Everything You Need to Ace Science in One Big Fat Notebook: The Complete Middle School Study Guide

Everything You Need...in One Big Fat Notebook

by Michael Geisen (Editor)

It’s the revolutionary science study guide just for middle school students from the brains behind Brain Quest.
    
Everything You Need to Ace Science . . . takes readers from scientific investigation and the engineering design process to the Periodic Table; forces and motion; forms of energy; outer space and the solar system; to earth sciences, biology, body systems, ecology, and more.

The BIG FAT NOTEBOOK™ series is built on a simple and irresistible conceit—borrowing the notes from the smartest kid in class. There are five books in all, and each is the only book you need for each main subject taught in middle school: Math, Science, American History, English Language Arts, and World History. Inside the reader will find every subject’s key concepts, easily digested and summarized: Critical ideas highlighted in neon colors. Definitions explained. Doodles that illuminate tricky concepts in marker. Mnemonics for memorable shortcuts. And quizzes to recap it all.

The BIG FAT NOTEBOOKS meet Common Core State Standards, Next Generation Science Standards, and state history standards, and are vetted by National and State Teacher of the Year Award–winning teachers. They make learning fun, and are the perfect next step for every kid who grew up on Brain Quest.

 

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Education, Reference, School, Teaching, Textbooks

544 pages, Paperback

First published August 9, 2016

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Science was my weakest subject. How I wish this compendium had been available. It would have been helpful to me as a student and a welcome tome in my arsenal as a teacher. I really love charts and graphs, and concise explanations. All the better to find them in a single resource. A+!

[nhi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Where were you, science book, when I went through three years of middle school science?

*sigh*

This is a book every middle schoolers need. Even if you're the smartest kid in class, there were a lot of mnemonics that were super helpful. It took me a while to get through it but I wanted something to refresh my mind while I head into high school.

Great book!

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great overview of biology, geology, chemistry, astronomy, and physics! Very useful from middle school through high school, and maybe as a bit of a refresher in college.

[Karthikeya Kodali]

SO INFORMATIVE

[Lauren Maxey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Studied this for the PRAXIS and passed so definitely recommend haha

[Mel Foster · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm generally a big fan of the "Everything you need" series. They cover the important principles and topics, and are great surveys for kids around grade 6 to 8. That's true of this book as well. The topics range from scientific method to Chemistry, Physical Science, Astronomy, Earth Science, Taxonomy, Human Biology, and Ecology. But it really could use some editorial revision.
What was really too much was the quiz question for chapter 48 which asserted that 'A deciduous tree is the kind of tree that loses its leaves in the fall, and a coniferous tree always remains green."
The antonym of deciduous is not coniferous, it is evergreen. There are evergreen broadleaf trees such as holly, and their are deciduous conifers, such as tamarack. This is shoddy pop science.
Going back a few chapters, Lamarckism is stated to be wrong, but what's wrong is not clarified, or even distinguished from Mendelian genetics.
Many sections seem to greatly simplify the discussion, from heliocentrism (Copernicus was not the first) to evolution (tonsils are 'no longer used' and Isolation=speciation). I did not take comprehensive notes on my concerns, but since I read this along with my kids I was able to discuss as I went.
Geology and evolution are approached of course from an old earth perspective. I have no problem with that, because my kids need to understand that framework.
Climate change is 'happening at a scary rate" (p288) without any attempt to quantify that.
The pneumonic devices are an interesting idea, but most are not any more memorable than the original data. Dear King Philip Came Over For Great Spaghetti, for instance, has too many modifiers to be helpful.
I note that I have two copies with identical ISBNs. One has an index (always preferred) and one does not!

