Biology, BJU Press, Fifth Edition

Name: Biology, BJU Press, Fifth Edition
Brand: BJU Press

by BJU Press

ScienceGrades 9–12

About This Curriculum

A comprehensive high school biology course that explores God's living world from microscopic cells to macroscopic organisms, featuring clear scientific images, case studies, and lab activities while comparing biblical and secular worldviews on controversial topics.

What makes it unique: Academically rigorous biology curriculum with thorough coverage of creation/evolution controversy from a biblical Christian worldview, featuring enhanced emphasis on cytology and microbiology compared to typical courses

BJU Press Biology: Traditional Christian Biology with Creation Worldview

A comprehensive high school biology textbook from BJU Press that presents biological concepts from a biblical, young-earth creation perspective. The curriculum includes extensive content from cellular to organismal levels with dedicated attention to creation vs. evolution discussions.

Best for

Christian homeschool families or schools seeking rigorous biology content with young-earth creation perspective, preferably in co-op or classroom settings

Evaluation Criteria

2 strengths · 2 concerns · 3 neutral

Knowledge RichStrength

The curriculum builds substantial content knowledge, covering topics from cellular level to human biology with greater emphasis on cytology and microbiology than typical courses.

Review notes 'loads of full-color images' and 'more content in the textbook than most students can cover,' indicating comprehensive knowledge coverage across biological disciplines

Scientific VocabularyStrength

The curriculum emphasizes scientific vocabulary with systematic terminology instruction throughout chapters.

Review mentions 'many bolded vocabulary words that students are to learn' and 'a list of key terms' at the end of each chapter

Ngss AlignmentConcern

While covering core biological concepts, the curriculum prioritizes biblical worldview over NGSS three-dimensional learning framework.

The course focuses on creation vs. evolution with 'Chapter 10, When Worldviews Collide, entirely devoted to evolution and creation' rather than NGSS practices and crosscutting concepts

Direct InstructionConcern

The teacher's edition provides teaching information but is not structured for systematic direct instruction, especially for independent learners.

Teaching information in the TE 'is not laid out step by step' and 'students reading the text on their own will probably miss out on that information'

Teacher TrainingNeutral

The teacher's edition provides content support but limited pedagogical guidance for effective science instruction.

TE includes 'teaching information' and 'lesson plan overview' but is 'written for teachers working with a class group' and doesn't provide systematic instructional guidance

Retrieval PracticeNeutral

The curriculum includes multiple forms of review and practice questions but lacks systematic retrieval practice design.

Each subsection has review questions, plus end-of-chapter 'review questions,' 'true-or-false questions,' and 'critical thinking questions'

Hands On IntegrationNeutral

Lab work is available through a separate manual but is presented as optional rather than integrated into daily instruction.

Separate Lab Manual with teacher's edition is available, though 'it is possible to use the text without a lab.' Lab activities are 'classroom oriented' and require specific equipment recommendations

Sources: cathyduffyreviews.com, learning-center.homesciencetools.com