Novare Science - Physics {Review}

This review was originally published in June 2017 on our Gypsy Road site.

Taking a new approach to the high school sciences sequence, Novare Science & Math  uses Introductory Physics   as a “physics first” text – meaning that it is appropriate for 9th graders as a first year science course.  That’s not to say that it isn’t appropriate beyond that – as it’s perfectly good in 10th – 12th grades, but the math requirements are basic enough (Algebra I) that a 9th grader can take on this course without being in over his head.  This is a full-year science credit.  In addition to the textbook, there is a supplemental CD for teachers to use.  This includes quizzes, tests, test solutions (yay!), and review materials. 

The book is written from a historic Christian perspective, without being overly theological.  They aren’t “young earth creationist,” but accept the ‘old earth theory.”  They present several of the concepts in the context of church history, giving physics, history, and theology lessons all at the same time.  (And I’m a big fan of any curriculum that incorporates several subjects into one)!

I am not the physics guru in this house, so my husband did the lion’s share of teaching out of this textbook.  As a practicing scientist, who works in the technical field every day, these are his observations.  Naturally…they are in bullet format.  J   (I am separating by pros and cons.)

Pros

• The book is shorter than most science textbooks.  It’s in-depth, but not overwhelming for the student (and teacher). 
• It incorporates history into the text itself, rather than in a sidebar.  There are some great primary source quotes featured within the text. 
• It also incorporates the technical math and  technical communication / technical writing, which is so often missing from science courses.  There are many real-world application opportunities offered in this textbook.
• The lab instructions are well-written and easy to use.  There are both student instructions (found in the text) and teacher instructions (found in the supplemental materials).  These include a ‘how to’ for writing up lab reports.
• Visual components, such as well-created diagrams, chapter color coding, and full-color pictures, help to illustrate the concepts being taught.
• It is written so that the teacher doesn’t need a working knowledge of physics to be able to teach the course.  (On this point, I somewhat disagree with my husband.)
• The supplemental materials focus on all of the material that has been taught to that point, so that you are continually reviewing and more deeply embedding that knowledge for future application.  There are weekly reviews, quizzes, and a fall and spring semester exam.
• The weekly reviews include things like making flashcards, reviewing last week’s materials, and work a few review problems.  We did these at the beginning of class, like a teacher might use a pop quiz.
• The quizzes are essay questions drawn from all material up to that point.  (ie, If you’re on Chapter 4, it covers everything from Chapters 1-4.)
• The teacher’s supplemental materials includes quiz and exam answers, to make it easy to check quickly.

Cons

• On the flipside of it not being overwhelming, there are places when the text is too simplified, and it would be helpful to have a little bit more detail.
• The chapters can be confusing.  As an example, on page 20 in Chapter 2, it says D=VT.  However, it doesn’t tell you what D, V, or T even mean until page 34.  It would seem prudent to explain the variables when they are introduced.  (On this point, I would say that it seemed like the original equation was presented in a ‘what you will learn’ context in the book – and that they didn’t get around to teaching it until fourteen pages later.  That is not terribly unusual in classroom textbooks, but not something I see often in homeschool curricula.)
• Our son is at the young end of the spectrum for this course, and taking Algebra I concurrently.  While the math was do-able for him, some of the concepts were difficult to understand, so we supplemented the lessons quite often with audiovisual materials from YouTube.

Overall, I would say that this is a good curriculum.  We are just stepping our toes into the world of high school curriculum, so I don’t have much to compare it to, but I can only imagine that things are going to be much more structured from here on out – and considerably more like the traditional public school that we typically run our homeschool with the younger ones.  I am not a science person by any stretch, so I struggled to teach the text.  (If you haven’t figured it out yet, history and math are where my strengths lie, but hey – my husband and I complement each other in many ways…homeschooling included!)

Novare Science & Math has been used in the classroom for a while now, and they are new to the homeschool scene.  They have Chemistry, Physics, Earth Science, Physical Science, and more, and I think these are excellent resources for your high school science credits.  The first time I heard of Introductory Physics was when I was going through the Memoria Press catalog.  You guys know how much we love their stuff!  Because they recommend Novare for their upper level sciences, I feel confident in recommending this program.

To see what others are saying about Introductory Physics, visit the Schoolhouse Review Crew!