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Middle School Homeschool

Science Books for Middle School: An Easy Guide for Parents

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

When choosing science books for middle school, I like a good mix of textbooks and living books. Also, look at my page How to Successfully Homeschool Middle School for more ideas.

Besides choosing the right science books for your middle school kid can feel overwhelming, biology here, physics there, and suddenly you’re drowning in options. However, with the right mix of engaging reads, hands-on resources, and go-to references, science can become one of the most exciting parts of your homeschool.

Science Books for Middle School: An Easy Guide for Parents

Additionally, science doesn’t have to be intimidating. With the right resources, students can feel confident exploring everything from microscopic cells to distant galaxies. The goal isn’t just to cover content, it’s to encourage curiosity, critical thinking, and a lifelong love for discovering how the world works.

And as with the rest of homeschooling, science should be taught to your child’s learning style and interests to have the most significant impact.

For example, this might mean including science comics (yes, they have those), a Minecraft-themed science notebook, AND a textbook on human anatomy and physiology.

Too, this guide will help you understand what science topics are typically taught in middle school and how different types of books-from textbooks to living books-can support your child’s growing curiosity.

WHAT SCIENCE IS USUALLY TAUGHT IN MIDDLE SCHOOL

Next, middle school is a time when students move from simple observation to deeper investigation. Many curricula cycle through the major branches of science during grades 6–8, providing students with a foundation in several topics.

Let’s break those down and see what is generally taught in 6th-8th grade.

Earth & Space Science- This branch taps into big, awe-inspiring questions and natural systems.
Topics often include:

  • Earth’s layers and plate tectonics
  • Rocks, minerals, and soil
  • Weather vs. climate
  • Water cycle
  • Oceans and marine life
  • Sun, Moon, and planets
  • Stars, galaxies, and the universe
Science Books for Middle School: An Easy Guide for Parents

Earth and space science gives middle school kids a sense of scale, how enormous the universe is, yet how precisely our planet is designed.

Physical Science (Chemistry and Physics Foundations)- This is usually the most “hands-on” science for middle school.

 Topics often include:

  • Matter and its states
  • Atoms, molecules, and introductory chemistry
  • Chemical reactions
  • Forces and motion
  • Simple machines
  • Energy forms (light, heat, sound, electrical)
  • Newton’s laws

Physical science introduces cause and effect, helping students understand why things behave the way they do.

Scientific Inquiry & the Nature of Science

Topics often  include:

  • Drawing conclusions
  • Asking questions and defining problems
  • Forming hypotheses
  • Designing experiments
  • Collecting and analyzing data

MORE MIDDLE SCHOOL BOOK LISTS

MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE BOOKS

Finally, look at these fun books I’ve rounded up.

10 Science Books for Middle School

While not an exhaustive list, here is a good start on all three types of books to fill your bookshelves and offer your 6-8th graders brain food.

Plains Indians Free Writing Prompts For Elementary, Middle and High School Homeschooled Kids

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

I have some Plains Indians free writing prompts for multiple ages. Too, look at my page Free Native Americans The Plains Indians Unit Study & Lapbook.

Also, look at my pages Homeschool Middle School, How to Homeschool High School and How To Homeschool Elementary Students Like A Pro.for more fun tips.

Plains Indians Free Writing Prompts For Elementary, Middle and High School Homeschooled Kids

You know my passion for unit studies and some things like writing, I just taught on the spot and took topics from books or things we were learning about. Isn’t that the best way to teach writing anyway? 

Then, writing has a meaningful purpose to either a budding writer or an advanced writer.

So I have started working my way through creating writing prompts and topics for you on each of my unit studies here on my site.

You can look over and grab the first set of ideas for my Ancient Civilization unit study here on 20 Ideas For Bringing Writing Alive Through Unit Studies.

Also, I divided them out by grade level, not that I so believe in grade level, but because I know that like my kids, your kids too are at different levels for their writing ability.

Plains Indians free writing prompts for elementary, middle school and high school homeschooled kids @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Plains Indians Free Writing Prompts

This will give you choices for a range of difficulties. Too, I have topics that are both factual and creative depending on what skills you are looking to strengthen in your child’s writing.

MIDDLE TO HIGH SCHOOL PLAINS INDIAN WRITING TOPICS

(Remember, for some of these topics, you will need to look at my Plains Indians Unit Study and Lapbook Page.)

■When Ten Bears he said he was born on the prairie, do you think he was talking only about his birth?

