Literature Based Unit Studies
This type of homeschool study is great for children who love to read. Usually the unit is developed around a historical period or around a theme (like friendship, nature, government, etc.) The students read high quality books and classical literature to explore the unit. Time lines are often developed to portray the big picture.
Integrated Studies
Integrated studies organize the content of multiple subjects (such as English, Science, Social Studies) around one theme. For instance, if the unit was "Australia", the study might include stories from Australia (Reading), Animals of Australia (Science), Geography of Australia, history of British colonial era (Social Studies). Art, music, dance, theology, philosophy - there is no limit to the areas of study that can be incorporated into a given unit. This is a creative way to study a subject. It takes multiple resources and either a lot of planning or the purchase of a curriculum that includes the different resources.
Hands-On Unit Studies
Hands on studies do just what they say - provide lots of hands on experience. This is particularly valuable for the kinesthetic learner or young learners. They like to build, touch, and create. The completion of their course of study usually includes a scrap book or unit study book which reflects their projects.
Learning Tree Unit Studies
These units use a tree as its model. The student diagrams a tree with its roots as the resources used to study the topic (the trunk of the tree). The branches are the main objectives to be accomplished. The leaves are the books read; and the fruit are projects completed. The instructor sets a minimum to how many resources (roots) and projects (fruits) the student must do. They are encouraged and rewarded for exploring topics beyond the minimum requirements.
Interest Focused Unit Studies
This is a method of motivating a particular student in their study of difficult subjects by allowing them to focus on a favorite topic. For example, you have a student who struggles with reading and writing but he loves pirates. What kind of books do you want to get from the library? As you introduce any topic: geography, writing, science - tie it to pirates. He or she will be more interested in completing the writing assignments, learning the major oceans, or diagramming the points of a compass if it is related to their interest. A topic is often studied anywhere between 3 and 9 months.
Advanced Unit Studies
The advanced study takes the interest focused unit study to a deeper level. If a student has a long term interest in a particular topic, they can combine that topic with another topic to produce an in-depth study. For instance, a student who continued a fascination with pirates for years, might do a study on ship-building through the different ages and nationalities combining history, pirate lore, and ship building. This type of unit study takes a lot of time and energy to pursue, but is a great way to culminate a long-term interest.
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Plants are shaped by cultivation and men by education. .. We are born weak, we need strength; we are born totally unprovided, we need aid; we are born stupid, we need judgment. Everything we do not have at our birth and which we need when we are grown is given us by education.
(Jean Jacques Rousseau, Emile, On Philosophy of Education)
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