of trees
58 Leaves & bark    
60 Simple Plants
62 Plants w/o flowers K 58
64 Fungi
66 Stucture of Fungi
68 Toadstools reproduce  
Unit 3 Life in Water 6 weeks or 4 Zoo Box Lakes, Ponds, Rivers, and Streams Grades 3–5 / Aquatic Animals Grades 3 & up / Wetlands and Estuaries Grades 5 & up / Zoo Box Sea Turtles Grades 2 & up
72 Fresh Water life
74 Animals of lakes & streams C2 87
76 Making a pond    
78 Amphibians Zoo Box Amphibians Grades K–8
80 Tadpole to toad
82 Fish   K 78
84 Life on the seashore
86 Seashore types
88 Life on rocky shores
90 Shells    
92 Rockpools
94 Coral Reefs K 73
96 Seaweeds    
Unit 4 Insects & Other Invertebrates 5 weeks or 4 S5 21 ditto: Vertebrate vs. Invertebrate / Zoo Box Bugs Grades K–3
100 World of invertebrates K 75
102 Rearing Insects PW 134, 166, 168
104 Locusts & grasshoppers  
106 Breeding butterflies S3 15-18 ditto: lifecycles (ant, butterfly, owl, frog)
108 Moths C2 80, 84
110 Ants & termites    
112 Bees & wasps
114 How bees find food
116 Environment    
118 Camouflage & mimacry PW 110, 122 / S3 19-22 Animal Adaptations
120 Life in the soil
122 Sampling the soil
124 Earthworms   K 72 / C2 85 / UE 63 Make a wormery / PW 144, 116
Unit 5 Birds 4 weeks or 3 PW 104 / Zoo Box Birds Grades K–3
128 Science of flight K 84
130 Wings    
132 Feathers C2 5 / PW 102
134 Bird Pellets    
136 Eggs Zoo Box Eggs & Nests Grades K–2
138 Nests & nest boxes
140 Watching birds   Zoo Box Penguins Grades K–3
Unit 6 Reptiles / 3 weeks or 2 Zoo Box Reptiles Grades K–3
144 Reptiles of the world K 82 / Zoo Box Bats Grades 3 & up
146 Snakes   Zoo Box Rattlesnakes Grades 4–8
148 Crocodiles, alligators, lizards
150 Turtles & Tortoises    
Unit    7 Mammals / 18 lessons for 2 weeks each - 36 weeks Zoo Box Mammals Grades K–3 / Marine Mammals and Oceans Grades 2–8 / US= Uncover Human Body (Sam's) / A = Human Anatomy Coloring Book / PW = Pam Wheeler's Materials / AL = Anatomy Lab Kit / VF = Vision Foolery Book / UB = Uncle Bob Tape & Book
Aug 154 Mammalian Body K144 - 12 systems (A1) A 1 /K 86, 97, 98 / C2 101 (All about cells & body systems Schlessinger Media / Human machine Sachs, Andrew / Head to toe Small Fry Productions, Inc / The human body : the inside scoop Nye, Bill)
  Dermal System - Skin   US / A42 & 43 / CH 36, 37, 41-47, 49, 53-54 / PW 156, 158, 160 / Zoo Box Animal Body Coverings Grades PreK–2 (The magic school bus for lunch)
Sept 156 Skeletal System A4 #1-5, A5 #1-11, A6 #1-8, A7 #1-8, K103 [ear bones] = 35 bones [skull, ribs, spine] PW-AL exp / US / A 2-7 / K 100, 102 / CH 30-32, 48 (All about bones & muscles Fabian, Rhonda)
158 Joints & movements A8 (text) & K 107 = 3 kinds, K106 (diagram of musc. Sys.), A9 #16a-c, K104 (joint diagram-3) = 22 muscles US / A 8-12 / K 92, 104 / CH 33-35
160 Muscular System K 106 / CH 50, 55 / UE 34 act:pulse, heart, arm wrestling, exp: resting pulse active pulse, 35 craft: make a model of an arm (Flexes its muscles Magic School Bus)
Oct 182 Feeding Signs                                 (Digestive & Urinary Systems) K 126 (categories of food), A 30, A 36 = 38 PW-AL exp / PW-UB tape / US / K 126, 128, 130, 131 / CH 53 Nutrition section, 2pgs/day for 8 days / S5 35-38 act: yarn, ditto:film strip, craft: use construction paper to put dig. Sys. On above " Cir. Sys. person" / S3 79-86 dittos: nutrition
162 Teeth 162 K 127 (tooth diagram) K 127 / CH 37-39
Nov 174 Reproductive System A 39 (bottom 2 diagrams) = 11 K 90 
176 K 88, 132 / C2 98 (All about the human life cycle Schlessinger Media)
Health K 135 (cell thru DNA double heliz) = 6 K 134 / C2 104
K 135 (Germs make me sick! videorecording Burton, LeVar)
  K 139-143 (All about health & hygiene Fabian, Rhonda / All about nutrition & exercise Fabian, Rhonda)
Dec   Endocrine & Lymphatic Systems K 118 (9), K 123 (top rt. Hand diagram - 7),                K 137(6) = 22 K 118, 123 / K 136-138 / A 40-41 / C2 1,7,16 / Read Germs, Germs, Germs book
Jan   Brain A 26 (7), K 109 (top Lft. diagrams - 13) = 20 K 108-109 / PW 106, 108, 136, 186, 188 (All about the brain Schlessinger Media.)
  Nervous System / Communication Schoolhouse rock song "Nervous System" PW-AL exp / PW-UB tape / K 108 / A 27, 29 / K 110, 111 / C2 25 / PW 138/ UE 38 sense of touch exp. & act. / PW 170, 172
Feb 166 Vision A 28-1 = 11 PW-AL exp / K 114 / C2 22 / PW 118, 120, 122, 190 / UE 30 craft:make a camera, 31 exp:monocular vs. binocular vision, 32&33 act: optical illusions
168 Touch   K 112 (All about the senses Schlessinger Media)
Mar 170 Taste & Smell A 28-3 (3), A 28-4 (3) = 6 K 113 / C2 31 / CH 51-52 / PW 162, 164 / UE26 exp:blindfold taste sampling, 27 act:color foods, craft: diagram taste buds (The wonder of you ; A Matter of taste ; A mystery story Moody Institute of Science)
172 Hearing K 116 (12), 3 bones = 15 PW-AL exp / K 103 / A 28-5 / K 116 / C2 28 / PW 128, 130 / UE 91 inner ear dizziness (instant expert) / UE 28 Exp:sound travel, 29 act: papercup telephone craft:
Apr   Circulatory System A 15 (13), K 122 (5) = 18 PW-AL exp / PW-VF / PW-UB tape / K 120-121 / US / K 122, 123 / C2 10,37 / CH 25-30 / S5 31-34 craft:ditto, act: draw life sized outline, use ditto of heart & lungs & red & blue thread to make curculatory sys. (save for Dig. Sys.)
May 164 Respiratory System A 18 (1-4, 8) (5), K 125 Bronchus & Bronchiole (2), A19 (15) = 22 PW-AL exp / PW-UB tape / K 124 / UE 36 craft:breathing model, exp: test your lungs, vocal chords UE 37 (All about blood and the heart Schlessinger Media)
178 Living by night   C2 90
180 Making tracks   K 93
Zoo Box Endangered Animals Grades 6 & up / Animal Science Careers Grades 6 & up
 

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