Anything that makes my life as a homeschooling mom easier is a win in my book, and when it comes to history and science, it just makes sense to do so.
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Joy Hakim’s latest 4-part book series, beginning with the recently released Discovering Life’s Story: Biology’s Beginnings and Discovering Life’s Story: The Evolution of an Idea, does exactly that.
Who is Joy Hakim?
There is no question, Joy Hakim is 100% qualified and knows her stuff!
She has several degrees – hello Doctor Hakim! – has been a teacher and a journalist; her work has been seen in The Wall Street Journal and she’s been an editor, and freelancer, and she is lifelong student having taken courses at some of the biggest and best colleges in the country.
Learn more about the author here.
Well-known for her ten-volume series, A History of US, Hakim has now created a series geared towards teens; one that intertwines science with history. Before delving into my review, I must preface it by stating my skepticism regarding the historical accuracy of Hakim’s previous work.
A History of US often felt, to put it bluntly, “whitewashed” which is a common concern when choosing curriculum.
So, of course, while I approached Hakim’s newest release with a discerning eye, and despite including more diverse contributors and representation throughout, it is still a bit lacking.
Thus this series is probably best used as a life science spine for rather than a stand-alone.
Discovering Life’s Story Series by Joy Hakim
What spoke to me the most about the series, and what I want to focus on here, is the marriage of science and history within one resource. I think it’s a wonderful way to present information, instead of the typical, abstract separation of subjects, combining the two is incredibly beneficial, especially for older students.
We’ve always been a unit study family, from the early days of our homeschool when my youngest and I would take a deep dive into topics like The Middle Ages; we would read everything about the topic, do hands-on activities, and even cook and eat foods from the times.
There are benefits to fully immersing your learner in a subject or theme, and I welcome the opportunity to do more of the same as we work through the books in this series of the course of the next few years. I appreciate this format because it truly speaks to my STEM-focused learner.
As a homeschooler who enjoys pulling together unit studies, I’m excited to take some of the concepts and ideas in the books and create hands-on STEM activities for my eight-grader.
Why Combining Science and History is Beneficial to Learners
The Fusion of History and Natural Science
Typically subjects are taught in isolation, but integrating life science and history makes sense from a historical perspective and is a powerful tool for students in the middle grades and above. In our family, the middle grades are the age in which tweens and teens begin to push back, question more, and see things from their perspectives; as home educators, this is exactly what we’re striving for.
Here are some reasons why combining the two – science and history – as Hakim has done in both, Discovering Life’s Story: Biology’s Beginnings and Discovering Life’s Story: The Evolution of an Idea, is beneficial for students.
Historical Context Helps Impart Cultural Knowledge
Joy Hakim expertly combines lessons about scientific discoveries with an overview of historical events, cultural influences, and norms of the society in which the discovery was made, allowing readers an all-encompassing perspective.
One case in particular, revolves around last names; Nils Ingemarsson, upon enrolling in university, was asked to choose a new last name (due to naming conventions of the time, there were far too many Ingemassons on campus) so Nils chose a Latin name because, again during the time, having a Latin name signified intelligence.
It’s small details like this that provide a perspective that most textbooks leave out, and I think this truly makes a significant difference in terms of how engaged a student is when reading a history or science book. Very well done, in my opinion!
Fosters Critical Thinking
As my learner begins to look toward the future, and with high school quickly on the horizon, one of the things I hope to help foster more of in the coming years, is critical thinking skills. As our kids age, discernment is crucial, and critical thinking skills empower them to analyze situations, weigh alternatives, and make informed decisions rather than succumbing to peer pressure or impulsivity.
Since studying both history and science correctly, requires that learners analyze evidence, evaluate sources, and construct arguments, any resource that combines the two, and gets my student thinking and making connections on his own is worth its weight in gold.
Improves Narrative Competence
In an age where storytelling is front and center, whether through social media branding, marketing, or business in general, being able to weave together a string of ideas to influence is something that our future scholars need to be well-versed in. Exposing them to rich storytelling in their homeschool resources is one way to do so.
Joy Hakim doesn’t just tell her readers who the major players – inventors, scientists, innovators – are, rather she creates a storyline that moves the students and inspires them to take a deeper dive into the topic.
In one instance, the author discusses how Robert Hooke, charged with headlining experiments for the Royal Society, would routinely have disagreements with Isaac Newton; this fact piqued the interest of my learner and we went to the internet for a bit of a deeper dive into the origins and results of the “beef” that Hooke and Newton had with one another.
Mixing history and science isn’t just about checking off subjects—it’s about opening up a whole new world of learning for our middle schoolers. When we weave together scientific knowledge with its historical roots, we’re not just teaching facts; we’re painting a vivid picture of how science evolves and shapes the world around us.
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