I want to teach you something about science. Science is a collection of observations about the world. When something has been observed enough, it becomes scientific law. That means that scientists say that what they have observed will always be true. It is stated as fact. But even these “laws” have been broken at times when all of a sudden, something different is observed. It was believed that the atom was the smallest thing in the universe. It was called fact. Then someone figured out how to split an atom. The point is that science only really tells us what has been observed. It doesn’t prove truth. It just states what is observed and measured in the world around us. Why am I making sure you understand this? Because who was there to observe the creation of the universe? God alone. Science can’t prove anything about the creation of the world because it can make no observations about it. It takes what it observes in the world today and makes hypotheses, guesses, about the creation of the world. Until pretty recently most Western scientists were Christians. Never let anyone make you feel stupid for believing God created the world. Albert Einstein believed in God as creator, and he was one of the smartest scientists to have ever lived. The Bible contains all truth. You never have to be afraid to believe the truth in the Bible. There may seem to be things that couldn’t possibly be true. Say, we measure stars at being billions of light years away. That means, in order for us to see its light, that light would have had to be traveling for billions of years to reach us. Well, a Christian mathematician and scientist has shown how it could appear that way and still only be less than ten thousand years away. No one has yet been able to dispute the math he used to show it. Here’s an article about it that your parents might be interested in. One method science uses to try and observe something’s age is carbon dating. There are some that say carbon dating shows that there are bones that are millions of years old. Here are two articles that talk about how carbon dating isn’t accurate. These are articles for adults. You don’t have to read them. The first is much easier to read than the second, but if you or your parents are interested, please go ahead and read them. I just want to show you that there are scientists that believe the earth is young. I personally know a scientist, a physicist with a PhD, who has studied the topic and believes the earth to be less than 10,000 years old. It’s not silly to believe it. It is silly to let someone change your mind with “facts” that aren’t proven true. Remember this: Scientist don’t agree on things! Anytime you hear someone say, “All scientists say that…” It isn’t true. It’s propaganda to try and get you to believe something. Don’t be afraid to believe the Bible. It will always prove to be true in the end. God is Truth and cannot lie! You can trust His Word.
- Explain to someone what science is and why it can’t tell us what happened at the beginning of time.
Day 2
L*
- Read this chapter and answer the questions at the end. (*You can print the question pages or just list the number and letter answers in order, so you can easily check your answers later.)
- Then you can check your answers here on page 4 of chapter 1. This is page 24 of the pdf. (Don’t close after you’ve checked your answers.)
- Read the activity on page 6. This is page 26 of the pdf. (This is the same pdf as the answers.) Make a living and non-living bag and ask others in your family to feel and guess. You tell them whether they are right or not.
Human Body, first up is skin
Day 3
L
- We will learn about cells later, but you should know that cells are your body’s building blocks. Everything in your body is made up of cells.
- Read about skin on pages 3-5 (just the top part until the picture). On the pdf they are pages 244-246.
- Why do you sweat when you are hot?
- Look at your skin with a magnifying glass. Make observations. (If you have a microscope, you can rub some skin off of you and look at it with your microscope.) Here’s an image of skin under a microscope.
Day 4 (Materials for L: white paper, tape, or butcher paper)
L
- Get big paper, or tape together white paper. Put all the tape on the back. You need one piece of paper big enough for you to lie down on.
- Have someone trace your body onto the paper.
Muscular System
Day 5
L
- Read page 5-8. This section is on muscles. Start where you left off and read up to the beginning of the bone section.
- Do this jigsaw puzzle, only if you want to.
Day 6
L
- Watch this muscle video.
- Add biceps and quadriceps in your body drawing. Just color them in on one side and label them.
- Now bend and stretch your arms and legs. Do you feel your biceps and quadriceps moving? Picture what they are doing. Describe to someone what they are doing.
Skeletal System
Day 7
L
- Read the section on bones, pages 8-10. In the document it’s the very end of 249 -251.
- Draw the tibia and fibula on your body picture. Use the same side as where you drew the muscles.
- Draw the radius and ulna on your body picture. Use the same side as where you drew the muscles.
- Do you know what your funny bone is? Can you figure out why they call it that? Look at the arm drawing again.
Day 8
L
- Watch this movie about the skeletal system.
- Take the quiz.
- Take a look at this skeleton.
- Put together a skeleton. (alternate skeleton if that gives you trouble)
Day 9 (Materials for L: 6 pieces of paper, tape, paper
plate or lightweight plastic plate, wooden blocks or something to add as
weight)
L
- Read about bone marrow. Tell someone what bone marrow is.
- Watch this video on joints. Then take the quiz.
- Do the “Hollow Strength” activity. It’s number 2.
- Look inside a bone. Bones, the hard white stuff you see in x-rays are hollow, but there is stuff inside the hollow part. The inside is soft like a sponge.
Day 10
L*
- Print the last two pages. Complete the matching and the multiple choice.
- After you are finished, check your answers on page 4. (answers: The page three, multiple choice section, has a mistake in the answers. #2 should be B, inside your body.)
Digestive System
Day 11
L
- Today you are going to start reading about your Digestive System.
- Read from the beginning of this chapter through the paragraph after “Why Doesn’t It Do That?” Don’t read yet about the intestines.
- Read some more about it. Read pages 1 and 2.
