Zoology by Biome Curriculum Bundle 3rd–6th

Not a sciency person? You're still the right person to teach this.

Most animal studies list the animals. This one teaches them by where they live.

This Zoology by Biome curriculum book bundle gives homeschool families, co-ops, and hybrid teachers everything they need for 3rd–6th grade animal science - without decoding a dense textbook or building a scope-and-sequence from scratch. It's science done easy: warm, hands-on, and ready to teach.

One bundle. Everything in one place. Open the spiral-bound Teacher Manual, hand each student their leveled Student Notebook, and teach with confidence - even if science was never "your subject."

What's included

• Zoology by Biome Teacher Manual (3rd–6th) - spiral-bound, non-consumable teaching guide
• Zoology by Biome Student Notebook (3rd–4th) - spiral-bound, write-in, consumable
• Zoology by Biome Student Notebook (5th–6th) - spiral-bound, write-in, consumable

That's the full upper-elementary set: one shared lesson plan, with notebook work leveled for younger and older students in the same room or the same home.

The biome idea

The study of animals makes more sense when you know where they live! Instead of a random list of creatures, this study organizes the year around four biomes - Mountains & Forests, Deserts & Grasslands, Tundra, and Rainforests & Coasts. Each unit walks through the biome's mammals, reptiles & amphibians, fish & invertebrates, and birds, then closes with the ecology of a real place: Kodiak Island, Patagonia, the Nordic Arctic, and the Congo rainforest. Common ideas, like classifications, are woven in and reinforced all year, so they stick.

What students explore (4 units)

Unit 1 - Mountains & Forests
Bears & foxes; pit vipers & frogs; salmon & beetles; owls, vultures & hummingbirds; ecology of Kodiak Island, Alaska

Unit 2 - Deserts & Grasslands
Cats & marsupials; turtles, crocodilians & toads; spiders, scorpions & lungfish; large flightless birds; ecology of Patagonia, Argentina

Unit 3 - Tundra
Caribou & musk ox; lizards & salamanders; sharks & plankton; penguins & puffins; ecology of the Nordic Arctic

Unit 4 - Rainforests & Coasts
Bats & primates; caecilians, boas & pythons; piranhas, butterflies & moths; parrots & herons; ecology of the Congo rainforest, Africa

Plus an optional intro lesson on classifications, an optional review lesson at the end of Unit 2, and an optional culminating activity in Unit 4 - a 24–26 week year.

How a lesson works

Each lesson is scripted for 1–1.5 hours a week, spread over 1–2 days a week - at home, in a co-op, or in a hybrid classroom:

1. Lesson - the words you say are written in the manual (the read-aloud script is right there, in italics)
2. Activity - hands-on learning kids remember
3. Review - lock in the big ideas
4. Optional extension activities - a full page of extras for each lesson, with QR-code videos, for a second day of science

Across 24–26 weeks, with flexibility to slow down, speed up, or use it as a unit study or summer science.

Built-in supports (3rd–6th)

• 10–15 minute homework assignments with each lesson
• Unit quizzes and two semester tests in the notebook
• A science project with a rubric between Unit 2 and Unit 3
• Learning objectives and a full-year materials list in the appendix

Who it's for

• Homeschool parents who want clear, doable science without a science degree
• Co-op & hybrid teachers (including volunteer parents) - one manual can teach the whole class
• Multi-age homes - pair it with the PreK–2nd bundle for one coordinated PreK–6th year
• A strong 2nd grader can join when that's the right fit for your student
• A light 7th grader can join when that's the right fit for your student

Supplies and what it costs

Supplies are not included, but the Teacher Manual spells everything out: basic supplies (glue sticks, crayons or colored pencils, pencils, erasers, scissors, optional tape) plus short unit material lists you can pick up at the grocery store, Walmart, or Dollar Tree. The manual's own estimate: about $50 in teacher materials for the year, plus about $5 per student (less per student in a 10–15 student co-op class).

Print format

All three books are print-only, spiral-bound, and shipped to you. The Teacher Manual is kept and reused; Student Notebooks are consumable write-in books (one per student - add notebooks for siblings or co-op students as needed). Groups often purchase the manual as property of the group to reuse year after year.

Teach it as one coordinated year

The PreK–2nd bundle covers the same biomes and the same animals at a younger level. Teach both and your whole family - or your whole co-op - studies the same zoology together, with shared field trips and family reinforcement. See the Zoology by Biome PreK–2nd Book Bundle.

Optional Bible verse pages

Each unit includes an optional Bible verse page (bubble letters to color or trace), with coordinating verse studies on our website via QR code. You choose how to use these - they fit naturally into a Christian homeschool or co-op, and can be set aside entirely.

Leave an imprint

Science isn't only boring facts... it's discovery. Imagine a year of general science you didn't have to invent, and your kids ask "when's the next lesson?".