You will find some information about unit studies

when you visit to this site.

When you pick a theme and incorporate several educational

subjects within that theme, it is called a unit study.

When doing a unit study, children are not so distracted

with other subjects as most subjects are learned at the same time.

There are several good books to help you do a unit study.

You can purchase unit studies and even find some on the Internet.

Go to this page and get more info about different unit studies.

A unit can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be!

Sometimes, a 2-day unit can turn into a 1 month one!

It is easy to add on as you go!  Smile!

If you are writing your own unit study, you should read

"How To Create Your Own Unit Study" by Valerie Bendt ISBN 1880892421.

She explains very clearly about the ins and outs of unit studies.

Here is the unit study about Abraham Lincoln that I put together!

I call this a History Unit.

NOTE: You do NOT need to do everything.

These are just suggestions and you pick and chose as you please.

*You can use worksheets/workbooks whenever you want.

*I used some resources from my personal home-library.

*"...If You Grew Up With Abraham Lincoln" by Scholastic.

*As much as possible, use what you already have on hand!

*Pick several books that could cover different subjects.

One on carpentry, a cook-book, an atlas...

Daily, we read our Bible and have devotion time!

We use Miquon, Cuisenaire Rods and Alpha & Omega.

Practical math:

Counting logs used to build a house, exchange system used then, bartering...

Reading:

As much as possible we read a book on a daily basis or passage of a book.

In this case, "...If You Grew Up With Abraham Lincoln."

But any other book would do.

Dictation:

Let your child read a portion of a text, paragraph, or chapter.

Then dictate to him/her the sentences he/she has read.

Spelling:

This can be done as a dictation or as a dictionary search.

Choose some words from the material read and let

your child find the definition in a dictionary.

Then, have him/her use the word in a sentence.

Poetry:

Find a poem written during that era.

Copy work:

Let your child copy sentences from the material read.

Grammar:

Using a text from the material read, you could have

your child write the sentences and then

have him write a list of all the verbs, nouns, pronouns, subjects...

Puzzle:

You can use puzzles/word search to enhance your study.

Go to Puzzlemaker and create your own puzzle/wordsearch.

Remember that since this is a History Unit, you may not want

or need to do more for history!

However, you can.

Use resources from "English."

Have your children do some more in-depth researches about Abraham Lincoln.

Use an atlas, encyclopedia, or any other type of resources.

Your personal home-library is a great place to start.

Then your local library and the Internet.

Do a write up about Abraham Lincoln. Something similar to a little biography.

Talk about how he became President.

What was his life like? His background?

Use open-ended questions that will lead to discussions.

You can create a timeline about him.

Earth science:

Talk about the outdoors.

Pick a theme and work on it. You could talk about

wood, fire and combustion.

Experiment:

Conduct an experiment that can be tied up with your study.

It is okay if it has nothing to do with the theme. Just have fun!

Inventions:

Do you know of some inventions from that era?

New inventors? Learn about them.

Nutrition:

Types of food being eaten at that time?

Find a recipe and let the children help with the cooking.

Talk about the food pyramid. This could lead to a food unit.

Technologies:

You can discuss this subject and talk about the new

things that people do today.

Or the things people do now that are easier than years ago.

The oil lamp is not used like before. Most people

keep one in case of power outage.

But do they use it on a regular basis?

Map:

Use a map or globe and locate areas.

Find states, bodies of water (lake, rivers...) and cities/towns.

Illinois:

What do you know about it? Find the capital, state emblem,

and bird of the state...

Agriculture:

What is grown in Illinois? How is the product processed?

Where is it exported?

Maybe go on a field trip to a farm.

Prepare a dish using this product!

Sewing:

Learn to sew buttons, squares...

A Trade:

Maybe this is the right time to create something new.

Do you know someone who can teach carpentry?

Or any other trade that was very valuable in

Abraham Lincoln's time?

Safety:

Talk about the importance of fire safety.

Hunting:

What did people do at that time? How was it done? Who helped?

Fun & Games:

What did people do for fun? Compare with today's activities.

Politic:

How is it now? How was it then? Parties?

Exercise as much as possible. Inside or outside.

Fresh air is good for the lungs. Smile.

True Light Academy.
Copyright © 2002-2006 by Lara. All rights reserved.
Revised: 02/23/2006