Apologia Science & History Information

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Apologia Science & History

Find out why homeschool families LOVE Apologia science!
These courses provide a solid scientific foundation in a format most students can do on their own. Apologia is especially designed for the home school. Written by a former university professor, it is readable, easy to understand, and has experiments which can be performed at home. (Some lab equipment may need to be purchased for some courses.)

What course should my student take this year?
It's recommended students follow the courses as outlined in the chart above. Your student's math level should drive this time line, especially if the student is science-oriented. When the student begins Algebra I, that's when Biology begins. You don't really need set science curriculum for the years leading up to junior high school. We recommend that your science curriculum be based on unit studies for grades K-6. Even if your student is not science-oriented, he or she will benefit from exposure to biology, chemistry, AND physics. You never know when a life long interest may be sparked!

How can the parent who knows nothing about biology and chemisty teach it at home?
Apologia curriculum was written just for you and your student. It is designed with the idea that the student is on his or her own with the course. This means that all of the explanation that a teacher would normally give orally in class has to be included in the book, step by step. This is also why the course is written conversationally, to make the student feel like someone is speaking directly to him or her. If you want to work with the student and work through the course too, that's great. If questions come up that you can't answer, Apologia provides a free question and answer service. There's information in the front of the student textbook telling you how to reach them.

What books and equipment will I need?
Each course comes as 2-book sets which include a hardbound student text and a softbound solutions and tests manual. The price includes both books, and they are all you need in terms of curriculum. Lab equipment is comprised of household items or a set that you purchase.

Apologia Courses are available on CD-Rom
Grades 7-11 science courses (General Science through Physics) are available in CD-Rom format. The CD-ROM versions of these courses contain everything that is in the textbook courses plus multimedia add-ons like word pronunciations, videos, and animations. Students answer the "on your own" questions as they read through the CD. The module reviews and tests are printed out and then done on paper. Password-protected answers are available to parents for grading. These are complete courses, not a supplements!

Companion CD-Roms
If you really want to use a textbook but would like the multimedia that is on the CD, try the companion CDs to accompany these courses. These CDs do not contain the text of the courses, but they have all of the multimedia that you find on the CD course. These companion CDs are the ideal choice for someone who wants to use a book but does not want to miss out on the multimedia.

System Requirements for all CD-Roms: We recommend at least a Pentium 100 processor with 16Mb of RAM, 111 MB Disk Space to Install and 80 MB to run. Requires a mouse, video and sound compression installed (part of Windows installation), CD-ROM driver, speakers, and a printer. Requires Internet Explorer 5.5 SP2 and higher, Adobe Acrobat 5.0 and higher, and Windows Media Player 6.1 and higher which are all contained on the CD if you do not already have them.

Audio CD
NEW! Audio CD now available for Exploring Creation with Physical Science. A complete audio recording of the book, read by a hmeschool father. The CD contains the text portion of each module and the "on your own" questions, but does NOT contain laboratory experiments, study guides, tests, or test solutions. This is the perfect accompaniment to the book for students who are auditory learners, slow readers, or who have various learning disabilities that make reading difficult. Your CD player MUST be MP3 compatible.

How much should my student do each day?
Daily lessons are not included in the curriculum in order to allow maximum flexibility for the student working at his or her own pace. If you really want the structure of lessons, we recommend that you first look at the table of contents of each book. You will see that each book has 16 modules. If you work through each module in 2 weeks, you will complete the course in 32 weeks, which fits nicely into a "typical" school year with a little time to spare. To break it down further, if you do science every day for 5 weekdays, you have 10 work days available in 2 weeks. Do the reading, on your own problems, and experiments on days 1-7, review and do the study guide (or review questions + practice problems) on days 8-9, and take the test on day 10. This puts an emphasis on review and reinforcement of concepts. Flex this schedule when necessary to work on harder concepts, review problem areas, or to move on faster through the curriculum. Remember, this is a suggestion and not a mandate! Some students work through a course in a semester, while others need 2 years to master the material. Don't let your schedule rule you, use the time needed to learn the material well, and then move on. Remember, it's okay to do it differently. That's the beauty of homeschooling!

