DearHomeschooler,

Thankyouforyoursupport,whichinaveryrealwayhashelpedwiththecontinued

developmentofourconceptualsciencecurricula.Wenowhave11homeschool

coursesupandrunningwiththreenewcoursescurrentlyintheworks.This

includesConceptualMath,(August2021),ConceptualEarthScience(August2021)

andConceptualBiology(August2022).

Weareoftenaskedwhatsequenceofsciencecourseswemightsuggestfor

homeschoolingstudentsofdifferentstartingpointswithintheirmiddleschool

throughhighschoolyears.Wecraftedthispathwaysdocumenttohelpanswerthis

question.Ofcourse,everystudentisunique.Thus,theseflowchartsserveonlyasa

broadbrushstrokegeneralguideforyoutoapplytoyourownparticularsituation.

TheConceptualTeam

Summer2020

ConceptualAcademyisavideorichandinnovativecoursesystemusedbycollegesandhighschoolsforintroductoryscience,nowavailableforhomeschools,grades7–12.

ThankyouforvisitingourdedicatedhomeschoolsupportsiteatLearnScience.Academy

Considerations

YourStateRequirements

You’llwanttochoseapathwaythatallowsyoumeetyourstate’srequirementforsciencecredits.Takingthisastepfurther,ifpossible,you’llalsowanttoknowadmissionrequirementsforthetypeofcollegeyourstudentmightbeconsidering.

PhysicsFirst

Weare“physicsfirst”advocates.Consider,biologyisthechemistryoflife.Chemistryisthephysicsoftheatom.Physicsisthestudyoftherulesofnature.Inthisway,physicsisthemostfundamentalofallthesciences.Itlaysafoundationtochemistry,which,inturn,laysafoundationtobiology.Acrossahighschoolprogram,werecommendthestudenttakephysicsfirstbeforechemistry,whichcomesbeforebiology.

Butbecausewearephysicsfirstadvocates,you’llfindeachofourtextbooksandcoursesbeginswithphysics!ThefirsttwochaptersofConceptualChemistry,forexample,areareviewofthephysicsprinciplesneededtodowellinchemistry.Thus,iftherearecompellingreasonsforastudenttostartwithConceptualChemistry,thentheycan.

Revisitation

Formoststudents,whenitcomestolearning,revisitingsubjectscoveredearliercanbeagoodthing.Weneedtotellyouupfrontthatinmovingfromoneofourcoursestothenext,yourstudentwillfindsuch“revisitation”.Ourphysicalsciencetextbook,forexample,spellsouttheconceptsofphysicswithin11chapters.Ourphysicstextbookdoesthesame,butover36chaptersallowingforbothmoredepthandbreadth.Thusingoingfromphysicalsciencetophysics,yourstudentwillberevisitingmanyofthesameconcepts.Relativetoourvideolibrary,itwillalsomeanmanyoftheverysamevideosandevenvideoquizzes,whichwemayneedtoresetforyou.

TwoPathsforMiddleSchool:IrandOs

PathsTi,Si,andHeassumethestudentisstartingConceptualAcademyinatleastthe9thgradeandthatthey’vehadsomeexposuretoscienceinmiddleschoolfromsomeotherresource.Pleaseconsider:IfthestudenthasalreadytakenConceptualIntegratedScienceExplorations(CISE)orConceptualPhysicalScienceExplorations(CPSE),thenwewouldexpectthemtofollowthroughwithConceptualPhysics.Inmanyways,ConceptualIntegratedScience(CIS)isanupperlevelversionofCISE.Similarly,ConceptualPhysicalScience(CPS)isanupperlevelversionofCPSE.Thus,whileCISEandCPSEaregoodstartingpointsforyoungerstudents,CISandCPSaregoodstartingpointsforolderstudents.Formostsituations,wedonotrecommendyourstudentmovingfromCISEstraightintoCIS,norCPSEintoCPS.Why?BecauseaftercompletingCISEorCPSE,they’rereadytorocknrollrightintoConceptualPhysics,orevenstraightintoConceptualChemistry.OrevenConceptualPhysicsANDConceptualChemistryattheSAMEtime,butspreadoutovertwoyears,fortheultimateinterleavingexperience.WetipourhattoCharlotteMason.

WhatAboutAgeLevel?

Forthepathwaysgraphicweareassumingeachstudent’sageandgradelevelarewellmatched.Youknowyourstudentbestandhowtoadjustaccordingly.Further,wegenerallyrecommendhighschoolstudentsstartwithConceptualPhysicsregardlessoftheirgradelevel.Forexample,ifastudentisjoiningConceptualAcademyinthe11thgrade,thentheyshouldstillstartwithConceptualPhysics.Apossibleexceptionwouldbeiftheyarealreadycominginhavinghadapositiveexperienceinaphysicscourseelsewhere.Inthatcase,theymightbewellplaceddirectlyintoConceptualChemistry.

