The Completely Comprehensive, Thoroughly Thorough Way to Plan a Unit Study

When my son was in second grade in public school, he came home one day and announced his class was studying penguins. He wasn’t terribly excited, and I must admit, all I could think was, “Why penguins?” Now, don’t get me wrong, I love nature and animals, and since The March of the Penguins came out, I have a much greater respect for those amazing arctic birds. However, it’s not a topic I would have ever chosen. It turns out, my son felt the same way.

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The wonderful thing about homeschooling is we get to choose what we study. Okay, so you can’t just decide to skip math or reading altogether, however, learning about a topic that interests your child is much more likely to increase absorption, reduce tantrums and help the creative juices flow. Unit studies are a tool we use to cover the basics and beyond. The great thing is you get to decide how far in depth you’d like to go, which will have a lot to do with the interest of your child. Unit studies can be used for all your children at the same time by simplifying some of the work for younger children. I personally find it easier to plan a unit for the oldest child, then adapt and simplify the activities for younger ones, rather than the other way around, but do what works for you.

Parents may be intimidated about planning a unit study or perhaps letting go of the traditional safety net of a purchased curriculum. There’s no need to panic! You can still use your math program or whatever it is you’re clinging to. Just try not to overload your children with hours and hours of schoolwork; this is not boot camp!

Typically, math is the most difficult subject to cover with unit studies. It can still be included, but it probably won’t be thorough enough for a complete math curriculum. You can create word problems around any topic, so don’t be afraid to use your unit as a way to review specific skills.

Here’s how you can put together your own unit study from scratch:

1. Ask your child to choose a topic. Yes, sometimes you may want to choose the topic if you want to ensure your child covers the basics, such as pioneers or confederation, but as much as possible, let him choose. The topic itself is often not nearly as important as the subjects you teach within the unit study. Your daughter can learn to read and write by studying slugs, Ancient Rome or the history of Lego Blocks. Either way, she’ll be reading and writing. The key is to make sure she is interested enough to stay focused and enjoy learning about the topic as much as possible. Some would argue that not all learning has to be fun, however, if you can make it interesting, you’ll have much less of a battle on your hands. Why work twice as hard when you can work twice as smart?

I would recommend keeping the first unit study simple and short, so that you don’t get too overwhelmed. Animals are great first topics because it’s easy to stay focused and know when to call it quits. Keep it specific; narrow it down to dolphins instead of ocean creatures, for example, at least for the first time around.

2. Decide how to present your unit study. You can certainly read a few books, do some topic-related worksheets and leave it at that; however, there are so many more options to keep it interesting. We choose to lapbook or notebook our unit studies, as well as keep ongoing timelines in binders (one for each child). The kids choose which method they want to do on a case-by-case basis. We’ve also done giant posters. Recently, we’ve even started to combine the lapbook folds in a notebook style project, which I call a “hybrid notebooks” (for lack of another term). Your computer savvy child might choose to do a PowerPoint presentation, or a web page on her topic. She could create a newspaper, a video report, or a giant pictorial timeline. One of the greatest ways to retain information is to teach it. Consider having your child hold a presentation for family and friends, or create a video tutorial to pass around. There are no limits! Ask your child how he would like to present what he learns.

3. Decide on depth. This includes which subjects you will teach throughout this unit. Will you cover WWI solely from a historical perspective, or will you implement language arts, math, foreign language, science, geography, art, cooking and a field trip as well? I personally try to incorporate as many subjects as possible, which, to me, is the whole point of the unit study.

When we did a genealogy project, my children interviewed their grandparents and we read Anne of Green Gables together, learning about what life was like in the early 1900s. We made bread with the bread machine, and then made it by hand to compare how long it took, what was involved and the nutritional value compared to store-bought bread (including a discussion on preservatives). We talked about yeast and how important it is in making bread, and then did a science experiment to prove that yeast is a living one-celled organism. You wouldn’t really think a yeast experiment has anything to do with genealogy, but if you can tie it in, go for it! The children learned about music, art, inventions, transportation and fashion from that era, created a chart on inflation, and of course, learned new vocabulary and spelling words in both French and English. They also coloured maps showing all the Canadian provinces and US states where they have family. With that one project we covered history, home economics, health, science, music, art, math, language arts, foreign language and geography. Not too bad for one project!

