 Index:
General
Directions for Cindy's Unit Studies:
I
have written these units with the goal of studying history
and science on alternate days, two times per week each (Monday
& Wednesday - History, Tuesday & Thursday - Science).
I recommend spending 1 - 2 hours each day per lesson depending
on the ages, abilities, and interests of your children. You
WILL NOT complete everything listed in these units.
Pick and choose the reading selections and activities as they
meet your family's needs and interests. The object is to complete
as much as you can as a group during the 1-2 hour lesson and
then assign additional independent work as needed. Additional
Study Recommendations are for students who are older or who
get interested in the topic. Whatever is not covered during
the unit is left for another year to cover. Remember, you
will most likely cover all these subjects two or three times
during your child's school years. What he misses the first
time can be covered the next time. A typical multi-level lesson
would run as follows:
1.
First, spend 15 - 30 minutes reading your main textbook or
read-aloud as a family. Even if your little ones don’t
understand everything or appear to being paying attention,
they will get something out of it. Divide the number
of pages in the book(s) by the number of lessons in the unit.
This is the number of pages you will need to read each lesson
to complete the book(s). Have your children take turns reading
as they are able. Explain new vocabulary words, as needed.
Record in your log book as vocabulary, reading and/or literature.
2.
Complete any hands-on activities or lab work together as a
group allowing each child to participate according to their
abilities. Record this in your log book as science lab, history
project, art project, etc. as appropriate.3.
Assign independent work to each child according to the his/her
ability: independent reading, composition projects, worksheets,
research, and/or internet activities. Research is done on
the Internet, using an encyclopedia, or with suggested library
books. Use vocabulary words and misspelled words from compositions
as your spelling lesson for the week. When editing compositions,
record this as grammar. Independent reading is done by your
children on their own time. Record these activities in your
log book as reading, composition, grammar, research skills,
vocabulary, etc. as appropriate.4.
All books listed can be purchased online, from local bookstores
and/or borrowed from the library. The grades listed are generally
interest levels, not reading level. Check reading levels before
assigning as independent reading.
5.
In lieu of testing, keep a portfolio
on your child's activities.
Back
to Top
Unit
Studies:
All
units below are ©Copyright
2004-2008 by Cindy Downes.
All
rights reserved. Permission
is given to homeschooling parents and classroom teachers
to use these units free of charge in their own homeschool
or classroom only. Please include the copyright information
on your printout. These units may not be distributed or
reprinted in any form for any other purpose (commercial
or otherwise) without
permission from Cindy Downes. Contact her at
cindy@oklahomahomeschool.com.
A
great resource for keeping track of your studies is The
Checklist
History & Social Studies-Based Units:
(I highly recommend investing in Terri Johnson's Blackline
Maps of World History
and Blackline
Maps of American History
to use as map studies for these units. See my Blog
for my complete review.)
Science-Based
Units:
Other
Units:
Recommended
Units (Purchase):
Ancient
China, to the Great Wall and Beyond by Judy Wilcox
(Highly recommended. Read my review here.)
For
a list of other commercial unit studies, visit the Unit
Study Store.
Units
on Other Websites (Mostly free):
 Highland
Heritage Home School Units.
Unit
Study Sites on the web.
Unit
Studies.
Easy
Fun School Unit Study Index.
HomeSchoolMom Unit Study Index.
Homeschool
Share.
All
Hands on Deck.
Sign
up for the Old Schoolhouse Magazine's Free
Unit Study e-Newsletter.
Unit
Studies from Homeschool
Helper.
Keep
track of your studies with The
Checklist
Use a timeline to better understand
what you are learning.
Back
to Top
. |
