One of the goals of CrossWired Science is to "Be eclectic”. And their definition of “eclectic” is: “Composed of elements drawn from various sources. Selecting what appears to be best in various methods, or styles.” And that describes the program perfectly! With over 40 years of teaching students, the founders know what can keep kids learning! Each unit starts off with 8 core videos, that each discuss different aspects of the topic at hand. So for Fluid Dynamics (left), you can see how the videos are interlaced with experiments and activities, allowing your child to rotate what they are doing in a natural flow, and keep the learning progression, while having fun!
As you can see Miss Grace was glued to the laptop and wouldn't let me get a better picture of her (hey, I was lucky I got that, once she realized she could pull the course up on her ipad, she disappeared to watch the videos! As you can see the videos feature BRIGHT pictures and graphics that REALLY grab your child's attention, and KEEP it! But more importantly they use the graphics and photos to illustrate what is being taught, so that kids can use both sides of their brains, and link the pictures to what they are learning, and RETAIN the info! A week after watching the video on airplane aerodynamics for example, Miss Grace was asking my dad if when he was flying he could feel the pressure of the atoms under the plane's wings, and she proceeded to show what she meant JUST as she had seen in the video! Score! She LOVES science, but this series is helping her to better retain scientific FACTS!
On each topic video page, there is also a link to download a worksheet, that goes along with the video. I would say that the online questions are great for lower and lower elementary, and then middle and high school students should print out the sheets (or work via a pdf editor, but physical writing of them does add another element to retention!), and use them as a way to take notes from the videos, BEFORE taking the online tests. This allows them to have their notes to refer back to if needed, while working on the experiments, or with the other activities. You can also use them as an extra grade if you need to! Right now they are all with each section, but eventually they will ALL be included in the Parent/Teacher Section, for quicker access for printing and review.
As well as the worksheets, there is also the online quizzes, as I mentioned. These are right below the video on each chapter, and are taken online. Miss Grace loved taking these, as she could take them right after she watched the video and get immediate feedback on her score. We both LOVED how the correct answer was shown UNDER the question, so she didn't have to wonder what she got wrong. She didn't have to worry about recording the score either, as it automatically shows on her dashboard, which I can also see when I sign in. We can both also see how many chapters she has completed, and how many remain in each unit course! Students can see a progression bar on top of each chapter,and a side bar with all the chapter headings,as well, so they have an idea how far they have gotten in each one of the unit sections.
Each one of the Units also includes extra activities that not only help to strengthen the unit lessons, but add depth to each course. As you can see there are recommended readings, but really they just want kids to read! Kids do a simple summary and discussion on each reading and it gets recorded as well. The Gold Digs are different science topics and offer kids a chance to delve deeper into additional topics- rabbit trails if you will- and also include additional quizzes and worksheets. While meant to be part of the curriculum, you could use these for extra credit points, if you are just sticking with the primary dashboard chapters for the course. The Digging Deeper and the Gold Dig sections are also where most of the religious topics are. The devotionals have either a science or kid based theme, and offer great thoughts for further discussion with parents and peers. So you also are getting some bible activity in each weekly lesson if you wish, as well.
All of these extra sections are meant not only to provide education, but FUN, and many include parents and siblings, as a way to enrich and provide for family time, AWAY from the computers and screens-always a plus! Miss Grace found that the experiments were well thought out and fun, and she liked how there was a wide variance, so if you've done some already (in other classes), there are others to choose from! They have been very well picked and will help your child understand more than just the topics they are concentrating on!