- Add an esophagus and stomach to your wall body. See what they look like and where they go.
Day 12
L
- Read the rest of the chapter.
- Take a look again inside. Here are the kidneys. Here’s another picture.
- Add intestines and kidneys to your wall body.
Day 13
L
- Do the matching page (second to last). You can print it or just write the numbers and letters down in your notebook.
- When you are done, you can check your answers.
- Watch a movie on the digestive system.
Day 14 (paper towel, bowl of water)
L
- Read up until the liver.
- Do the Day Three activity.
- Record the experiment on an experiment worksheet.
Day 15
L*
- Read the rest of the chapter. Stop at the fill in the blanks page.
- *Print out the last page and fill in the blanks in the story.
- Do the Day Two activity. Read the explanation. You are learning about bile chasing down and surrounding fat!
- You can see a video of a very similar experiment here (in case you don’t have food coloring). The only difference is that the paper says to spread out the drops and he puts them close together.
Day 16
L*
- Add a mouth and tongue to your wall body.
- *Print out and complete this word find.
Day 17 (Materials for L: 4 glasses or jars or test tubes, 4 pieces of hard candy, water, hammer? need to smash some candies)
L
- Do the chewing experiment.
- *Fill in this chewing experiment worksheet.
- Put together the digestive system jigsaw. There is an ad at first. Don’t click on it. Watch the count down in the corner to help you wait.
Day 18
L*
Day 19
L
- Write or tell the story of a piece of food. What happens to it? (It first is bitten and chewed and mixed with saliva. Then what happens? Then what?)
Day 20
L
- Can you do the muscle quiz?
- Can you do the skeleton quiz? Do you remember?
Circulatory System
Day 21
L
- Read the first three pages about the heart. Stop at the top of the third page where it asks “Why does my heart beat faster…?”
- Draw a heart on your wall body. You can go here and click on heart and then “Where is it?” in order to see what it looks like and where it is in your body.
- Put your hand on your chest. Can you feel your heart beating? Now jump up and down a lot until you are tired out. Now try and feel your heart beating. Can you?
Day 22
L
- Start reading where you stopped yesterday. Read to the end of 258.
- Add veins and arteries on the wall body from the heart to the empty arm.
- To see veins in the body go here. You will be looking at the circulatory system, or how the blood moves around the body. Notice how the veins get smaller as they move away from the heart. Why? Think about highways and then roads off of highways and then roads off of those roads. Why do they get smaller?
Day 23
L
- Find someone to ask you the questions on page 290. Go over the definitions on that page.
Day 24
L*
- Watch a movie about the heart.
- *Complete page 263.
- Check your answers on page 291.
Day 25
L*
- Complete page 262.
- Check your answers on page 290 and 291.
Day 26
L(*)
- Complete page 264.
Day 27
L
- Read about arteries and veins.
- Take the quiz.
Day 28
L*
- *Do the circulatory system word search.
Day 29 (Materials for L: dime-size piece of clay, toothpick; maybe a few pieces of electrical tape could replace the clay)
L
- Do the detecting your pulse activity. If you can’t make this, just use your finger to feel for your pulse.
- Set the timer for 15 seconds. Just type 15 in and click on set. Start counting after you click on Start. Stop counting when you hear the bell. Make sure your sound is turned on.
- Multiply the number you counted by four. That’s your beats per minute.
- Compare the number you got with the average for your age. (Scroll down.)
Day 30
L*
- Print out page 18, the muscles. (You need page 17, but you can read that online.) Do the coloring activity described on page 17.
Respiratory System
Day 31
L
Day 32 (Materials for L and M: 2 twelve inch (30
cm.) balloons, plastic water bottle — not flimsy, needs some strength,
20 oz. to 1 liter in size I would suggest)
L
- Read about inhale.
- Read about your bronchial tubes.
- Build a model of the lungs. Watch the video. (You can do this together with an M student)
- Show your model and explain what the different parts represent.
Day 33
L
- Watch a movie about the respiratory system.
- Make sure diaphragm and bronchial tubes are on your wall body.
Day 34
L
- Read the first three pages of this article on the respiratory system.
- Label the respiratory system. You’ll have to choose it from the list.
Day 35
L*
- Do the lungs wordsearch.
Excretory System
Day 36
L
- Watch this short movie on the urinary system.
- Read about it.
- Take a quiz on the urinary system.
Day 37*
L*
- *Complete the word search.
- Add the bladder to your wall body. You can connect it with a ureter if you like. Label the parts.
Nervous System
Day 38
L
- Read pages 234-236 about the brain.
- Read this definition page.
- Explain to someone what your nervous system controls.
Day 39
L*
- Read pages 237-238.
- *Print out page 239 and complete it.
- Check your answers when you are done, page 266.
Day 40
L*
- *Print out pages 240 and 241 and complete them.
- Check your answers when you are done, page 266.
- Add your name and date and give your papers to a parent to put in your portfolio.
Day 41
L*
- Read this definition page on the cerebral cortex.
- Read this definition page of the cerebellum.
- *Print out this brain. (You should probably do this in color, but if you print it in black and white, take black marker and draw the boundaries to the various parts.)
- Label the brain’s parts. (Skip pons and medulla…)
- Cut out the parts of the brain along the divisions and try and put it back together. Let others in your family try.
