4. {10 Days of ... Blogging Series}

Slice and dice of your unit study begins with being picky about sub-topics.  One significant reason that could dampen a unit study is not selectively choosing sub-topics.  Chiseling that main topic down into manageable planning sub-topics is the key to not covering “everything” and not being overwhelmed.  Not only did I choose the topic of Oceans to do with you because it has a kazillion topics so I can illustrate a slice and dice method, but I also wanted to pull you in closer on the specific how tos of choosing a sub-topic.

Trim and Fit Unit Studies

From the beginning, it is important to brainstorm sub-topics that would fit naturally into your main theme.  In other words never force a fit to make something fit into a subject for the sake of saying you covered something in that subject.  It really makes for some awkward learning moments.  I have done it and afterwards I felt like I was having an insane homeschooling day.

For example, I mentioned in Day 2. Tips For Choosing Unit Study Topics. 10 Days of Diving Into Unit Studies By Creating A Unit Study Together I chose Oceans not just because it will be part of our big move coming up, but because it is a science topic.  I want our sub-topics to stay focused more on science.  So if I was to try to tie in history by asking the boys how do they think the Oregon Trail pioneers felt when they arrived in Oregon and viewed the Pacific Ocean would feel awkward to me.  On the other hand if I tied in the history of seafaring to our unit study, that would feel more natural.

Make sense?

Books and Guides Matter

Next, the very basic essential to planning an excellent unit study is having a hardworking spine which can be a study guide, teacher’s manual, textbook, pamphlet, living book or article on line.  Start by looking over what you already have in your home library to choose as a guide.  If you don’t have one, then make a visit to the library to find one or buy one if you think you will do this topic again and can use it with multiple children.

Though I love living books, I normally use them to include as our literature to read.  Sometimes I choose a living book, but a lot of times I do not.  Why? Because books that give me ideas for hands-on too from the very beginning sets me up for success by making the unit study easier.  I want to work less in teacher prep so I chose books filled with facts AND that have hands-on ideas for projects.  It really depends on what type of unit study also.  For example, if we were doing one a famous person then a living book would be my number one go to book.

Also if you have younger children, then choosing a living book like the ones by Holling C. Holling like I have listed below are great story readers and make a useful teacher spine.  It is easy too at times to find hands on ideas for younger learners, but not quite as easy for older students.

So as the teacher you decide what type of books keeps it easy for you and for the ages of the children you have.  No need to dread hands-on because that is the life of a great unit study.  Just be more picky about choosing the unit study guide.  Instead of going with a living book for my Ocean Unit Study, then I am going with more of a fact book which already has ideas for hands-on projects.

I have mentioned these books before and now I gathered some of them up for you to see.  Because hands on ideas are already included, they make WONDERFUL unit study starters.

Discover the Oceans is the one I will be using for this unit study from my favorite books above.   This doesn’t mean I can’t add another spine.  I had this one at home and it is a good jumping off point.  Look below at the chapters inside the book.

I don’t have to fuss much because I already have a guide or direction to go with on this topic.   Quickly glancing at the chapters I can tell which ones are the direction we need to go and which ones I may need to look over.  The “maybe” chapters are ones I need to look at because I want to keep this a more science topic and I want to be sure they don’t pull us too far off that track.

(page from my Unit Study Planner)

Choose sub-topics that pique your children’s interests and then assign them to subjects.  I will be doing this in the next post where I will have chosen all my sub-topics for the Ocean, but I have an example above from my FBI unit study to show you now.  I have 3 sub-topics shown.  Two that interested my boys which are J. Edgar Hoover and the effects of WWI and one I added, which is the U.S. Government.   So I added something I felt like they needed to study about and grouped with the sub-topics that they naturally picked.   On the right side I used a check to show which subject areas I felt those sub-topics met.

So up to this point, you  need to

• Pick a guide or two;
• Look over the chapters;
• Determine which chapters will help you in your topic and which ones will not or would the book serve better as a reader or literature.
• Choose your sub-topics

Next post I will share my sub-topics on the Ocean Unit Study and then show you how to start pulling resources together.

Are you with me still?

Hugs and love ya,

10 Days of Creating A Unit Study Together

The next big hurdle natural step whether you decide to use unit studies as enrichment or as a stand alone curriculum and after you adopt your definition of a unit study is determining a topic.

