Join Dr. Scott Hardin, author of Science Shepherd curriculum, for online homeschool life science live classes. Science Shepherd Life Science is a comprehensive middle/high school (grades 6-10) curriculum. Topics covered include the characteristics of life, cells, heredity, classification, anatomy and physiology, creation/evolution and more. See full scope and sequence.
This class is a full year (2 semester) course following Science Shepherd’s Life Science Textbook.
Live teaching sessions are held on Tuesdays at 1:00pm Central Time, August 23, 2022 to May 2, 2023.
Dr. Hardin teaches one 45-60 minute class per week, with additional time allowed for student questions, based on the assigned reading for the upcoming week. All classes are recorded and available anytime should a student not be able to make the live class or want to re-watch a class.
For students who opt to do the virtual lab component, an additional 20 minute live lab meeting is available to join on Mondays at 11am CT. See "Lab" tab for details.
Dr. Hardin is available by email to answer questions about the reading material, live class content, labs, etc., and responds within several hours. If there are more complicated questions, he can schedule a video meeting with the student
Students log into the Science Shepherd student portal and then enter the classroom for the weekly live class. Dr. Hardin will start promptly at the scheduled time.
Enrollment includes access to all live and recorded classes through May 31, 2023.
Recommended for 6th to 10th grade.
All students: Science Shepherd Life Science Textbook, 2nd Edition, account on the Science Shepherd student portal (will be created for you).
Science Shepherd Life Science was recognized as a 2019 Teach Them Diligently Homeschool Family Favorite for middle school science. You can be confident that our Life Science homeschool curriculum will provide an excellent educational experience to your middle school student.
Labs are an optional part of the curriculum but highly recommended as they are really an important part of learning all sciences.
There is an average of 1 lab every other week, but there are some weeks with no labs and others with more than 1. The burden of lab time is not too much, especially when one considers how important labs are not only in science but in learning how to think logically and objectively about all aspects of life.
There are three lab formats available to choose from.
Lab Option 1: At-home "wet labs" using the Life Science Quest for Middle Grades lab manual, with most supplies being readily available already in the home or easily obtained at a local store. This is a self-paced lab experience, with the student submitting lab reports to Dr. Hardin for grading.
Lab Option 2: If the student does not want to actually do the labs at home (“wet labs”), then for an additional $250 the student can enroll in our virtual lab program. This option does not require the purchase of any supplies or a lab manual; everything needed is provided through the online labs themselves.
Lab Option 3: No labs. Textbook/live class learning only.
To better tailor the learning experience to your student(s), there are two options available for grading end-of-chapter review questions and tests.
Option 1: Dr. Hardin grades the end-of-chapter questions and tests.
Option 2: Automatic scoring.
Regardless of the method chosen for grading, all classes are graded on an absolute scale, rather than a curve.
For students doing labs, grades are a composite of performance on end-of-chapter questions (40% of total score), test questions (30% of total score) and lab reports (30% of total score).
For students not doing labs, grades are a composite of performance on end-of-chapter questions (55% of total score) and test questions (45% of total score).
Since grading is NOT on a curve, and if it meets the goals of the student and is OK with parents, Dr. Hardin does not mind if students use the Textbook for exams (“open book”), but they must complete the tests within the allotted time.
End-of-chapter questions are specifically designed to be used with reference back to the chapter material, as needed.
We will send an email after registration to find out your preference on grading – Dr. Hardin grading the short answer/fill in the blank and true-false questions from the Textbook and Test Booklet (Option 1) or automatic scoring of the multiple choice and true-false questions by the Science Shepherd student portal (Option 2).
Not sure if the Life Science Live Online Class is right for you? Our "Recommended Course Progression" can help you find the right homeschool science material for your family.