Chemistry Unit 4: Density and Unit 5: The Periodic Table

Density was a fun and simple unit. The chemistry lessons from the ACS website (Chapter 3)were easy to follow. The labs did a great job explaining how and why different molecules had different densities. As an added bonus – try dropping an Alka-Seltzer tablet into the layered liquids.

Next, we explored the periodic table. First, my son watch the Brain Pop videos Periodic Table of Elements and Isotopes. Both had vocabulary and follow up worksheets. Next, he watched the Crash Course Chemistry videos #4 and #5 The Periodic Table and The Electron. I worried that the orbital shells of the electrons would be above him, but he grasped it with no problem. We finished with the labs in the ACS lessons (Chapter 4). It’s looking more and more like he has a natural aptitude for chemistry.

Algebra I Unit 3: Linear Equations

Our last unit focused on modeling functions, which means translating real life problems into math equations. We mostly used the worksheet from the On-Core book, Chapter 2. These were the topics:

English Unit 3: Science Fiction Short Stories

My son had finished the first draft of his own science fiction story, so we took a few weeks to read and study three classic stories. Two were by Isaac Asimov: Nightfall and The Little Lost Robot. He also read Ray Bradbury’s A Sound of Thunder. He filled out a chart with a story in each column and answers to these questions in the rows:

US History Unit 5: The Civil War

We started this unit with a family trip to Charleston, SC. I know it sound cliché to say history comes alive there, but it’s the best description. All tour guides are required to pass a history exam through the city. No matter where we went, the guides were a wealth of information. Some of our favorite stops included Boone Plantation, Patriots Point, Fort Sumter and the Provost Dungeon. We also took a carriage ride through the neighborhood around Charleston College, an area that was completely new to us. After four days of tours, we were exhausted, but more than ready to jump into history lessons.

Unit Calendar: October

Click on the calendar for a larger and clearer image.

This page was generated from the calendar spreadsheet.

US History Unit 4: 1800-1860

This period in US history too often gets rushed through, even though it offers an interesting look compared to our current times. We spent four weeks on this, which is a big chunk of our total school year, but still not enough time to fully explore the political and social tides of the era.

Here are the lessons for that unit (listed by type, but completed by date):

English Unit 2: Writing a Science Fiction Story

This was a continuation of the free writing unit. For the last week my son had an assignment to write 30 lines of a science fiction story and another 30 lines of a story with dialogue. On his own, he decided to combine those assignments (yippee for initiative!!!) into a story that then took on a life of its own. In fact, he was so proud of his story, he asked to keep working on it and, eventually, get it published.