[Carlos Guerrero · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title: Everything You Need to Ace Science in One Big Fat Notebook

Author: Michael Geisen

In this book you will find different units in each chapter, which mention an important unit in Science. The setting takes place in the writer's middle school science class where the writer is taking notes about what he/she is learning. The different units are: unit 1 Scientific Investigation, unit 2 Matter and Chemical Reactions, unit 3 Motion, Forces, and Work, unit 4 Energy, unit 5 Universe and the Solar System, unit 6 Earth, Weather, Atmosphere, and Climate, unit 7 Life, unit 8 Plants and Animals, unit 9 The Human Body and Body Systems, unit 10 History of Life, unit 11 Ecology.


In my opinion, the book was very easy to understand. I used this book to help me on H/W and to study

[Judith von Kirchbach]

Really great for a quick review

This was a great quick read for my 13year-old to review all science topics ahead of a big test ! He enjoyed the book while studying and reviewing !

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great resource for any middle school science teacher. Serves as a quick refresher and immediate go-to. Simple explanations with relevant examples.

[Bran Ornido · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book, you must read it

[Maksym Yuriv]

I think the book has a lot of information, however it doesn't dig that much into it, it doesn't go into more details.

[RoyK · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book because it taught me many facts about science. Finally, I got to know and memorize some of the periodic tables. I, a kid that doesn't really like rereading a book multiple times, read this a total of 4 times. So, this proves to me that this book is fun and educative. For me, this book was kind of a cheat key in science review because it is based on all the science that we need to learn. I suggest you read it if you are nervous about your test scores or want to know more about science in general.

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I teach Middle School science and absolutely recommend this book as a good reference book for students. It is well done, visually appealing, and focuses on the key details about the topics covered. The one caveat I will mention is the book tends to focus more on surface level facts over deep critical thinking, not surprising as it comes from the makers of Brain Quest (plus really getting into the deeper critical thinking is hard in a basic reference book). As such I wouldn't look at this as an alternative to an actual science class, but rather as a supplement for students who need more support in understanding key details or students who enjoy learning facts. Even as a teacher I find the book informative to think about how to approach covering a topic from another person's point of view.

[FOREVER ALONE · Rating 5 out of 5]

VERY informative! I love these kinds of books since they teach you a lot! From natural disasters to the human body to the solar system, this book is the ULTIMATE STUDY GUIDE! Even though I'm not in middle school, I still understood this! It helped me through a quite a bit through science class, like where we did a sketchnote/mind-map on natural disasters and how they're made, and I had to find out how a huricane was made, and It also taught me the periodic table of elements! Thanks for making this book Michael Geisen!

Recommendation: 10+. It's got some hard words that mostly kids 10+ would understand, but 9yr olds could understand this, COULD (as in MAYBE) understand. Thanks for reading my review! Read this REALLY GOOD BOOK!

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wish I could have used this in junior high.

[Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read for science students.

I'm a college student and I had some unclear concepts. This book cleared all my doubts. Nicely presented and easy to grasp.

[Gracy]

Everything You Need to Ace Science in One Big Fat Notebook: The Complete Middle School Study Guide

Michael Geisen


During school break I've read this scientific book to revise for my science test. This book is really easy to understand and includes many different topics like human body, solar system, chemical reactions and cells. (includes chemistry, physics, biology topics) The explanations in the book isn't too detailed and also covers all the basics that we need to know in order to study these topics furthermore. I can see how the author tried to avoid the complexity in his explanation since it will stop us from being interested to read the book, instead, he tried to make it simple, clear and enjoyable in order to engage the reader and strengthen our basic science knowledges. There is also a mini test at the end of each chapter to recheck our knowledge. I'd recommend you to read this book to develop your science knowledge.

[Aprilleigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice organization and it covers many of the middle school science topics. There’s one unit covering some science basics (measurement, lab reports, conducting experiments, etc.), one on basic chemistry, two on physical science, one on astronomy, one on earth science, and five on various aspects of the life sciences. It’s definitely not enough to cover all of middle school science, but it’s a good overview. For a student struggling with the textbook, this may be all the extra help they need. It does seem a little unbalanced towards the life sciences, however, yet the material included all makes sense.

