For 8th grade, we use Exploring Creation with General Science from Apologia (more details). Others have used this for 7th grade and it is well suited there as well. The text is comprised of 16 modules (or chapters) averaging 20 pages of text, with a Study Guide at the end of each module. Every few pages in each module an “On Your Own” (OYO) section with several questions is provided. There are also several experiments in each module. All experiments can be done with common household items.
We cover each module in a set of 5 to 7 lessons, each lesson suitable for about a half-hour of a typical school day. 6 to 8 pages are read and all OYO questions answered. An experiment may optionally be done as part of the readying lesson. After 3 or 4 lessons, the entire module will have been read. The Study Guide, which consists of about 20 review questions, is done in 2 or 3 lessons. An example is given for Module 5.
Module 5: pages 111-132 + Study Guide at Module end
1st day – read p111-116, answer OYO 5.1-5.2
2nd day – read p116-122, answer OYO 5.3-5.4
3rd day – read p123-128, answer OYO 5.5-5.7
4th day – read p128-132, answer OYO 5.8-5.10
5th day – Module Study Guide questions 1-7
6th day – Module Study Guide questions 8-15
7th day – Module Study Guide questions 16-22
Since we do 3 science lessons in a typical week, this module would take just over 2 weeks. 2 weeks is the average time per module, so using this method for the 16 modules easily fits in a typical 36 week “school year”.
The Apologia course is flexible for different types of students. Students interested in “hands-on” experiments have ample opportunities in this program. The experiments are not required so students pressed for time can skip them and still benefit greatly from this science curriculum.
This program is often sold as a 2 book kit – the textbook and the solutions/test book. If you don’t plan to use the tests, you may need only the textbook. The solutions/test book does have answers to the Study Guide questions at the end of each module. However, these are general review question and the answers are readily found in the module itself.