Elemental Science in the Co-op Setting ~ Classic Series

As the programs of Elemental Science grows in popularity, we are seeing more and more co-ops using our programs.

I wanted to create a resource for co-ops that would help you to plan what to do in-class and what to assign for at-home. I have also included approximate times for you as well to help you gauge how much time to schedule.

Here are my suggestions for using our classic series in the co-op setting.

Elemental Science in the Co-op Setting

The Classic Series – Grammar Stage

In-class you would do the following:

1. Give the students last week’s quiz as a review to see what they remeber.
2. Introduce the week’s vocabulary words and make flash cards for each. Also review the memory work from the unit.
3. Do the week’s scientific demonstration.  If you have younger students, you should demonstrate this for the whole class. If your students are a bit older, you can have them split into groups to work on the demonstration together. Either way, the students will need to complete the corresponding lab report in class.
4. Go over what the students have read at home. Discuss what they have learned using the discussion question found in the teacher guide. Have the students fill out their narration sheets.
5. Work on the unit project in-class.

You could also choose one or more of the additional activities to complete in-class.

In-class Time – About 2 hours per week

At home, you could ask the students to do the following:

1. Review the week’s vocabulary and memory work.
2. Complete the reading assignments and orally share what they have learned with the parent.

You could also suggest that the parents complete the optional lapbook at home or that they read one or more of the additional book suggestions to their students.

At-home Time – 30 minutes to 1 hour (depending on what they choose to do) per week

The Classic Series – Logic Stage

In-class you would do the following:

1. Do the week’s experiment.  Have the student break into groups of three to six students to work on the week’s experiment together. Have the group also complete the experiment sheet as they work.
2. Go over what the students have read at home. Discuss what they have learned using the discussion question found in the teacher guide. Then, have the class come up with an outline of what they have learned for the week which they can copy into their book.
3. Work on the sketch assignment together as a class.
4. Complete one of the want more activities suggested in the teacher guide.

You could also choose one or more of the additional readings to read out loud to the class before the students create the outline.

In-class Time – About 2 hours per week

At home, you could ask the students to do the following:

1. Review the week’s vocabulary and memory work.
2. Complete the reading assignments and write a brief narration of what they read.
3. Enter the week’s dates on their timeline.

You could also suggest that the students complete the one of the optional additional readings from the week.

At-home Time – 1 to 2 hours (depending on what they choose to do) per week

The Final Product

Typically, I suggest that co-ops go over the concepts from the readings, write something about what the students have learned, review the vocabulary, and do the experiments or activities from the week. At-home the students can work on the memory work and vocabulary, as well as read the selected passages to prepare for class at home.

I trust that this will give you a clearer picture of how the classic series from Elemental Science can work in a co-op setting. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to leave them in the comments below.