ThePotentialPathways

Iridium,IrGoodFor:Incoming7thgradersandthetraditionalPhysics,Chemistry,Biologysequence

Atthemiddleschoollevel,theConceptualIntegratedScienceExplorations(CISE)coursewithitsaccompanyingtextbookcanbereasonablycompletedoveratwoyearperiod.Itprovidesanageappropriateoverviewofphysics,chemistry,biology,Earthscience,andastronomy.Thestudentthenfollowsatraditionalphysics,chemistry,biologyhighschoolsequence,followedbyConceptualAstronomyforanupperlevelcapstonereviewofphysicswiththebigpictureviewprovidedbythestudyofstarsandgalaxies.Notably,ConceptualAstronomyisourshortestcourseusingonlyselectchaptersfromtheConceptualPhysicalSciencetextbookandeasilycompletedinasinglesemesteroroverthesummerallowingfor1)senioritis,and2)timeformanagingthemanyotherdutiesofasenior,suchascollegeapplications.Followingtheiridiumpath,thestudent’sstudyofscienceculminateswithareflective“ahha!”.Asanaddednote:weanticipatecreatinganastronomy/EarthSciencecoursethatseniorswouldbeabletotakeforafull1.0credit.

Osmium,OsGoodFor:Incoming8thgradersandreservingthecomplexitiesofbiologyforlater

IdenticaltotheiridiumpathwiththeexceptionofstartingwithConceptualPhysicalScienceExplorations(CPSE),whichprovidesabasicintroductiontophysics,chemistry,EarthScience,andastronomy(nobiology).CPSEcanreasonablybeextendedoveratwoyearperiod.However,comparedtoCISE,thiscourseiseasiertocompressintoasingleyearbyfocusingprimarilyonjustthephysicsandastronomy,whichmaybehelpfulforincoming8thor9thgraders.Note:wehaveHomeschoolPlanetplannersforboththe2yearand1yearsequencingofCPSE.Ofthemajorsciences,biologyisarguablythemostcomplex.Astudentfollowingtheosmiumpathwon’tbeintroducedtothebasicconceptsofbiologyuntiltheyalreadyhaveasolidfoundationinphysicsandchemistry.

Titanium,TiGoodFor:StudentsstartingConceptualAcademywithaPhysicalScienceoverview

ConceptualPhysicalScience(CPS)istheupperlevelversionofCPSE.Astudentfollowingthetitaniumpathwillhavehadmiddleschoolsciencefromsomewhereelse.We’vebuilttwosub-paths:FasterStartandSlowerStart.The“fasterstart”sub-pathstartsthestudentwithanabbreviatedversionofCPSfocusingonphysics,astronomy,andchemistry(PAC).ThissetsthestageforConceptualPhysicsinthesubsequentyearfollowedbyConceptualPhysics

andConceptualBiology.The“slowerstart”sub-pathspreadsthefullcontentsofCPSovertwoyears,whichmeansitincludesEarthScience.Thisalsomeansaslowerpaceoverthefirsttwoyearsofhighschoolscience,whichcanbeofbenefittomanystudents.ThissetsthestageforthestudenttotakeeitherConceptualPhysicsorConceptualChemistryinthesubsequentyearfollowedbyConceptualBiology.Unliketheiridiumandosmiumpaths,titaniumdoesnotculminateinastronomy.Why?BecauseitbeginswithastronomyascoveredinConceptualPhysicalScience.Ifyourstudenthasasignificantinterestinthelifesciences,thenwewouldpointyoutotheSilicon,Si,pathway.

Silicon,SiGoodFor:Settingabroadsolidfoundationofallthesciencesinthefirsttwoyears

OurConceptualIntegratedSciencecourseiseasilyourmostcomprehensivecoveringallthemajorsciencesusinganintegratedapproach,whichmeansapplicationsofonesciencearepresentedinthecontextofanother.Therearemanybenefitstospreadingoutanintegratedscienceapproachoverthefirsttwoyearsofhighschool.Thepaceisreasonableandtheconnectionsbetweenthe“different”sciencesbecomesmoreapparent.ThetwoyearsintegratedsciencealsoworkswellforastudentstartingConceptualAcademyinthe11thgrade.

Helium,HeGoodFor:Thescience-shyHighSchoolstudentjuststartingConceptualAcademy

Thispathwaycanbeconsideredourlightestoffering.ThestudentisintroducedtothefundamentalsofphysicswithintheConceptualAstronomycourse,which,asmentioned,isourshortestcourseandcanbecompletedwithinasinglesemesterorstretchedoutevenfurtherataslowerpace.You’llfindtherearefourflavorsofchemistrycoursestochoosefromallowingforacontinuedlightnessortostartdigginginwithConceptualChemistry’sfullversion.AsmentionedaboveweexpecttohaveConceptualEarthScienceavailablebyFall2021.Alsoasmentionedabove,ourConceptualBiologycurriculumisstillindevelopmentwithananticipatedpublicationdateofAugust2022.

PathNameExplanations

Notwantingtoprioritizeonepathwayoveranother,weavoidedlabelingsuchasA,B,C,Dor1,2,3,4.Instead,welookedtotheperiodictableofelements.Iridium,Ir,andosmium,Os,arethedensestelements.Accordingly,theiridiumandosmiumpathwaysareourmostcomprehensiveofferingsrangingfromgrades7through12.Thetitaniumpathwayislightbutstrong,asrepresentedbytheelementtitanium,Ti.Silicon,Si,isknownforitsuseinintegratedcircuits,thusitsconnectiontothesiliconpathwayfeaturingConceptualIntegratedScience.Italsodoesn’tescapeournoticethatsilicon,Si,liesrightbelowcarbon,C,intheperiodictable.Carbon,ofcourse,istheelementuponwhichallknownlifeformsarebased,whichisanodtothestrongbiologycomponentofthispathway.Lastly,helium,He,isoneofthelightestelements,whichalignswiththenatureoftheheliumpathway.

07.14.2020