Does your 6th grader use a textbook in science?

[luvmy3]

Ours doesn't.

Tonight was our parentrs night at the school and my dh came home with steam coming out of his ears. Not only did all the teachers place more emphasis on fun rather than real education, they will not be using a science text book this year. Unfortunately this is nothing new for our district, my kids have never been taught from a science book in school, but we expected by 6th grade middle school they would actually take teaching science to the students seriously. Its a shame we can't afford private school in our area, but thank goodness dh is a scientist, at least our kids will have a chance.

 

[SydSim]

DD did have one, but I didn't have a biology textbook in college (and I was a nursing major). Our professor actually made his own curriculum. This year Dd is in eighth grade and won't have one.

As long as the subject matter is taught, it doesn't matter to me how it's presented (via worksheets, hands on, videos, making it fun, etc.)

Why don't you sit in on some actual classes and see how it's taught.

 

[IDoDis]

Wow, I'm surprised that a scientist would want his middle schooler to learn science through a book. I would feel the opposite if my DD had a science book. I'm glad she doesn't. I'm happy with the hands-on approach and a binder with her experiment data, observations, and notes.

BTW, teaching without a book is much harder for the teacher than showing up to work, reading a few pages from the book, and giving the students questions to answer at the end of the chapter. The students learn and remember so much more doing the hands-on stuff vs reading about them.

 

[carj]

As a teacher, I wouldn't have a problem with the students not using a textbook. Many textbooks are not done that well and may not match the state standards very well. As long as my child was learning science, concepts, vocabulary, procedure and meeting the national or state guidelines, I wouldn't care at all about using a textbook.

Now, if they are not being taught science, then I would have an issue!

Since you husband is a scientist, he is in a really unique position of being able to be a great role model to your children. If he is willing, maybe he could try to do some hands-on demonstrations at school and talk about his career with the class so that the kids can see the results of science in the real world.

I don't have a problem with science being fun. It shouldn't come at the expense of the overall goal of actually learning the material though!

Best wishes!

 

[dis-happy]

If you don't mind the Christian perspective, Apologia publishes very solid science books for middle and high school. (My oldest is a university junior majoring in pre-med biology after having spent her high school years with Apologia and is doing very well).

Sonlight also has curriculum along with experiments (and everything you need) that go along with it.

 

[marlynnp]

We do not use textbooks either. They use FOSS modules and the different modules have equipments kits and lab notebooks.

It is supposed to be fun and a lot of 'hands-on' lab work to keep the kids interested by actually learning by doing. I love the program and so does my daughter and her friends. We always do the 'extra' experiments together in scouts.

 

[mum4jenn]

My 6th grader does not have a book either but they learn by hands on approach and she loves it this way. She has always loved Science but she enjoys it even more this year.

 

[Pigeon]

I worked for many years as a chemist, dh teaches high school earth science after working in geology. I couldn't care less if my kids have a text book to lug back and forth to school.

Ours did get one in 6th grade, but they kept it at home and rarely used it.

I'm also in favor of getting kids excited about learning science and math, rather than presenting it as deadly dull, a chapter a week stuff that is the kiss of death as far as having them want to study it. The more hands-on the science is in the early years, the better, as far as I'm concerned. We have a real problem in the US getting kids engaged in math and science and anything we can do to remedy that is a plus.

Not having a text book in no way indicates to me that the teachers aren't serious about the subject. I agree with a pp that text books in general are very poorly done. The science books can be fairly bad--the history and social studies books are downright abysmal.

 

[K and K's Mommy]

We do not use textbooks either. They use FOSS modules and the different modules have equipments kits and lab notebooks.

It is supposed to be fun and a lot of 'hands-on' lab work to keep the kids interested by actually learning by doing. I love the program and so does my daughter and her friends. We always do the 'extra' experiments together in scouts.

This is what our school is using also. I was impressed last year. They do take written tests at the end of the unit, and my son always did well.

 

[lillygator]

I would give it a shot first.....you never know how it will turn out. I do think for many honds on learning is very valuable.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Science CAN be tought without a textbook. The children can learn the same information from a well educated teacher and lots of labs. Have you discussed with the teacher his/her plans for the class?

Lack of a textbook likely is a good thing.

Science is more about observation and less about a book.

 

[littlepeppers]

Taught science for 11 yrs. The book is good for vocabulary, great pictures (but the internet has some cool ones too) and giving assignments when you are absent.

I never used the textbook worksheets or test. They were BORING! You can have fun & learn a lot. I taught honors classes & had kids beating down my door to get in to my classes. I was also referred to once as "the reason kids commit suicide". Fun doesn't have to mean that you aren't learning. Activities just lend themselves to a whole new level of application questions for test.

