Keniki
- Reviewed on Friday, October 23, 2009
- Grades Used: Basic Science Mysteries
- Dates used: Preview only
I have wondered about this science curriculum, but the reviews I've read left me slightly confused. I decided to just order the first unit to look at for myself.
First, the layout, as I expected, is very, very similar to CLE or ACE. Do five lessons, take a quiz, repeat two more times and take a test. I would give appeal a 4-star rating (on a 5 star basis), the only thing missing is color. For extra motivation, if the student scores 85 or higher on all three quizes, they may be exempt from the chapter (unit) test. I think academically it appears to be pretty close to on target. I was a little surprised to see the quiz question: "The primary function of the teeth is to ____________". (This is a 7th grade question?) There does seem to be a good variety of types of questions (fill in the blank, multiple choice, name the 6 _____, true/false, etc.), but there are no essay questions.
The text is a separate workbook from the activities. The advantage to this is that you would only need a second set of activity workbooks for subsequent children. Even though they are called activity workbooks, there are no activities like experiments or projects, just your typical lightunit/pace type work. The TM contains the tests and quizzes, so you can't skip the TM. It also has the answer key.
My two biggest disappointments were a) the price and b) the story plot. This is only a five unit course. Each unit includes 15 lessons, 3 quizzes and 1 test. That's 95 lessons total for $89. Since I am a science-every-day person, I would need to do both Basic Science and Natural Science in the same year.
I do think for reaching "at-risk" teens (which was the author's original mission), this man's ideas are brilliant. There is no doubt in my mind that his "story line" would grab the attention (and hold it) of any teen using this. I had read in one review that the story line was a drive-by shooting, but it's not only the shooting but the whole crime and "you" are a part of it! You even get to help find the guy! "You" and your friends are leaving a convenience store when you witness the drive-by-shooting, grab the bag thrown from the get-away-vehicle (an illegal chemical to "hopefully" be used to develop a super-human race of people "to infiltrate and take control of the United States."), and lead police to the suspect. You not only identify the suspect, but he recognizes you, too, grabs one of your buddies and holds a knife to his throat. Don't worry, "Agent Gomez" points to the "buzzer", you push it, the suspect panics, and Agent Gomez saves the day. I wish I could see more of some of the samples of other units to see if the story-lines are as graphic.
For now, due to the story line, and the depth of the lesson on s** (too much for us), we will be looking for a different science program.
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