I have always enjoyed science and nature, so it was pretty much a given that I would major in Biology in college. However, I took a career turn after graduating and never did get to put my degree to use.
During the summer of 2010, a few friends asked if I would consider facilitating high school Biology. As I looked over the textbook to prepare for the course, I grew eager to jump back into Biology!
In putting together resources for the course, I found these incredibly helpful blogs from individuals with experience: Applie’s Place, DonnaYoung.org, Sahm I Am!, and The Daisyhead. (I so appreciate them for taking the time to share so much useful information for the rest of us.) Did you know, there is also an app on the itunes store for Apologia Biology Flashcards? How exciting is that?
New Content: Applie’s Place now has an Etsy shop with quizzes and patterns for some fun projects!
Don’t forget, there are also helpful links on the Apologia website. Check Page v of the textbook for instructions on logging in and accessing this area.
Getting Started…
First things first…Thanks to DonnaYoung.org and Applie’s Place for the schedule template and draft co-op schedule. It’s was a blessing not needing to re-invent the wheel! Since our Biology Co-Op generally met every two weeks for two hours with a few field trips scheduled primarily for gathering lab specimen, all I needed to do was a little tweaking to match our timeline.
Here is the schedule we used for our first semester:
2010 – 2011 Assignments and Co-Op Schedule – 1st Semester only
The second semester, I used MS Outlook so it is in a different format. I saved it to a pdf file. It’s not that pretty, but it’s the information that counts, right?? 🙂
2nd Semester Calendar – 2011
The First Co-Op Session…
Here’s an outline of what we covered at our Introductory Session. There are notes in this Word document about how we set up our Biology Notebooks, Lab Notebooks, etc. We also spent time reviewing the parts of a microscope. I found a good, labeled illustration of the microscope and a quiz at ScienceSpot.net.
The Course…
Just click the bar to go to the Module you’re studying. In most cases, the microscopic images in these posts can be clicked to enlarge. Please leave me a comment if you find any dead links!
I sincerely hope these posts and images are helpful as you complete this challenging course.
Disclaimer: Nothing….no free books…..no free DVD’s….no exotic vacation….no payment of any kind has been received by anyone for promoting this product, these links, or the websites that will end up on my blog. My comments and opinions are based on my personal experience only.
Mindful Ramblings 
#1 by Marty on August 22, 2010 - 5:11 pm
Thanks for visiting my blog! Yours is another in my list of blogs to keep check on throughout the year.
I did not major in Biology. I didn’t even go to college!
Yikes!
But I’m very interested in it, and I’m glad I’m only doing Biology with family and maybe the child of one close friend.
I’m going to have to stay one step ahead! =D
I can’t wait to see what you’ll be doing this year.
Aren’t blogs so awesome!?! =)
Marty =)
#2 by appliejuice on August 22, 2010 - 8:52 pm
Great post! I like your disclaimer. Maybe I should do something like that. 🙂 I am looking forward to reading all about your year!
#3 by Loretta on September 1, 2010 - 9:26 pm
I’m also a former biology major teaching a co-op class this year (two of my sons and three of their friends), but you are much more organized than I am. Thanks for sharing; I plan to visit your site frequently throughout the year!
#4 by Barb-Harmony Art Mom on January 8, 2011 - 9:55 pm
Stumbled upon your blog today and I love all your Apologia Biology ideas and links. Thanks so much. I linked to you from my web page: http://www.squidoo.com/apologiabiology
#5 by appliejuice on January 17, 2011 - 8:39 pm
Have you started Module 10 yet? I was going to link to you, but I don’t see it. 🙂
#6 by jlsgrant on January 18, 2011 - 8:50 am
We just started Module 10 and have co-op this Friday. I’ll put the post up over the weekend, so I can add pics to it.
#7 by Jennifer on February 20, 2011 - 8:27 am
Thanks for sharing this. We are still studying General Science, but I am saving this link to return when we begin that Biology book,
#8 by Natalie on August 25, 2011 - 12:14 pm
Really liked how well laid out your assignments and co-op Schedule is for the 1st semester. Any chance of posting the 2nd semester plan? Thanks so much!
#9 by jlsgrant on August 26, 2011 - 8:53 am
Thanks for stopping by! For the 2nd semester, I just used Outlook unfortunately. I will see if I can figure out how to save it as a pdf. In the meantime, another great place to find Apologia Biology is at http://appliejuice.wordpress.com. She has her schedules online too.
