Category: Science

NGSS Standards-based BookShark Science: Why the Change?
The new 2021 BookShark Science for levels A through F¹ was designed with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)² in mind. But why would a homeschool curriculum care about outside standards at all?
- Isn’t the BookShark way of reading great books and doing hands-on exploration enough when it comes to learning science? Yes!
- Aren’t homeschoolers allowed to do school their own way, at their own pace, without worrying about adhering to a strict outline of what should be covered year by year? Absolutely!
And yet we never want to become complacent when it comes to providing a top-notch education for your children. So we constantly evaluate our programs to make sure the material is up-to-date, culturally sensitive, and in line with the most current, research-based instructional practices.

Updating Science to Stay Current

Science moves fast! And it’s hard to keep up! That’s why you see Science books being replaced in our packages when the technology pictured in them is more akin to what you might see in a museum than what you’d see in a modern lab or a 21st century home.

When new technology is released, we want your children to learn about it! So, we periodically swap out books and add new content.

Updating Science Curriculum to Reassure Parents

With the influx of 2020 pandemic homeschoolers, we received more questions than ever about accreditation, state standards, standardized testing, and keeping kids on track so they don’t fall behind their peers. Many BookShark families feel a sense of reassurance to know that BookShark meets and exceeds state standards!

We love being able to provide that reassurance to you. BookShark works. It’s a solid curriculum. Kids love it, and kids get turned on to science as a result of this engaging program! Demonstrating how BookShark Science aligns with NGSS standards, for example, is just another way to affirm its high academic quality.

If standards don’t do much to impress you, you can safely ignore them, trusting that BookShark Science is still the robust, spiral approach curriculum you’ve loved for years.

Updating Science to Provide You a More Linear Experience

Over the years, we’ve gotten feedback from BookShark families who were confused about the weekly progression from reading to doing. Many times, the end-of-week activity didn’t match the weekly reading. Although the Instructor’s Guide was purposely designed this way and in no way is a flaw in the educational structure, still many parents were uncomfortable with the jumping around.

We listened to your requests and designed a more linear program in which the weekly activity always aligns with the weekly reading. Was the older way deficient? Not at all, but this new structure provides a progression that families feel better about. And we want you to feel confident. So, we flexed to your preferences!

But Why NGSS?

So, of all the different standards in America, why did we pick Next Generation Science Standards when making Science curriculum updates?

First of all, NGSS standards are both widely accepted and academically solid. NGSS standards were created by states in conjunction with practicing scientists and science-based industries in a variety of fields. The goal was to enable America to continue innovating and leading in the sciences worldwide and to create science jobs for the future. A worthy cause, right?! We want your children to be those scientists and innovators of the future, so we used the NGSS to inform our curriculum updates.

And while the NGSS standards outline what to teach, they don’t preclude our natural methods of reading great books, discussing them, doing simple (no busy work) Activity Sheets, and then exploring with hands-on activities. The NGSS are standards, not curriculum. Thus, BookShark Science remains true to our original design while also accommodating NGSS and giving you the more linear read-about-it-then-do-it sequences most parents prefer.

NGSS Is Not Common Core
You may be wondering if NGSS is another way of saying Common Core. No, NGSS and Common Core are different entities. NGSS standards are not a federally mandated or supported system and adherence to them is not tied to school or state funding. To learn more, including common misconceptions, read the FACT SHEET here.

NGSS Is About Application, Inquiry, and Discovery

There’s an important aspect of NGSS that we want you to be sure to know about. NGSS strongly emphasizes the application of science. In fact, the doing of science is more important than focusing on the facts behind science.

After all, facts are pretty easy to find in our digital age. What’s much harder is

knowing what questions to ask

learning how to process data and come to accurate conclusions

knowing how assimilate information across disciplines

grasping advanced processes

seeing how scientific principles apply to real-world situations

imagining the future of science

These thinking abilities—and a fascination with science itself—are our goals for your children. It’s not about rote memorization of the periodic table of elements or focusing on dates and definitions. While these things are included in BookShark science, we agree with the NGSS that learning is only complete when children can synthesize, draw conclusions, make educated guesses, and imagine innovative uses of technology yet to be developed.
New Science Levels A through F

Visit each Science Package listing to see everything included, samples, and scope and sequence.

