Real Science-4-Kids Chemistry Level 1 Student Text [Hardcover]

Dr. Rebecca W. Keller (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

Real Science-4-Kids Chemistry, Level I, written at a 4th and 5th grade reading level, introduces children to college-level chemistry concepts such as the atom and periodic table, molecular bonding and chemical reactions. acid-base reactions, mixtures and separating mixtures, and large molecules such as carbohydrates, polymers and enzymes, and includes a glossary/index.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dr. Rebecca Keller has a PhD in biophysical chemistry and has worked in a research lab for several years. She is also a mom and originally developed this program for her children, hoping they would come to enjoy science as much as she does. Dr. Keller has written the Real Science-4-Kids series to help students begin building a foundation in the elementary and middle school grades for the kind of science they will actually encounter in high school and college level classes.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 68 pages
• Publisher: Gravitas Publications, Inc. (June 20, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0974914908
• ISBN-13: 978-0974914909
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #440,132 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #49 in Books > Children's Books > Science, Nature & How It Works > Chemistry

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars study club, January 4, 2007

By 

H. Raske (Washington State) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Real Science-4-Kids Chemistry Level 1 Student Text (Hardcover)

I am using this book to teach a study club with girls ages 8-12. I am very pleased with the format, it is easy for all of us to use. Teacher prep. time is minimal. The other instructor has a strong background in chemistry so at first we relied on her but that background is not necessary to sucessfully use this material. I appreciate that although the text is simplified for the age group it still uses proper terminology and is not "dumbed down". The page layout is attractive and easy to sort out. (Not too much crammed into the pages.) Because we have the time and flexibility we do add related experiments from other sources but the provided lab work stands on its own very well.

65 of 75 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Superficial and poorly organized, February 25, 2009

By 

Grandma (NH, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Real Science-4-Kids Chemistry Level 1 Student Text (Hardcover)

Before I tell you just what I think of this book, let me preface my remarks with the fact that I am a medical scientist, a member of the American Chemical Society who has taught science over many years to many people of all ages using a variety of textbooks. I am a firm believer in teaching science to the very young and making the ordinary housewife see that she knows a whole lot of chemistry once you drag it out from behind the language barrier. Let me be frank: this is the single worst chemistry text I've come across at any level.

Keller crams a great deal of definition into the few pages in this book, but she does so in a very disorganized manner, often omitting pertinent material and including things that are far beyond the scope of a chemistry text intended for elementary school students. Thus, in a chapter titled "Matter" she gives a one sentence definition of matter, followed by the statements that balloons, pancakes and baseballs are all made of matter. She complete omits from discussion the three states of matter, surely the simplest of concepts to communicate and illustrate experimentally. A chapter on molecules never mentions that atoms carry a charge and provides no explanation of why atoms might bother to form molecules. Worse, the bonding rules that she presents are both incorrect and unexplained. An entire page is devoted to pH indicators that the average adult will find both unpronounceable and unobtainable. While interesting, these are of little importance to the introduction of chemistry to a 10 year old. There is a glossary in the back, but there is no distinction between the word being defined and the definition. Everything is listed in the same typeface without bolding, making the glossary hard to use.

In short, this text is dry, boring and often incorrect. The fun of chemistry is obliterated. Worse, the book is markedly overpriced. By the time one purchases the Lab manual and the teacher's manual the cost of this 10-week program runs to about $70. A full year's worth of science using Real Science-4-Kids would necessitate the purchase of both the Biology and Physics curriculum.

If you do choose to utilize this series - and I certainly do not recommend that you do - be prepared to both provide a great deal of supplemental material and put in a good number of hours of prep time.

Not Recommended for those who do not have a background in chemistry themselves.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chemistry for the Non-Scientist!!, June 27, 2006

By 

M. E. Pierce - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Real Science-4-Kids Chemistry Level 1 Student Text (Hardcover)

I learned more teaching my child using Real Science-4-Kids than I did in my high school chemistry class. The text is bright and colorful, and the lessons are explained in an understandable manner, using correct terminology. The text is great as a reference tool, but be sure to buy the Teacher's Manual and Lab sheets from the publisher for maximum benefit if teaching children!!