■How would you feel if you were forbidden to speak in your native language?

■If you were a pioneer traveling West, what Native American tribe would you want to encounter and why?

■Use pictographs and write (draw) a Native American tale.

■Choose one of the tribes from the Plains and write about their life, the food they ate and why buffalo were so important to them. Look here at ledger drawings to understand how they felt about their life on The Plains.

■What are the elements of a myth? Read a myth that the Plain Indians believed in and write about why they believed in it.

■Sign language was invented out of necessity. Was sign language for the Plains Indians for the deaf? Write (and illustrate) about some of the sign language the Indians used.

■Indians used many different kind of wild plants for food. Acorns (shelled and ground into meal) and Sotol and Lechuguilla are plants of the agave family. The bulbs of these plants were cooked and eaten. Write about some of the food that the Plains Indians ate and how they made it. (Include a recipe too.)

■What are two ways that the flat area of the plains affected the Native Americans?

■What are 4 major contributions by the Plains Indians?

■(On my Plains Indian page). After reading the short story about the captivity of Lorinda Bewly with the Whitman group traveling to Oregon, write a brief essay about the meeting of two different cultures? Or were they that different after all? What do you think and why?

■What are two major differences between the Plains Indians and other Native Americans of that time?

Free Writing Prompts

■How are Plains Indians making contributions today?

■What was the view of woman during the times of the Plains Indians and compare that to how people feel today?

■Describe the social structure of the Plains Indians.

■In your opinion, did the early American settlers try to help or hinder the progress of Native Americans?

■Describe the art, beading and leather working of the Plains Indians.

■Do you think the Indians should have been paid for their land? Why or why not?

ELEMENTARY WRITING PROMPTS ABOUT THE PLAINS INDIANS

■Why was a dog and horse important to the Plains Indians?

■What did the Plains Indians live in? Describe how they decorated their tipis and draw your own design.

■What was winter like on the Plains compared to other Native Americans living at that time?

■What is pemmican and why was it important to the Plains Indians?

■Explain the many uses of the buffalo.

■Do you think the Plains Indians had pets? If so, what kind? How would you take care of a pet when living on the wide open plains?

■What do you think life would have been like in a tipi?

■Describe the life of a hunter and why hunting was important to the Plains Indians

■Why was corn important to the Plains Indians? Look here at my Fall Unit Study page to read about corn.

■Do you think the kids of the Plains Indians did school? How did they learn?

Hope you enjoyed these brainstorming ideas as well as some of the topics we wrote about. I have more free writing prompts coming on my other unit studies soon.

You may also love these other resources:

Hugs and love ya,

Free Moon Journal For Homeschool Science

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Today, I am sharing this fun free moon journal for homeschool science. Also, look at my page Exploring Space and Astronomy Free Unit Study for Multiple Ages for more ideas.

The Moon is a big, rocky ball that orbits around Earth.

And it is about 1/4 the size of our planet. Too, tt takes the Moon about 27.3 days to go all the way around Earth.

Your kids will love this journal if you want some easy hands-on science.

Besides the fact that we’re loving being back in Texas, I was looking for something that would spur Tiny on to a few more hands-on activities for science.

Hands-on Homeschool Science

So he has been reading through the book Air Is Not Oxygen: Essential Science You Should Have Learned … But Probably Didn’t!.

It has really been a super fun and quick way to learn the essentials of science. Each concept has two or more ideas for hands-on activities to go along with the fact that is being taught.

We just started through it because we needed something more to add to what he is doing right now, which is chemistry.

Too, I like the fact that it is covering basic essentials in a fun and easy way without laboring complicated science facts.

Homeschool Science

He skipped ahead to a few chapters he wanted to read first and though he has read about the moon phases, I thought it would be a fun and uncomplicated activity to keep a moon journal, which is one of the many activities suggested in the book.

I will share a few other activities suggested in the book too.

Free Moon Journal For Homeschool Science
Free Moon Journal For Homeschool Science

So I prepared this quick moon journal.

The first page has the eight phases of the moon and has a place for your child to write his name.

It also has a place for him to record how long he watched the moon.

The second page is an undated page with 31 boxes on it for 31 days to record or one month.

The top blue box above the gray moon is for your child to write the day, like 1, 2, 3,etc.

The middle box which has the moon is a place for him to lightly mark or color the moon and the double dotted line under the box is for him to label or write the name of it too.

I made this so you can use it with both an older and younger child.