Day 42
L*/M*
- *Make a brain hat. (You can decide if everyone is going to have his or her own hat or if you will share one.)
- Study your hat.
- Have someone quiz you where you do different things, like speech, and you try and point to that part on your “brain.”
Day 43
L
- Read “Why Does My Foot Fall Asleep?”
- Try this quiz. It’s okay if you don’t know them all. Maybe you’ll learn something new.
- Explain to someone why limbs fall asleep sometimes.
Day 44 (Materials for M: 10 matching pairs from a deck of cards or other game; L: read below)
L
- Add the brain and spinal cord and nerves down the empty leg on your wall body.
- Choose a craft.
- Make a neuron (Here’s an image you could use.)– color paper optional Just cut free form and paste to another paper. Color it. If you really think your child can’t free form it (it doesn’t have to be perfect), they can color and cut and paste from this picture.)
- Spinal cord — egg carton, thimble, needle and thread, short round noodles optional Cut out egg carton sections (probably needs help with this). Have them string it together. You don’t have to use noodles. It shows how the spinal cord is connected but can bend in every direction.
- OR Color this neuron online.
Day 45
L
- Read this comic book about the brain. Click on “Start the Adventure.”
- Take the reaction time test. How quick does your brain respond?
- Here’s a brain game for the whole family. Can you figure any out?
Senses
Day 46
L
- Read about vision in the first part of this chapter.
- Add eyes to your body. Label the pupils.
- Explain to someone what the retina does as well as the eyelids, eyebrows and eyelashes.
Day 47
L
- Learn a little more about eye anatomy, or the structure of the eye. Take a look at this diagram and read about some of the parts.
- Do the experiment on page 252.
- Write up an experiment worksheet.
Day 48
L
- Finish reading the chapter.
- *Do the two worksheets at the end.
- Check your answers. (page 248)
Day 49 (Materials for L: small paper cup, toothpick, 2 feet of string)
L
- Learn about the parts of an ear.
- Do the activity on page 249 and 250.
- Explain how your ear is like the cup.
- Add ears to your wall body.
Day 50
L
- Watch The Case of the Barking Dogs. This is an hour. Decide as a family if you are going to watch or not.
- If you don’t watch it, you could try this experiment and try the quiz.
Day 51
L*
- *Print page 10 (210) and complete it.
- Read the first part of the chapter through smell. Stop at tasting.
- Add a nose to your wall body.
Day 52
L
- Finish reading this chapter and print and complete page 11 (211).
- Do this taste experiment on page 238.
- Add a tongue to your wall body.
Day 53
L
- Read about internal senses and stop right before Infrared Vision.
- Here this video about a kid who uses echolocation. I was trying to find one I had seen before about a blind boy who could play soccer on a team using this technique.
- Try walking around the house blindfolded. Listen for sound clues to guide you.
Day 54
L*
- Finish reading the chapter and fill in the *two worksheets. (pages 9-10 of the pdf, 231-232)
- When you are done, you can check your answers.
Day 55
L
- Do the writing assignment on the last page of the chapter. Be creative.
- Try one of the experiments on the last two pages of the chapter.
Reproductive System M
Day 56
L
- Let’s go back for a minute. Reread this chapter and add the liver, pancreas and gallbladder to your wall body. I don’t think we did before!
Day 57
L
- Put all the parts in the body.
Cells
Day 58
L*
- Start reading about cells. Read through page 288. Stop at Organelles.
- There are lots of big words in there! Write what is the same and what is different about the two types of cells. Write what’s the same in the box and what’s different on the two sides of the line. *Print out this sheet to use (prokaryotic eukaryotic).
Day 59
L
- Read the whole chapter!
- Do this word jumble. All of the words are the big, bold, dark words from your reading. Use the chapter to help you unscramble them. You can print the puzzle or click to “solve online.”
Day 60
L*
- *Print the last three pages and complete them.
- Reread the chapter as needed.
Day 61
L
Day 62
L*
- Reread the chapter on Organelles.
- *Print pages 301-303 (pages 10-12 of the pdf).
- Complete the first two worksheets. Save the color page.
Day 63
L
- Complete the coloring page. It should already be printed out.
- Complete this word jumble. They are all bold words found in your current chapter. Use the chapter to help you. You can print this out or click to solve online.
Day 64
L*
- Read page 333.
- *Print pages 336 and 337 (pages 8 and 9 of the pdf). Complete the secret code and follow the directions in the code.
- Read page 335.
- Act out with people or puppets the roles of DNA, ribosomes and proteins.
Day 65 (Materials for L: lots of options, see below, you could use a paper plate and random small objects from around the house; ) — Or everyone could just work together on one model…
L
- Read about cells and look at the drawing of a cell.
- Make a model of a cell. Here is some inspiration. one two three four five
- You could simply get a plate and put on things like the crayon picture.
- You don’t need the labels. Tell where the membrane, cytoplasm, nucleus, ribosomes, ER and mitochondria are.
Day 66
L*
- Read this chapter.
- *Print out pages 315-317 (pages 13-15 of the pdf).
- Complete page 315 today.
- When you are done, you can check your answers on page 344.
Day 67
L
- Read pages 347 and 348 and do the experiment.
- Fill in an experiment worksheet.
Day 68
L
- Look again at this chapter. Use the information to complete pages 316 and 317.
- When you are done, you can check your answers on page 344.
