DragonflyAcademy Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 So.. This year we have been using the Year Long planning (file folder method) that has the super long thread here at WTM. I have to say I am very happy with the year long planning.. and am looking ahead to next year.. yes, I know it's only January.. but we are 1/2 through our school year and I would like to avoid what I did this school year.. all my planning in 2 weeks in August..that was not fun. I was considering adding Unit Studies to our homeschool.. Where do I start? How do I make it mesh with the yearly planning that has worked so well for us? Where do I learn how to do this..Prepared or Make my own?? I'd prefer either secular or lightly faith based.. I can add in what I need to those Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HS Mom in NC Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 My unit studies are done using Learning Through History Magazine. No one could use everything listed, but you can pick and choose. They are out of print now, but if you know other classical educators they may have some you can borrow. Get a copy of Let the Authors Speak and select books from the chronological/regional listings if you can't get your hands on the applicable copies of Learning Through History Magazine. Get a copy of Blackline Maps of World History to go along with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
femke Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Choose a topic, pick the amount of time you have (1 week? a month?), choose books (both readers and read-alouds), maps to go along with it, maybe some worksheets or reproducibles. Do you want to notebook, make a lapbook, another project? What kind of activities do you want to do? I don't do Year Long planning (didn't hear that one before) but I have most of my unit study cycle planned out. I have a magazine holder for each unit - a file folder would be waaaay to small! I can just grab a topic from my shelf and GO! It has everything in it that I need for each unit, I just add books to it as Ds gets older. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbabe Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Choose a topic, pick the amount of time you have (1 week? a month?), choose books (both readers and read-alouds), maps to go along with it, maybe some worksheets or reproducibles. Do you want to notebook, make a lapbook, another project? What kind of activities do you want to do? I don't do Year Long planning (didn't hear that one before) but I have most of my unit study cycle planned out. I have a magazine holder for each unit - a file folder would be waaaay to small! I can just grab a topic from my shelf and GO! It has everything in it that I need for each unit, I just add books to it as Ds gets older. Oh man! You are one organized mama! I'd love to have my unit studies all laid out and in boxes already! How wonderful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2myboys Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 femke, that sounds like an amazing system! Great job on organizing. Where is the long thread on the year long planning? I would love to check it out. I really need to orgnaize myself better. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonflyAcademy Posted January 10, 2011 Author Share Posted January 10, 2011 Year long planning So.. I'm looking at my history (SOTW 3) and I see some obvious units. 1. Early Explorers 2. Colonial Life 3. American Revolution 4. Westward Expansion/Early 19th C I could add 5. Civil War That makes 4 to 5 units..but those are history intensive.. I'm not sure how to tie them into Science.. or do I do separate unit studies for science? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2myboys Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Year long planning So.. I'm looking at my history (SOTW 3) and I see some obvious units. 1. Early Explorers 2. Colonial Life 3. American Revolution 4. Westward Expansion/Early 19th C I could add 5. Civil War That makes 4 to 5 units..but those are history intensive.. I'm not sure how to tie them into Science.. or do I do separate unit studies for science? Thank you for the link. :) Those look like good ideas for units. Best of luck in your planning. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayne J Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 [quote=ChantyD3;2327733So.. I'm looking at my history (SOTW 3) and I see some obvious units. 1. Early Explorers 2. Colonial Life 3. American Revolution 4. Westward Expansion/Early 19th C I could add 5. Civil War That makes 4 to 5 units..but those are history intensive.. I'm not sure how to tie them into Science.. or do I do separate unit studies for science? You could try tying them together loosely. For example, in an early explorers unit, you may investigate water--boats and how they float/water displacement, what kinds of boats work best under different conditions, etc. And maybe a unit on germs, disease, how they spread and immunity etc. Colonial life--maybe medicine in the era, or farming--erosion, crop rotation, botany, etc. Revolution--ballistics! Westward expansion...geography--land formations, different biomes the settlers would have passed through, the animal life of the areas. Civil war--more ballistics? Hmmmm. The North was largely industrialized, so maybe simple machines? I think you could have a lot of fun next year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbabe Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 You could try tying them together loosely. For example, in an early explorers unit, you may investigate water--boats and how they float/water displacement, what kinds of boats work best under different conditions, etc. And maybe a unit on germs, disease, how they spread and immunity etc. Colonial life--maybe medicine in the era, or farming--erosion, crop rotation, botany, etc. Revolution--ballistics! Westward expansion...geography--land formations, different biomes the settlers would have passed through, the animal life of the areas. Civil war--more ballistics? Hmmmm. The North was largely industrialized, so maybe simple machines? I think you could have a lot of fun next year! Great ideas! Thanks. We're also going to throw in some electricity with Benjamin Franklin in Colonial Life. (Just ignore the following smilies...my 5 yr old likes to choose them):rant::party: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
femke Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 I'm not organized in many other ways, but this part is organized! I do tie in some science in a history unit if it leads to that. For Lewis and Clark, there is this book called 'Animals on the Trail with Lewis and Clark, and also 'Plants on the Trail with Lewis and Clark'. But I would still cover plants and animals in a different unit, or whatever else you're using for science, as you'd probably hit the subject very briefly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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