I worked my butt off...... I should have been a size 2 at the end of every school year. It took a lot of time away from my own family to create those worksheets, labs, activities & test from scratch. I had a habit of reinventing the wheel every year. I guess that is why I never managed to get those darn lesson plans done & turned in. Paper for the sole purpose of CYA. I spent my time on better things than lesson plans.

I decided to hang it up after having a second child. I just couldn't keep up w/ teaching, THE RIGHT WAY, and having a successful family of my own.

Enjoying my time w/ my own kids all day now, but missing teaching. Managing to get by w/o all of the paperwork.

Homeschooling my own DS this year. WOW, teaching your own kids is a whole new ball game, but you don't have to wait 48hrs for a referrals to be processed. You can handle any discipline problems right there. No silly carbon copy papers.....COOL, and you student actually recieves a consequence & not just some randomly generated statement from admin. like "student repremanded."

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

My 5th grader doesn't use a textbook in science, and I'd be pretty appalled if he did. I want him DOING science not just reading about it, which is what I remember from the textbook based classes of my youth.

In high school I'd feel differently, but in 6th grade I think that science class needs to be about being immersed in the skills and processes of real science, and reading a textbook is not one of them.

 

[NHdisneylover]

I also prefer science classes to not have texts. Not only for the reasons many PPs have stated, but also because our knowledge in the field of science grows and changes daily. By the time a textbook goes to print, it will already be somewhat out of date. The typical school will buy a NEW textbook and the information in it will already be about 2 years old. Then figure that most districts can only afford to replace the texts every 5-10 years and teaching from a book really makes no sense at all. I alos want to point out that in almost any subject "serious learning" can be fun (for sciecne think of Lego Mondstorms and snap circuits as great examples) and "harldy learning anything at all" can be boring. You can judege how much informarion the kids are being given simply by the manner in which it is presented.

 

[luvsJack]

My 6th grader HAS a science book, they just don't USE the science book. I believe they had to assign books to satisfy the administration but they don't use them except maybe as a guideline and for reference. All is done hands on.

Kids need to be enjoying what they are learning, so it should be fun. If its not, its very hard to keep their attention long enough to teach them anything!

I have been very excited with dd's 6th grade teachers because the do emphasize fun. Dd likes going to school, has finally started showing interest in all the subject areas and is loving what they are reading every day in class and at night for homework (they also got rid of the reading textbook! which was VERY exciting as we hate the reading textbooks at our school).

BTW, I didn't use a textbook in 10th grade biology nor did I use one in Biology I in college. My college instructor was able to teach it in a way that taught a lot more than that stuffy old textbook was going to.

 

[luvmy3]

I was asking dh what his real issue with no textbook is and he said that is because the student is a slave to the teacher's understanding of science. I think he is looking at it from a PhD physicist's POV and when the teacher tells him that they will be doing the 5 senses yet again ("because you need the 5 senses to do science" -teacher quote), in 6th grade he really was disappointed. They are not challenging the kids, they have taken the real lessons and thrown them out the window in order to dumb it down and keep it "fun". We were thinking that by the time dd was in middleschool things would have changed.
Just to clarify he is not against hands on learning. He is against not having a textbook for class . Dh does projects and experiments here at home with the kids all the time, our garage isn't his workshop, its his lab. Thanks to the pp's who mentioned the lessons you use I will definitely check them out (science is not my strong suit )
To the pp who mentioned something about him going in to do demonstartions, he goes in every year to my dd's and ds' grades to do an experiment/demonstration.

 

[IDoDis]

Your DD's school has to teach the 6th grade science standards which has nothing to do with having a textbook. You should be able to access a copy of the content standards & benchmarks from your state's Department of Education website. Have your DH read the standards & benchmarks and see where the lessons go before he gets upset. It's too early in the year to judge right now. He may be pleasantly surprised.

Also, encourage him to get in touch with the science teacher and offer to come in and do a few activities throughout the year with the kids. That way he can casually ask about the upcoming units which will give him a better idea of what is going to be taught. If the teacher is not teaching to the standards, then you have a right to call her/him on it. Your DH shouldn't be so quick to judge though just because there's no book.

