Real Science 4 Kids Middle School Chemistry Review!
Is your child interested in chemistry? Real Science 4 Kids Focus on Middle School Chemistry for grades 5-8. I love that the text is in color and keywords are bolded in red. The font is fun and "kid" friendly. By "kid friendly" I mean that it doesn't look like regular textbook fonts like Times Roman or Serif fonts which for kids can get pretty boring and seem "adultish".
What I received:
~Middle School Chemistry Teachers Manual: the teachers manual is an 88-page softcover book that contains much more than an answer key! The Teacher Manual has mini pages of the student workbook with the answers,
For each chapter, it lists the materials needed, the time required,, and sometimes a 'Just for Fun' for instance in chapter 6: Mixtures there is a recipe for Easy Chocolate Cake! There are notes for each section in the workbook for example in chapter 6 section 6.4 it will tell you that the main point to emphasize in this section is how soap "allows" oils to dissolve in water and so forth.
~ Full Color 78 page Student Textbook: the textbook includes a full-color periodic table which is just cool! The Student Workbook consist of 10 chapters. Each chapter has 2-8 sections which are titles.
Example: for Chapter 6 Mixtures:
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Types of Mixtures
6.3 Like Dissolves Like
6.4 Soap
6.5 Summary
By having the sections in each chapter divided, it really helps with "breaking" up the reading. Younger students or students who struggle with reading can see that light at the end of the tunnel. Sometimes a section will be a few paragraphs long other times up to six or more. The chapters are kept short too which keeps the reading enjoyable and keeps the kids interested. I know my boys don't like super long chapters when it comes to school ;)
Don't let the short chapters fool you though, Real Science 4 Kids does a wonderful job with providing lots of information it's just not set-up in a boring way. I'd rather have my boys read something short that is jammed packed with great information and colorful illustrations AND retain that information than having to read a long boring chapter and not remember much. This is where I believe less can be more.
The full-color illustrations really help the child to "see" chemistry. I believe pictures (even for adults) help us understand the information, especially with a subject like chemistry. A pronunciation guide is provided along with a glossary. I really, really, appreciate the pronunciation guide because if I'm not sure how to pronounce words like cytosine or guanine, I don't have to go to the computer and google it which takes time -time I don't want to spend searching how to pronounce a word.
Each chapter and section of the Student Textbook correspond with the Teacher Manual.
~Laboratory Workbook: love the name! What child doesn't like the word laboratory and it sounds so much more interesting than saying, "Here's your science workbook."
The Laboratory Workbook is set up to record an experiment for each chapter. Your child will write the objective, hypothesis, results, conclusion, and review. By review I mean they will define terms, answer questions and sometimes illustrate.
I also purchased the downloadable Study Notebook: this is a fun extra, it's totally optional. Your student will assemble the pieces in a tri-folder study notebook. It's sort of similar to a lapbook. The Study Notebook comes with an answer key, instructions, and is 26 pages, all student pages are in color!
Suggested Schedule:
Monday: read the chapter. For a struggling reader, you can alternate the reading or make it a 'read aloud'. Or have your child read to you or on his own.
Tuesday: go over the laboratory experiment and collect what is needed.
Wednesday: have your child do the lab experiment and record the data
Thursday: complete the review page of the Laboratory Workbook.
Friday: if you purchased the Study Folder complete the page that corresponds with the chapter and/or use the Graphics to make flashcards, posters, and such for review.
Please note that I did not receive the Lessons Plans which contains a self-tests for each chapter (among other things) therefore I did not include them in my suggested schedule. Real Science 4 Kids has a schedule that includes the self-test which you can find on their website. Just click the "How to Use" tab.
Pros: colorful, great illustrations, short chapters that are packed with lots of information, student-friendly font, includes fun experiments, easy to get started, it's flexible, and teacher friendly too!
