HOW TO PLAN A UNIT STUDY
by Virginia Knowles
from
What
is a Unit Study?
Steps
for Planning a Unit Study
Long
Range Planning
Unit
Study Topic List
WHAT
IS A UNIT STUDY?
Unit study is a natural common sense excellence method of
learning in which you choose a theme, and then incorporate various school
subjects, such as literature, language arts skills, history, geography, careers, science,
technology, art, music, and math application.
There is a logical connection between
subjects. They all fit together
naturally, just like in the real world.
Each
unit study is different. Some unit studies
concentrate primarily on one subject (history, science, etc.) with the others
tucked in. Some are based on holidays or
family trips. Some are more activity-oriented, while others are book-based,
depending on the topic and your teaching style.
You can design your own unit study plan, buy a package or guide, or
borrow from a friend. Unit studies can
take a few days, week, month, or year. You could do them all year or just once
in a while. You can plan several at a
time or do one spontaneously based on a question or interest from your
child. Don't get bogged down in
details. If a unit study bombs, you
learn how not to do one the next time.
A
unit study doesn’t have to be elaborate. It can be as simple as going to the
library and checking out a few books.
Find what style suits you. Don't
be discouraged if you are not creative or organized. You don't have to plan a whole year of unit
studies ahead of time, or overload on creative activities in each one.
A
unit study can include more than one child, but individual attention is still
needed. One goal of unit studies
is to build family unity and save mom's planning efforts, but you still need to
spend separate time on language arts and math at each child's level. It may be helpful to plan one time of day for
skills curriculum (phonics, grammar, punctuation, math, music theory, etc.) and
then another time slot for content curriculum (unit studies covering history,
literature, science, art appreciation, etc.)
Social
studies and science themes can be closely integrated. Human culture and the physical world affect
each other. People discover scientific
principles and then act them out in history.
When we studied Ancient Egypt, a history theme, we learned science too:
how a mummy is made, how pyramids were built without machines, and how land was
irrigated. In our next unit, we studied
the entire desert habitat, including biology (plants and animals), geology
(sand dunes), weather (rain patterns), geography (comparing deserts around the
world), history (archaeologists), and sociology (Native Americans, African
nomads). Social studies and science
emphases can be alternated and intertwined.
Language
arts and math can be incorporated into unit studies. Research and literature count as reading.
Spelling and vocabulary lists, creative writing projects, and dictation
selections, and math word problems can complement the unit study.
A Page from a 3rd Grade
Notebook
Spelling List about Mexico
- Mexico
- Central America
- Maya
- Aztec
- pyramid
- temple
- solar calendar
- weave
- cotton
- vanilla
- chocolate
- jungle
STEPS
FOR PLANNING A UNIT STUDY
TOPIC
AND TIME AVAILABLE: Pick a topic which
is interesting to your children, and which incorporates several school
subjects. Whatever you choose, your
child should: hypothesize, integrate
related information, analyze, research, read, write, etc. How much time you can spend determines how
specific you can get with your topic. You could cover flowers in a week, but
botany could easily take a month.
Children usually start to lose interest after about three or four weeks
of concentrated study on a topic; don’t frustrate them with overkill.
SUB-TOPICS
AND SCHOOL SUBJECTS: Make a list of sub-topics for your theme. A study of the Middle Ages could include
castles, knights and weaponry, the Crusades, Vikings and their ships, famous
kings, peasant life, food and clothing, fairy tales, etc. As you list the sub-topics, integrate various
school subjects such as: Bible, scientific principle, experiments, technology,
nature study, history, geography, government, careers, language skills,
literature, creative writing, math application, art, music, life skills,
etc.
OBJECTIVES: Write specific
goals of what you want your child to understand by the end of this unit. You won't learn everything, but you should
attempt to lay a framework for future learning and whet their appetites to
explore more on their own.
LEARNING
MODES: Adapt activities to your children. Cater to their learning
styles, whether visual, auditory, kinesthetic/tactile, etc. Use a variety of approaches to help lock in
the material from many angles. Consider each of your children when you do this
planning. Be sure to ask them for ideas
about what they would like to do for this unit study, because children can be
chock full of great ideas. It also gives
them a sense of being included and being important!
AGE
LEVELS: Preschool and kindergarten children especially like picture
books, fun songs, coloring, and make-believe.
Primary grade children can read books, write a little, draw pictures,
make crafts, and do simple experiments. Older students can research, write
papers, create independent projects, and wrestle with issues and current
events. Choose some books to read to all of your children and then give
age-appropriate activities to each child, with older doing more than younger.
Older children can occasionally help younger children by reading to them,
assisting with projects, and answering questions.