 

[metime]

I was asking dh what his real issue with no textbook is and he said that is because the student is a slave to the teacher's understanding of science. I think he is looking at it from a PhD physicist's POV and when the teacher tells him that they will be doing the 5 senses yet again ("because you need the 5 senses to do science" -teacher quote), in 6th grade he really was disappointed. They are not challenging the kids, they have taken the real lessons and thrown them out the window in order to dumb it down and keep it "fun". We were thinking that by the time dd was in middleschool things would have changed.
Just to clarify he is not against hands on learning. He is against not having a textbook for class . Dh does projects and experiments here at home with the kids all the time, our garage isn't his workshop, its his lab. Thanks to the pp's who mentioned the lessons you use I will definitely check them out (science is not my strong suit )
To the pp who mentioned something about him going in to do demonstartions, he goes in every year to my dd's and ds' grades to do an experiment/demonstration.

There is no one text that will reach all of the kids. The ability to use various resources other than one text is not limiting at all. While DD was given things on handouts that were probably pulled from this or that text being mixed together, having one text book would have held everyone to the pace of one book and only the one book.

Do you know how much easier it is for a teacher to simply submitt the curriculum from a prepared text as a lesson plan vs. the material from a bunch of different sorurces that relay the information in a far better format than the text? Ususaly there are state frameworks to determine what topics have to be covered. I teacher who takes the time to think about it rather than rely on a text is putting more thought in to teaching.

Even if the teacher has a limited understanding of the subject, the text has an even more limited way of communicating it and an even more limited understanding as the text is incapable of using other resources or relating that information in a way that that adresses more than one learning style. That would mean you child's class would have even more limitations. Why would anyone want to limit their kids to only learn from one book?

 

[luvmy3]

There is no one text that will reach all of the kids. The ability to use various resources other than one text is not limiting at all. While DD was given things on handouts that were probably pulled from this or that text being mixed together, having one text book would have held everyone to the pace of one book and only the one book.

Do you know how much easier it is for a teacher to simply submitt the curriculum from a prepared text as a lesson plan vs. the material from a bunch of different sorurces that relay the information in a far better format than the text? Ususaly there are state frameworks to determine what topics have to be covered. I teacher who takes the time to think about it rather than rely on a text is putting more thought in to teaching.

Even if the teacher has a limited understanding of the subject, the text has an even more limited way of communicating it and an even more limited understanding as the text is incapable of using other resources or relating that information in a way that that adresses more than one learning style. That would mean you child's class would have even more limitations. Why would anyone want to limit their kids to only learn from one book?

Because the fundamentals of science are always a constant. Formula's do not change, concepts do not change, laws of physics do not change etc. My dh sees what is happening in class as limiting the kids. You can show a kid an experiement and test him on the vocab, but if they don't have a general understanding of what is actually going on in that experiment what is the point Give my dd a textbook to bring home, let the kids read it themselves so they can learn it their own way, or be able to have their parents help. Its no different than giving a student a math book to take home every night, or a history book. For the students who can't learn it from a book, are they really learning it from the teacher then? I doubt it. (Again, nobody is advocating a non-hands approach).

And if you ask my dh about the limitations put on students as far as the sciences go he would say "there is a reason why Americans are really lacking in mathmatics and the sciences, it because our public education system does a disservice to us, and society doesn't have a problem with it. We'd rather make sure the kids feel good and have fun at school instead of pushing them and expecting the best from them, textbook or not."

 

[mickeyboat]

Because the fundamentals of science are always a constant. Formula's do not change, concepts do not change, laws of physics do not change etc. My dh sees what is happening in class as limiting the kids. You can show a kid an experiement and test him on the vocab, but if they don't have a general understanding of what is actually going on in that experiment what is the point Give my dd a textbook to bring home, let the kids read it themselves so they can learn it their own way, or be able to have their parents help. Its no different than giving a student a math book to take home every night, or a history book. For the students who can't learn it from a book, are they really learning it from the teacher then? I doubt it. (Again, nobody is advocating a non-hands approach).

And if you ask my dh about the limitations put on students as far as the sciences go he would say "there is a reason why Americans are really lacking in mathmatics and the sciences, it because our public education system does a disservice to us, and society doesn't have a problem with it. We'd rather make sure the kids feel good and have fun at school instead of pushing them and expecting the best from them, textbook or not."

I would think that a hands on approach would give a better understanding about what's going on than reading about it in a textbook.

Formulas and laws and unchanging principles will always be available to students via resource materials. They don't have to memorize them unless it is something they need to use every day. Concepts are general by their very nature, and are more likely to be learned and remembered through a hands-on approach than through reading a text.

Thinking back to my 9th grade Physical Science class, I clearly remember the experiments we did and what we learned from them. I don't remember a thing I read in the text book - it was forgotten as soon as the test was over.

I am surprised by your DH's reaction to this curriculum. As far as I am concerned, science exists not so that we can memorize it, but so that we can discover new, exciting and different things about our world.