X-Post: Anyone use WP Human Body & Forensics

[jibaker103]

How was it? Does it have good labs? Do you think this will work for 9th grade lab science (I plan on adding the Teaching Company Anatomy DVDs)?

I'm also interested in finding another book from the evolution view to balance the creationist view in Body by Design. Does anyone have any suggestions or recommendations?

[Mandy in TN]

I have the 7-12 grade Human Body and Forensics. Middle ds is using it.

The first semester is Human Body. The second semester is Forensics.
The weekly topics are:
The Human Body
1. It's All About You
2. On the Surface & Underneath
3. What a Skeleton!
4. The Muscular System
5. The Nervous System
6. Relating to the Outside World
7. Your Sense of Light
8. The Cardiovascular System
9. Lymphatic & Immune Systems
10. The Respiratory System
11. The Digetive System
12. Your Waste Processing System
13. The Reproductive Systems
14. Pregnancy & Birth
15. How People Mature & Heredity
16. Medicine of the Ancients
17. A Renaissance in Medicine
18. The Future in Medicine

Unique Identification- Forensics
19.Deductive Reasoning
20. The Individuality of a Scene
21. The Individuality of Fingerprints
22. The Individuality of Tools
23. The Individuality of Fibers
24. The Individuality of Hair
25. Patterns that Tell a Story
26. The Individuality of Broken Glass
27. The Individuality of Handwriting
28. Animals Can Sniff out Trouble
29. The Individuality of Typewriting
30. The Individuality of DNA
31. The Individuality of Teeth
32. The Individuality of Skeletons
33. The Individuality of Bones
34. Reconstructing to Tell a Story
35. Digging to Tell a Story
36. The Individuality of Lip Prints

The first semester uses-
DK's Encyclopedia of the Human Body
Body by Design
Gray's Anatomy Coloring Book
websites

The second semester uses-
The Forensic Casebook
Crime Scene Investigations
websites

The year is laid out as two very heavy days per week.

First semester both Day 1 and Day 2 include a Read & Complete section with work in both DK's Encyclopedia of the Human Body and Body by Design, a Journaling section that includes the detailed reading and coloring in the Gray's Anatomy Coloring Book, and a Visit a Website section that usually lists one website, but occassionally more. I divided each day into two days. So, on day1 Read & Complete section, day2 Journaling section and Visit a Website section, day3 Read & Complete section, day4 Journaling section and Visit a Website section.

Second semester both Day 1 and Day 2 include a Read & Complete section, an Investigation section, and a Visit a Website section. Second semester initially doesn't look as full as first semester. Often two sections in a week will be blank. However, if you look at the investigations many of them are quite time consuming- almost mini science fair experiment type things. Because second semester doesn't have a simple pattern to its layout like first semester and because I have no idea how long the investigations will take, although I do plan to spread the work over four days instead of two, I have no idea how we will do it. I think that we'll just have to play it by ear.

Ds is also using The Teaching Company's Anatomy and Physiology. I have not coordinating the two in any way. He is simply watching one lecture from TC's Anatomy and Physiology each week. I plan to give him a science credit for Human Body and Forensics.

If you wanted to add dissections, Home Science Tools has a mammal organs dissection kit for $25.

HTH-
Mandy

[jibaker103]

Wow! Thank you so much for the information. I have a couple of questions:

Does your son like this curriculum?
Is he real science oriented?
Are you doing this curriuclum in place of biology or did you do it before or after?
What did you think of the Body by Design book?
Do you know of another book that will give the evolution side of things?

[Holly IN]

Ok....What is WP? Any link to this "sounds great" program?? I would love to use this as a supplement!!

Holly

[Dani n Monies Mom]

Winter Promise (http://www.winterpromise.com/about_us.html) is a very hands-on, multi-sensory, but lit-based curriculum for K thru 12th. We used the middle school ancients pack and dd enjoyed it.

Ava

[jibaker103]

Ok....What is WP? Any link to this "sounds great" program?? I would love to use this as a supplement!!

Holly
Here is the direct link to the Human Body & Forensics Curriculum http://www.winterpromise.net/product_info.php?products_id=758

[Julie of KY]

Wow - I didn't realize that WP was using the Crime Scene Investigations book. I own the book and have been looking at teaching it through a co-op, but many of the labs require a fair number of chemicals. I teach high school chem lab, so the chemicals don't really bother me, but they aren't the type that anyone would have around the home.

... by the way I think it is a great book, but it'll take some work for me to be able to teach it the way I'd like. I wonder if some of the labs are just being skipped (that'd take away a lot of the fun of the book, however).

[jibaker103]

Wow - I didn't realize that WP was using the Crime Scene Investigations book. I own the book and have been looking at teaching it through a co-op, but many of the labs require a fair number of chemicals. I teach high school chem lab, so the chemicals don't really bother me, but they aren't the type that anyone would have around the home.

... by the way I think it is a great book, but it'll take some work for me to be able to teach it the way I'd like. I wonder if some of the labs are just being skipped (that'd take away a lot of the fun of the book, however).
Are these chemicals hard to find or very expensive? Could we do these experiments at home?

[Myra]

Sounds intriguing....maybe it'll be good for the required high school .5 credit Health course that is mandated by my school district.

1. Would it work for one semester course if we just did the health portion?
If yes, what exactly would I need to purchase?

2. Are the chemicals and experiments pretty much independent of the health portion?

3. Are the chemicals and other supplies obtained locally?

4. Are the experiments made for home school environment or would more for a high school group chemistry lab?

Thanks,
Myra

[Mandy in TN]

Does your son like this curriculum?
He likes it better than a basic textbook.