Day 69
L*
- Read this chapter on bacteria cells.
- *Print and complete pages 324-326 (pages 8-10 of the pdf).
- Check your answers (p. 352) when you are done. Make sure you know the right answers.
Day 70
L*
- *Print page 356. Get a large pan or a serving tray. Gather objects to represent each of the cell parts on the list. For example: ER could be a toy car because it transports things. Mitochondria could be candy because it gives energy. Choose an object for each one and put on a show and tell for your family. Show them each item and tell them what part of the cell it represents and why.
Immune System
Day 71 L
- Read the first three pages of this chapter on the immune system, pages 339-341.
- *Print out and compete the word search. (You can print the last three pages and hold onto them.)
Day 72 L
- Finish reading the chapter.
- Complete the matching exercise.
- Answers can be checked here. (There is a mistake in the answers. 4 and 6 should be switched.)
Day 73 L
- Watch the movie on the immune system.
- Complete the compare and contrast worksheet from the chapter. (If you need a reminder about red blood cells, you can look again at chapter 26, particularly page 258, page 5 in the pdf.)
- Answers can be checked here.
Day 74 (Materials for L: Q-tips, raw meat, beef bouillon, unflavored gelatin, sealable plastic baggies, antibacterial soaps, lotions, etc., it says 4 foil muffin cups–I don’t know if that’s really necessary — If you can’t get these, there is an alternative activity.) L
- *Do the day three activity. If you don’t have the supplies, do the day two activity.
Day 75 L
- Watch a model of how a flu cell attacks the body.
- Watch disease spread. Read the directions below.
- Click on Set Up Model. There is one red person. Look at the key. That is the person with the sickness.
- Click on Run/Pause. Does the person get better without infecting anyone else? When the person turns blue, that means he is now immune to that sickness. Click on Run/Pause.
- Drag the bar on “Infectiousness” to make the number higher. Now it is easier to catch the sickness. Click on Set Up Model. Then click on Run/Pause.
- Play with the other things. You can vaccinate people, medicate people, increase the number of doctors, make it easier for people to travel…
- What observations can you make?
Day 76
L
- Read again about these words: Immune System, White Blood Cells, Lymph, Lymph Node
- Write, draw or act out how your immune system defends your body against a virus.
Review/Genetics M
Day 77
L
- Read the review on page 359.
- Do the writing activity on page 362.
- *Print pages 360 and 361 (pages 12 and 13 of the pdf).
- Complete the two test pages as best as you can and as neatly as you can.
- When you are done, check your answers on page 363. (There’s a mistake in the answer key for page 361. Number 5 is B.)
- Give the pages to your mom to add to your portfolio.
Day 79
L
- Human body review book.
- Is there anything else you’d like to add to your wall body?
Day 80
L/M*
- *Play Body Bingo. Print out copies of the board and pieces for each player. The caller describes a body part and should keep a list of what body parts were called.
Day 81
L
- Label the body parts. Play all three levels.
- Answer the questions.
Day 82*
L
- Find the matches.
- Do the jigsaw of the eye.
Day 83
L
- Read about each body system.
Day 84
L
- Look at pictures of bacteria under a microscope. You can click through lots of pages.
- What do you think are the most amazing things about the human body?
Day 85
L/M
- Play a body systems review game.
- Walk around your house and outside of your home. Make a list of all of the plants you see and a list of what things you see that you think need plants. You can use this sheet (plants intro) to record your observations. Hold onto your sheet.
- Read the introduction to the Great Plant Escape. Click next and read the Case Brief. Click next and click on Plant Structures, the first one. Click on the words that are underlined and read the explanation.
- Go to the dictionary and click on the little speaker next to the big word, herbaceous.
- Take a look at some different types of stems.
- Take your sheet from Day 85. Label each plant you listed as H or W.
- Are there any more plants around you that you recognize now that you can add to your list?
- Explain to someone the difference between the two types of plants.
Day 87
L
- Read about plant parts. Click next and next…the last one is fruit. STOP after you read about FRUIT.
- You don’t need to know all of those blue words in there. Just understand the basic parts of a plant. I bet you do. Try the next activity.
- Label the parts of a flower. Click on Labels. Drag the labels to the right boxes. You only need to do the Labels. We’ll come back and do the other parts soon.
Day 88
L*
- Read about photosynthesis.
- *Complete this worksheet on photosynthesis.
Day 89 (Materials for L: Broad leaf attached to a plant, tape, black construction paper–seems like you could use other colors; )
L*
- Today you are going to start a photosynthesis experiment.
- *Print out an experiment worksheet.
- Fill in the question. What happens if a plant leaf doesn’t get sunlight?
- Fill in your hypothesis, your guess as to what the answer is.
- Read the experiment. If you don’t wan to know what happens, don’t scroll all the way down. Just read how to set it up.
- List your materials and procedure.
- Set up the experiment. Save your worksheet to finish next week. (If you can’t do the experiment, you can look at the picture of the result on the page where you read the experiment instructions.)
Day 90 L
- Learn about the parts of a plant.
- Draw and label a plant.
- Watch this animation of photosynthesis. Click on The Cycle. Explain what is happening.
Day 91 L
- Read about the life cycle of the plant. You don’t need to know all of the blue words. Explain the difference between an annual plant and a perennial plant.
