I have a free 4-week Australia Unit Study for kids. Look at these other Best Homeschool Unit Studies for more ideas and topics for hands-on learning.
From the Sydney Opera House, with its distinctive sail-like design to the home of kangaroos, koalas, and the platypus to the stunning Great Barrier Reef there is no shortage of topics to learn.
The beauty of unit studies is not only combining subjects but teaching multiple ages of children.
Additionally, teaching all your children together means you can discuss the same topic but it’s the activity that is chosen which makes it age appropriate.
For example, if you’re teaching language arts, your younger children can do copywork while your older children draft an essay or learn figurative language.
Today, I have topic ideas and activities for Australian history, geography, nature and even math and language arts.
Remember too with unit studies you can use any curriculum to supplement.
To illustrate, some unit study themes may be more science oriented or history oriented. So don’t force a fit with other subjects.
Many times if we lack math or language arts, we can supplement with ready made already on hand.
By not forcing a fit with a topic it makes the unit study more natural for what interests your child.
BOOKS ABOUT AUSTRALIA FOR KIDS
First, look at this list of living books I rounded up and we love.
Living books are my go-to for unit studies. They teach facts in a story form.
9 Australia Books for Kids Who Love to Read and Be Read To
Grab one or two of these books about Australia to add to your unit study or your home library.
The true story of Australia starts with a piece of land that went for a swim. Millions of years ago it floated away from Africa. Very, very, slowly. It was home to dinosaurs and giant animals, until the first Australians showed up and got comfortable. This wild and wonderful land was a mystery to the rest of the world. Then the English decided to make it the biggest jail ever . . . Experience the story of Australia from prehistory to federation in 1901.
Set along the rugged beauty of the South Australian coast, Storm Boy cares for an injured pelican and finds a friend that shows him the power of loyalty and love. This moving story is now a major motion-picture and one of the classics of Australian writing for children. This edition comes with five other stories by Colin Thiele that capture the unique voices of Australians across the natural and suburban landscape.
A captain who has lost his wife remarries a much younger woman to provide his six children with a new mother. Together, the couple had another child, making seven. The captain tries to run the family with stern discipline, but he is no match for the fun-loving children.
The story of a killer-dog. His owner had tried to train him to the domestic life, but the call of the wild and his hunting instincts were too powerful. As a killer he roamed abroad, hunted fiercely by farmers whose stock he wantonly destroyed. It is a story that is founded in fact.As for Warrigal -- he is as nature fashioned him.“I have not sought to glorify Warrigal, neither have I condemned him. I have just tried to present him as he really is, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will.”
Meet Audrey Barlow - a girl with a lot on her mind. Her dad has gone away to work, her brother Price thinks he's too old for games, and little Dougie likes pretending to be a bird. So together with her best friend Stumpy, Audrey ponders some of life's big questions ... like whether being a swaggie is lonelier than being a girl, and whether it's better to be a sheep or a cow. Follow Audrey and Stumpy through this dazzler of a story and discover how friends are never far away ... even in the Outback. You'll soon wish you lived there too.
Billabong, a large cattle and sheep property in the Australian countryside, is home to 12-year-old Norah Linton, her widowed father, David, and her older brother, Jim. Norah's prim and proper aunts, who live in the city, consider she is in danger of "growing up wild" - riding all over Billabong on her beloved pony, Bobs, helping with mustering, and joining in on all the holiday fun when Jim and his friends come home from boarding school.
A fishing trip results in unexpected drama when they discover a mysterious stranger camped in the bush. Who is this stranger and why is he there? Norah's resourcefulness is tested to the full!
Fourteen-year-old Molly and her cousins Daisy and Gracie were mixed-race Aborigines. In 1931 they were taken away from their families and sent to a camp to be trained as good 'white' Australians. They were told to forget their mothers, their language, their home.But Molly would not forget. She and her cousins escaped and walked back to Jigalong, 1,600 kilometres away, following the rabbit-proof fence as their guide across the desert.This is the story of that walk, told by Molly's daughter, Doris.
Join Grace and her family as they hit the road camping, experiencing, and meeting all the people and places that make up Australia.
Grandma Poss uses her best bush magic to make Hush invisible. But when Hush longs to be able to see herself again, the two possums must make their way across Australia to find the magic food that will make Hush visible once more. “Another treat from Mem Fox that is sure to be treasured. The whimsical illustrations are a wonderful complement.
Next, look at these ideas about history and geography.
HISTORY & GEOGRAPHY AUSTRALIA UNIT STUDY IDEAS WEEK 1
When I list ideas, I think of ways you can include multiple ages of kids.
And when possible, give you ideas.
