Thinking Reeds course offerings for Fall 2009 - Spring 2010

ELEMENTARY

K-3 Science
Description: K-3 Science provides students in kindergarten through 3rd grade with a broad based exposure to many different areas of science. Through chemistry, physics, life science, earth science, and more, students will learn and apply the scientific method, become acquainted with quantitative measurements, and develop a keen scientific curiosity about the way the world works.  The class is designed as a standalone science curriculum, replacing any boxed science materials that you were planning to purchase for the year. K-3 Science features all original content, always engaging, always fun.

Recommended Grades: K-3rd
Text: None
Prerequisite: None

4-6 Science
Description: 4-6 Science provides students in 4th through 6th grade with a broad based exposure to many different areas of science. Through chemistry, physics, life science, earth science, and more, students will learn and apply the scientific method, become acquainted with quantitative measurements, and develop a keen scientific curiosity about the way the world works.  The class is designed as a standalone science curriculum, replacing any boxed science materials that you were planning to purchase for the year. Like K-3 Science, 4-6 Science features all original content.  5th and 6th graders have the added option of completing web-based reading and homework assignments through the week.  4-6 Science students will leave with a positive view of science, preparing them for middle school and high school science.

Recommended Grades: 4th-6th
Text: None
Prerequisite: None

MIDDLE SCHOOL

Earth/Life (General) Science
Description:  This middle school level general science course provides students with an appreciation of the role of history in our understanding of God's intricate design for the living world.  Topics will be drawn from the areas of life and its classification, the human body and its various systems, and the history of medicine and biology.  The second semester provides students with a foundational understanding of how the earth works.  Topics include the earth's geological characteristics, the  hydrosphere, the atmosphere, weather, and the solar system.  This course will be taught over a two year cycle.  Students can join in year 1 or year 2.  They are free to take both years or just one year, depending on when they join.

Recommended Grades: 6th - 8th
Text(s):
Exploring the History of Medicine, John Hudson Tiner
Exploring the World of Biology, John Hudson Tiner
100 Scientists Who Shaped World History, John Hudson Tiner
[One additional Earth Science book TBD]
Prerequisite: None

Physical Science
Description: Physical science, often called integrated chemistry and physics,  provides middle school students with a solid foundation for high school science and beyond.  Students learn first hand the intimate relationship between math and science, using mathematical equations to model real world behavior.  Students begin performing more open ended experiments and are required to think critically about the results they obtain.  Topics include Newton's laws of motion, the various forces in creation, introduction to chemistry, and the microscopic basis for observed phenomenon in the macroscopic world.

Recommended Grades: 7th-9th
Text:Prentice Hall Science Explorer: Physical Science (2009), online access required
Prerequisite: None

HIGH SCHOOL

Biology
Description: Biology students will learn biological classification through detailed study of the various kingdoms and phylum in creation.  In addition to the core spine for the course (Apologia), students will read excerpts from Lee Strobel's "Case for the Creator" and Michael Behe's "Darwin's Black Box", along with occasional historical readings from the primary literature.  For each dissection, students may choose either a real specimen or a virtual option (either an artificial hands-on "model" or a computer based simulation to be completed in class).  In addition to dissections, students will perform, analyze, and report on experiments in biotech, genetics, and  biochemistry.

Recommended Grades: 8th-10th
Text: Exploring Creation with Biology, 2nd ed., Jay Wile
Prerequisite: None

Chemistry
Description: Students will learn to think critically about the chemical universe, appreciate the simultaneous complexity and comprehensibility of God's creation, and be well prepared for any college level chemistry course. Topics include significant figures, dimensional analysis, atomic theory, periodicity, nomenclature, electronic structure, bonding, lewis dot structures, molecular geometry, intermolecular forces, the mole concept, stoichiometry and solution stoichiometry, thermochemistry, kinetics, acids and bases, redox reactions, the gas laws, nuclear chemistry, and equilibrium.

Recommended Grades: 9th-11th
Text: Prentice Hall Chemistry (2009), online access required

Prerequisite: Algebra I

Physics
Description:  This algebra based physics course covers measurement, one and two dimensional motion, dynamics, work, energy, momentum, rotational dynamics, mechanics of solids and fluids, wave motion, sound, thermodynamics, electric fields and potential, circuits, magnetism, electromagnetic induction, optics, light, special and general relativity, quantum mechanics, elementary particle physics, and astrophysics. An overview of the history of science from the enlightenment to the 20th century will be integrated into the topics above.  One lecture will be devoted to philosophy of science, covering the scientific method, scientific revolution, inductivism and deductivism, causality, and the relationship between science and technology.

Recommended Grades: 10th-12th
Text: Prentice Hall Conceptual Physics (2009), online access required
Prerequisite: Algebra I, Geometry (recommended)

Algebra I
Description: Algebra I lays the mathematical foundation for success in all subsequent science courses in highschool and beyond.  Algorithms are taught rather than the current "discovery" methods used in most public schools today.  Topics include functions, graphs, integers, rational numbers, equations in one and two variables, solving systems of equations, exponents, polynomials, factoring, fractions, square roots, quadratic equations and their solutions, real numbers, fractional equations, inequalities, and number sequences.

Recommended Grades: 8th-9th
Text: Pearson Algebra (2010), MathXL access required
Prerequisite: None

Geometry
Description:  Topics include inductive and deductive reasoning, logic chains, lines, angles, congruence, inequalities, parallel and perpendicular lines, quadrilaterals, transformations, area, similarity, right triangles, circles, concurrence theorems, polygons, geometric solids,  hyperbolic geometry, and elliptic geometry.

Recommended Grades: 9th-10th
Text: Pearson Geometry (2010), MathXL access required
Prerequisite: Algebra I

Algebra II
Description:  A deep dive into many of the topics covered in Algebra I, this course addresses polynomial, rational, exponential, and logarithmic functions, systems of equations and inequalities, matrices and determinants, sequences, induction, and probability, and introduction to trigonometric functions, analytic geometry, and analytic trigonometry.

Recommended Grades: 10th-11th
Text: Pearson Algebra 2 (2010), MathXL access required
Prerequisite: Algebra I

Advanced Math (Pre-calculus, Trigonometry)
Description:  Advanced Math extends the topics covered in Algebra II, covering polynomial, power, rational, exponential, logistic, and logarithmic functions and graphs, trigonometric functions, analytic trigonometry and its applications in two and three dimensions, systems and matrices, discrete mathematics, and introductory calculus.  Students will complete Advanced Math prepared for AP Calculus or college Calculus.

Recommended Grades: 11th-12th
Text: Precalculus, 3rd  or 4th Edition, Robert Blitzer (not Precalculus Essentials), MyMathLab access required
Prerequisite: Algebra II