My Unit Studies {Free Printables & Hands-on Ideas}

The next part of our unit study is the Trail of Tears Indian Removal Act minibook, which I have ready today.

We are eager to get our homeschooling booted back up after having a much needed break with our move overseas.  I have to admit though we have been a bit sidetracked as we have arrived in Cuenca, Ecuador because we have so many new places to explore and learn about.  But we are going to finish our Trail of Tears Unit Study first because our interest was piqued and we need to cover a wee bit more U.S. history too.

So this next minibook is a bit about the Indian Removal Act and how it affected not only the Cherokee, but the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek and Seminole. Too, you know my dislike for a blob of blank pages a blank page because it doesn’t give any help when you may be running short on teacher prep time.

So I always try to include a few facts about the topic on most of my minibooks where possible. This one is no different.  Of course, you don’t have to use the facts or inside page we researched. You can add your own research.

More Trail of Tears Activities

• Free The Trail Of Tears For Kids Fun Unit Study Ideas And Lapbook
• Books About the Trail of Tears
• Trail of Tears Indian Removal Act Minibook
• Cherokee Garden Pan Bread
• Trail of Tears Notebooking Pages

How to Get the Free Trail of Tears Lapbook

Now, how to grab the free lapbook. This is a subscriber freebie.

That means when you sign up to follow me, you get access to my subscribers library and this freebie.

However, not all my freebies are in the library (wink).

I like to keep up to date with what is valuable to you so I can give you more, some freebies you must sign up again on the form below even if you are already a follower.

And it’s the only way I have of freely delivering them to you. Just follow the steps below.

► 1) Sign up on my list.
► 2) Go to your inbox and confirm your email from the automatic reply I sent you. If you’re already a confirmed subscriber, you will not have to do this. You’ll receive the freebie instantly.
 ►3) Last step. look for my reply AFTER you’ve confirmed your email.

Before I tell you about the trail of tears unit study and lapbook that I have planned for fall, I want to say congratulations to Crystal Cook, our grand prize winner of the Explorers Basket.

All I could “hear” were squeals on the other side of my email.  Too, I restrained myself from commenting on each reply, which you know is hard for me to do, but wanted you to know that I read each comment.

I value your input because though I may not get to do each suggestion, I sure do try to eventually.

Also, I may be wildly insane for even attempting to prepare the Trail of Tears unit study and lapbook about 14 days before we have to be out of our house and hotel hopping, but I would rather plan and have it than to not plan.

I am just giving you heads up now that this unit study, though I don’t want it to be, may stand half-baked for a while because our huge move overseas is here.

I can’t even begin to tell you all the details that are consuming when you don’t have a forwarding address yet, or will be totally mobile. 

Too, I am still transferring files over to my laptop and by the way if you know of a good mini (and I do mean mini) printer that is easy to get cartridges for, let me know.

Back to my unit study, I pushed myself one more time to go ahead and at least get the printables started on this unit study because it really is a time period that I wanted Tiny to study at an older age. 

Though we will focus of course on the culture and life of a few different Native American people, I wanted to expose the injustices and ugly side of American history. 

Those are teachable moments too of examples that we do not want to be like. 

The ugly side of history is something we do not shy away from, but I do wait to talk about it when each of the boys are more middle to high school age. 

It’s crazy though how even very young children know when something is not fair and can have empathy for a fellow being. 

It’s just when they are older they can value the model lessons.

Also, in preparing my lapbooks, as I talk about in the new The Big Book Of Homeschool Ideas where I am a co-author, one way to keep doing lapbooks for the middle to high school ages is to be sure clip art is not babyish.  That is a huge turnoff to the older kids.

That is one aversion I have to many printables and that is the clip art outgrows your crew in about one year.  It’s okay for sure if the focus is on the younger crew and sometimes it is.

  But I mostly aim for middle to high school because there is so much content for younger kids and not much for hands-on and to keep learning fun through to the upper grades.

I think sometimes finding appropriate clip art is more time consuming than actually doing the unit study, but I find it so worth the time for our kids.

Today, I have two minibooks. 

Well, actually one minibook and then a tear shaped printable to use either on the front of your lapbook or inside lapbook as a way to introduce The Trail of Tears.

Trail of Tears silhouette credit: Edees Crafty Corner

How to Get the Free Trail of Tears Lapbook

Now, how to grab the free lapbook. This is a subscriber freebie.

That means when you sign up to follow me, you get access to my subscribers library and this freebie.

However, not all my freebies are in the library (wink).

I like to keep up to date with what is valuable to you so I can give you more, some freebies you must sign up again on the form below even if you are already a follower.

And it’s the only way I have of freely delivering them to you. Just follow the steps below.

► 1) Sign up on my list.
► 2) Go to your inbox and confirm your email from the automatic reply I sent you. If you’re already a confirmed subscriber, you will not have to do this. You’ll receive the freebie instantly.
 ►3) Last step. look for my reply AFTER you’ve confirmed your email.