TOPS Book Formats

Book Formats Contents

Open-Ended TASK CARDS
(Books #01 - #23)

PROBABILITY #8: teaching notes

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At right is a typical reproducible TASK CARD page reproduced directly from our book PROBABILITY #08. Notice that the 4 x 6 inch card is written to students to get them to think and work like scientists. Yet the lessons are flexible, so you can often adapt them to younger kids with extra help from adults or older students.

The size of the task card limits the amount of explanation possible, and therefore gives students freedom to follow their own experimental strategies, and to organize data and record results in their own notebooks. The teaching notes are thorough, friendly, and classroom tested; teachers and homeschoolers alike use TOPS with great success.

The student task cards are also reproduced two per page in the back of each book for easy photocopying, with suggested options for using them effectively in your classroom. Many titles also provide supplementary pages with cutouts, graphs, or other needed extras.

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Structured ACTIVITY SHEETS
(Books #31 - #45)

Look at this sample of a reproducible ACTIVITY SHEET to appreciate our kid-friendly design. Between the step-by-step explanation and detailed illustrations, this format is perfect for introducing hands-on science to younger students, or for guiding more capable students through higher-level titles (check our grade level index to learn which books are targeted to your students.)

Scroll down to see a typical sample of our thoughtful teaching notes. These face each student page for easy reference. Many titles also provide supplementary pages with cutouts, graphs, or other needed extras.

ELECTRICITY #32: activity sheet	ELECTRICITY #32: teaching notes
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COMPILATIONS
(Books #91 and  #95)

GLOBAL TOPS #91 is l00 lessons drawn from our Activity Sheet series, so follow the link to see a sample lesson. 

TRY THIS ON FOR SCIENCE #95 offers reformatted samples of all our books published through 1998 (no NASA or Job Box samples). Look at any free lesson on this website for examples of the reproducible stand-alone lessons. A typical teaching notes page is shown below.

GLOBAL TOPS #91: activity sheet	GLOBAL TOPS #91: teaching notes
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TRY THIS ON #95: sample teaching notes
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MASTER TEACHER SERIES
(Books #61 - #64)

These excellent resources are variable in format, but the two sample pages below will give you a tempting taste of how supportive and inspiring these books are for teachers in self-contained classrooms. You need care and attention, too! Make this the year you get ahead of the game, organize and plan effectively, and establish a peaceful classroom environment.

A SUMMER START #61	Intermediate ALPHABET SOUP #62
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PEACEFUL PROCEDURES #63	Primary ALPHABET SOUP #64
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JOB BOX LESSONS

Our LENTIL SCIENCE lessons (books #71 - #72) are designed as full pages that fold into quarters, with directions to the student on the outside and teaching notes on the inside, keeping the information you need at hand as you visit your students' desks. These lessons are reproducible, so one book serves all your students for years. They cover a wide range of topics. See a sample page below from the Primary Lentil Science book #71.

The GET A GRIP program is a departure from our book formats. Non-reproducible puzzle booklets give kids progressively more challenging math puzzles to solve by pouring and measuring lentils. A page from the teacher's guide is shown below, which also include representations of a few student puzzles.

GET A GRIP: student puzzle	GET A GRIP: teaching notes
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SIMPLE STUFF
(Materials: SS #104-108)

To teach hands-on, minds-on, inquiry science, as it should be taught, requires "stuff." Humble stuff, for the most part. Nothing esoteric, or pricey, or calculated to run out so that you can enrich our bottom line. Just good quality stuff that you can usually purchase on your local economy, or conveniently buy from TOPS. Why? We care about quality and economy, and delight in making TOPS as accessible as possible to busy teachers, homeschoolers, and science clubs. Items in this section include 3X hand lenses, ceramic magnets, sugar cubes, and pyrex beakers. Nice stuff - the raw materials for creative scientific exploration!