Something that Miss Grace and i both loved was how that the 2 different levels (first timer and second timer), while concentrating on the game core subject, actually offer 2 different levels of learning, and that the second level builds on what was learned at the first level. Experiments are different, as are the extras, making for a different student experience each time. This repetition is what helps with that long term memory retention- learning different parts of the same topics twice, testing on them, and having hands on activities to cement them. Plus they can bring their life experiences back with them on the second round of experiments and may actually be able to handle them very differently! Miss Grace is at a 7th to 8th grade science level (though shes in 6th grade), but actually enjoyed the first timer videos and learning as "it helps be make better pictures in my brain, to pull the info back when I need it". The second timer level actually challenged her, so she wants to go back through both levels for each unit! You CAN skip back and forth if you want to, and each levels grades will show on your student's dashboard and you can see what all they have completed. I would actually recommend middle school and lower go through the lower level first, just to fill in any missing gaps they might have, before starting the upper level.
All of these extra sections are meant not only to provide education, but FUN, and many include parents and siblings, as a way to enrich and provide for family time, AWAY from the computers and screens-always a plus! Miss Grace found that the experiments were well thought out and fun, and she liked how there was a wide variance, so if you've done some already (in other classes), there are others to choose from! They have been very well picked and will help your child understand more than just the topics they are concentrating on!
Something that Miss Grace and i both loved was how that the 2 different levels (first timer and second timer), while concentrating on the game core subject, actually offer 2 different levels of learning, and that the second level builds on what was learned at the first level. Experiments are different, as are the extras, making for a different student experience each time. This repetition is what helps with that long term memory retention- learning different parts of the same topics twice, testing on them, and having hands on activities to cement them. Plus they can bring their life experiences back with them on the second round of experiments and may actually be able to handle them very differently! Miss Grace is at a 7th to 8th grade science level (though shes in 6th grade), but actually enjoyed the first timer videos and learning as "it helps be make better pictures in my brain, to pull the info back when I need it". The second timer level actually challenged her, so she wants to go back through both levels for each unit! You CAN skip back and forth if you want to, and each levels grades will show on your student's dashboard and you can see what all they have completed. I would actually recommend middle school and lower go through the lower level first, just to fill in any missing gaps they might have, before starting the upper level.
Fearing that all of this is well and good, but you're a little OCD and would like a bit of Teacher Planning? No problem! CrossWired Science just added a new calendar page that gives you a 6 week guide to each unit course for both elementary and middle/high school levels, with daily activities and suggestions. Yup, they understand that while the course may be eclectic, you need a guide for your use and documentation purposes! In theory you should be able to complete 4 unit courses per school year. The first 2 unit courses, Sound, and Fluid Dynamics, are available for use right now, and 2 more are expected to be on the side over the Summer, and then more coming in batches, so that you will have fresh content, before you finish each upload.
Overall, this is an excellent supplemental course (which is how we're using it right now, as she is finishing up her second semester science text), or for a full year curriculum for science for your whole family! We have been really impressed with it, and will probably keep the course as a supplement for middle school. If you're looking for something DIFFERENT and for ALL types of learners, THIS is the science class you need!
Want to see how parents with multiple kids use CrossWired Science? Just click on the picture below to see how it has been working for them! But then come back, because I have a special DISCOUNT CODE for you below!
DISCOUNT CODE:
Right now it is ONLY $27 a year for access to CrossWired Science (and only $10 per additional student). When was the last time you spent ONLY $37 for science textbooks and workbooks for 2 students? Even $27 is over 60% cheaper than what we normally pay JUST for 1 student! And lucky you, CrossWired Science is offering BTHM readers a special discount code for $5 off your membership! Yup, you can pay ONLY $22 for FULL year's science curriculum! Just use the code 5offCWS at checkout!
Right now it is ONLY $27 a year for access to CrossWired Science (and only $10 per additional student). When was the last time you spent ONLY $37 for science textbooks and workbooks for 2 students? Even $27 is over 60% cheaper than what we normally pay JUST for 1 student! And lucky you, CrossWired Science is offering BTHM readers a special discount code for $5 off your membership! Yup, you can pay ONLY $22 for FULL year's science curriculum! Just use the code 5offCWS at checkout!
See you at CrossWired Science!
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