Description
Unless you are using this course with someone else and they have the Helps & Hints you may want to order the set not just the textbook
Science in the Ancient World is the second book in a hands-on, multilevel elementary science series that introduces scientific concepts using history as its guide. Because each lesson is built around an activity or experiment, it is engaging for all K-6 students. In addition, there are three levels of review for each lesson, so the parent/teacher can choose the depth at which each student is expected to grasp the material. The course contains roughly 90 hours of instruction, 35 of which are composed of hands-on activities.
The course covers the scientific work of natural philosophers who lived from about 600 BC to the early AD 1500s. It concentrates mostly on what these ancient scientists got right, but it does spend some time discussing what they got wrong, because even the mistakes that scientists make can sometimes advance our understanding of the natural world. Of course, when the students are taught something that is now known to be incorrect, they are made aware of this fact!
Because the course covers science as it was developed, it covers a wide range of topics including human anatomy, medicine, optics, heliocentrism, geocentrism, sound, music, magnets, how steam is used to generate power, the motion of objects through a medium, combustion, levers, pulleys, plant growth, plant anatomy, tree ring dating, the atmosphere, astronomy, the basics of graphing, plastics, density, water flow, friction, and erosion. Throughout the course, students learn that most of the great scientists who lived from AD 500 to the end of this time period were devout Christians who did science because they thought they could learn more about God by studying His handiwork.
Testimonials
"We love the daily science experiments. I like the way the books tie in with a historical timeline but at the same time group topics in a logical format."
"I really enjoy your courses. They have fun experiments and I learn something new every lesson. Things I never thought about before are really very interesting. I really like doing an experiment every lesson!"
"Thank you for writing the books. It is a lot of fun doing experiments every lesson. It is also very interesting to learn about new people and what they did."
"I love doing the experiments, especially when they have candies that you can eat at the end! I also enjoy doing the drawing and coloring parts in your questions. Thank you too for giving us some challenging questions."
"I selected this book by Dr. Wile for our homeschool science text this year and it has become one of our favorite school resources. While it's written in a manner in which even my elementary children can understand (with some clarification from me), it still comprehensively covers an array of scientific principles that may have been discovered in the ancient world but still apply today. Dr. Wile takes care to note when ancient philosophers made incorrect assumptions about our world but still made notable contributions that furthered our understanding of science.
This books differs from others I've seen in that it offers simple, clear experiments for each and every lesson. The materials needed for each experiment (all common household items) are itemized, the experiments take minimal prep and are easy to conduct and more importantly, easy to comprehend for my children. The focus of this book is not on memorizing text for a test; rather its focus is on encouraging students to observe the world around them and conduct simple, repeatable, experiments for themselves to prove foundational principles of science.
Through study of this book, my elementary aged daughters have discussed and conducted experiments on topics ranging from sound waves to atoms, simple machines (levers, pulleys) to the solar system, optics, anatomy, and the list goes on. It covers scientific contributions from the likes of Democritus, Hippocrates, Aristotle, Galen, da Vinci and so many more.
It has engaged their interest and encouraged them to embrace science and math. For that, I sincerely thank Dr. Wile and will purchase his other science texts."
Denise McFarland –
Excellent Science!
We are enjoying it very much. The experiments are very helpful for understanding, but not overwhelming.
I highly recommend.