A Stable Beginning: Fascinating Biology ~ a TOS review

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Fascinating Biology ~ a TOS review

So, you have reached the high school years and now it’s time to start thinking about high school science. With so many options out there it is easy to get overwhelmed, and quickly. Madison, my 9th grader, and I have had the privilege to review an online high school science curriculum from Fascinating Education called Fascinating Biology.

Fascinating Education is the brain child of Dr. Margulies, a neurologist who understands how the brain works, who created this program to teach middle and high school students. Because of his extensive study of the brain, Dr. Margulies knows the ins and outs of how the brain works, including the way we learn, how we retrieve stored information, how we focus our attention, and how motivation and emotion affect our learning.

Instead of using a written text as the primary teaching tool, Dr. Margulies teaches science by using the right hemisphere of the brain with colorful illustrations and audio files to supplement written text. We received Fascinating Biology to try out for 6 weeks, let me tell you a little more about it.

In this self paced online course your student will learn the basic principles of biology including:

~ the components of life

~ cell membranes

~ taking in nutrients

~ creating chemical energy

~ growing and repairing

~reproducing

~ maintaining a stable internal environment

~ adapting to a changing external environment

~plants

There are a total of 19 course lessons that can be done over the course of a school year. Course lessons are presented in a table format to access to lessons, text scripts, and tests that correlate with each lesson. I really liked that each topic is broken down into bite-sized chunks so you are not having to digest a lot of information all at once. Dr. Margulies understands the importance of reviewing the material, so there are several opportunities to do so before moving on to the next lesson.

Madison and I are using this program as a supplement in our homeschool to our current science curriculum. However, with that said, this is a stand alone course that is choke full of information. It does not have to be a supplement as it can stand alone! The sheer amount of information presented is very thorough manner and I love the built in review, especially since there is so much vocabulary involved in Biology.

We have enjoyed our time with this program over the last six weeks and will continue to use it in our homeschool each week. I know this program will be especially helpful when my current 7th grader, Mikayla, is ready for Biology since she is such a visual learner. Be sure to check out the links and see if you think this would be a good fit for your family. Also be sure to click the banner below and read what my CrewMates thought of Fascinating Biology and the other two programs, Fascinating Chemistry, and Fascinating Physics, being reviewed.