New in 2021: Now when you customize your All-Subject Package, you can choose from three different Science levels on the customize tab.
03/18/2025
Why a Spiral Approach Works for Teaching Science
As a child, you probably found yourself twisting the spiral that bound your notebook together, watching it circle through the holes down the side of the paper. It looped through a hole then through the next, over and over again all the way up the page. The spiral is a bit mesmerizing to both the eye and the touch. In education, we use the analogy of a spiral to describe a type of teaching.

A spiral approach to teaching means students circle back to learn about topics multiple times throughout their education, allowing them to remember more at a greater depth as they advance through their studies. BookShark Science uses this spiral technique.

The Spiral Approach to Teaching

Think about how students learn addition in their first years of school. They begin by adding one digit to one digit. Then they add multiple digits together. As they grow older, they continue to add larger numbers and progress to multiplication—which is a way to add numbers more quickly.

Each time they learn a new skill, the original skill is still used, but at a higher and more complex level. This is spiral learning.

Cognitive theorist Jerome Bruner wrote, “We begin with the hypothesis that any subject can be taught in some intellectually honest form to any child at any stage of development.”

With a spiral approach, students encounter various topics and concepts multiple times with increasing complexity as they mature. As a result, they will review what they’ve already learned as well as adding new information and understanding as they progress through their studies.

Why a Spiral Approach Works

Spiral teaching capitalizes on the natural way we learn. We begin with basic knowledge and add to that knowledge over time. We’re able to handle more difficult and complex knowledge because we already have experience with the subject and know the basics. We still need to access what we learned in the beginning, though we may not even be aware we are doing it since it’s now second nature.

Think through the process of learning to cook. You probably didn’t begin with Juia Child’s Boeuf Bourguignon!

Instead you learned how to measure ingredients, maybe even as a child. You started out with simple recipes like scrambled eggs and grilled cheese and learned more techniques and tricks over time. Then one day, years later, you were ready to tackle much more time consuming and difficult recipes—homemade yeast bread and marinated, grilled meats.

And yet, you still need to measure most of the time. At this point, though, the measuring is like second nature and doesn’t take much thought on your part. You may even know instinctively how much a teaspoon or tablespoon is without even getting out the measuring spoons.

That’s because you learned to cook using a spiral approach.

The Spiral Approach in BookShark Science

Science study should build upon the natural curiosity of children, helping them to discover and explore the world around them. With a spiral approach, students won’t simply study one science subject in a year. They’ll encounter a variety of science topics, keeping their interest high while taking advantage of the benefits of coming back again to a subject.

With BookShark Science, students from Kindergarten through middle school will encounter Earth, space, life, health, physical, and technological sciences multiple times through their years of study using great literature and hands-on activities.

Introduces Topics in a Simple Form

With a literature-based approach, even a kindergartner will begin to grasp basic concepts of science. Children’s authors are incredible at taking complex scientific concepts and explaining them in an understandable way.

Teaching tip: If you want to introduce a difficult topic even to older students, start with a children’s book on the topic!

Builds on What Students Already Know

Because students see the same topics multiple times over the years, they won’t have to start at the beginning each time. That’s why young children often start by learning math facts: as they move on to more difficult problems, they aren’t struggling to add two digits together. A solid foundation provides a place to build future learning.

Reinforces Previous Learning

Each time a student encounters the various science subjects, they will need to draw upon the concepts they’ve already learned. Their understanding increases over time as they see it applied in a variety of contexts.

Helps Students Store Information in Long Term Memory

When you were in school, did you ever cram for a test the next day, only to find you didn’t remember much of the information a few weeks later? Or maybe you took several years of a foreign language class, yet only recall a few words today? When we don’t use what we know by doing it repeatedly, we won’t remember it over time. With a spiral approach, children revisit and use what they are learning multiple times over the years, so they really learn it.

Keeps Learning Interesting and Engaging
- When children stay at a basic level and are never challenged, they eventually lose interest.
- When children only study one thing, they eventually lose interest.
- When children encounter the information in only one way, they eventually lose interest.
You get the idea. To keep learning fascinating, children need increased depth and complexity, variety, and multiple experiences. The spiral approach of BookShark Science addresses all of these needs.