- List the 6 states and territories as an introduction. 1. New South Wales: Capital city is Sydney 2. Queensland: Capital city is Brisbane 3. Tasmania: Capital City is Hobart 4. Western Australia: Capital City is Perth 5. Victoria: Capital City is Melbourne 6. South Australia: Capital City is Adelaide. There are two territories the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory.
- Investigate the area known as The Outback.
- Understand that the country name is the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia is an independent but has strong ties to Britain.
- 1851 Gold is discovered and many miners in California head for Australia.
- Learn landmarks like the Sydney Opera House, Kakadu National Park, Daintree Rainforest, Sydney Harbour Bridge,Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Great Barrier Reef
- The Aborigines were the first inhabitants of mainland Australia and the Torres Strait Islanders were people who originally inhabited the 270+ islands north of Australia in the Torres Strait
- British settlers arrived in Australia in 1788.
- What two animals are on the Australian Coat of Arms? Kangaroo and Emu.
- Learn about who was Dutch navigator Willem Janzoon. He was the first European to make recorded contact with and map part of the Australian continent.
Also, for week 2 look at these nature and science ideas to study this week.
NATURE & SCIENCE AUSTRALIA UNIT STUDY IDEAS WEEK 2
Next, Australia is diverse. There are deserts, rainforests, and savannas to explore.
- 6 Australian Animal Craft Ideas | Easy Paper Bag Platypus
- Make a Fun Edible Great Barrier Coral Reef
- The 7 foot high emu is Australia’s largest bird.
- Melbourne Zoo is one of the top zoos in the world.
- Define marsupial: Marsupial is an animal that has a pouch, and the mother carries her baby in her pouch as it grows over time.
- Australia is in the south hemisphere. How does that affect the seasons? If it’s fall here, it spring there.
- The Great Barrier Reef is a chain of more than 2,500 reefs and many small islands.
- Define: Monotremes. Animals that are like reptiles in many ways but are mammals. They are different from reptiles in that they have hair and produce milk to feed their young.The only two in the world are found in Australia. Platypus and Echidna.
- 9 Australian Animals Art Ideas and Fun Koala Handprint Craft
- Explore what is an arch bridge. The city of Sidney is famous for its Harbor Bridge.
- Australia is famous for its wool and sheep.
- Ayers rock is the largest rock in the world. Look at my post Hands-on Rock Activities & Free Notebooking Pages.
- The Tasmanian Devil is a carnivorous marsupial found only in Tasmania.
- Daintree Rainforest is one of the oldest rainforest in the world. Explore the flora and fauna.
MATH & LANGUAGE ARTS AUSTRALIA UNIT STUDY IDEAS WEEK 3
- How To Make A Kangaroo Pocket | Letter K Craft Preschool Australia Theme
- Read and learn about Captain James Cook and see whether your agree or not if he was the discoverer of Australia
- Learn about famous author Mem Fox and read some of her delightful books like Possum Magic and Koala Lou.
- Research what is the Dingo Fence and why it was built.
- Get your littles having fun by doing a Kangaroo Jump. Have your kids jump and measure. Then convert it to centimeters. Compare to how high and how far a kangaroo jumps.
- Research and write Abel Tasman who discovered Tasmania. Hint: He was a sea captain employed by the Dutch East India Company and sailed to the west coast of Tasmania.
- Write this list of 10 fun Australian words and their meaning: 1. G’day – Hello/Friendly Greeting 2. Fair Go – A fair chance 3. Tucker – Food 4. Dunny – a toilet 5. Bush – countryside 6. Aussies – An informal term for an Australian person 7. Lollies – candies 8. Barbie – BBQue 9. Bloke – man 10. Sheila – woman
- Symmetry and balance is important in Aboriginal Art. Learn about symmetry and then have your child create Aboriginal Art. Also, look at this art symmetry lesson plan.
- Convert prices from AUD to another currency (like USD or EUR)
ARTS & CRAFTS AUSTRALIA UNIT STUDY WEEK 4
- Australia Awesome and Deadly Animal Art
- Make a fun toilet roll Didgeridoo and Australian dot art.
- Make Anzac biscuits
- Construct a model of the Sydney Opera House
- Make boomerangs out of cardboard and look at their fascinating artwork. Originally, people in Australia and other countries used boomerangs to hunt for food.
- Learn about vegemite and see if you can make a recipe that tastes like it. It is a spread used for sandwiches and crackers.
- Do Aboriginal Dot Painting
- The Great Victoria Desert is the biggest desert in Australia. It has red sand dunes and incredible wildlife. Compare to some of the deserts here and do desert sand art.
Finally, we tend to build on unit studies each year which is why we love them.
What are you studying about in Australia?
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