Are you a homeschooler looking to enrich your studies with interesting and relevant material? Do you enjoy delving deep into a subject? Then unit studies are for you. Learning doesn’t have to be boring! We love picking a subject that my kids are interested in and exploring all the details of that subject. I’ve gotten a bit out of the habit in recent years, so it’s time to break out the unit studies once again! In the past, I’ve kept a tally of the questions my kids have asked. We had some interesting ones like “What are teeth made of?” and “Where are guns made?” The key is to pay attention to what catches their eye and run with it. They’ll be learning and not even realize it!
Why Use Unit Studies?
- You can combine grades – Multi-level learning is easier to do when using unit studies.
- You don’t have to purchase a lot of books – You can use the library or your own bookshelf to put together a unit study
- They’re interesting – When the children say that they want to learn about something specific, you can dive right in learning all aspects. They generally stay focused and don’t lose interest because it is something that they truly want to learn about.
- They don’t forget what they’ve learned – Why? Because you’ve done hands on projects about it. You’ve studied it thoroughly. You’re not cramming, memorizing & dumping. You’re actively using the content that you’re learning.
- They’re easy to plan – I’ll walk you through that, but….with the internet at your finger tips, you’ll have your plan going in no time!
- They’re cheap – Because you’re pulling together free resources, library resources, or using the ones you have at home, you don’t have to spend much on them. Of course, you CAN if you want to. I have listed a large list of free resources at the end of this post.
How to Plan Your Own Unit Study
- Decide on your topic
- Find some Living Books on the Topic from your own library or the public library.
- Search the topic on the internet to see what you find. Don’t forget about Pinterest and You Tube.
- Decide if you’re going to record what you’ve learned by using a lapbook or notebooking.
- Map out which subjects will be covered in your unit study (i.e. science, history, writing, etc.)
- Check out Local Field Trip Possibilities
- Set a time frame for completion and schedule your studies out across that time frame.
- Be flexible – You may find that you want to add to it… or you may find that you’re getting bored of it and it’s time to move on. Don’t be a slave to the schedule!
- Make Memories! Tackle it with the plan to enjoy your children and enjoy learning.
Unity Study Helps
What Subjects Should I Cover? – This link walks you through what subjects can be covered in a unit study. If a certain subject is not covered, you may want to add that in on the side from a text or workbook.
Free Unit Studies
A
American Flag (mini unit)
Amphibians, Reptiles, and Fish (Cold-blooded Vertebrates)
Astronauts, Rockets & Space Ships
B
Battle of Yorktown, Benedict Arnold, Swamp Fox, & John Paul Jones
Benjamin Franklin, Battle of Saratoga, & Valley Forge Lesson
Bridges: Forces, Arch Bridges, & Truss Bridges
Bridges: Suspension, Cantilever, & Cable-Stayed Bridges
C
Cabot, Cartier, Drake, Hudson, and Astronomy
Cats (mini study)
Chocolate (Milton Hershey)
Christopher Columbus & Prince Henry the Navigator
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
Comets, Asteroids, Meteors, Stars & Constellations
Communication (Lines of..)
Cookies (Christmas)
D
Da Gama, Vespucci, Balboa, & Magellan
E
Earth’s Layers & Soil Composition
Elias Howe (Inventor of the sewing Machine)
Erosion (mini unit)
F
Fossils (Christian perspective)
G
Gears & Pulleys: Simple Machines
George Washington, Battle of Trenton, & Betsy Ross
Good Christian Men Rejoice (Christmas)
H
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Hummingbirds (mini unit)
I
Inventions & Rube Goldberg Machines
J
K
King George III, Patrick Henry, & Samuel Adams
L
Leonardo da Vinci: The Scientist
Leonardo da Vinci: The Inventor
Lexington and Concord, Thomas Jefferson, and Declaration of Independence
M
Martin Luther & the Reformation
My Country (younger students)
My Country (older students)
N
O
P
Paper Airplanes & the Four Forces of Flight
Ponce de Leon, Aztecs, Cortes, & Conquistadors
Q
R
S
Science & Scientists: An introduction to science for elementary aged kids
T
Taxonomy, Animal Classification, and Invertebrates
Tornadoes, Hurricanes, and Lightning
V
W
Other Resources:
Homeschool Share. I didn’t add each individual subject from their site because it’s so extensive. I may as well just send you straight to their site instead.
Stone Soup Homeschool Resources – This is a community supported database with an A to Z list of unit studies available. It’s a great list, assuming all the links are still working!
Unit Study Curriculum for Purchase
Unit Studies by Amanda Bennett – If you don’t know where to begin, you can always turn to the unit study guru, Amanda Bennett. She’s very well known for her work in publishing quality unit studies in downloadable ebooks. There are dozens of unit studies available through this site! The unit studies on this site are for purchase.
CurrClick – This is an online store that sells a lot of lapbooks that go easily along with unit studies.
For more Ultimate Guides of Homeschooling, go to the iHomeschool Network. Also, you can enter for a chance to win one of 4 great books!