- Why do people like to plant perennial plants? (answer: They don’t have to plant them each year. They grow again on their own.)
- Plan a garden. What would you plant? Take a piece of paper. That’s your garden. Write or draw what you would grow.
Day 92 L
- Read the first sections on Growing Plants Indoor. Read “Room to Grow” and “Temperature.”
- Read about plants that live in the hot desert. Click on the arrow to keep turning the pages.
- Explain to someone what types of plants live in hot weather.
Day 93 L*
- Read about light and water.
- Grow a plant. What happens when you don’t use enough light or water?
- Explain to someone why a plant needs light and water.
- Take three plants or plant three seeds in three different containers. Put one in the dark (maybe a closet) but water it daily. Put one in the light but never water it. Put one in the light and water it. What happens?
- *Print out this experiment sheet, (light and water). Fill in what you think will happen. Save your paper. After a week or so, you can record what happened.
Day 94 L
- Read about air, nutrients and time.
- What is something that can hurt a plant? (answer: smoke)
- Read about the different lengths of time it takes for plants to grow.
- Tell someone three different plants and how long they take to grow.
Day 95 L
- Today do the mystery quizzes. Do them both.
- Make sure to make observations on all the plants you have growing.
- Give someone an update on the plants you have growing.
- If you haven’t yet, take the paper off of your leaf. What has happened?
Day 96 L/M*
- Read this page on the parts of a plant that we eat.
- *Write or draw all the things you can think of that you eat that belong in the different categories. Look around your kitchen or even the grocery store.
- Here are some ideas to check/add to your list when you are done.
- When I lived in Istanbul, I shopped for all of my fruits and vegetables at an open air market. One day a week they closed the road and sellers set up tables on the street. One of the sellers sold roots, just the roots. Celery root, beet root…A famous Russian dish called borsch and it is made from beet root. Try new parts of plants. Maybe you will be surprised.
- Choose an activity. Grow lettuce Other ideas
- *Try some nature study. Follow the directions on this tree worksheet and fill it out.
- Here are some tree identification websites, if you don’t know what kind of tree you were looking at.
Day 99 L/M*
- *Like yesterday…follow the directions on this tree worksheet and fill it out.
Day 100 L/M*
- If you have any experiments still going, make your final observations now.
- Try and complete a scavenger hunt for the season you are in.
- Read the beginning of the case 2.
- Then read the Case Brief.
- Take a clear plastic cup and fill it with soil (dirt). (It’s okay if you don’t have a clear cup.)
- Make observations. Dig through it. What do you see in there?
- *Fill out this paper with your observations. You will need a ruler. (soil observations)
- Leave your cup of dirt sitting out in the sun.
Day 102 L
- Read about the makeup of soil.
- Do you observe all of those things? Were any of them a surprise?
- Measure your soil again. I’m wondering if you can detect the soil being less as the water in it evaporates.
- Your reading says that soil is made up of living and non-living material. What’s another way of saying living and non-living that you learned in the beginning of the year? (answer: biotic and abiotic)
- What’s an example of living material in soil? (answer: leaves)
- What’s an example of non-living material in soil? (answer: rocks)
Day 103 L
- Read about the different types of soil.
- Click at the bottom to solve the first mystery.
- Follow the directions. What does your soil smell like? What color is it? Measure it again and see if there is any difference.
- Also, take it apart and sort through it as it describes. You can add any observations to your paper if you like. Or, just tell them to your family.
Day 104 L
- Read this next page on the nutrients (that’s like the vitamins in the food you eat) in soil.
- Click on the mystery and do the activity.
Day 105 L
- Read all about soil. Keep clicking on next.
- How does weather affect soil? (answer: Weather helps make soil by causing rocks to crack and break up.)
- How does soil help plants? (answer: It gives them nutrients to make them healthy.)
Day 106 L
- Learn about the best soil for growing plants in containers.
- Turn the page and read about composting.
- Make a compost pile of any size.
Day 107 L*
- Read more about soil and composting. Stop after you’ve read the worm page.
- Go back to the soil observation page and find some soil to observe. Use sticks or popsicle sticks to mark off your area.
- Here’s a page to record your observations (Soil Squares Observations). Follow the directions on the web page and don’t forget to check back on other days.
- You can make a worm bin if you like :)
Day 108 L*
- Read about soil substitutes.
- Do the experiment with as many different things that you can. Remember that you can mix them together too.
- *Here is a sheet to record your observations (Soil Substitutes Observations). You can make another page for more space and you can add lines at the bottom to write more. The lines at the bottom are for writing what’s in each cup. Label your cups! The boxes are for your observations.
- You’ll have to observe over the next week or so.
Day 109 L
- Play the senses game. Choose Cinchy.
- Play two or three today and tomorrow until you’ve done them all.
Day 110 L
- Play the senses game. Choose Cinchy.
- Play whatever games you didn’t play yesterday.
- Check on your soil squares and cups.
Day 111 L
- Read about your next case.
- Read the case brief.
- Tell someone everything you think you know about seeds.
- Do you have any seeds in your house?
Day 112 L(*)
- Read “All About Seeds.”
- How do you think each of those seeds (pictured at the bottom of the page) travel?
- *If you like, you could print out and make this dial of how different seeds are scattered.
- Watch this lesson on seeds. Make sure you listen to it! It’s talking to you. Click on the arrow to turn the page when it is time.
