~ Acorns ~ Nuggets of Gold ~: Marine Biology!

While I've had the opportunity to review many of Apologia Educational Ministries' new products as they roll out, I've not had a chance to review any of their science curriculum since my first year reviewing (2008/2009) when I reviewed Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day, and the basic General Science set. However, I have used many of their other science texts for elementary, and up through high school, so I was very pleased to be able to review one I hadn't seen/used yet, their Marine Biology 2nd Edition Advantage Set. The set comes complete with the student text, student notebook, solutions and tests book, and test booklet. We were also sent the Marine Biology 2nd Edition Audio CD.

As is typical with Apologia, the material is written directly to the student, and is easily understood. There are some things about this text that I really like from a visual point of view, that are different from the other editions I own (General Science, Biology, Chemistry, Physics...):

A colored strip running across the top of the page that lists the module
A "tab" along the length of the page that also lists the module, and can be seen when the book is closed, making it easier to find your place as you get further into the book (the Glossary, Appendices, and Index are also "tabbed" this way).
Vocabulary words are boldly set apart and defined on the page where they are used in the text. This gives an extra emphasis and repetition, for memory retention. While the other texts did this as well, the definitions just didn't stand out in the same way.
On Your Own questions are set apart with a colored background and "sea coral" motif~ hard to miss them when they don't blend into the text! :)

Following the normal Apologia format, the answers to the "on your own" questions are found at the end of the module, followed by a study guide for that module. Module Summaries are found in the back of the book in Appendix B. This means that for the vocabulary and important information found on the test, review is built in.

Read the text (Some vocabulary twice if it has been highlighted outside the text)
Do the On Your Own Questions
Complete the Study Guide
Answer the Module Summary questions in the back of the book
Take the test

The Material covered in this course (with my mini-summaries) includes:

Module 1: The Oceans of Our Planet ~ including how they were formed

Module 2: Life In the Sea ~ how living organisms live and reproduce in the sea

Module 3: The First Four Kingdoms (Microscope Labs) ~ study of simple marine plants and animals

Module 4: Marine Invertebrates I~ Simpler invertebrates (Jellyfish, worms, etc..)

Module 5: Marine Invertebrates II (Dissection and Microscope Labs) ~ Mollusks, Crustaceans, etc...

Module 6: Marine Vertebrates I (Microscope and Dissection Labs) ~ Jawless, cartilaginous, and bony fish
Module 7: Marine Vertebrates II ~ Reptiles, Birds, and Mammals

Module 8: Marine Ecology ~ the balance of creation~ organisms with one another and their surroundings

Module 9: The Intertidal Zones ~ Let's go to the beach!

Module 10: Estuarine Communities ~ special ecosystem that is neither saltwater nor freshwater

Module 11: Coral Reefs ~ Complex communities

Module 12: Continental Shelf Communities (Microscope Labs) ~ learn about soft-bottom shelf and hard-bottom shelf communities

Module 13: The Epipelagic Zone (Microscope Lab) ~ the upper layer of the oceans, and what lives there (most of our food sourced from the sea can be found here)

Module 14: The Deep Ocean ~ "inner space" creatures, and much that is unexplored

Module 15: Ocean Resources ~ food, medicine, industrial resources (oil and minerals), freshwater, and energy

Module 16: The Effects of Humans on Oceans ~ Negative impacts, and how we can be better stewards of the ocean, while not neglecting those who rely on it to survive.

This is the first time that we have had the Audio CD Narration to go along with the text. The narrator (Marissa Leinart) reads the entire text with the exception of the text in the Figure graphics. She has a pleasantly modulated voice, and I believe the Audio CD would be very beneficial to the auditory learner, or to a reader who has difficulties~ they could listen to the audio while following along in the text. I can't imagine narrating an entire textbook, so when the few occasions arise that Marissa uses a different emphasis than I would if I were reading aloud, I definitely cut her a little slack. By and large she is very easy to listen to. Having the Audio CD is a great option if you are a family that is in the car a lot~ studying can be done on the way without reading-induced car-sickness!

The other resource that we used for the first time was the Student Notebook. This was a favorite feature for my son. He loved the way it was set up, so that it followed the text with the On Your Own Questions, the Study Guide, and the Summary directly following. His feeling is that this makes studying for the test much easier because all of the information is right there in front of him. He doesn't have to look from the text book to his notebook to find the answers to each question, it streamlines the entire process.

I also appreciate that it lays the grading process and the schedule all out for the student. It really is intended to be a mostly self-directed course, which is appropriate for upper high school classes.

There are a number of note pages (at the beginning of each new module, prior to the On Your Own questions), that Middlest will be working on learning to use. Note taking is not a skill that I've emphasized (as I don't lecture my one person class), so using this Marine Biology course could help him gain this essential ability.

1. Study guide questions and Summary Questions, 2. and 3. Lab Experiment notebook

The back of the Student Notebook contains all of the experiments, their directions, and Lab Sheets to record the experiments, with space for the Hypothesis, Observations, and Discussion and Conclusions. This makes it so easy to keep everything in one place, and having the instructions for the experiments right there means only one book to deal with during the experiments. I am a big fan of efficiency!

A word about the experiments here. Once again, Apologia comes through with a Lab Science course that is thorough, but takes into account a homeschooler's budget! There are some that require a microscope with prepared slides, and I counted 3 dissection experiments (shudder... not my thing), but everything else can be completed with household or easily obtainable items.

The Tests and Solutions book, as always, includes all of the tests (Which can be copied) and their solutions (with grading points given, which makes life so easy for the teacher!), as well as solutions for the Module Summary questions.

Apologia has another winning Science text on their hands, with this Marine Biology course written from a Christian Worldview. I so value the apologetics built into these courses, that give my kids a solid foundation to discuss Christianity AND science, and how the two DO connect and support one another.

If you want to check it out yourself, there is are samples from the first module found on the product page (see below) under the "downloads" button.

Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty

Company: Apologia Educational Ministries
Product:

Marine Biology 2nd Edition Advantage Set

$115 list price, on sale at the time of publication for $96.75

Marine Biology 2nd Edition Audio CD

$29 List price

Ages: High School (prerequisite: Biology)

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Blessings~