Example of Enhanced Lesson Plans - AOP Lifepacs

High School Health Requirement

Coordinated with My Requirements of Speech and Presentation

To fulfill state requirements, my son took health for two semesters during high school. To fulfill my requirements, I enhanced the lessons. I wanted my son to practice these skills: plan presentations, speak before a group, interview to collect data, research to collect data. Additionally, he made charts, posters, drawings, and other presentation tools.

AOP Lifepacs

I had no prior experience with Lifepacs; these are the first ones that we've used. I knew that the booklets were small, but I discovered that they really pack in the information. The General Health contained too much information for one semester. I decided to use some of the books for 9th grade and the some for 10th. For the ninth grade year, I choose the lifepacs about human physiology because my son was also studying Exploring Creation with Biology which does not include human physiology. To make this class (using just 2 life pacs) worthy of the 1/2 credit, I added presentations and projects that I hoped my child would enjoy doing. I believed that by doing these projects my child would understand and retain the information better. I also believed that he would benefit, and looking back, he did. My son has made use of the presentation skills countless times since in the Civil Air Patrol.

My Cautionary Advice Regarding Adding Work Load to Your Student

Safe to Enhance a Curriculum?

Always, and I cannot emphasize this enough, consider your child's daily workload when making lesson plans. Although I required speech and presentation projects in this course, it was not an overloaded course. My student was also taking Biology, English I, Algebra, Geography, PE, Typing, and Computer courses. He also joined Civil Air Patrol that year in which he had to study their curriculum as well. So if you choose to enhance a class, be mindful of what you do and do not overload your student.

Only the Best for My Child

Do not enhance lesson plans just for the sake of enhancing or because some other homeschooler is doing it. Enhance only to benefit your student's skills. If extra projects are low in value compared to the time spent, drop them. No one likes to be busy just for the sake of being busy - what a waste of time!

Skills to Improve

The skills that I chose for my child were chosen because I know him well, almost to the point of knowing where he is headed. He always seemed to be on top of everything and it seemed logical that he would need skills in presentation. I was right. If you decide to enhance a subject, choose carefully based on what you know about your child.

Areas of Need

Sometimes a student needs to polish up a skill, an example might be reading comprehension. If you believe your student is too far behind in an important skill like reading comprehension, then add a whole series of enhancements across the curricula to improve the skill.

Below is my one semester enhanced schedule for Lifepacs 708 Human Anatomy: Part 1 and 709 Human Anatomy: Part 2.

Class Schedule

Books / Materials: Alpha Omega Lifepacs 708 Human Anatomy 1, 709 Human Anatomy 2
for 2nd Semester

Sch.	I	II	III	IV	V
19 708	[I]1-2 read objectives do survey	2-3 .I. work through 1.5 draw a cell.	4-6 do 1-1.14	6-7 do 1.15-1.17 look up theory	7 do 1.18-1.21
20	8 1.22-1.32	9-11 self-test	[II]11-12 read and study vocabulary	Study a first aid book and make an oral report on the treatment of broken bones, sprains, strains, and dislocations
21	Present presentation	12-14 do 2.1-2.19 geosafari skeleton	14-16 do 2.20-2.29 geosafari skeleton	16-17 do 2.30-2.34 geosafari skeleton	18-19 do 2.35-2.44 geosafari sense organs
22	19-20 do 2.45-2.53 geosafari sense organs	Review	Self-test 21-22	Write a report on the use of fingerprints as a means of identification. Make an oral presentation Monday.
23	Present presentation	[III] 23 read and study vocabulary	23-25 do 3.1-3.7 draw the spinal cord	From a picture in an encyclopedia make a diagram of the DNA molecule
24	Present presentation	25-26 do 3.8-3.14 draw the brain	27-29 do 3.223.32 geosafari sense organs	Encyclopedia- Robert Hooke or/and Anton van Leeuwenhoek write a 1-page report about their study of cells
25	Present presentation	Draw an eye geosafari sense organs	30 do 3.33-3.37 draw an ear	Make a poster depicting the levels of organization in living organisms. Include an example of a tissue, organ, system found in human body
26	Present presentation	31-32 do 1-6 and 3.38-3.41	32 do 3.42-3.43 draw a nose	Draw a human skeleton, label bones
27	Present presentation	32-33 do 1-3 and 3.48-3.51	34-35 self test	Review	Unit test
28 709	1-3 read and do survey, vocabulary	3-4 do 1.1-1.12	4-5 do 1.13-1.20	Prepare a lecture on which substance man can live without longer, food, water, or oxygen
29	Present presentation	6 do 1.21-1.30	6-8 do 1-3 & 1.31-1.41	Draw the [page 7] respiratory system	8-9 do 1.42-1.52
30	10-12 self test	[II] 12	13-14 1-6 & 2.1-2.10	Prepare a lecture on the respiration problems that astronauts must deal with.
31	Present presentation	15-17 do 1-7 & 2.13-1.23	Draw inside the heart [page 16]	17-18 do 2.24-2.30 draw artery	18-19 do 2.31-2.36 draw capillaries
32	19 do 2.37-2.44	19-20 do 2.45-2.58	20-21 do 2.59-2.63	Gather data on the relationship between age and heart rate. Check the pulse rates of younger children, parents, and grandparents on a chart.
33	Present presentation	21 do 2.64-2.72	21-22 do 2.73-3.77	Self test 2	[III] 24-27 do 3.1-3.16
34	27-30 do 3.173.33	30-31 do 3.34-3.38	31-33 do 3.39-3.57	Make a diagram to show the path of food through the digestive system and during the presentation explain the role of each organ in digestion.
35	Present presentation	[page 33-35] self test	[IV] 36-38 do4.1-4.15	38-39 do 4.16-4.24	[page 39-42] self test
36	[V] 42-44 do 5.1-5.9	44-45 do 5.10-5.25	Self test 5 [page 46-47]	Review	Unit test