4. Consider your budget and time. Decide if you will purchase a pre-made unit study, or if will you put it all together yourself. This depends on your budget, your available time to plan and your interest in the topic. Even if you purchase a pre-made unit study, you’ll still have a certain amount of organizing to do, but it can save you quite a bit of time. If you’re on a tight budget, planning your own may be the better option. I find it difficult to plan a topic that I have no interest in. When my son decided he wanted to study airplanes, I was more than happy to buy a unit, as I didn’t feel like doing all the technical research. When we did China, however, I was more interested in the subject and I was able to find plenty of free resources, so I decided to save a few dollars and work from scratch.

5. Do your research. Find all the information you can on your topic. What books are available at your local library? Ask your librarian for help in this, as you may be surprised what he or she can come up with. In my opinion, librarians are a much over-looked and under-used resource. Most will have a wealth of information, and be more than happy to share it. Be sure to find out if your library will do inter-library loans, as this increases your options exponentially. Perhaps a family member lives near a larger library and could look for some books for you. Are there any related documentaries coming up that you could record? PBS has some excellent ones, and educational taping rights are usually for one year.

Learn a bit about your topic to get familiar with what you’ll be covering. As you read, take note of any words you could use for spelling and vocabulary. I personally try not to go into great depth at this point, as I enjoy learning along with my children. I find that my amazement and excitement on a topic sparks more interest in them. I just try to get a feel for what subtopics we should cover so that we don’t miss anything important (I had never heard of the Silk Road until I started preparing our China unit study, so it was good that I read ahead!).

6. Schedule your time. Will you work on your unit everyday as a part of your regular studies, or only once or twice a week? Will you work on it before, after or instead of your regular curriculum? How long will you devote to each session? How many weeks would you like your unit to span? How long can you and your kids work on this topic before getting bored? The first time you plan a unit study estimate the answers to these questions as best you can. Once you’ve done it a couple times, you’ll get a feel for what works in your family. Be flexible here, and know that even the best plans don’t always work out exactly as we intended, and that’s perfectly okay! Flexibility is the key.

No one can really tell you how long it takes to do a unit study. It’s different for every family. We typically will stop our regular vocabulary and spelling programs, as those are both included in our units. We continue with Singapore math and French, and spend anywhere from three to six weeks on a unit study. If it gets much longer than that, we all get bored. I’ve heard of other families finishing one or two units per week, but that would be too stressful for us. You’ll figure out what works for you as you go along. The good news is there’s no right or wrong way to do it.

7. Brainstorm (by activity). This is my favourite part. I sit with a pen and paper and list, as quickly as possible, as many different activities we could do that are remotely related to the topic we chose. Don’t worry about making sure they’re all good ideas, you will sort through them later. The point is to get your creative juices flowing. If you get stuck, ask other homeschoolers for some ideas (online forums are a wonderful resource for this). You may find that someone else will suggest something that will trigger a half dozen more ideas from you. In the days and weeks before you start your unit, keep adding to your list as you think of new things. Once you’re done, go through the list and figure out which subject each activity fits into. For example, if you’re studying Ancient Greece and you decide to try cooking a traditional Greek meal, mark that down as Home Economics.

8. Brainstorm (by subject). Now make a list of all possible subjects that you would like your child to cover and try to think of what your child could do that is related to each subject. I wanted to incorporate math when my daughter studied horses. Since horses are measured in hands, not feet, I had her figure out how tall each member of her family is in hands, and then make a graph. Try to come up with as many activities as possible for each subject. Once you’re done, add them to the activities from your first brainstorming list. I think you’ll be surprised at how many subjects you’re able to cover!

9. Plan your activities. Sort through your list of activities and number them according to priority. My system is 1 = must do, 2 = would really like to do, 3 = not necessary, but would be nice if we have time, 4 = really lame idea, ditch it! I never actually erase even the lamest ideas from my brainstorming sessions, as you never know when a lame idea will prompt a better one later on.

Estimate how many activities you can get out of your topic before your child gets too bored. Now divide that up between the number of sessions you’ll have to work on your unit. For example: If you’re studying dinosaurs, and figure you can get about 20 solid activities out of it, you would have 2 weeks of work if you did two activities per day in a 5 day week. You may want to divide up the activities so that you’re not doing all the science activities in the same day. Spread them out as best you can, including a few from each priority level every day.