Try BookShark Science Today

BookShark provides you with everything you need to teach science with a spiral approach including:
- Instructor’s Guides that lay out exactly what you need to do each day with a flexible, four-day schedule.
- Activity sheets for students with hundreds of activities, illustrations, charts, and pictures to solidify your student’s understanding of scientific topics.
- Hands-on activities and experiments that are easy to do with our Science Supplies Kit. You aren’t caught not having what you need.
If you want your students to understand science and enjoy it, have a solid foundation for their high school science studies, and truly learn science—not just memorize facts only to forget them quickly—use a spiral approach. BookShark gives parents and students everything they need to build a strong foundation.
03/05/2025
NGSS Standards-based BookShark Science: Why the Change?
The new 2021 BookShark Science for levels A through F¹ was designed with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)² in mind. But why would a homeschool curriculum care about outside standards at all?
- Isn’t the BookShark way of reading great books and doing hands-on exploration enough when it comes to learning science? Yes!
- Aren’t homeschoolers allowed to do school their own way, at their own pace, without worrying about adhering to a strict outline of what should be covered year by year? Absolutely!
And yet we never want to become complacent when it comes to providing a top-notch education for your children. So we constantly evaluate our programs to make sure the material is up-to-date, culturally sensitive, and in line with the most current, research-based instructional practices.

Updating Science to Stay Current

Science moves fast! And it’s hard to keep up! That’s why you see Science books being replaced in our packages when the technology pictured in them is more akin to what you might see in a museum than what you’d see in a modern lab or a 21st century home.

When new technology is released, we want your children to learn about it! So we periodically swap out books and add new content.

Updating Science Curriculum to Reassure Parents

With the influx of 2020 pandemic homeschoolers, we received more questions than ever about accreditation, state standards, standardized testing, and keeping kids on track so they don’t fall behind their peers. Many BookShark families feel a sense of reassurance to know that BookShark meets and exceeds state standards!

We love being able to provide that reassurance to you. BookShark works. It’s a solid curriculum. Kids love it, and kids get turned on to science as a result of this engaging program! Demonstrating how BookShark Science aligns with NGSS standards, for example, is just another way to affirm its high academic quality.

If standards don’t do much to impress you, you can safely ignore them, trusting that BookShark Science is still the robust, spiral approach curriculum you’ve loved for years.

Updating Science to Provide You a More Linear Experience

Over the years, we’ve gotten feedback from BookShark families who were confused about the weekly progression from reading to doing. Many times the end-of-week activity didn’t match the weekly reading. Although the Instructor’s Guide was purposely designed this way and in no way is a flaw in the educational structure, still many parents were uncomfortable with the jumping around.

We listened to your requests and designed a more linear program in which the weekly activity always aligns with the weekly reading. Was the older way deficient? Not at all, but this new structure provides a progression that families feel better about. And we want you to feel confident. So we flexed to your preferences!

But Why NGSS?

So of all the different standards in America, why did we pick Next Generation Science Standards when making Science curriculum updates?

First of all, NGSS standards are both widely accepted and academically solid. NGSS standards were created by states in conjunction with practicing scientists and science-based industries in a variety of fields. The goal was to enable America to continue innovating and leading in the sciences worldwide and to create science jobs for the future. A worthy cause, right?! We want your children to be those scientists and innovators of the future, so we used the NGSS to inform our curriculum updates.

And while the NGSS standards outline what to teach, they don’t preclude our natural methods of reading great books, discussing them, doing simple (no busy work) Activity Sheets, and then exploring with hands-on activities. The NGSS are standards, not curriculum. Thus BookShark Science remains true to our original design while also accommodating NGSS and giving you the more linear read-about-it-then-do-it sequence most parents prefer.

NGSS Is Not Common Core

You may be wondering if NGSS is another way of saying Common Core. No, NGSS and Common Core are different entities. NGSS standards are not a federally mandated or supported system and adherence to them is not tied to school or state funding. To learn more, including common misconceptions, read the FACT SHEET here.

NGSS Is About Application, Inquiry, and Discovery

There’s an important aspect of NGSS that we want you to be sure to know about. NGSS strongly emphasizes the application of science. In fact, the doing of science is more important than focusing on the facts behind science.

After all, facts are pretty easy to find in our digital age. What’s much harder is
- knowing what questions to ask
- learning how to process data and come to accurate conclusions
- knowing how assimilate information across disciplines
- grasping advanced processes
- seeing how scientific principles apply to real-world situations
- imagining the future of science
These thinking abilities—and a fascination with science itself—are our goals for your children. It’s not about rote memorization of the periodic table of elements or focusing on dates and definitions. While these things are included in BookShark science, we agree with the NGSS that learning is only complete when children can synthesize, draw conclusions, make educated guesses, and imagine innovative uses of technology yet to be developed.

New Science Levels A through F

Visit each Science Package listing to see everything included, samples, and scope and sequence.