- What seeds are in your kitchen? If you have a yard, what seeds are in your yard?
Day 113 L*
- Read about seed structure.
- Turn the page and read about germination.
- You don’t need to know all of the blue words.
- *Place a bean (or a few beans) in a zip lock bag (or some tight clear container, even a glass with plastic wrap covering it with a rubber band to hold it on) on top of a soaking wet paper towel (or substitute). Place it in the sun. Every day draw a picture of what it looks like. Label each picture with the day #. Here’s a paper to use if you like. Print as many as you need. (Germination Observations)
- Watch this video of green bean germination. Does it have one or two leaves as it sprouts?
Day 114 L*
- Draw the steps of germination. You can just use this as a guide to draw it yourself. You can print just the last page as a canvas. You can print the last two pages and trace the parts onto your germination “canvas.” You could cut out the parts and glue them on. You could ask a parent to make a stencil.
- Make sure to check on your bean and record your observations.
Day 115 L
- Make sure to check on your bean and record your observations.
- Photosynthesis review. Watch the video and then click on part 2.
Day 116 L(*)
- Do all plants have seeds to make more plants? What do you think? Make a guess then read this page.
- Now turn the page. Can you figure out which seeds grows into which plant?
- *Make a mini book about four different seeds and what they turn into. Here is a lift-the-flap template book. The seed pictures would go on the flap. Write or draw what it turns into on the inside when you lift the flap.
- Put your mini book or your soil substitute observations in your portfolio.
Day 117 L*
- *Do you remember woody and herbaceous plants? Connect the words to the correct parts of the tree (the woody plant) and the flowers (the herbaceous plant).
- What parts do both types of plants have?
- Read the poem at the top of the paper. Why couldn’t woody bend?
- Read pages 18-21 of The First Book of Plants. These pages are about two things that woody and herbaceous plants have in common.
- Are you remembering to record your daily observations of germination?
Day 118 L*
- *Does it come from a plant? Fill out the worksheet.
- When you are done read this (highlight to read): Plants may be used for decoration, erosion prevention and climate control (wind and sun breaks) foods, beverages, flavorings, medicines, fabrics, rope and other fibers, wood, rubber, dyes, paper, and many other products. The original form of aspirin came from willow bark. American Indians would make a tea from the bark for fevers and pain. Even marijuana was originally introduced into this country as a source of hemp for making ropes, cloth and sail. (ends here)
Day 119 (Materials for L: two leaves, not dried out–they can’t be crumbly) L*
- Get two leaves. Place one under a piece of thin white paper. Rub with a pencil or crayon over the part of the paper covering the leaf. Do the same with the other leaf.
- *Print out this paper twice for your your leaf rubbings and fill out the other information as well (Leaf Rubbings). If your leaf is huge, you can rub the back of the paper.
Day 120 L
- Go to number 1 under “Procedure.” Read the story and identify the tools as directed. Do you have tools at your house to care for plants? What kinds?
- Have you met your goals? Tell someone about each thing on the list. Can you do it?
Day 121 L*
- Read your new mission.
- *Print out this KWL chart. Read the Case Brief with the list of goals. Use the goals to fill in the “What I Know” and “What I Want to Know” parts of the chart. Leave the “What I Learned” part empty, for now. You can turn the paper sideways if that makes it easier for you to write in the boxes.
Day 122 L
- Read about the parts of a flower. Just read this one page.
- Read The First Book of Plants pages 23 and 24.
- Draw a picture of a flower and label it.
Day 123 L(*)
- Read The First Book of Plants pages 25 to 29.
- Act out with people or props the process of how you get from pollen to fruit. OR
- *Print out this page (reproduction cartoon) and draw the process from pollen to fruit.
Day 124 L
- Read The First Book of Plants pages 30-33.
- Take the quiz and see what you remember. It’s okay to mistakes if you learn from them! Skip the page with the blank boxes. Click next to move on.
Day 125 L
- Fill in the “What You Learned” section of the worksheet from day 121.
- Did you find the answers to everything you wanted to learn?
Day 126 (Materials: flower) L
- Find a flower. Draw a picture of it. Write it’s name on the page if you know. If you don’t, use the internet to try and find out.
- On the page write, “Number of petals,” “Color of petals,” “Shape of petals,” “Scent” and anything else. What else can you observe, count, record? Do you see any pollen? Make a thorough recording of it. When explorers went to new areas, they drew careful pictures and wrote careful observations to tell people about their new discoveries.
- Can your flower be used for anything? Use the internet. Is it poisonous? Edible?
Day 127 L
- Try growing something from a cutting. You can use this page and the next for ideas.
- Pollination review You can sing the pollination song :)
Day 128 L*
- Time to start a new mission. Read this page the case brief.
- *What do you think you know? Fill out the chart. KWL chart
- Take a look at pages 44 and 45 of The First Book of Plants.
Day 129 L
- Read about bulbs. You don’t have to learn the blue words, but click on the word bulb and then draw and label a picture like the one shown. Don’t click on the box at the bottom of the page.
- Tell someone about bulbs.
Day 130 L
- Read “What is a bulb?” and follow the directions. Add to your list.
- See if you can see the parts of a bulb in an onion or garlic clove.
- Finish reading the rest of the case. Keep clicking next.
