Troy,+Alyssa,+Dan,+Eleanor

= **Biology The Study of Life Prentice Hall** = ** General Information: ** - Schraer, W.D and Stoltze, H.J. Biology. Prentice Hall: Needham Massachusetts, 1991. 4th Ed - Content Area, Grade Level, Difficulty (i.e. Honors, College Prep, etc) ** (On a scale of 1 – 5, 1 being poor and 5 being excellent; provide brief Explanation) ** ** Organization: 1 ** - Progression is strange Animals and Plants comes after Diversity of life - Overly dense. Lots of vocab and details. Does not flow well. ** Chapters: 2 ** - Chapters provide an Introduction and conclusion - Chapters clearly stated objectives - Chapters have strange visuals and problems. Is not particularly interesting to read. - Chapter provides the student with vocabulary words but there is too much vocab and it is not adequately defined. - There are real life examples but they are strange and inappropriate. (Why do people die from crack) - Chapters do not have citations and outside materials but it content appears to be fairly common. - Standard historical content ** Student work:2 ** - Yes there are question after each section and at the end of each champter. - There are 5 separate categories of questions Content Review, Graphic Organization. Creative Thinking, Problem Solving, Projects. The questions are standard. - No answers - Projects but No labs. A project example would be write a paper on _____. not great ** Peripherals: Unknown ** - There appear to be some supporting. ** Overall: 2 ** - Book is very outdated. Would be passable in a classroom but would not be as beneficial as many other texts.

**Biology: Exploring Life** By: Campbell, Williamson, Heyden (Prentice Hall)

**Organization:** Progression: 4 (Order follows a logical sense from cell to organism, and then diversity of life. The only subject that seems a bit out of place is Ecology, which is just thrown in after human anatomy and physiology.) Adequate Depth: 5 (Very good content coverage for a high school textbook)

**Chapters:** Introduction & Conclusion: 4 (Good stories to capture reader and overview of what concepts will be covered.) Objectives: 5 (Clearly defined at the beginning of every chapter) Content: 4 (Good balance of colorful pictures and text. Good examples and stories for students to relate to.) Vocab: 3 (Bolded throughout text, but not explicitly defined within reading.) Examples: 5 (Many clear, relatable examples) Support/Research: 3 (No specific sightings of studies or people referenced within text.) Historical: 4 (Specific chapters show historical context of life, but not history of discoveries or advancements in the field.)

**Student Work:** Work while Reading: 5 (Online guided labs and activities. Review at the end of chapters.) Difficulty and Design: 4 (Definitely variance in design of questions, but not so much within difficulty.) Answers to Student Questions: 2 (No answers provided explicitly, just within chapter readings.) Labs: 4 (Some throughout text, and some online for outside of class)

**Peripherals:** Supporting Materials: 3 (Online activities and labs provided, but no student workbooks/worksheets) Teacher Version: 4 (Book available with helpful suggestions, starting points, activites

**Overall:** 4 This book is well suited for the high school classroom and is updated in terms of content and technology available. There are engaging readings and questions for students, as well as a detailed teacher guide with outside and online resources. We would recommenced this book to teachers looking for a lot of student involvement and activity, as well as balanced teaching by teacher, textbook, presentations, and labs.