BFSU: Rocks and Crystals Unit

Prerequisites: Air Unit

Resources: Magic School Bus Episodes
                  Thames and Kosmos Crystal Creations kit
                  Rock On! Geology game

Note: We used the Thames and Kosmos Crystals kit fully, and therefore went through the BFSU sections quickly in order to do this more hands-on. If you are to skip the kit, you would likely want to devote more time to the BFSU lessons A-9 and A-10. The kit is excellent and well worth the money.

Lesson 1: BFSU A-9: Matter IV: Dissolving, Solutions, and Crystallization, part 1 and 2
Lesson 2: Thames and Kosmos Crystal Kit Experiment 1
Lesson 3: Thames and Kosmos Crystal Kit Experiment 2
Lesson 4: BFSU A-10: Rocks, Minerals, Crystals, Dirt and Soil, part 1, and introduce Rock On! geology game
Lesson 5: Thames and Kosmos Crystal Kit Experiment 3
Lesson 6: Thames and Kosmos Crystal Kit Experiment 4
Lesson 7: BFSU A-10: Rocks, Minerals, Crystals, Dirt and Soil, part 2
Lesson 8: Thames and Kosmos Crystal Kit Experiment 5
Lesson 9: Thames and Kosmos Crystal Kit Experiment 6
Lesson 10: BFSU A-10: Rocks, Minerals, Crystals, Dirt and Soil, part 3 and 4
Lesson 11: Thames and Kosmos Crystal Kit Experiment 7
Lesson 12: Thames and Kosmos Crystal Kit Experiment 8
Lesson 13: BFSU D-4: Land Forms and Major Biomes of the Earth
Lesson 14: Thames and Kosmos Crystal Kit Experiment 9
Lesson 15: Magic School Bus Blows Its Top
Lesson 16: Thames and Kosmos Crystal Kit Experiment 10
Lesson 17: BFSU D-8: Rocks and Fossils, part 1
Lesson 18: Thames and Kosmos Crystal Kit Experiment 11
Lesson 19: BFSU D-8: Rocks and Fossils, part 2
Lesson 20: Thames and Kosmos Crystal Kit Experiment 12
Lesson 21: BFSU D-8: Rocks and Fossils, part 3
Lesson 22: Thames and Kosmos Crystal Kit Experiment 13
Lesson 23: BFSU D-8: Rocks and Fossils, part 4
Lesson 24: Thames and Kosmos Crystal Kit Experiment 14
Lesson 25: Magic School Bus Busasaurus
Lesson 26: Thames and Kosmos Crystal Kit Experiment 15

This post is part of my series on using BFSU as a science unit study.

BFSU: The Human Body Unit

Prerequisites: Living Things unit and Land and Rocks unit

Resources: Magic School Bus episodes
                  Blood and Guts by Linda Allison (this book is where most the material for this unit comes in. It is an excellent resource and I highly recommend it. If you wish to do this unit without this book, it is more of a straightforward, basic overview of how animals function without much of the "human body" part.)

Lesson 1: BFSU B-6: How Animals Move I: Skeleton and Muscle (brief discussion)
Lesson 2: Blood and Guts, read pages 21-30
Lesson 3: Magic School Bus Flexes Its Muscles
Lesson 4:  Blood and Guts, pages 31-36
Lesson 5: Blood and Guts, pages 37-48
Lesson 6: B-7: How Animals Move II: Different Body Designs. Major Animal Phyla, part 1
Lesson 7: B-7: How Animals Move II: Different Body Designs. Major Animal Phyla, part 2
Lesson 8: BFSU B-8: How Animals Move III: Coordinating Body Movements: The Nervous System (brief discussion)
Lesson 9: Blood and Guts, pages 111-122
Lesson 10: Magic School Bus Works Out
Lesson 11: BFSU B-9: How Animals Move IV: Energy to Run the Body
Lesson 12: Magic School Bus For Lunch
Lesson 13: Blood and Guts, pages 75-82
Lesson 14: Blood and Guts, pages 49-58
Lesson 15: Blood and Guts, pages 59-70
Lesson 16: Blood and Guts, pages 83-86
Lesson 17: Blood and Guts, pages 87-96
Lesson 18: Blood and Guts, pages 105-110


This post is part of my series on using BFSU as a science unit study.

BFSU: Plants Unit

All right, I'm going to be honest. My daughter asked for a VERY in depth look at botany, so I'm ditching this plan. I'm going to post this for anyone wanting to see how I *intended* to do this unit before she asked me to do something else. In May, when we're done with what we actually ended up doing, I'll post that one, too - even though it doesn't use BFSU.

Prerequisites: Living Things unit and Rocks and Crystals unit

Resources: Magic School Bus episodes
                  ASK Kit: Seeds

Lesson 1: BFSU B-10: Plant Science I: Basic Plant Structure, part 1
Lesson 2: BFSU B-10: Plant Science I: Basic Plant Structure, part 2
Lesson 3: Magic School Bus Gets Planted
Lesson 4: Magic School Bus Goes to Seed
Lesson 5: BFSU B-11: Plant Science II: Seed Germination and Seedling Growth
Lesson 6: ASK kit: Seeds, activity 1
Lesson 7: ASK kit: Seeds, activity 2
Lesson 8: ASK kit: Seeds, activity 3
Lesson 9: ASK kit: Seeds, activity 4
Lesson 10: ASK kit: Seeds, activity 5
Lesson 11: ASK kit: Seeds, activity 6
Lesson 12: ASK kit: Seeds, activity 7
Lesson 13: ASK kit: Seeds, activity 8
Lesson 14: ASK kit: Seeds, activity 9
Lesson 15: ASK kit: Seeds, activity 10
Lesson 16: ASK kit: Seeds, activity 11
Lesson 17: ASK kit: Seeds, activity 12
Lesson 18: BFSU B-12: Plants, Soil, and Water, part 1
Lesson 19: BFSU B-12: Plants, Soil, and Water, part 2
Lesson 20: Magic School Bus Meets the Rot Squad


This post is part of my series on using BFSU as a science unit study.