Free Moon Journal - Hands on homeschool science.

The younger child can simple shade or color the moon and an older child can write the name of the moon and add other things he may have observed that night or during the month.

Too, look at these books about the moon.

BOOKS ABOUT THE MOON FOR KIDS

12 Resources and Books For Studying About the Moon and Galileo

If you want to focus on the moon in your astronomy and space unit study, add one of these fun resources to your day.

MORE LEARNING ABOUT THE MOON ACTIVITIES

HOW TO GET THE FREE MOON JOURNAL

Now, how to grab the freebie.  It’s a subscriber freebie.

That means when you sign up to follow me, you get my emails in your inbox and you get this freebie.

1) CLICK HERE ON THIS LINK TO SIGN UP ON MY EMAIL LIST & TO GET THIS FREEBIE.

2) Grab the freebie instantly.

3) Last, look for all my emails in your inbox. Glad to have you following me!

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Make Science Exciting: Free Human Body Homeschool Unit Study

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

When we started our human body homeschool unit study we were excited to learn about all the free resources. Also, look at these other pages Best Homeschool Unit Studies and Fun Human Body Crafts for Kids Who Love Hands-on Learning for more ideas and topics for hands-on learning.

Too, our human body is an amazing and wonderful complex system.

And everyday it does amazing things like running, eating and healing.

Make Science Exciting: Free Human Body Homeschool Unit Study

However, all these free and wonderful human body homeschool unit study resources can be an unwieldy beast to tame as they took over my page.

That is unless they are organized of course so we can use them.

Plus, I don’t want you to miss out on any super duper ideas when you start your human body unit study.

Free Resources for Human Body Homeschool Unit Study

So I have organized the resources by grade where possible just to give you an idea of where to start and then by topic like craft or teacher guides.

Prek/K/Elementary

First, look at some resources for the elementary kids.

Besides, you know how I feel about grade levels, they’re just a guide but not what defines our kids.

Middle School

Next, look at these middle school resources for the human body unit study.

Mega List Free Resources for Human Body Homeschool Unit Study. Crafts, Lesson Plans,Teachers Guides for Elementary, Middle and High School @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus


High School

Lastly, I gathered up some high school resources too.

  • Cervical Dilation Illustration. Remember to look over these sites first. This illustration was super helpful in understanding labor and delivery. The illustration starts with a cheerio and goes up to the size of a bagel.
  • The Endocrine System Teacher’s Guide.

Additionally, look at these hands-on activities. After all, this is how learning sticks.

MORE HUMAN BODY HOMESCHOOL UNIT STUDY ACTIVITIES

Hands-On Activities (All Grades)

The Basement Workshop Store



Edible Projects

Make Science Exciting: Free Human Body Homeschool Unit Study. When we started our human body homeschool unit study we were excited to learn about all the free resources. Also, look at these other pages Best Homeschool Unit Studies and Fun Human Body Crafts for Kids Who Love Hands-on Learning for more ideas and topics for hands-on learning. Your human body is an amazing and wonderful complex system. Human body lapbook for kids.

Interactive Content, Media, Images Human Body Homeschool Unit Study

Also, your kids will enjoy some of these interactive games and pictures.

Anatomy of the Human Body by Henry Gray The Bartleby.com edition of Gray’s Anatomy of the Human Body features 1,247 vibrant engravings—many in color—from the classic 1918 publication.
Paper Mache Body Images.
Anatomy Arcade – Beats worksheets.

3 D Brain Anatomy A virtual 3-D
You Tube How the Heart Pumps

Journey through the Digestive track infographic
Video about Skin

HUMAN BODY LAPBOOK FOR KIDS

Make Science Exciting: Free Human Body Homeschool Unit Study. When we started our human body homeschool unit study we were excited to learn about all the free resources. Also, look at these other pages Best Homeschool Unit Studies and Fun Human Body Crafts for Kids Who Love Hands-on Learning for more ideas and topics for hands-on learning. Your human body is an amazing and wonderful complex system. Human body lapbook for kids.

History

Finally, look at this cool history of medicine.

A Civil War Surgeon’s Diary Transcribed. Great way to tie in history with science. Read a Civil War Surgeons Diary.