New in 2021: Now when you customize your All-Subject Package, you can choose from three different Science levels on the customize tab.
02/25/2025
Homeschool Science for Multiple Children: How I Failed But Finally Won

With seven years of homeschooling I’ve racked up more than a few successes and failures, but nothing has been so black and white as our science journey. I’m sorry we wasted so much time but grateful we’ve finally found our perfect science fit. Here are six tips that would have gotten us learning and loving science much sooner.

#1 FAIL: Keep Using Science Curriculum No One Likes

We started out doing science with a grade-specific textbook for our oldest daughter. As time marched on and we added another student, we discovered that juggling two science programs was possible. I would sit down with each girl separately to read the assigned pages and ask the coordinating comprehension questions. But there wasn’t ever any additional discussion. They didn’t talk to each other about what they were learning, and they weren’t ever waiting at the door when their dad got home, bubbling with excitement over the new information they had learned.

Our time doing science didn’t cause any sparks; it was clear that we were just serving our time in order to check science off the daily to-do list.
Unfortunately, there seemed to be a disconnect between my kids’ innate interest in all things animal, weather, or nature-related and how disinterested they were during our science time. It didn’t make sense, but we kept plodding on.

#2 FAIL: Stop Doing Science Altogether

The walk from the couch to the school bookshelf took approximately seven steps when it was time to start art or literature. Oddly enough when it was time to grab a science or handwriting book, the floor expanded to approximately seven hundred foot-draggy steps, complete with moaning.
Ultimately, we threw in the towel when our third child, accurately dubbed The Tornado, skipped walking and graduated right to running at one. I didn’t have the time or energy to keep multiple science plates spinning, especially with the song and dance required to keep my kids motivated. To be honest, I wasn’t all that excited about those science textbooks either, and I couldn’t fabricate enough curiosity for all of us while chasing The Tornado.
We took a break from the textbooks, which meant stepping back from science, too.

#3 FAIL: Attempt to Design a Whole Curriculum from Scratch

Our break didn’t last very long since I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was letting my kids down by leaving big gaps in their education without science.
I tried following several book lists and checking out science-themed books from the library, but that required lots of free mom-time I didn’t have. I spent too many precious hours trying to figure out charts of topics, wondering if I was missing a major -ology.
The books we did bring home, however, were devoured without any pushing on my part. We were getting closer to a solution. I sensed that winning was just around the corner.

#1 WIN: Trust a Solid Curriculum Plan

Reading about another family’s success with BookShark this past spring got my curriculum-investigating wheels turning. It didn’t take long to see that it might offer a solution for our science-loving, but textbook-hating, multi-level family.
We settled on one science program that we’d all do together BookShark’s Science D. My kids clock in at ages 10, 9, 6, 4, and 1 1/2. It’s already a zoo, even before baby number six arrives this winter. The option of doing science as a family with a single science program is ideal.

Spiral Science Homeschool Program

Based on our experience, I knew that a literature-based, hands-on program would work well for our family. What I didn’t realize was how BookShark’s spiral approach is perfect for multi-level families like ours.
With the spiral approach, students explore a wide range of content with the understanding that they will cover those same topics in greater depth several times in the future. My school-age children who can’t read can still listen and help us complete the experiments without being shamed for not being able to answer all the same questions as their older siblings.
The best part? I don’t have to organize that master plan. I don’t have to remember when or how to cover topics. Experts have already thought through exactly when to cover and re-cover every topic. It’s one less thing (more like one hundred fewer things) for me to worry about.

#2 WIN: Go Beyond the Textbook

In my past homeschool science teacher life, I wanted to figure out appropriate experiments or find the perfect coordinating videos online. But it just took too much time. I half-heartedly checked out some hands-on science books from the library, flipped through them, and quietly slipped them into the return box without showing the kids, feeling like a failure for not doing more.
By blending hands-on activities and experiments, high quality literature, and videos, all my kids can get something out of what we’re doing this year with BookShark. Obviously my preschooler and my middle schooler won’t finish the year with all the same factoids floating around in their minds, but they will have memories of completing experiments together.
They each glean what they can from the books we read, and I know that they’re internalizing so much more than they would otherwise.