[Alvin Chan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very useful for middle school students as well as kids all over the world who has general interest in science. It gives you basic knowledge of the different branches of science, like chemistry (air pollution), biology (respiratory system) and physics (motion). I find this book is quite interesting to read. I learnt a lot about science after reading this book. It’s easy for readers to remember the contents because doodles and mnemonic devices are widely used in this book. I like it a lot. I would recommend this for students, especially for younger ages to read, since science is really useful.

[Aika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everything You Need to Ace Science in One Big Fat Notebook is a great book that helped me all throughout middle school. This book explains a lot of interesting facts about science that I didn't know. It shows many good ways of explaining and other interesting things it also has a few side notes on the side if you still don't understand which I thought was really helpful. There is many little drawing in this book that makes things interesting because I know that almost everyone likes to do little doodles in their notebook, and when this book had the drawings it made this a bit more exciting.

[KaYat Ho · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has been a huge lifesaver for my studies in STEM throughout the past 3 school year. Packed with innumerable topics ranging from the basic “SI units” to the most challenging chapter of “Force and Motion”, this book should be every student’s go-to solution for complex problems. It will certainly help you to crack any complex physics puzzle, or just to cram 3 years of biology content into one midnight, doing so with the aid of clear bullet points and simple diagrams to help you comprehend and memorise most of the stuff in science class.

[Rafael Gutierrez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything you need to ace Science in one big fat Note Book is a very great book and was written by Michael Geisen.It has all the the information you need to know about science.And that is what makes it a great book.This book has is just loaded with tons of information that is sure to let you know about everything in science. And to make you “ace”any test in science class.I would really recommend this book to all people that just enjoy “everything” about science.

[Aaliyah Corley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book is pretty good at explaining the content, but it was a little oversimplified. There was a a lot of stuff that I didn’t know before and now know. Some of the mnemonics where to hard to remember but i like the thought behind it. The drawings in each page were kinda cute. Some of them helped me remember what they were talking about in the check your knowledge.
Some of my favorite subjects that we studied where biology and the solar system.

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wish I had this book when I was at school! School was a nightmare for me and not fond memories. I’m 60 now and exploring lots of things that take my interest lately as I have more time. I got curious about all the stuff I missed out on and have the whole set of these. Working my way through them! Loving the layout, diagrams and explanations. Everything I was looking for in one place for each subject and explained in a way I can understand. Love these!

[Patricia Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

bought this book for my grandson who is a freshman in high school and thinks he might be a robotic engineer...some of this information about how to develop an idea along with mistakes will be perfect for him..I like how this is formatted...can read a small chapter and then stop...hope he likes it as much as I do.

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! It is a great resource for teachers and students. I love how each concept is broken down. It makes it so easy for students to read and understand. I am a sucker for great charts, and this book definitely has them! It features every basic science concept students will need for middle school and beyond. I am so happy that I purchased this book!

[Ibrahim Zayed · Rating 5 out of 5]

for me, I loved this book because it gave such detailed explanations of the subjects that the book had talked about. it really, in my opinion, does stay true to its title and has a bit of extra. also for me, this book is science class but fun and relaxing. I rate this book 5 stars because of the intricate way it explains science.

[Abby Miles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Used this book to study for my Praxis II exam for MS Science. I found it to be extremely useful. The authors broke down large concepts into easily accessible bits. Some of the topics I haven’t touched on since high school (Physics, Chemistry) so it was nice to review through the quizzes at the end of each chapter.

[Lia P · Rating 5 out of 5]

The smart kid gives you their notebook, I love it
This book is advertised for middle schoolers, I would suggest to not listen to that advertisement. I been able to use this book for college and work as well if needed be. It’s helpful that you can work out different assignments. You just got to make sure to know the name of the topics you are doing.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sequence is well organized and intuitive. Book may be at the middle school level, but it is also useful for high school students- as well as adults who may not know much about natural science. The graphic novel format makes it easy to understand for ESL students or those who may have reading difficulties- not to mention fun for everyone.