Easy Guide to Homeschooling with Unit Studies
I’m honestly just going to get straight to the point. No long story. No extended version because if you’re like me at times, I just need to know and no background info is needed.
If you’re here because you’re interested in finding out more about what unit studies are and how you can implement them in your homeschool routine…. this post is for you, so keep reading!
P.S. The FREE UNIT STUDY PLANNER is at the end of this post – so if that’s all you need, just scroll on down!
Disclosure: Hey! Just a quick note: some of the links in this post may be affiliate links and if you go through them to make a purchase or to join, I will earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. But just know that I recommend these companies and their products because of their quality and my experience with them and not because of the commission I receive from your purchases. The decision is yours, and whether or not you decide to buy something is completely up to you. I love and appreciate you regardless! You can review my full disclosure here. xo, Tessa
What is a Unit Study?
Easy Guide to Homeschooling with Unit Studies
Unit studies can also be described as thematic units that are commonly used in preschool classrooms, where the focus is on a specific theme over a period of time with sub-topics to explore to expound upon the theme. That’s pretty much it.
You’re taking a “main idea” and creating projects and assignments as well as incorporating other unique elements (e.g. lapbooks, videos, audio files, books, field trips, etc.) to dig deeper and learn more about that main idea.
What are the Benefits of a Unit Study?
Easy Guide to Homeschooling with Unit Studies
Unit studies are truly a fantastic way to help your children engage in rich learning experiences because with unit studies, you have the ability to incorporate several subjects (e.g. math, science, social studies, art, music, ELA, etc.) in one unit while also incorporating the natural interests of your children.
Unit studies can also help spice up a traditional homeschool routine for something that is more eclectic, fun, and versatile.
Unit studies can be used to:
- make up your main homeschool curriculum framework
- supplement only some subjects that are also often neglected (e.g. science, social studies)
- explore a specific topic that your kids are interested in
Quick Steps to Setting Up your Unit Study
Easy Guide to Homeschooling with Unit Studies
- Decide on a Unit Study Theme
- this is the backbone of your unit study and the inspiration behind how you will build and connect everything else (e.g. assignments, books, resources, videos, lapbooks, scrapbooks, worksheets, projects, crafts, etc).
- For example, your children may show an interest in the Solar System. This is your unit study theme. This is the main idea.
- There are many resources online where you can find unit studies that have already been planned out for you. Many of them are print and go with minor preparation involved. I happen to love Homeschool Share. There are MANY unit studies to choose from as well as phenomenal lapbook studies. I highly recommend you check it out if you want some unit study inspiration!
- Decide on the Supporting Topics
- these are the specific topics you will explore in the unit study theme to deepen your children’s understanding about the theme or main idea.
- So if your theme is the Solar System, your topics could include: the Sun, each of the planets, the milky way, the stars, black holes, and specific people who have contributed to the exploration of the Solar System, etc. Your topics can go as deep as your children are interested!
- Decide on the Length of your Unit Study
- I usually base the length of our unit studies on how many topics we are going to explore. That is because my children may be interested in a variety of topics about our theme so I will break up these topics into days and that could range from 4-6 weeks or less or more.
- Keep in mind that unit studies can be as short as 3 days and as long as an entire semester.
- Choose a Starting Date
- a great way to stay on track of planning your unit study is knowing when you will start it. If your unit study is short (e.g. 3 days), you may not need to spend a lot of time planning it. The longer your unit study is, the more time you will spend planning it.
- Also keep in mind that if you are planning a longer unit study that will last a few weeks long, you may choose to plan out a general blueprint of the unit study and choose the specific weekly activities as you go.
- I have done this and it works to avoid being overwhelmed with planning. Plus, you don’t want to plan a gorgeous unit study for several weeks out and your kids end up becoming disinterested in the first couple of days or weeks!
- Determine your Objectives and Goals of the Unit Study
- Your objective is the overall outlook of what you want your children to get out of the unit study. What is the ultimate learning goal or goals? Determining these goals will help you plan your unit study effectively and with clarity. It will also keep you on track with your lesson plans.
- If you have children of varying age groups, you may choose specific goals based upon their abilities and academic level.
- An example objective or goal for a Solar System unit could be: “Students will learn about and explore the solar system.” It’s broad and to the point.
- You can also list specific goals for each child that could pertain to specific grade level skills that you want them to accomplish in specific subjects.
- Make a List of All the Resources you Have and/or Need
- these can be books, videos, activity sheets, crafts, and other resources you already have that pertain to the theme and topic that will work well with the unit study
- Determine the Subjects you Want to Target in the Unit Study
- your unit studies can be geared toward one subject (e.g. history) or it can include several subjects (e.g. history, science, art, music, ELA, foreign language, etc)
- For example, if you want to include several subjects for a theme about the Solar System, this is how it could look:
- SCIENCE – planets
- HISTORY – dates and times of when the first person explored the Solar System
- ELA – copywriting poetry about the Solar System, reviewing vocabulary and spelling words
- ART – painting a portrait of the Sun
- Plan Other Activities to Reinforce Material Learned
- virtual or in person field trips, outdoor activities, etc
- For a theme on the Solar System, you may plan a field trip to your local museum and attend a space exhibit. An outdoor activity could be right in your backyard where you all spend the evening looking at and counting the stars through a telescope.
- You may also choose to do certain projects or crafts throughout the unit or at the end of the unit. This could be building a 3D model of the Solar System or creating a lapbook. You could even get super craftsy and build a paper mache model of the Earth! The options are endless!
- Choose Specific Elements to Correspond with the Unit Study Activities
- These elements can be: book reports, project boards, worksheets, coloring pages, lapbooks, scrapbooks, videos, speeches, etc.
- Elements are the hands on and interactive ways of how you want your children to practice or show understanding of the content of the unit study. The elements are also how you can assess what your children have learned.
- Identify the Scope and Sequence
- This pertains to the specific skills you want your children to focus on academically.
- If you’re stuck and need clarification on these specific things, I recommend you purchase Home Learning Year by Year by Rebecca Rupp. In this book, she addresses what children from preschool to 12th grade need to know and she also gives recommendations for specific resources that will help meet those learning goals! It is EXTREMELY helpful and was a complete game changer for me in my lesson planning. BUY IT!
- Review your Completed Unit Studies
- It’s always great to jot down the things that worked and didn’t work. This is super helpful when you are planning future unit studies. You may want to implement additional things in the next unit study or take out some things that weren’t a good fit.
- Determine how you will Record your Unit Studies
- You will want to save some of the assignments and projects that your children complete, but sometimes, this may not be very easy if it’s a large artifact.
- You can take pictures of large, bulky projects or painted art, you can scan writing assignments, you can even have your children create scrapbooks or lapbooks that have a host of information that your children have learned in the unit. Lapbooks are also great ways for your children to review the information they have learned – like an assessment.
Easiest Way to Organize your Unit Studies
Easy Guide to Homeschooling with Unit Studies
All of this information can be a bit overwhelming if you don’t have a way to organize it all in one place.
That’s why I created this free unit study planner! I couldn’t find one that had everything I wanted and needed, so I opted to make my own.
>>> You can access this unit study planner for FREE in my TPT STORE!
Final Thoughts..
Using unit studies in your homeschool curriculum is a great way to break away from your usual routine – especially if your kids do a lot of book work or worksheets. Those things are great, but it’s always awesome to spice things up a bit with something more fun and exciting!
So what about you? Do you use unit studies in your homeschool? How has it worked for you? Do you do anything different when planning your unit studies than what I mentioned above?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
xo,
Tessa