Alternately, you can number your activities in priority order with the most important being at the top of the list. Then just work on your unit in that order. When you see your kids getting tired of the topic or you run out of time, you’re done. You’ve covered the most important aspects, so you can stop at any time without feeling like you’re leaving something significant out.

Be flexible here and keep referring to your list in case something you thought would be exciting turns out to be a drag for your kids. If a science experiment flops, just move down the list. You’ll have plenty of activities to choose from, so you won’t need to worry about scrapping one or two. Now, repeat after me: As long as my child(ren) is/are learning, it’s okay if we don’t follow my plan. I can be flexible and am willing to adapt my plan so that my child(ren) get(s) the most out of this experience, which is the whole point of homeschooling in the first place. Well said. Pat yourself on the back.

10. Organize your resources. This includes books, websites, spelling and vocabulary words (in a second language as well), movies, craft and science experiment supplies, colouring pages, clip art and photos. You can even throw in some worksheets, copywork, crossword puzzles and word searches, if you use them. Some organizing can be done as you go, but the more you organize ahead of time, the more relaxed you’ll feel about your unit. If an activity goes quicker than you anticipated, you’ll have the next one ready to go as soon as it’s needed. For that reason, you’ll want to get your prep work done at least a few days ahead. If your kids are on a roll, you don’t want to have to stop so you can print a page, cut something out or hunt for a library book.

You can create a file in your computer with folders by day, or by subject. This is really up to you. I like to print what I’ll need for the week, and then sort them in an expandable file folder by day. If we work too fast, I just go to the next day’s folder and use those activities. If we work slower than I anticipated, I just move what’s left over from one day to the next. I have a master list to work from and I check things off as we complete them.

11. Get started. Explain to your child what you will be studying (if she didn’t choose the topic), what resources you’ve found and how many weeks you’ll spend on it. We start our day by reading from a library book, discussing the topic and then the children work on their projects. They automatically know that after we’ve read on the couch, they are expected to join me at the table. Doing it the same way every time eliminates some of the arguing. Recently, we’ve discovered that if the kids colour while I read, they don’t fidget or fight as much, so we now read at the table.

Come up with a small routine that will help engage your children each day. There will always be exceptions, but if you follow some type of order for all of your unit studies, your child(ren) will more easily flow from one activity to the next. I try to alternate sit down work with games and more hands-on activities to alleviate boredom and whining. By all means, don’t interrupt a natural learning process just so you can stick to your schedule, as that defeats the purpose, but I think you’ll find it’s worth having some sort of routine, even if it’s minimal.

12. Document your progress. For us, this simply means taking pictures. You can even include some of your photos in your finished project. I stink at keeping a journal, which is why I love digital photography. The camera keeps track of the date and time the photo was taken, so if I ever need to remember what day we did something, I just look for the photo. If you’re required by your provincial or state laws to keep records, it’s probably easier to do that as you go along, rather than write a report after the fact. Again, do what works for you.

13. Finish the unit. Some homeschoolers do multiple units at a once, finishing up at random times throughout the year. We prefer to do one topic at a time until it’s “as done as it’s going to get”. In other words, there are many degrees of done. If you’re not careful, a unit could be never-ending! Studying Ancient China could lead to a discussion martial arts, which could lead to self-defence, which could lead to the defence of a nation, which could lead to World War I… at some point, you’ll have to call it quits, or you might go crazy.

14. Don’t get discouraged! Try to keep a positive attitude, even if the kids aren’t as excited as you are. Be prepared to switch gears if it’s not working. While we want to teach our children to finish what they start, sometimes it’s just not worth it. If things aren’t going well, you can always take a break from that topic and come back to it later in the year. Do what works for your family. You may, at some point in your homeschooling journey, need to decide whether or not to scrap your entire unit. I don’t look at these unfinished units as failures; I look at them like learning experiences. What could I have done differently to make it more enjoyable for all? Usually, in my case anyway, it’s because we did too much sit-down work and not enough hands on activities. Sometimes there’s nothing we can do, a topic just turns out to be less interesting than you or your child originally thought. Other times we realize we could have included more games or a field trip, or whatever the case may be. Don’t throw it away, just put it aside. You never know if your child(ren) will decide to pick it up again in a year or two. Get back up, dust yourself off, and try again!