By: Kendall Hunt RPD with contributions from the editorial team of ByDesign Science
After a stressful spring and summer, students and teachers alike are in search of something to smile about as they return to school this fall. And from an educator’s perspective, what’s more smile-inducing than a curriculum that a student actually wants to learn?
Here are four factors that make students want to learn … and the ways in which the Kendall Hunt RPD’s customized curriculum ByDesign Science delivers in each category!
1. Bright colors and engaging photos
Students of all ages are attracted to colorful, quality images and books, and ByDesign Science capitalized on this to create a textbook that students will love.
Ashley Moore of the Life with Moore Babies blog recalls how her seventh-grade daughter exclaimed, “Ooo, what’s that? It’s so colorful!” when she first saw the ByDesign Science textbook.
"I am definitely not one to choose curriculum based on looks, but the fact that it caught her attention was a plus already!” Moore wrote.
Don’t be surprised if you catch your students paging through the textbook just to look at the beautiful photos and read the captions … before you know it, you’ll have a budding scientist on your hands!
2. Easy for students to use
For students, the ability to understand the material independently can be a rich and validating experience, provoking feelings of accomplishment that lead them to dive more deeply into the material. That’s why ByDesign Science is designed with student use in mind, communicating rigorous content in an easy-to-understand format that gives kids the encouragement they need to keep turning the pages.
“The quality of the textbook itself is notable—hardcover, sturdy pages, large print that is easy to read,” observed Sara of the Heart and Soul Homeschooling blog. “The tone is conversational and easy to understand, so children can easily read it on their own[,] or it could be used as a living books science read-aloud.”
3. Real-world connections
Another valuable factor that makes students want to learn is the ability to see how what they’re reading in the textbook can benefit them in the real world. The easier it is for them to draw that connection, the likelier they are to engage with the material.
Moore noted that in ByDesign Science, “there are cross-curricular links throughout the book as well as in-depth looks at scientists and possible jobs. This is a really great addition for the middle school level where kids are starting to consider where they might fit in this world.”
4. Adaptable to student interests
While all of the previous points are great ways to cultivate invested students, the most powerful way to gain student buy-in is to let them learn what they want to learn. When kids investigate something they’re truly curious about, something no one is “making” them learn, it’s staggering where their imaginations can take them!
ByDesign Science is structured to deliver standards-aligned, rigorous content while still allowing that level of student choice as they pursue topics of interest to them.
“The textbook is laid out with easy-to-find chapter and section headings[,] and the set of four science journals makes it a feel like a delicious menu of science learning,” wrote Angela of the Nurtured Roots blog. “You can jump in wherever your interest leads you. This is something that is hard to find in a textbook!”
With ByDesign Science, teachers have all the tools they need to engage students and create a classroom of motivated, eager learners. Check out our custom science curriculum today!