RESOURCES: List what you
already have: books, encyclopedia articles, videos, music, magazines, recipes,
instructions, pictures, craft and experiment supplies, web sites and phone
numbers to call for more information.
Include titles, authors and page numbers so you can easily make
assignments. Check the indexes of any
poetry or story anthologies you may own.
Write down what you will need, and where you might find it. Make games,
worksheets, and pictures. Plan purchases
and order in time.
SCHEDULE: Map out a
tentative schedule. What will you do
each day? How much will you cover in a
week? For a three-week unit, you could
tackle one major sub-topic each week.
You might need to raid the library first and refine your day-by-day plan
based on your selections. Vary
activities from day to day to prevent boredom.
Start with the simple and work towards the complex. Plan buffer time and decide which activities
are optional so you'll know what to skip in a crunch. Check newspaper and magazine calendars for
field trip ideas.
LONG
RANGE PLANNING
Several years ago, as I was looking to
the future of our home education program, I decided that we needed a plan so
that we could learn about various topics and school subjects in a reasonable
manner. From those early brainstorms
hatched the idea for a quasi-comprehensive list of 60 three-week unit studies
to be covered in five years. We
successfully finished the units in our list a couple of years ago, and we’ve
gone on to other schemes since then. An
adapted version of our unit study list is included here, and is organized by
school subject, rather than the sequence our own family did them. This purpose of this list is just to give you
an idea of how things can fit
together in a long range plan, even if you don’t decide to do a sequenced
series of units. For example, you could
study history chronologically and continually (without breaking it up into
separate units), cover one continent all throughout the year, and layer various
science, technology, and health topics on top of whatever history and geography
you are studying at the moment. (This is
what we’ve been doing for the past two years.
It works.) Please note that the “Spiritual Emphasis” listed for each
year is not a separate unit, but an overall theme for the year.
UNIT
STUDY TOPIC LIST
YEAR 1
- History: Old Testament,
Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece
- Geography: Africa
- Science: Creation Week,
Weather, Life in the Desert
- Health: Babies and
Family Life
- Technology &
Trade: Books and Publishing
- Spiritual
Emphasis: Old Testament
YEAR 2
- History: Ancient Rome,
Life and Times of Christ, Early Church, Viking Times
- Geography: Ancient and
Modern Asia
- Science: Farm Life,
Chemistry, Animal Classification
- Health: Human Body
- Technology &
Trade: Buildings (Homes, Construction, Architecture)
- Spiritual
Emphasis: New Testament Church and World Missions
YEAR 3
- History: Middle Ages,
Renaissance, Reformation, Explorers, Art & Music History
- Geography: Europe, Land
Forms, Maps & Globes
- Science: Physical
Science, Life in the Water, Plant Life
- Health: Nutrition &
Exercise
- Technology &
Trade: Ships, Musical Instruments
- Spiritual
Emphasis: Reformation of the Church
YEAR 4:
- History: 17th-19th
Century History (U.S.A.: Pilgrims, Colonial, Patriot, Pioneer, Civil War)
- Geography: North and South
America
- Science: Life in the
Forest, Birds
- Health: Medicine &
Health Care
- Technology &
Trade: Inventions & Modern Manufacturing, Communications
- Spiritual
Emphasis : Liberty and Justice
YEAR 5:
- History: Regional History
(State/Province), 20th Century, World Wars, Life in the Future
- Geography: Regional
Geography, Middle East, Australia
- Science: Insects,
Flowers, Astronomy
- Health: General Health
- Technology &
Trade: Aviation, Space Travel, Energy, Economics
- Spiritual
Emphasis : Spiritual Growth
&
“The
more I study nature, the more I stand amazed at the work of the Creator.
Into
his tiniest creatures, God has placed extraordinary properties.”
Louis
Pasteur (1822-1895), the French scientist who developed process of
pasteurization for milk, as well as vaccines for anthrax and rabies
1-2-3 Ideas to Remember
about
Teaching with Unit Studies
1 Keep unit studies simple! Don’t feel overwhelmed!
2 Integrate
many school subjects in a natural way.
3 Plan
spontaneously or long-term.
Other unit study posts on this blog:
Yard sales: Looking for a really inexpensive way to
supplement your curriculum? I’ve found children’s fiction, biographies,
hands-on manipulatives, work books, and so much more at yard sales. Yesterday, I picked up a a write-on/wipe-off
math facts practice board for my youngest daughter, a lady bug paper model kit
for my youngest son, and phonics flip book, a quiz deck, a construction
vehicles puzzle, and some fun picture books for my oldest grandson. I also saw a lot of educational software,
good quality children’s dictionaries, and workbooks. Sure, yard sale finds aren’t
the core of my curriculum. I like to be
a little more intentional than that. But
yard sale finds sure can spice up the mix for just pennies! 
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