Unit Studies

Introduction to the Unit Study Approach

Unit studies, sometimes called thematic units or integrated studies, are very popular with homeschoolers. Unit studies usually use a hands-on approach for effective learning. The child learns by actually experiencing or discovering through different methods and activities, rather than just reading a chapter from a textbook. Studies show that children using unit-study methods retain 45% more than those using a traditional approach. Read More...

Lapbooks

Lapbooks are paper manipulatives using file folders in which the student stores creative summaries of their work. The concept is similar to notebooking and some notebooking resources can be used in lapbooks, but the concepts do differ. Lapbooks are more than just notebooks with collections of worksheets, they are diagrams, minute books, and other paper manipulatives customized to emphasize the subject of the lapbook. Read More...

Notebooking

Notebooking and lapbooking are closely related. Notebooking is a bit simpler, with the information inserted into simple 3-ring binders instead of put into the more elaborate lapbooks. Notebooks are put together using maps, lab reports, scrapbook pages, worksheet pages, drawings, essays, timelines, and any other relevant work that your child creates. Read More...

Timelines in the Homeschool

Timelines offer students the ability to visually process overlapping and chronological events in history, relating them in a way that is more difficult to perceive through reading. Timelines in the homeschool are a valuable tool to relate subjects together and view historical events as interrelated. Read More...

KONOS Unit Study Topics

Our KONOS page has links to resource pages on THSM divided by character trait and unit. Read More...

Instead of Curriculum

Everyone has a comment on the increasing popularity of homeschooling. When I talk to people about homeschooling, they frequently mention the availability of "so much curriculum these days," as if that is the single most important factor in being able to homeschool. Non-homeschoolers, prospective homeschoolers, and new homeschoolers seem surprised that many homeschoolers use learning materials that are not, strictly speaking, part of a homeschool curriculum. There are many reasons why people use other learning resources instead of curriculum. Read More...

Delayed Academics: It's All About Learning

Many experienced homeschoolers have long valued the ability to delay formal academics to create a more holistic early childhood education for their young children, with the understanding that this creates a rich foundation for later academic and life success. Today, parents new to homeschooling are embarking on homeschooling at a time when public schools are emphasizing early formal academics and implementing standardized testing of very young children, despite lack of evidence that these practices enhance educational outcomes for the children. As David Elkind (author of The Hurried Child and The Power of Play: Learning What Comes Naturally) writes in "Much Too ... Read More...

Contextual Learning: Homeschooling Through Fashion

This year in my role as a homeschool evaluator, I met a number of tweens and teens who are interested in fashion. As we went through their portfolio of work and talked about their year, I was fascinated with the ways they had woven their interest in fashion with their academic studies. Two of the teens I met with had taken their interest in current fashion into the past -- studying the typical dress and accessorizing of women and men in earlier periods of history. They also took their fashion interest international -- studying the current typical dress of modern-day ... Read More...

Kids Blogging Unit Studies

What do you get when your child combines a unit study and notebooking with a blog? You get the homeschool version of a Virtual Learning Environment (a fancy way of saying learning that is enhanced by the Internet). In my role as a homeschool evaluator in Virginia, I teach about and encourage other uses of blogs—most commonly as documentation of learning—a blogfolio or electronic portfolio. The two uses are slightly different, because the blog as a portfolio is an evaluation tool (to be used by "others"), and the blog as an online unit study—a virtual homeschooling notebooking project—is actually a ... Read More...

36 Educational Podcasts for Homeschoolers with Teens

Do you use educational podcasts for homeschooling? If not, you should! Podcasts are a great way for homeschoolers to explore a variety of topics and current events. Podcasts can be easily integrated into nearly all subject areas. Depending on the podcast platform you're using, you can search for topics, people, events, etc. We've recently had some great conversations about the Loch Ness Monster, Amelia Earhart, and King Arthur. Read More...

Help Your Homeschool with Rabbit Trails

Homeschooling is boring, your child is resistant, the curriculum seems “complete” but moves on quickly and without depth. You can improve this kind of homeschool experience by opening yourself to following the rabbit trails. What are rabbit trails? They are the paths you make as you help your child follow an interest or a question from one resource to the next. Read More...

Unit Studies Made Easy by Valerie Bendt

From amazon.com Valerie's popular book How to Create Your Own Unit Study is back! This updated, expanded version includes all four of Valerie s previously published unit study books in one big volume: How to Create Your Own Unit Study, The Unit Study Idea Book, For the Love of Reading, and Success with Unit Studies. Read more at amazon.com

How to Create Your Own Unit Study by Valerie Bendt

From amazon.com A do-it-yourself guide for putting together your own unit studies based on your goals and interests. Valerie Bendt defines unit studies, tells how they can be approached, instructs on keeping records, and talks about goal setting. Other topics include using the library, finishing projects, determining your educational philosophy and more. Sample units are presented.    Read more at amazon.com Valerie also wrote Unit Study Idea Book .

Home Learning Year By Year by Rebecca Rupp

This is a helpful reference resource for homeschoolers using unit studies since it covers what is typically taught by grade and subject.

From amazon.com Finally, homeschoolers have a comprehensive guide to designing a homeschool curriculum, from one of the country's foremost homeschooling experts. Rebecca Rupp presents a structured plan to ensure that your children will learn what they need to know when they need to know it, from preschool through high school.    Read more at amazon.com

Unit study resources from other websites:

Homeschooling Styles: Unit Studies

Guest article about unit studies by Valerie Bendt on Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers

Teaching with Unit Studies

From Oklahoma Homeschool, this page includes links to lots of helpful information (like multi-level teaching, timelines, and more) and several unit studies

The Joy and Ease of Learning Through Child-led Unit Studies

"Unit studies are collections of learning activities tied to a theme. They are popular with many homeschooling families because they provide a hands-on approach to learning that incorporates subjects such as math, science, language arts, and the social sciences. The great advantages of unit studies are that they can be tied into a child's interest and that the entire family can learn about a subject together."

Homeschool Helper Online

Homeschool Helper Online has currently free units available through the site, each of which has corresponding worksheets and library lists. They also offer lapbooking and notebooking resources.