Special thanks to Master Books for providing a review copy of this curriculum for us to test out in our home. All opinions are my own based upon our personal experiences with the product.
Do you have an aspiring biology or pre-med student in your home? Is your child fascinated with the study of human biology? The Advanced Pre-Med Studies curriculum set from Master Books may be just what you need. It includes the Parent Lesson Planner, Body by Design by Alan L. Gillen, Building Blocks in Life Science by Gary Parker, The Genesis of Germs by Alan L. Gillen, and Exploring the History of Medicine by John Hudson Tiner. It’s a 1-year science program geared towards 10th – 12th grade students and equals 1 high school science credit.
The Parent Lesson Planner has a 36 week lesson plan. Each week has 5 lessons that are approximately 30 to 45 minutes per lesson. There are worksheets, quizzes, tests, and the all important answer keys. It is set up so the student can work independently, if desired. The first semester covers Exploring the History of Medicine and The Genesis of Germs. The second semester covers Body by Design and Building Blocks of Life Science. The pages in the planner can be copied for use in the family or for groups up to 10 students. Optional science labs are given for further hands-on study. (These labs would require additional purchases to complete.)
In Exploring the History of Medicine, students are introduced to the key individuals in medical history as well as important breakthroughs in science. It goes over things scientists got wrong and right throughout history as well as thinking has changed over the years with new scientific information comes to light. Everything is presented from a Biblical worldview. Each chapter has a symptom chart which gives the problems that will be covered in the chapter, a diagnosis chart that covers the solutions to the problems covered in the chapter, and chapter review questions. The book is filled with illustrations, images, and biographies to help keep students engaged in the learning process.
In The Genesis of Germs, students are introduced to microbes, bacteria, protista, fungi, viruses, diseases, and plagues all from a Biblical worldview. Throughout the chapters you’ll find a variety of focuses: general focus, historical focus, design focus, creation focus, and creation scientist focus which point out key elements in the chapters. The chapters contain a lot of information which is why it is nice that there are a good number of images, charts, and graphs to make the information easier to understand. The book does have review questions for each chapter as well as critical thinking questions. Unfortunately, there is no answer key for the chapter questions.
In Body by Design, students are taken on a journey through the human body with a look at all 11 systems of the human body. An emphasis is placed on the biblical idea that we are fearfully and wonderfully made by our creator. Chapters are filled with information including images, charts, and tables. Each chapter concludes with a check your understanding section that contains questions to make sure the student understands what they are learning.
In Building Blocks of Life Science, students are introduced to subjects including: Darwin (evolution) vs Design (creation), Patterns in Structure and Development – Life before birth (creation, evolution, and the embryo), and DNA and the Origin of Life. Each of these units further breaks down into in-depth studies into the topics. While the book is not overly technical, there is a good bit of scientific information presented throughout the text. At the end of the sections within the units, a “building inspection” (quiz) is given to help the reader solidify the information in her mind. Prior to the “building inspection”, the “form your foundation” paragraph gives an information paragraph to help build a solid foundation for the reader’s belief system. Each building block points toward the truth of scripture and the errors of evolution.
Students will walk away from this course with a better understanding of the human body, medical history, germs, and life science all from a Biblical worldview.
