Earth Science/Astronomy
EARTH SCIENCE & ASTRONOMY CURRICULUM
This curriculum was written based on the recommendations from the first edition of The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at HomeThe books that are used can be purchased used for very reasonable prices. Here is a little bit of how the curriculum works.
The curriculum is listed by the week. You can decide to work through it in whatever way works best for your family. Our plan is to schedule science 2 days a week.
I used the Visual Factfinders books as the spines. I then added level appropriate encyclopedias. For my older student (about 4th or 5th grade level) I used the Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia. For my younger student (about 1st-3rd grade level) I used the Usborne First Encyclopedias.
My children requested 2 experiments per week so that is what I scheduled. In the supply list the supplies for the first and second experiments are separated by a semicolon so you can choose to just do one if you wish. We will be using this page from NOEO to work through our experiments.
The extra reading includes three books. The book marked “A” is for all of us to read as a read aloud. The book marked “O” is more appropriate for older students (3rd to 5th grade) to read independently. The book marked “Y” is more appropriate for younger students (1st to 3rd grade) independently. These books are only suggestions and I chose them mostly because of availability in our library. The curriculum is in no way tied to specific books so feel free to choose other books if necessary.
The vocabulary words are simply used as exposure to new words. You can use these vocabulary words pages or simply use something like an index card.
The memory work is, again, mostly for exposure to new topics. We do memory work every day in our house and will review these items daily. I have added my own style of interactive notebooking to the memory work since I have seen it help my children have a deeper understanding of what they are reciting. This can be done in any notebook. The left side of the notebook page involves mostly the facts of the memory work. The right side is where the student applies this information. Feel free to let the kids be creative by adding color, drawings, marking, etc. They will remember it better if they make it their own. Please let me know if any of the links don’t work and I will do my best to update with new ones.
The scientist study is just a fun way to show my children how people discovered some of the things we now know in science. Again, it is not a necessary part, just a fun extra. There are notebooking pages to go along with the scientist study at the bottom of this page.
Books Used for the Curriculum **affiliate link to water on the floor
Planet Earth (Visual Factfinders)-required
Stars and Planets (Visual Factfinder)-required
Janice VanCleave’s Earth Science for Every Kid: 101 Easy Experiments that Really Work (Science for Every Kid Series)-required
Janice VanCleave’s Astronomy for Every Kid: 101 Easy Experiments that Really Work (Science for Every Kid Series)-required
The Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia-recommended for older students
The Usborne Internet-Linked First Encyclopedia of Our World-recommended for younger students
The Usborne First Encyclopedia of Space-recommended for younger students
Books Used for Scientist study
*These books are only suggestions. If you have a book you would rather use, just use it. It will not affect the Scientist Notebooking pages. If you want to study different scientists than the ones I have chosen there are generic pages at the end of the Scientist Notebooking pages (the last 4 pages) that can be used for any scientist.
Aristotle: Aristotle & Scientific Thought (Science Discoveries)
Charles Darwin: One Beetle Too Many: The Extraordinary Adventures of Charles Darwin
James Cook: Captain Cook: The Great Ocean Explorer (What’s Their Story?)
John Wesley Powell: In Search of the Grand Canyon: Down the Colorado with John Wesley Powell (Redfeather Books)
Galileo Galilei: I, Galileoand Starry Messenger: Galileo Galilei
Johannes Kepler: Johannes Kepler: Discovering the Laws of Planetary Motion (Great Minds of Science)
Edwin Hubble: Edwin Hubble: American Astronomer (Book Report Biographies)
Carl Sagan: Carl Sagan: Astronomer (Ferguson Career Biographies)
**Scientist Notebooking- pages to be used with the scientist study
Please let me know if you have any suggestions, comments, questions, or concerns. Enjoy!
EARTH SCIENCE & ASTRONOMY CURRICULUM
This curriculum was written based on the recommendations from the first edition of The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at HomeThe books that are used can be purchased used for very reasonable prices. Here is a little bit of how the curriculum works.
The curriculum is listed by the week. You can decide to work through it in whatever way works best for your family. Our plan is to schedule science 2 days a week.
I used the Visual Factfinders books as the spines. I then added level appropriate encyclopedias. For my older student (about 4th or 5th grade level) I used the Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia. For my younger student (about 1st-3rd grade level) I used the Usborne First Encyclopedias.
My children requested 2 experiments per week so that is what I scheduled. In the supply list the supplies for the first and second experiments are separated by a semicolon so you can choose to just do one if you wish. We will be using this page from NOEO to work through our experiments.
The extra reading includes three books. The book marked “A” is for all of us to read as a read aloud. The book marked “O” is more appropriate for older students (3rd to 5th grade) to read independently. The book marked “Y” is more appropriate for younger students (1st to 3rd grade) independently. These books are only suggestions and I chose them mostly because of availability in our library. The curriculum is in no way tied to specific books so feel free to choose other books if necessary.
The vocabulary words are simply used as exposure to new words. You can use these vocabulary words pages or simply use something like an index card.
The memory work is, again, mostly for exposure to new topics. We do memory work every day in our house and will review these items daily. I have added my own style of interactive notebooking to the memory work since I have seen it help my children have a deeper understanding of what they are reciting. This can be done in any notebook. The left side of the notebook page involves mostly the facts of the memory work. The right side is where the student applies this information. Feel free to let the kids be creative by adding color, drawings, marking, etc. They will remember it better if they make it their own. Please let me know if any of the links don’t work and I will do my best to update with new ones.
The scientist study is just a fun way to show my children how people discovered some of the things we now know in science. Again, it is not a necessary part, just a fun extra. There are notebooking pages to go along with the scientist study at the bottom of this page.
Books Used for the Curriculum **affiliate link to water on the floor
Planet Earth (Visual Factfinders)-required
Stars and Planets (Visual Factfinder)-required
Janice VanCleave’s Earth Science for Every Kid: 101 Easy Experiments that Really Work (Science for Every Kid Series)-required
Janice VanCleave’s Astronomy for Every Kid: 101 Easy Experiments that Really Work (Science for Every Kid Series)-required
The Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia-recommended for older students
The Usborne Internet-Linked First Encyclopedia of Our World-recommended for younger students
The Usborne First Encyclopedia of Space-recommended for younger students
Books Used for Scientist study
*These books are only suggestions. If you have a book you would rather use, just use it. It will not affect the Scientist Notebooking pages. If you want to study different scientists than the ones I have chosen there are generic pages at the end of the Scientist Notebooking pages (the last 4 pages) that can be used for any scientist.
Aristotle: Aristotle & Scientific Thought (Science Discoveries)
Charles Darwin: One Beetle Too Many: The Extraordinary Adventures of Charles Darwin
James Cook: Captain Cook: The Great Ocean Explorer (What’s Their Story?)
John Wesley Powell: In Search of the Grand Canyon: Down the Colorado with John Wesley Powell (Redfeather Books)
Galileo Galilei: I, Galileoand Starry Messenger: Galileo Galilei
Johannes Kepler: Johannes Kepler: Discovering the Laws of Planetary Motion (Great Minds of Science)
Edwin Hubble: Edwin Hubble: American Astronomer (Book Report Biographies)
Carl Sagan: Carl Sagan: Astronomer (Ferguson Career Biographies)
**Scientist Notebooking- pages to be used with the scientist study
Please let me know if you have any suggestions, comments, questions, or concerns. Enjoy!