Cons: there are only 10 chapters. If you do a chapter a week it will last only 10 weeks. You can flesh it out by purchasing the Study Folder, Graphics, and library books. Or you can stretch out chapters to last two weeks. You can do this in two ways. One, have science only three times a week instead of daily or two do all the reading and the laboratory workbook one week and use the Study Folder, Graphics, and library books the second week.
What I received:
~Middle School Chemistry Teachers Manual: the teachers manual is an 88-page softcover book that contains much more than an answer key! The Teacher Manual has mini pages of the student workbook with the answers,
For each chapter, it lists the materials needed, the time required,, and sometimes a 'Just for Fun' for instance in chapter 6: Mixtures there is a recipe for Easy Chocolate Cake! There are notes for each section in the workbook for example in chapter 6 section 6.4 it will tell you that the main point to emphasize in this section is how soap "allows" oils to dissolve in water and so forth.
~ Full Color 78 page Student Textbook: the textbook includes a full-color periodic table which is just cool! The Student Workbook consist of 10 chapters. Each chapter has 2-8 sections which are titles.
Example: for Chapter 6 Mixtures:
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Types of Mixtures
6.3 Like Dissolves Like
6.4 Soap
6.5 Summary
By having the sections in each chapter divided, it really helps with "breaking" up the reading. Younger students or students who struggle with reading can see that light at the end of the tunnel. Sometimes a section will be a few paragraphs long other times up to six or more. The chapters are kept short too which keeps the reading enjoyable and keeps the kids interested. I know my boys don't like super long chapters when it comes to school ;)
Don't let the short chapters fool you though, Real Science 4 Kids does a wonderful job with providing lots of information it's just not set-up in a boring way. I'd rather have my boys read something short that is jammed packed with great information and colorful illustrations AND retain that information than having to read a long boring chapter and not remember much. This is where I believe less can be more.
The full-color illustrations really help the child to "see" chemistry. I believe pictures (even for adults) help us understand the information, especially with a subject like chemistry. A pronunciation guide is provided along with a glossary. I really, really, appreciate the pronunciation guide because if I'm not sure how to pronounce words like cytosine or guanine, I don't have to go to the computer and google it which takes time -time I don't want to spend searching how to pronounce a word.
Each chapter and section of the Student Textbook correspond with the Teacher Manual.
~Laboratory Workbook: love the name! What child doesn't like the word laboratory and it sounds so much more interesting than saying, "Here's your science workbook."
The Laboratory Workbook is set up to record an experiment for each chapter. Your child will write the objective, hypothesis, results, conclusion, and review. By review I mean they will define terms, answer questions and sometimes illustrate.
I also purchased the downloadable Study Notebook: this is a fun extra, it's totally optional. Your student will assemble the pieces in a tri-folder study notebook. It's sort of similar to a lapbook. The Study Notebook comes with an answer key, instructions, and is 26 pages, all student pages are in color!
Suggested Schedule:
Monday: read the chapter. For a struggling reader, you can alternate the reading or make it a 'read aloud'. Or have your child read to you or on his own.
Tuesday: go over the laboratory experiment and collect what is needed.
Wednesday: have your child do the lab experiment and record the data
Thursday: complete the review page of the Laboratory Workbook.
Friday: if you purchased the Study Folder complete the page that corresponds with the chapter and/or use the Graphics to make flashcards, posters, and such for review.
Please note that I did not receive the Lessons Plans which contains a self-tests for each chapter (among other things) therefore I did not include them in my suggested schedule. Real Science 4 Kids has a schedule that includes the self-test which you can find on their website. Just click the "How to Use" tab.
Pros: colorful, great illustrations, short chapters that are packed with lots of information, student-friendly font, includes fun experiments, easy to get started, it's flexible, and teacher friendly too!
Cons: there are only 10 chapters. If you do a chapter a week it will last only 10 weeks. You can flesh it out by purchasing the Study Folder, Graphics, and library books. Or you can stretch out chapters to last two weeks. You can do this in two ways. One, have science only three times a week instead of daily or two do all the reading and the laboratory workbook one week and use the Study Folder, Graphics, and library books the second week.
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