Do I have to do the lab experiments?
Laboratory experiments, properly done, help to reinforce concepts learned through reading. They are also especially helpful for the student who is a kinesthetic learner (one who learns best by doing and touching.) However, they are not absolutely necessary. Scientific concepts can be learned without doing labs at this level of learning. On the other hand, students who intend to go to college will need the lab credits for college admission. Once again, this is one of the perks of homeschooling -- you decide what is best for your student. Labs are designed specifically so that they can be done at home with minimal equipment. They are written to make them easy to do or skip if you so choose.

What should the lab write-ups look like?
There is a discussion of lab reports at the front of the student textbook under "Student Notes" in the "Experiments" section. Once the experiment is completed, the student should already have data and any calculations in his/her lab notebook. As is stated in the books, "The write-up should be a brief discussion of what was done and what was learned. You should not write a step-by-step procedure. Instead, write a brief summary that will allow someone who has never read the text to understand what you did and what you learned." The complexity of the experiment and the resulting depth of the discussion should naturally increase as the student progresses into higher level courses. Some people want to have informal oral reports discussing experiments, while others want dissertations. There is no need for the 20 page experiment report.

More From Apologia!

Around the World in 180 Days
This is the first course published by Apologia Educational Ministries, Inc. that is NOT one of Dr. Wile's courses. They discovered this curriculum at the Indiana Association of Home Educators convention and found it so innovative that they decided it must be published.

The course teaches geography and history on a continent-by-continent basis. The student learns about the major countries on each continent, as well as the basics of the continent's history, geography, and culture. This is not a textbook. It is a series of questions that the student must research in order to answer. Plenty of resources (available in most public libraries) are listed to help the student in his or her research, and the teacher's edition has all of the answers. Thus, even if the student cannot find the answer, you will not be lost. The pages in the student book are all three-hole punched and perforated so that the student can fill out the worksheets and compile a notebook which will document his or her work.

The great thing about this curriculum is that it written with a multilevel approach! There are questions for students of all levels, and those levels are clearly marked in the curriculum. As a result, the youngsters can do some of the research, the older students can do different research, and the oldest students can answer the most challenging questions. This is truly a curriculum that your whole family can study at once! Because many students can use this curriculum at once, extra student worksheets are available.

The course comes in a 2 volume set. The first book, softbound, is the teacher's edition, which contains all B&W illustrations and diagrams. The second book, softbound, is the student workbook with perforated pages. B&W. An extra set of student worksheets is available.

Reasonable Faith
This is a concise, easy-to-read book that outlines the scientific evidence which supports the Christian Faith. It begins by highlighting the physical, chemical, and biological evidence indicating that the world was designed. It shows that the intricate, delicate balance between the millions of processes supporting life is simply beyond the reach of chance. This world (and the universe as a whole) must have been created. In the words of Sir Frederick Hoyle (England's greatest astrophysicist), "The numbers one calculates from the facts seem to me so overwhelming as to put this conclusion almost beyond question."

Reasonable Faith does not stop there, however. Once it uses the natural sciences to determine that this world must have been created, it uses the social and historical sciences to show that the Creator is, in fact, the God of the Bible. It demonstrates that the Bible is the most unique book in all of human history, indicating that there is something very special about the Book. It goes on to prove that according to the rules established by historians, the Bible is the best source of history for its time. This gives an enormous amount of credibility to the accounts written in it. Reasonable Faith also shows why, from a scientific point of view, one cannot reject the miraculous accounts in the Bible. Indeed, the author spends a great deal of time documenting the extrabiblical evidence that these miracles did, in fact, occur.