Day 131 (Materials: potato) L/M
- Fill out the rest of your KWL chart.
- Plant potato parts as described. Watch their growth.
- If you have access to a sweet potato (our family doesn’t), you can grow a sweet potato vine.
- Here’s the last case. It’s not really a case. On the last page you can print out the certificate if you like.
- Read the first part of the chapter about vascular plants. Stop at flowering and non-flowering plants.
- Take a piece of paper and divide it in half. On one side write vascular and on the other side write nonvascular.
- Draw a picture of a kind of vascular plant on the one side and a nonvascular plant on the other.
- Show your picture to someone and explain the difference.
Day 133 L*
- *Finish reading the chapter and do the word search. (Print pages 8-10)
Day 134 L
- Do the chapter matching exercise on pages 136 and 137. (It should be already printed out.)
- You can check your answers on page 152.
- Write a water drop story as described on page 138.
Day 135 (Materials for L: white carnation or other white flower, if possible) L*
- Look at pages 153 to the end.
- *Print out the petal sheet. It’s page 11 of the pdf.
- Do the two experiments.
- If you don’t have a flower, you can watch the video of the experiment. Even if you have a flower, you might want to watch it. :)
Day 136 L
- Read the beginning of the chapter until it says Kingdom Protista.
- What is a kingdom? Watch the movie. It gets really specific with scientific terms at the end, talking about the dolphin. Don’t worry about it!
Day 137 L
- Finish reading the chapter.
- How do fungi eat? (answer: Fungi are decomposers. They spread a sticky goo into the area surrounding their body that contains enzymes. These chemicals break down biotic material into smaller, softer parts. The fungi can then absorb this substance. from the textbook)
- Take a piece of paper and fold it in half. Open it up.
- On one half write fungi and on the other half write protist.
- Draw a picture on each side of an example.
Day 138 L
- *Print the two worksheets. (Pages 9 and 10 of the pdf)
- Fill out the worksheets.
- Check your answers on page 162.
- Answer the question on the last page. You don’t have to write your answer. You can tell your answer.
Day 139 L
- How about some review by movie. See if you remember any of these big words about cells. You can take the quiz after you watch the movie. It’s okay if you don’t get all the answers right.
- Here’s another one about cells. Watch the movie and take the quiz. It’s okay if you don’t know all the answers.
- Make sure you are watching your growing things and making observations. What do you observe today?
Day 140 L
- Another movie review day: Watch the video on plant growth and take the quiz.
- Watch the video on photosynthesis and take the quiz. It’s okay if you don’t get them all right. This is advanced.
Underwater Plants Day 141 L
- Let’s look at plants that live in the water. Look at the picture on the page. Do you see the green stuff floating on the water? Those are plants. Ever see a picture of a frog on a lily pad? That’s a plant. Here are several pages of pictures of water plants. Take as long as you like to look at the pictures and see what kinds of plants grow in water. You’ll see they are called “Aquatic Plants.” That means “water plants.”
- What types of plants did you see?
Day 142 L
- Read the “Brief Intro on Sea Plants.” It’s just page 1.
- Look at sea plants.
- The introduction mentioned food chains. Read about what a food chain is.
- Play the food chain game. You will learn more about food chains in Zoology (year 2).
Day 143 L
- Read survival, flower, and phytoplankton. It’s pages 2 and 3.
- What is phytoplankton? (answer: type of algae)
- Where do the plants that live in the dark get their nutrients since they can’t produce their own food using the sun (photosynthesis)? (answer: from dead fish)
Day 144 L
- Read about seaweed. It’s pages 4 and 5.
- Take a look at brown seaweed and green seaweed.
- Click on the links to brown and green seaweed.
- Is there kelp in your cupboard?
Day 145 L
- Read the “End of Sea Plants.” It’s on page 6.
- What is happening to destroy sea plant life?
- What do you think people should do to stop it?
- What can you do?
Plant Biomes Day 146 L
- You are going to make a Biome Book. A biome is a big description for a type of environment. Each day you will read about one type of biome and about the plants that live there. Each day you will take one piece of paper. On the top write the name of the biome. Draw a scene of what that biome looks like and what plants live there. (If you are really against drawing, you can write a description of the biome and list what plants live there.)
- Today do oceans. Read, “What is an ocean?” and about plants in the ocean.
- Make the ocean page of your book.
Day 147 L
- Today do arctic. You will read “What is the arctic?” and about plants in the arctic. The image isn’t working on the page, so here’s a picture for you.
- Make the arctic page of your book.
Day 148 L
- Today do deserts. You will read, “What is a desert?” and about plants in the desert. Here are pictures: yucca plant, Joshua tree.
- Make the desert page of your book.
- Desert looks a lot like dessert. How can you remember which is which? Dessert has more Ss because you always want more dessert!
Day 149 L
- Today do forests. You will read, “What is a forest?” and about plants in the forest.
- Make the forest page of your book.
Day 150 L
- Today do tropical. You will read about the rainforest in the tropics and plants in the tropics.
- Make the tropical page of your book.
- Present your book. Show it to an audience and explain about the different biomes and plants that live there.
Day 151 L*
- The scientific method is how scientists approach a problem. They have a problem they want to solve. They learn all they can about it. Then they guess at a solution. That’s called the hypothesis. The test their solution to see if it works. That’s their experiment. The look at the results of their experiment to see if their hypothesis, guess, was right. If it was, they come up with their conclusion, what they think is true.