What is blood hands on activity and free blood components minibook for a human body homeschool unit study @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus featured
Making Blood
Homeschool Unit Study Human Body. Hands-on Activity 5. Edible Skin + Skin and Major Body Systems Minibook @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus Featured
Edible Skin
Mega List Free Resources for Human Body Homeschool Unit Study @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus featured
Mega List Free Resources
Body Part Labeling and Human Skeleton Quiz Free Minibooks - Free Human Body Unit Study @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus FEATURED
Body Part Labeling 
Human Body Unit Study. Rigid versus Flexible Bones Hands-on Activity @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus featured
Rigid versus Flexible Bone Activity
Human body unit study DIY Heart Pump @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus featured
DIY Heart Pump
20 Human Body Books for Middle and High School Homeschooled Kids @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus featured
Human Body Books for Middle and High School
Human body unit study DIY Stethoscope. Hands-on Learning @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus featured
Kids Stethoscope Activity
Free Human Body Lapbook and Unit Study @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus featured
Beautiful Human Body Lapbook and Fun Unit Study
Make Science Exciting: Free Human Body Homeschool Unit Study

This blog hop is organized by iHomeschool Network, a collaboration of outstanding homeschool bloggers who connect with each other and with family-friendly companies in mutual beneficial projects.

Electricity Hands-On Homeschool Science Activity

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

I have a fun electricity hands-on science activity. We’re making a low voltage circuit. Also, look at my post 4 Weeks Free Physical Science Unit Study & Best Hands-on Ideas.

We have been getting all science-y around here because Tiny has been loving the book Air Is Not Oxygen: Essential Science You Should Have Learned … But Probably Didn’t.

We have been reviewing it, but I accepted it because it is chock-full of easy hands-on science for all ages.

Electricity Hands-On Homeschool Science Activity

Did I mention it is a quick read and for adults too?

As I got some of my organization projects done this past month (where did the month go), Tiny has been reading Air Is Not Oxygen: Essential Science You Should Have Learned … But Probably Didn’t and planning the easy hand-on activities he wanted to try.

Next, look at some of these books about electricity.

BOOKS ABOUT ELECTRICITY FOR KIDS

I prefer living books when I can find them.

5 Electricity Books for Kids Who Love to Read and Be Read To

Learning about electricity is a fascinating subject for kids to learn about. Add one or two of these books to your home library.

First, Tiny read about the different forms of electricity.

I thought there was just one kind, the kind that comes from the outlet. (you know I run from science).

Anyway, thank goodness the kid knows more than his mother.

But then again, this book has been making it easy for me him to learn about the different forms of electricity.

MORE ELECTRICITY HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS

Electricity Hands-On Homeschool Science Activity. I have a fun electricity hands-on science activity. We're making a low voltage circuit. We have been getting all science-y around here because Tiny has been loving the book Air Is Not Oxygen: Essential Science You Should Have Learned ... But Probably Didn't. I accepted it because it is chock-full of easy hands-on science. Did I mention it is a quick read and for adults too? We changed this activity a bit to make a low voltage circuit.

Look at what he did today that he thought was pretty cool and look at how what we used as we changed this activity a bit to make a low voltage circuit:

Electricity Hands-On Science Activity

  • Rayovac 6 volt batter from a lantern (because Dad had it). The original activity called for a simple D cell battery.
  • 1 red alligator clip
  • 1 black alligator clip
  • red side light from a trailer (because its way cooler than a tiny flashlight bulb, which the original activity called for. The trailer light was cheaper too)
  • bread tie (connected as a ground wire to light)
Electricity Hands-On Homeschool Science Activity

This is pretty easy with a fun wow factor. First, take the bread tie and wrap it around the metal part of the light fixture to make a ground wife.

This wasn’t on the original activity but it made for a bit more ingenuity for Tiny.

Then, Tiny hooked the black alligator clip wire to the negative side of the battery and then hook the red alligator wire to the positive side of the battery.

Then connect them to the wire feeding the light bulb. Easy peazy and I can do this.

It’s better to do than to just read about this quick and easy activity that really any kid or adult can do to understand what is a circuit.

Electricity Hands-On Homeschool Science Activity. I have a fun electricity hands-on science activity. We're making a low voltage circuit. We have been getting all science-y around here because Tiny has been loving the book Air Is Not Oxygen: Essential Science You Should Have Learned ... But Probably Didn't. I accepted it because it is chock-full of easy hands-on science. Did I mention it is a quick read and for adults too? We changed this activity a bit to make a low voltage circuit.

When it comes to science, me and Tiny are all hands-on instead of worksheet. A little bit of thrill goes a long way with us.

I have another activity or two coming on this book that we are lapping up!