#10 by jlsgrant on August 26, 2011 - 9:14 am
OK – So that was easier than I thought! 🙂 The second semester has been added to the page. It is a pdf file and the format is not that pretty, but it’s now there for information purposes!
#11 by Natalie on December 15, 2011 - 4:42 pm
Thank You!
#12 by Jeff Hoots on August 9, 2012 - 9:43 am
Hi! My Darling Bride (www.jenn4him.blogspot.com) sent me. I’m in charge of teaching our 9th grader biology this year, and we are using Apologia’s Exploring Creation with Biology 2 this year. The irony is, my Jr. high and high school science classes were horrible experiences (I’m a CPA and have avoided science until now). This page may help me learn with my son!
Thank you,
Jeff Hoots
Carmel, IN
http://www.jeffhoots.net
#13 by Chantelle Spann on August 17, 2012 - 12:30 pm
I am so thankful that you have done all of this! It’s fabulous!
#14 by Kay on August 28, 2012 - 2:05 pm
Thank you for sharing this! I love the images of the slides that you studied. I have one more student who will be taking Apologia Biology, so I will be back to visit this site. I linked to you from my webpage: http://www.e-learninglinks.com/science/biology_apologia_vocabulary.htm.
#15 by Kathy on January 7, 2014 - 7:09 pm
We have loved using your information for Apologia’s Biology. Thank you for taking the time to share it with us. Be blessed!
#16 by jlsgrant on January 8, 2014 - 6:30 am
Thanks so much for visiting Mindful Ramblings. I’m glad that this section is helpful to you, we had a great time with the course and I wanted to pass along the information since so many home educating families use the curriculum too.
#17 by Lori Comparoni on February 5, 2014 - 11:09 pm
I chuckled when I read your first paragraph of this page– I too have always loved nature and science, so naturally majored in biology, took a career turn and only put my degree to use as a stepping stone to the next. I am glad you have found a way to get back into exploring what you love! I hope to find a way some day also… Maybe when I retire😉
#18 by jlsgrant on February 6, 2014 - 8:30 am
Thanks for stopping by Mindful Ramblings, Lori! We had a great time with the course and I’m looking forward to using it again with our youngest.
#19 by Bridgett on June 26, 2014 - 5:54 pm
I am totally lost! I signed up to teach Biology for our Co-Op, but I’ve not taught high schoolers before…I have a 6 and 3 yr old. So although I have a degree in biochemistry, it’s useless in helping me teach these older kiddos! I need some serious “hand holding” lol! These may be ignorant questions, but what do you teach each week? We will only have 14 times to meet for co-op, so should we do labs or something else? And can it all be done in that time frame? I would really like to use Apologia, but what all would I need? I wish there was something that just told me to say this and say that and then do this and do that. Haha!
#20 by jlsgrant on June 27, 2014 - 7:28 am
Hi Bridgett,
When I facilitated our group, I generally just led the experiments each two hour session. (They all had their textbook with them to follow along.)The students were responsible for doing all the reading, On Your Own questions, Reviews and tests at home. Each of the 16 modules takes about 2 weeks, so our course was spread over the entire school year. Many of the labs utilize a microscope and slides and there are a few dissections as well. We only had one microscope, so I purchased a camera that connected to my computer and all students could see the image together. We also did some extra projects that were not in the book. They are on the the individual Module pages here on Mindful Ramblings. I’ll email you with more info. Best wishes for a successful class for you!
#21 by Bridgett on June 27, 2014 - 8:34 am
We only meet 14 times and the class lasts only one hour so would it be possible to do what you did in the time frame I have? And is there a teachers manual that would tell me what to say and what to do? Lol! I seriously need some help like that until I get the hang of it!! Sorry for the hundred questions! Just tryin to get a feel for what I need to do and get to be able to facilitate this class!
Sent from my iPhone
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#22 by Victoria on July 5, 2014 - 9:13 am
Thank you so much for the free resources. They are a huge blessing. I love all your posts.
#23 by jlsgrant on July 10, 2014 - 9:25 am
Thanks for visiting Mindful Ramblings! So happy you were able to use the resources here.
#24 by jlsgrant on December 4, 2015 - 9:52 am
Sorry for my delay in responding! Thanks for the link 🙂
#25 by KayinCA on August 10, 2016 - 1:59 pm
Thanks for sharing your organizing prowess with the rest of us! The idea of teaching/facilitating a high school biology course is a daunting idea. After reviewing your blog, I am excited about it now!