Sharing tips today on how I choose a topic, I hope you leave behind a bit of the fear that hems us in to using curriculum laid out by others and embrace the teacher in you.  Yep, teacher mom is screaming to get out.  Okay—screaming with shaking knees is fine too.  Trekking this together, we’ll both have a step by step guide.

Avoid Capture & Release Tactics

One of the very first resources I turn to when deciding a topic is to my sons.  For me, this is the part of unit studies that makes it child-led.  Engage your children and from the beginning you already have a captive audience.

The first year I asked Mr. Senior 2013 who was in 3rd grade at the time and Mr. Awesome who was a 1st grader what topics interested them, I received some great ideas.  Here are their answers: To blow up something (sounds like my kid), learn to weave or tie a knot, about bears, and grow crystals.

Sounds like a good plan to me.  The next step is to turn their idea into a topic that is teacher approved for the year.  When I mean teacher approved, it has to be something that we need as a family.  Blowing up something told me that they needed more hands-on activities so we studied basic chemistry.  (We did blow up corks in our kitchen and the indentations on my ceiling are there to prove it.)

Tying a knot was tied (pun intended) into our reading and study of Carry on, Mr. Bowditch.  Studying about bears we covered in our Native American unit studies and we grew crystals one week for our science activity.

As you can see not every idea gets a full blown unit study, sometimes it is an idea that can be part of a unit study that you want covered too.  Asking my sons is always my beginning point.

Some years, I too have kids that say: “I don’t know.”  So next, I turn to the seasons and times in our life at the present moment.  I like to teach in practical ways and learning becomes so much more meaningful when you are living and learning together.

Whether you choose to study a topic like snow flakes, the Winter Olympics, about the Arctic or how to survive in the cold if it’s the winter season or choose a topic for an event coming up in your life, moments that occur naturally have been some of our best learning moments in unit studies.

This is actually the choice I am using to determine the topic for our next unit study which is a study of the Ocean.  With our move overseas, and because South America lends itself well to studying about the Ocean, that will be our next unit study topic.

Other factors I consider when choosing a unit study to coincide with our present family life is to determine what my kids know and don’t know, whether we want an expansive unit study that lasts weeks or even months or a mini-unit study.   I always start first though with what we have previously studied so I can use that as a jump start into our next topic.

We have covered some of the Animals of the Amazon  and about Coral Life so I can build on those topics when we start our Ocean Unit Study.  Things like the Amazon River and the importance of coral will help them to recall some basic information.

Remember, unit studies is about connecting information together and it is not about being a study of disjointed topics or subjects.  Try to use your previous studies of any topics to connect it with the current one or weave it together so that you help your children see connections.

Unit Study Textbook Tips – Uh?

It almost seems like an oxymoron to use unit study and textbooks in the same breath, but textbooks can be of practical use especially when you live in an area that requires stricter record keeping.

If that is the case, then use a text book or chapter from it to create a unit study which is approved for record keeping purposes.

Or, if you have purchased textbooks and feel more comfortable using it as you begin a unit study, it is a practical way to not waste what you have already purchased.  Create a unit study from your textbooks on hand and bring the topics to life.

Basically a unit study from a textbook can become enrichment or it could be a lengthy and extensive unit study.  You decide.

Tap Into Other Types of Unit Studies

Unit studies can also be prepared using a living book, based on a famous person, on geography, on a time period in history including persons like explorers, based on a family vacation, current news events, on an art topic, on an animal, on science and famous scientists, on life skills like cooking and choosing a career and on character traits like Konos uses.

Okay, I have my big general sweeping category of an Ocean Unit Study.  But now, we need to trim this baby into something we can actually study for weeks.  I need to determine what is beneficial for my family.

If you have chosen a much narrower topic, like the study of a famous person or even the study of an animal or time period in history, you still need to narrow down exactly what benefits you want your family to get from it.

Sub-topics to the rescue.  I will share on Day 3 how to determine which sub-topics are important and which ones are not.

Are you with me? What is your topic? Can you imagine if everyone shared their topic or ideas? That would be a huge benefit to each other.

I’m stoked to share my sub-topics with you next.

Hugs and love ya,

10 Days of Creating A Unit Study Together