By Design: Faith-Based Elementary Science
Contrary to current cultural views, faith and science are compatible. We don’t need to sacrifice our Biblical worldview to appreciate scientific inquiry. A good science program points to the wonders of God’s creation and deepens our understanding of the world around us.
Finding a good science program can be a challenge, I know. I have tried more than my fair share with my girls to find something that suits their learning styles and engages their natural curiosity with easy-to-follow, scientifically sound, hands-on lessons.
I received a free copy of the 1st grade By Design science curriculum and was compensated for my time to create this post. All opinions are mine and I was not required to give a positive review. For more information, please read my disclosure policy.
My latest discovery is By Design, a faith-based science curriculum for grades 1-8 from Kendall Hunt Religious Publishing. We’re using Grade 1, which covers the following topics:
- Unit 1 Life Science
- Unit 2 The Human Body
- Unit 3 Earth and Space Science
- Unit 4 Physical Science
Our curriculum set includes a student textbook, a teacher guide, and 4 science journals/workbooks.
How It Works
By Design is inquiry-driven. This is one of my favorite aspects of the curriculum. It is not just a dry textbook full of facts (though it is a textbook), it begins each lesson with a question to engage curious minds. It encourages the use of scientific method in a way that kids can easily get into and apply.
By Design uses a 5-step instructional method:
- Engage — begins with a question to explore
- Discover — hands-on experiments and scientific method
- Explain — discussion questions and narration
- Extend — how the scientific knowledge applies to other subjects and faith
- Assess/Reflect — review and comprehension questions
Each unit is broken down into chapters and each chapter begins with an introduction. The lessons are clearly laid out and easy to follow. I read aloud the lessons to my girls and then we use the workbooks for activities and experiments. Science hasn’t always been my strong suit so having something that I can read aloud with them is in my comfort zone as a homeschool teacher.
The print is large so my girls can follow along over my shoulder as I read. The textbook itself is sturdy with colorful glossy pages full of photos. This immediately draws kids into the lessons. It is a very nice visual presentation.
After the reading portion of the lessons, we use the science journals/workbooks to reinforce and apply the information learned. There are 4 workbooks total that each correspond to the specific units.
The Features and Benefits of By Design
- developmentally appropriate
- aligns with Next Generations Science Standards
- clearly organized for students and teacher
- encourages natural curiosity
- follows scientific method
- textbook and science journals are visually appealing
- faith-based (includes scripture references and Bible stories)
- includes information about careers in science
- hands-on activities and recording results in science journals
My 8-year-old on the autism spectrum and my 6-year-old are doing these lessons together and they really look forward to them. What are we going to discover in science today? is the question I’ve heard several times while studying with By Design.
As with any curriculum choice, this is not a one-size-fits-all program. If your children enjoy textbooks and workbooks, this would be an excellent fit. If you’re teaching a homeschool co-op class, this would also be a great choice. We love books of all kinds, especially living books, so using this program as a science spine and adding other resources to it works well for us. It is definitely thorough and complete on its own, though.
Note: Kendall Hunt Religious Publishing is a Seventh Day Adventist publisher. Their curriculum reflects that. We are not part of that denomination, but I found that the lessons represented Christian principles. The only thing I noticed so far are references to vegetarianism and an emphasis on “healthy choices” related to that, as well as the Sabbath.
Learn more about Kendall Hunt
Kendall Hunt also provides faith-based programs in Reading Language Art called Pathways and a New Kindergarten program (Stepping Stones). In addition, Kendall Hunt offers Talented and Gifted programs in mathematics (M2 and M3) as well as products developed in collaboration with the CFGE (Center for Gifted Education) College of William and Mary in subject areas such as language arts, social studies, and science.
Learn more about the comprehensive curriculum from Kendall Hunt.
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