#3 WIN: Have Fun

We spent far too long dreading science in our homeschool. I reached that sorry conclusion when I was unpacking all our BookShark science supplies for this year while my kids looked on. They weren’t drooling -because that would be weird -but they were pretty much drooling. They were so excited to see how the materials in the little supply box were going to get put to use, and I had to squirrel away the included books so they wouldn’t be read secretly under covers in the dead of night with a flashlight ahead of time. They flipped out at the thought that sometime this year we would be growing our own popcorn. Popcorn! When my husband came home that night, he could barely squeeze inside due to four little people at the door, bursting to tell him about all that science holds for us this year.

The moral of our story is that we can win at science whether we have one child or ten, if only we just give them the right tools to enjoy it.

About the Author

Alicia Schonhardt lives in Iowa with her husband and five homeschooled kids. She loves reading aloud with all the right voices and pretending to be crafty. She is not-so-great at planning and organization but dabbles in minimalism, so it isn’t quite so tricky.
With two medically needy kids, Alicia strives to choose happiness even when things are hard. She blogs at Sweeping Up Joy, about finding beauty and humor in life right now, even when it’s hidden behind piles of laundry and chewed up books.

02/21/2025
10 Science Shows for Kids on Netflix | Elementary Level
We all have days where we need a break or something extra to cope with a bad day. Netflix is the perfect resource for finding those little extras. And since there are so many educational shows on Netflix, you don’t even have to feel guilty about regularly relying on these videos.

My kids thinking watching Netflix is a treat and they hardly even realize they are learning. But they’ve absorbed so much about ecosystems, outer space, and the human body in ways that visually supplement our literature-based curriculum.

The science shows listed below are specifically good for kids in Kindergarten through fifth grade and cover topics especially interesting to them: animals, space, the Earth, the human body, and so much more.

1. Magic School Bus

The Magic School Bus is a classic show that is still relevant today. Ms Frizzle covers topics from geology and dinosaurs to weather and the water cycle. If there is a science topic you want to learn more about, The Magic School Bus probably has an episode for you. Pair the program with a Magic School Bus picture book for extra reinforcement.

2. StoryBots

Have you ever heard the statistic that four year olds ask almost 300 questions a day? Well StoryBots is out to answer those random questions.
- Why is the sky blue?
- Why does it rain?
- How do birds sing?
This show is definitely for the younger kids, but it will still engage older elementary kids who have the same questions, especially if you go a bit deeper beyond the video by doing extra research.

3. Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That

If you like the nonfiction Cat in the Hat books, you’ll love the videos that go along with them. They cover many topics but mostly focus on nature. There is a lot of information about different animals and habitats. We’ve enjoyed episodes about deserts, bees, bats, and rainforests, for example.

4. Space Racers

For kids who love space and want to learn more, Space Racers is a good fit. It covers all kinds of space topics like satellites, the moon, and stars. This show is probably better for younger elementary, but it’s a great supplement for your homeschool science curriculum about outer space.

5. Bill Nye the Science Guy

Bill Nye was a staple of my childhood, and I am so excited to be able to share him with my kids. His videos are fast paced and entertaining which is the perfect combination to hold children’s attention. Plus he tends to cover intriguing topics in ways that kids can appreciate: the human body, electricity, and chemical reactions, for example.

6. Quiz Time

This show is for younger kids, probably preK and Kindergarten, but it covers some science concepts as well as observation, logic, and more. It’s in the form of a quiz show as the characters complete tasks and solve problems.

7. Jungle Book Safari

Jungle Book fans, now you can learn all about animals from Mowgli and Baloo! Each episode of Quiz Time features a different animal. The shows are only 10-15 minutes long, so they are a quick way to learn more about animals in short bursts of time.

8. Mighty Machines

Have a truck lover? Mighty Machines will be a lifesaver. From airplanes to trucks, this show covers many different types of machines, showing them up close and personal. Although it’s a bit cheesy with some silly voice-overs, it has real footage of massive tools that kids are fascinated by.

9. Fishtronaut

If animals, animal habitats, and animal behavior are on your list of things to study, Fishtronaut is the right show for you. It’s meant for preschool age and up.

10. Brain Games

This show answers questions you didn’t even know you should ask. Brain Games thoroughly explains each topic using multiple experiments and explanations. This show isn’t necessarily meant for kids, but it definitely keeps their attention.

Besides these ten shows, Netflix has hundreds of documentaries on almost every topic imaginable. Simply search for any subject that arises in your science curriculum or that your kids express interest in. Even adult documentaries can usually work for kids, especially if they have a natural curiosity about the topic. Go load up your queue now so you’ll be ready for the next day when you need a video diversion.

Grade by Grade Information
01/07/2025