“Defined as an in-depth study of a topic (space, trees, cars, etc.) that takes into account many areas of the topic, such as geography, science, history, art, etc. It is a complete immersion into the topic so that the student will see things as a "whole" instead of bits and pieces learned throughout their education.” (Bennett)
Unit Studies are perfect for any age and are a great way to cover many subjects under one broad topic that your child is interested in. Take for example your child has a terrific interest in dinosaurs. Dinosaurs are a great topic for unit studies. Why? Because you can teach so many subjects just discussing and doing projects about dinosaurs, and paleontology. How? Here is a sample of what you can do for different subjects:
Math: How many dinosaurs? Word problems using names of dinosaurs, or pictures of dinosaurs are a great way to get a child interested in all things arithmetic.
Reading: This is self-explanatory. Either read-aloud to your child, have your child read to you, or a combination of both, about dinosaurs. The library has plenty of options for this, both fictional and non-fictional. Social Studies/History: This can be combined with the reading, and also art. Reading about what the world was like during the dinosaur times is a great lesson on prehistorically times. Have your child make a diorama or draw a picture of what they think it looked like at that time.
Science: Make a fossil. There are many different ways you can accomplish this. Find plans for fossil making at your library or online.
Spelling: Write the names of the dinosaurs. Not only will they learn how to properly pronounce the names, but they will learn some interesting letter combinations as well.
Art: This can be anything. Build a model of a dinosaur, draw or paint a picture. Have your child use his or her imagination and design, and their own dinosaur.
Physical Education: Act like a dinosaur. How did a pterodactyl flap its wings? Did a tyrannosaur run fast, or walk slowly? What kind of games does your child think a dinosaur played? Play those games. These are great ways to get the imagination and the body moving together.
As you can see unit studies are one of the easiest ways to teach multiple subjects all with a cohesive subject at the core. Children that are very interested in once specific area of study excel in unit studies that are geared toward that area of interest. Unit studies can be a one-day adventure, or your whole year of study. It doesn’t matter what area of interest you and your child choose to cover, you will never run out of material to learn about.
There are many great resources available to guide you as you begin your unit studies. Some of these resources are free, others are complete curricula written out for the topic and can vary in cost. Writing your own curricula is of course free, but when you are first starting out you may choose to purchase one or two and see how they are set up. This will also show you what works and does not work for your child.
Recommended Books:
Unit Studies Made Easy by Bendt Family Ministries
Everything you need to know about Homeschool Unit Studies,
The Anyone can How-to-Guide by Jennifer Steward
References:
Bennett, Amanda. /www.unitstudy.com.
Home Educators Resource Directory (HERD) is owned, managed, and maintained by parents passionate about giving their children the best education. The Directory’s mission is to provide resources, support, and information helpful to the diverse community of educators around the globe. Along with offering a rich store of varied resources, the Directory maintains a catalog of local and global support groups and calendars highlighting local events.
The HERD monthly newsletter keeps educators apprised of current homeschool events and supplies informational articles for both the new and experienced. We invite you to stay informed with your own newsletter subscription, explore our many resources by visiting the Directory http://www.homeeddirectory.com/ and check out all the information to be found on our blog.
Permission to reproduce this article granted only with the entire article, bio and all links included.
Unit Studies are perfect for any age and are a great way to cover many subjects under one broad topic that your child is interested in. Take for example your child has a terrific interest in dinosaurs. Dinosaurs are a great topic for unit studies. Why? Because you can teach so many subjects just discussing and doing projects about dinosaurs, and paleontology. How? Here is a sample of what you can do for different subjects:
Math: How many dinosaurs? Word problems using names of dinosaurs, or pictures of dinosaurs are a great way to get a child interested in all things arithmetic.
Reading: This is self-explanatory. Either read-aloud to your child, have your child read to you, or a combination of both, about dinosaurs. The library has plenty of options for this, both fictional and non-fictional. Social Studies/History: This can be combined with the reading, and also art. Reading about what the world was like during the dinosaur times is a great lesson on prehistorically times. Have your child make a diorama or draw a picture of what they think it looked like at that time.
Science: Make a fossil. There are many different ways you can accomplish this. Find plans for fossil making at your library or online.
Spelling: Write the names of the dinosaurs. Not only will they learn how to properly pronounce the names, but they will learn some interesting letter combinations as well.
Art: This can be anything. Build a model of a dinosaur, draw or paint a picture. Have your child use his or her imagination and design, and their own dinosaur.
Physical Education: Act like a dinosaur. How did a pterodactyl flap its wings? Did a tyrannosaur run fast, or walk slowly? What kind of games does your child think a dinosaur played? Play those games. These are great ways to get the imagination and the body moving together.
As you can see unit studies are one of the easiest ways to teach multiple subjects all with a cohesive subject at the core. Children that are very interested in once specific area of study excel in unit studies that are geared toward that area of interest. Unit studies can be a one-day adventure, or your whole year of study. It doesn’t matter what area of interest you and your child choose to cover, you will never run out of material to learn about.
There are many great resources available to guide you as you begin your unit studies. Some of these resources are free, others are complete curricula written out for the topic and can vary in cost. Writing your own curricula is of course free, but when you are first starting out you may choose to purchase one or two and see how they are set up. This will also show you what works and does not work for your child.
Recommended Books:
Unit Studies Made Easy by Bendt Family Ministries
Everything you need to know about Homeschool Unit Studies,
The Anyone can How-to-Guide by Jennifer Steward
References:
Bennett, Amanda. /www.unitstudy.com.
Home Educators Resource Directory (HERD) is owned, managed, and maintained by parents passionate about giving their children the best education. The Directory’s mission is to provide resources, support, and information helpful to the diverse community of educators around the globe. Along with offering a rich store of varied resources, the Directory maintains a catalog of local and global support groups and calendars highlighting local events.
The HERD monthly newsletter keeps educators apprised of current homeschool events and supplies informational articles for both the new and experienced. We invite you to stay informed with your own newsletter subscription, explore our many resources by visiting the Directory http://www.homeeddirectory.com/ and check out all the information to be found on our blog.
Permission to reproduce this article granted only with the entire article, bio and all links included.
