History of Science J
Sonlight’s History of Science course (History Level J) is recommended for students in grades eight through ten. This new course (2018) provides full coverage for Bible, world history, and literature for one school year. Using real books along with the History of Science Instructor’s Guide, students learn about the development and applications of science over the past 4,000 years. Lessons follow the chronology of history from ancient civilizations around the world up to modern times. As students learn about scientific developments, they simultaneously learn some of the history and geography of the times and places where these occurred.
Bible reading is scheduled for each week, drawing chronologically from the first and second books of Chronicles, the gospel of Mark, the book of Acts, some of the epistles in the New Testament, and other books of the Bible. Memory passages are assigned for each week. This religion component of the course also has students read the books Disappointment with God, Finding Truth, and What’s So Amazing About Grace? Most books used in the entire History of Science course are secular, however, some such as these three are written to help students develop a strong Christian faith and a biblical worldview.
The lengthy book list for the course includes all three volumes of Joy Hakim’s The Story of Science series (serving as a spine for the entire course), plus other history/science titles such as The Clockwork Universe, Longitude, Stuff Matters, Archimedes and the Door of Science, and Bomb: The Race to Build. This course covers scientific discoveries and principles through history. To make a complete science course, you need to also use Sonlight’s Science J course that adds hands-on experiments, lab recording, further explanation of scientific principles, and additional reading assignments from the Hakim books.
The course also leads students through a serious study of evolutionary theory and conflicting views, with books such as Evolution 2.0, Interpreting Genesis 1 with Integrity, and Censored Science. These resources should help students understand and be prepared to discuss conflicting views regarding the origins of life and the universe, even though their ultimate goal is to inculcate a Christian perspective on the topic.