- Watch this video on the scientific method.
- *Print out the first two pages of this lapbook on the scientific method. Complete the piece on, “What is the Scientific Method?”
- At the end of the lapbook is information if you need it.
Day 152 L
- Complete the “How Many Steps?” and “What is a hypothesis?” pieces.
- On the how many steps pieces list these steps: question, learn, hypothesis, experiment, data, conclusion.
- You start with a question you want answered.
- Use what you know, learn more and make observations.
- Then you form a hypothesis, your best guess at the answer to your question.
- Then you experiment.
- When you are done, you look at your data, all of the observations and information you gathered during the experiment.
- You use that information to make your conclusion, your final statement on whether or not you think your hypothesis was right.
Day 153 L
- Complete the variable pieces. There is information at the end of the lapbook.
Day 154 L
- Watch this presentation on the scientific method.
- Listen to the scientific method song. You can read the lyrics while it plays.
Day 155 L*
- *Practice. Print out this Scientific Method Worksheet. Order the steps of the scientific method. Then describe what you would do for each step. Your problem is that you can’t blow a big bubble. You want to know if there is gum out there that makes it easier to blow a bigger bubble.
Day 156 L*
- *Print out this scientific method experiment booklet. You don’t need the first two pages. You may not need all of the pages. You can wait and print a little at a time if you need to.
- Today you are going to start thinking about what experiment you would like to do about plants. Today, try and come up with a question you would like answered.
- Fill out the question section of the experiment booklet.
- If you are stuck, here are some questions to get you thinking. Here are some more experiment questions. Here’s another idea.
Day 157 L/M
- Today you will do the observations and research part of the scientific method. You are looking for information that will help you form your hypothesis. Record your resources and notes in your booklet.
- If you are ready, write down your hypothesis, what you think you will find to be true after your experiment. Use your scientific method experiment booklet to write down your hypothesis.
- Decide on how you will do an experiment to check if your hypothesis is right or not.
- What will your variables be? What will you change? What will stay the same? What will you be looking for? Fill in the variable section of your booklet. The definitions of the different kinds of variables are on the page.
- List your materials and procedures.
- Make sure you have the materials.
- If you are ready, start your experiment. Because plant experiments often need several weeks to observe, I wanted you to get started on it right away.
- Decide how you are going to record your observations. How often are you going to make observations. Make sure you have a method for carefully recording when you observed and what you saw.
- Now we are going to start all over!
- (*) You can print a second copy of the experiment booklet (starting at page 3), or you can record all of the information yourself on paper or on the computer.
- You are going to be doing a human body experiment as well.
- Today, find your question. Here are some places to go for ideas if you need them:
- Don’t forget about making observations on your plant experiment.
- Today you will do the observations and research part of the scientific method. You are looking for information that will help you form your hypothesis. Record your resources and notes in your booklet.
- If you are ready, write down your hypothesis, what you think you will find to be true after your experiment. Use your scientific method experiment booklet to write down your hypothesis.
- Decide on how you will do an experiment to check if your hypothesis is right or not.
- What will your variables be? What will you change? What will stay the same? What will you be looking for? Fill in the variable section of your booklet. The definitions of the different kinds of variables are on the page.
- List your materials and procedures.
- Make sure you have the materials.
- Don’t forget about your plant experiment and observations.
- If you are ready, start your experiment.
- Decide how you are going to record your observations. How often are you going to make observations. Make sure you have a method for carefully recording when you observed and what you saw.
- You have twelve days to collect your data starting today.
- Collect your data.
- Start work on this landscaping project.
- Plan what trees, bushes, flowers, etc. you will plant in your neighborhood.
- Research what grows in your biome.
- Make decisions based on your area and what would be easiest and best for your neighborhood.
- Don’t just pick anything. Choose plants for a reason. You’ll explain your reasons when you present your landscaping project.
- Collect your data.
- Work on your landscaping project.
- Collect your data.
- Work on your landscaping project.
- Collect your data.
- Work on your landscaping project.
- Draw a picture of your neighborhood and show where you would plant the things you decided on.
- Collect your data.
- Work on your landscaping project.
- Present your project. Why did you choose the plants you did?
- Why did you put them where you did?
- *Go back to your same tree and observe it now.
- Don’t forget to make observations.
- Collect your data.
- Take the human body quiz.
- Make observations. Collect data.
- Label the respiratory system.
- Make observations. Collect data.
- Play the digestion game.
Day 175 L
- Make observations. Collect data.
- Play the skeleton game.
Day 176 L
- Make observations. Collect data.
- Take a human body quiz.
Day 177
- Write up your data in a chart or graph. Make it look great.
- Make sure it is labeled clearly so that someone can understand it without you explaining it to them.
- Write your conclusion.
- Older students should write a paragraph.
- Make sure everything is neat and orderly. Practice presenting your experiments in front of an audience.
- Present your experiments. Tell your audience about each experiment. Tell them your hypothesis, your procedure, what your data showed and what your conclusion is.
- Take a picture of your experiment or you explaining your chart, or your graph or experiment write up if it is on the computer. Or send a video of your presentation. I can add them to the Hall of Fame page.
- Email them to me at my gmail address allinonehomeschool.