The final arguments for the divine nature of the Bible rest in its unparalleled accuracy at predicting the future and its knowledge of scientific principles that were beyond the abilities of its authors. Reasonable Faith documents several Old-Testament rules that are indicative of a highly-advanced scientific mind. Some of the medical benefits of the Old Testament regulations are just now being understood in terms of our most recent scientific research. In addition, the author discusses several prophecies in Scripture that history shows have come true word for word. Since these prophecies can be documented to have existed before the events took place, this is powerful evidence for divine inspiration. Finally, the author spends the last chapter discussing his own personal experiences as a scientist who is also a Christian. His frank testimony speaks volumes for the discrimination against religious belief that exists in the scientific community.

A 60-minute audiotape based on Dr. Wile's Reasonable Faith is also available. In this tape, Dr. Wile makes the entire argument for Christianity. He shows that science unmistakably points to the existence of God. He then goes on to show that historical and medical science show quite clearly that this God is the God of the Bible. Many people have been encouraged in their faith and become stronger in their witness as a result of hearing this lecture! (Please note: This is not the book on tape.)

Come into His Garden
This beautiful book celebrates the glory of God's Creation with 96 pages of beautiful nature photography by Mark Whitney and Kathleen Wile. The gorgeous photos are overlaid with quotes from famous scientists, praising God for the wonders that He has wrought. There are also scripture verses which will inspire your heart. This wonderful "coffee table book" is a perfect gift for anyone who loves nature. "Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them" (Psalm 111:2).

Teaching High School at Home Video
Homeschooling parents are often faced with a difficult decision when their children reach high school age. Typically, the parents feel that they are just not able to teach the more demanding academic courses which are required at the high school level. As a result, many parents feel that they must send their children to the public schools for a proper high school education. In this seminar, Dr. Jay L. Wile, a former assistant professor of chemistry at Ball State University and Indiana University, will explain why such a decision is not in the best interest of the student.

Using data gathered from many different sources, including his own experience teaching at the high school level, Dr. Wile shows that the last place a student can get an adequate high school education is in the typical public high school. Dr. Wile makes a compelling case that the best thing for a homeschooled student is to stay in the homeschool, regardless of the parents academic abilities. Dr. Wile does not stop there, however. He also outlines the course that a student must cover for an academically rigorous high school experience and provides suggestions for curricula and strategies which will make thse courses successful. These practical suggestions will be a big help to anyone who is designing a high school experience for the home educated student.

Audio Tapes
Ecohysteria The material on this 60 minute audiotape explores the current environmentalist movement in the light of our most accurate scientific knowledge. Using scientific data that relate to global warming, acid rain, overpopulation, air pollution, and the ozone layer, Dr. Wile shows how the current environmental debate does not bear much resemblance to the relevant scientific facts. The majority of the environmental hysteria that exists today is the result of media hype, not scientific reasoning.

Homeschooling In this 60-minute audiotape, Dr. Wile shows how anyone can homeschool their child, providing them with an education superior to both public and private schools. He spends most of the tape discussing the many studies which have been done regarding the academic and social development of homeschooled students. The data are overwhelming. Homeschooled students are better prepared for life, both academically and socially, than their public or privately-schooled counterparts. In fact, Dr. Wile discusses studies which clearly show that a homeschooled student's performance is independent of the parent's income or education level!

Why I'm a Creationist In this tape, Dr. Wile uses his development as a scientist to explain why most scientists are not creationists, even though the scientific evidence for creation is so compelling. His frank discussions of indoctrination, discrimination, and bias show quite clearly that most scientists do not reject creationism on the basis of science. If you've ever wondered why evolution is so heavily-entrenched in the scientific community, you will want to listen to this tape!

Reasonable Faith A 60-minute audiotape based on Dr. Wile's Reasonable Faith. In this tape, Dr. Wile makes the entire argument for Christianity. He shows that science unmistakably points to the existence of God. He then goes on to show that historical and medical science show quite clearly that this God is the God of the Bible. Many people have been encouraged in their faith and become stronger in their witness as a result of hearing this lecture!

(Please note: This is not the book on tape.)