9th Grade Science and History

Phoebe decided to study two different sciences this year, spending one semester on each.

In the Fall, Phoebe studied Meteorology. We used The Atmosphere: An Introduction to Meteorology, 12^th ed., by Frederick K. Lutgens and Edward J. Tarbuck as our text. The book covered the composition of the atmosphere, how weather patterns form and happen, pollution and climate change, and various types of storms. She covered about a chapter a week and completed the book in the semester. For assignments, she took periodic quizzes, studied the local weather, and watched some documentaries about past storms.

Toward the end of the course, Phoebe also did projects on Hurricane Katrina and the “Perfect Storm” of 1991. For the latter, she looked at videos online of weather reports from the time, she read sections of Sebastian Junger’s book, The Perfect Storm, and we watched the film adaptation. We also watched Al Gore's films An Inconvenient Truth and An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power. She had several questions for each film that required in-depth, critical answers.

Starting in January, we switched to Astronomy. We are using Welcome to the Universe: An Astrophysical Tour, by Neil deGrasse Tyson, Michael A. Strauss, and J. Richard Gott as our text, which has a companion workbook. The book is based on a course the three of them co-taught at Princeton University. There will be more on this later in the year!

History has gone through a bit of a shake-up. We started by using Susan Wise Bauer’s The History of the Ancient World: From the Earliest Accounts to the Fall of Rome. The book came with lesson plans, so we thought it would be an easy choice. It covers many parts of the world, so that was also a plus. However, the lack of dates and some details made us decide that we needed something else. And that is the big plus of homeschooling--if something isn't working, you throw it out and try something new!

Our new plan is jumping right into AP World History. I started tutoring a local high school sophomore who was taking the class, and since Phoebe is entering 10th grade next year, we figured we could make the leap now. AP World History starts at the dawn of the human race and goes to the present. Some of the earlier things will be a rehash, but Phoebe is already noticing a difference in the degree of specifics the new books offer. Much of the Paleolithic/Neolithic info also overlaps with her Introduction to Anthropology class that she is taking online, so that is also a plus.

Next year, we were planning an in-depth look at the Middle Ages and Renaissance, which we will still do, just a bit more compressed and working through the summer. We both love history, so that helps!