As you approach the high school years you probably question if and how you will teach high school level courses, especially science classes. Those upper level science courses with experiments and lab requirements can be a little intimidating, especially if you didn’t do well in high school science yourself.
There are many great curriculums and resources available to teach high school level science. There are courses to fit all learning and teaching styles, and even some that do most of the heavy-lifting for you.
Several of you asked if I had a list similar to my Biology list for high school, but for Chemistry. Well, since I had a first time Chemistry student this year, I did some research on high school courses for homeschoolers as well, and since the Biology course was so well-received and helpful to many, I thought I might as well share what I found for Chemistry too.
Below you’ll find a list of high school Chemistry courses that I looked into using for my 10th grade son and a little info about each one. For more info, click over to the publisher’s website. We ended up using Friendly Chemistry – very easy for a student to understand and for them to do most of the work on their own, which is what we needed. If Experience Chemistry had been available this past year we probably would have used that course as we’ve really enjoyed several of their other courses in the past.
Friendly Chemistry
Friendly Chemistry is a very popular and successful high school chemistry course prepares students for work at the college level. It is written by a homeschool dad who has a doctorate degree in veterinary medicine and a masters degree in curriculum and instruction.
This complete high school level chemistry course uses a textbook with supplemental videos and hands-on lab activities to create a multi-sensory experience for your student. A student workbook and tests & answer keys book accompany the course. An audio version of the textbook is also available.
The simple language, fun games and activities, and clear presentation of the concepts helps students to retain the information and work through the course independently (if that is your desire).
A teaching library available on their website and excellent customer service make this course easy for parents to use as well. It is available for use with one student or a co-op group and is available in a Christian Worldview or Secular version.
Experience Chemistry
Experience Chemistry from Journey Homeschool Academy provides a high-quality, hands-on, engaging chemistry experience. The online course includes engaging video lessons, comprehension quizzes and exams (that are graded for you), lab & reading assignments (including lab videos), research questions, and lesson outlines.
The videos are pre-recorded, giving you the flexibility to go through the course at your own pace. You will have access to the course for one year from the date you choose to start. You can access the lessons from any device which adds even more flexibility for you and your student.
You can try a couple lessons for free before you buy, plus they offer a 100% money back guarantee. This course is taught from a Christian Worldview.
Exploring Creation with Chemistry
Exploring Creation with Chemistry is an award-winning, creation-based science curriculum from Apologia. This college-prep course will help your child investigate, discover, recognize, appreciate, discuss, and understand the world of chemistry and how it relates to the world around them.
This course will help prepare your student for college through the presentation of challenging science concepts and thought-provoking experiments in a format that help students learn methodically, self-check, and master difficult concepts.
The course components include a hardcover textbook, softcover solutions and test manual, a spiral-bound student notebook that includes a day-to-day schedule, and and instructional DVD. This course is taught from a Christian Worldview.
Master’s Class High School Chemistry
Master’s Class High School Chemistry is published by MasterBooks and written by Dr. Dennis Englin – a professional scientist and science educator.
This course was designed with homeschoolers in mind, making it practical for homeschool use. The thorough lessons and engaging labs focus on chemistry concepts and their applications, all the while preparing your child for college level courses.
The easy-to-read textbook is visually appealing and the teacher guide with schedule and supply lists makes teaching easy. The step-by-step lab instructions with photos will help you and your student complete the assignments with ease.
This course has a heavy focus on application-based learning versus memorization and is taught from a Biblical Worldview.
DIVE Chemistry
DIVE Chemistry is a self-paced, digital course that you have access to for one year from the date of purchase. All homework, flash cards, and quarterly reviews are graded for you and stored online. You can access the course from anywhere, from any device.
It’s a complete, college prep course that covers an array of chemistry topics – atomic and molecular bonding, chemical reactions and equations, stoichiometry, gas laws, solutions, thermodynamics, chemical equilibrium, and much more.
Labs are done weekly and include all required AP labs. Upon completion of the course, students will be confident in working with the scientific method and will have developed proficient lab skills. This is a Christian course.
Discovering Design with Chemistry
Discovering Design with Chemistry is published by Berean Builders and written by Dr. Jay L. Wile. This college-prep course encourages independent study by the student while learning the fundamentals of chemistry, including classification of matter, atomic structure, spectroscopy, chemical bonding, molecular geometry, physical change, chemical change, and much more.
This textbook-based course includes 46 experiments to help reinforce the concepts being taught. Experiments such as measuring the wavelength of microwaves, determining the number of water molecules in a hydrated compound, performing flame tests, examining the interference of light waves, and many more.
Chemistry in the Kitchen
Chemistry in the Kitchen is an award-winning program that takes a little different approach to chemistry. Instead of a big textbook, Guest Hollow’s chemistry course uses great living books, fun hands-on activities, fascinating videos, online articles & images, and free printables.
Your student will not only be learning chemistry during this course, but also another important skill, cooking. No special equipment or lab kits required, and no prerequisite math is required either. This is a practical chemistry course for kids that aren’t great in math and that don’t necessarily love science either, but will enjoy learning down-to-earth science that is relatable to everyday life.
ChemExplained.com
ChemExplained.com is an online college-prep high school level course that consists of 20 chapters complete with notes, assignments, tests, experiments, lab reports, and teaching videos.
You can choose between a foundational, traditional, or honor student route, or just go at your own pace. A free trial is available for you to try out before you buy. This is a neutral course.
I also looked into full, online Live and Self-Paced courses where there is a teacher that does all or most of the work for you (which is what I need during this season of life). Many of the online options actually use some of the courses that I listed above as their main resource. Here is a list of online class options that I found and the curriculum that they use.
- Apologia Online Academy – uses Apologia’s Exploring Creation with Chemistry; Live and Self-paced options
- The Potters School – uses Pearson Chemistry; only Live option available
- Science on Demand – several different chemistry curriculums available; only self-paced option available
- Schole Academy – uses Novare General Chemistry; only Live option available
- Excelsior Classes – uses Modern Chemistry; only Live option available
- Veritas Press – only Live option available