Is he real science oriented?
Yes, he likes/ is fairly good at science and math. He used Rainbow Science Year 1, Apologia Physical Science, and Holt Biology. Last year he did a semester of oceanography, a semester of astronomy, and half of Conceptual Physics. He is doing the second half of Conceptual Physics this year in addition to WP HB&F.

Are you doing this curriuclum in place of biology or did you do it before or after?
This is after biology. He used Holt Biology.

What did you think of the Body by Design book?
It's fine. <shrug>

Do you know of another book that will give the evolution side of things?
I used to worry over this kind of thing, but I just don't anymore. (either I have gotten indifferent or lazy as I have aged or just decided that after everything is said and done the kiddos sort of take my POV and then run wherever they want with it anyway.) FWIW, everything used first semester other than Body by Design is from an evolutionary perspective.

HTH-
Mandy

[jibaker103]

Does your son like this curriculum?
He likes it better than a basic textbook.

Is he real science oriented?
Yes, he likes/ is fairly good at science and math. He used Rainbow Science Year 1, Apologia Physical Science, and Holt Biology. Last year he did a semester of oceanography, a semester of astronomy, and half of Conceptual Physics. He is doing the second half of Conceptual Physics this year in addition to WP HB&F.

Are you doing this curriuclum in place of biology or did you do it before or after?
This is after biology. He used Holt Biology.

What did you think of the Body by Design book?
It's fine. <shrug>

Do you know of another book that will give the evolution side of things?
I used to worry over this kind of thing, but I just don't anymore. (either I have gotten indifferent or lazy as I have aged or just decided that after everything is said and done the kiddos sort of take my POV and then run wherever they want with it anyway.) FWIW, everything used first semester other than Body by Design is from an evolutionary perspective.

HTH-
Mandy
Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions!

[Julie of KY]

Are these chemicals hard to find or very expensive? Could we do these experiments at home?

In response to the above questions and some others...

(Remember, I haven't taught this yet, but I'm looking to teach it within a coop class. I teach high school chemlab so the chemistry doesn't scare me off).

I think most of the labs can be done with supplies from home and it would make a resounable course without buying any of the extras. However, the extras are what make the book so much more interesting.

Generally, I recommend people buy chemicals for a single family from Home Science Tools. They usually sell chemicals for about $4/ounce.
I'm not sure if HST sells all of these.

Some of the more esoteric things needed for the Crime Scene Investigations book are:
Lugol's solution
sodium carbonate (washing soda - can be obtained locally)
hydrometer
centrifudge
hot plate
agarose gel
anti A serum
anti B serum
microscope
potassium chloride
potassium bromide
potassium iodide
glacial acetic acid (strong acid), 100 ml
sodium nitrate

It surprised me that WP is selling this as part of a forensic course, but does not have any lab supplies included nor a note saying that many of the labs cannot be done without additional supplies. I do think this is resonable to do at home or in a class, but it is time intensive.

[jibaker103]

In response to the above questions and some others...

(Remember, I haven't taught this yet, but I'm looking to teach it within a coop class. I teach high school chemlab so the chemistry doesn't scare me off).

I think most of the labs can be done with supplies from home and it would make a resounable course without buying any of the extras. However, the extras are what make the book so much more interesting.

Generally, I recommend people buy chemicals for a single family from Home Science Tools. They usually sell chemicals for about $4/ounce.
I'm not sure if HST sells all of these.

Some of the more esoteric things needed for the Crime Scene Investigations book are:
Lugol's solution
sodium carbonate (washing soda - can be obtained locally)
hydrometer
centrifudge
hot plate
agarose gel
anti A serum
anti B serum
microscope
potassium chloride
potassium bromide
potassium iodide
glacial acetic acid (strong acid), 100 ml
sodium nitrate

It surprised me that WP is selling this as part of a forensic course, but does not have any lab supplies included nor a note saying that many of the labs cannot be done without additional supplies. I do think this is resonable to do at home or in a class, but it is time intensive.
Thank you for the information. I wonder what labs they include in the study guide.

[jibaker103]

Should biology be completed first before tackling this program?

[Mandy in TN]

It is not necessary.

WP HB has more detailed anatomy info than Holt biology or Abeka Health. While I think that having this background has made the assimilation of information easier for ds, it is certainly not necessary.

Remember that WP will be CM style science, so there will not be any assigned tests and the only written work is in Body by Design. Because of this, there is no problem tailoring the program to the skill of the student. Discuss what is read. If this is just an introduction, then there is no need to expect detailed recall. Just enjoy the the books. If the recall is lower than the desired level, then you could have the student go back and do key word outlines of sections of DK's Human Body.

We are just now doing week 12, so I still have no idea how the Forensics portion will work.

HTH-
Mandy

[jibaker103]

It is not necessary.

WP HB has more detailed anatomy info than Holt biology or Abeka Health. While I think that having this background has made the assimilation of information easier for ds, it is certainly not necessary.

Remember that WP will be CM style science, so there will not be any assigned tests and the only written work is in Body by Design. Because of this, there is no problem tailoring the program to the skill of the student. Discuss what is read. If this is just an introduction, then there is no need to expect detailed recall. Just enjoy the the books. If the recall is lower than the desired level, then you could have the student go back and do key word outlines of sections of DK's Human Body.

We are just now doing week 12, so I still have no idea how the Forensics portion will work.

HTH-
Mandy
Thank you so much!!! You are helping me solidify this in my convoluted mind, lol!!!