As you transition to homeschooling middle school students, your teaching style will undergo a transformation. One of the subjects you will notice the biggest shift in is science. Instead of parent-led learning, your students will begin independent study and note-taking. They will baby-step into this responsibility, and your oversight is essential to their mastery of the coursework.
We have used Apologia’s curriculum for years and their middle school courses lay a great foundation for high school science. For 7th grade we use Exploring Creation with General Science, 3rd Edition.
If you have considered using Apologia’s General Science you know that there is no teacher guide. This can be a problem if you are juggling educating other children, or have an infant. So, we have bridged this gap by creating teacher NOTES for you–to guide your student’s note taking–and TEST PREP to help your students focus on specific information as they study for each of the 13 module tests.
You might be thinking, “Well, I’ve bought Apologia’s Student Notebook and I know they include Study Guides for each module. So, why do I need these NOTES and TEST PREP?” Here is an example of how you will benefit from using them:
In Module 5 your students will read about refracting and reflecting telescopes. On the Module 5 test your students will simply need to know that these are types of telescopes. This is documented in our teacher NOTES and you would highlight those terms in the text for your students to learn.
Apologia’s Student Notebook, however, asks the student to identify the types of telescopes, define the term “refraction,” describe how the two different telescopes work, discuss resolution and identify the definition for “spherical aberration.” I appreciate my student digging into the text and learning more than simply the names of the two telescopes. But, again, this information is not going to be tested.
Similarly, the Module 5 Study Guide asks two questions about telescopes–one identifying them as a form of scientific technology and another encouraging students to understand the advantages of observation an orbiting telescope provides. Good, thinking questions, but again, nothing that will be tested.
Where Apologia’s Study Guide over-tests, and may even hinder your students’ ability to ace the tests, the TEST PREP will simplify the learning process and focus your students’ studying efforts.
The TEST PREP refers to the information that was in the NOTES and that you tagged in the book. The TEST PREP sheets tell your students where to find the information if they don’t remember it, and also identify if they will need to explain/write-out any answers on the test. Most of the questions in General Science are matching, fill-in-the-blank or true/false, so there are only a couple on each test that are explanation answers.
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PreparilliPress and the General Science Teacher’s Guide are not affiliated, associated, authorized, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected with Apologia or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates.