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LINKS TO UNIT STUDY SITES ON THE WEB | |
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Have you found any helpful Unit Studies Sites on the web that we could include here?
Please e-mail
them to me at the address below.
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Click here to read a cartoon story about AIDS entitled "Going Home"
****UNIT STUDY RESOURCES****
GRADE LEVEL: All ages; Some Secular/Christian
Comments: This is a page within the Homeschool Zone. I wanted to highlight it especially so I've added this link here. . . Find all kinds of unit studies available on the web.. . Happy hunting!
Amanda Bennett's Unit Study Adventures Website
GRADE LEVEL: All ages; Christian
Comments: Amanda sells her unit study books (called Unit Study Adventures) at this site, but if you did not want to buy them this is still a helpful site for you to use in putting together your own unit studies.
For each of her Unit Study Adventures, she provides the category "Internet Resources"...these hyperlinks provide interesting sites on the Internet that you may want to visit while studying that particular unit. These hyperlinks, even without purchasing her books, are very valuable. Also for each "Adventure" she lists related books you can buy on-line (or get at the free library). You can also learn to develop a successful unit study at this site so you can make your own. While you are visiting here, don't forget to subscribe to her free "Unit Study Newsletter" which gives you even more ideas.
GRADE LEVEL: All ages; Secular/Christian
Comments: At this site you will find 230 online curriculum units! They say, "we constantly scour the web for unit studies to enrich your educational endeavors." They even have an alphabetical listing of the unit studies available. Very impressive!
Homeschool Central--Unit Studies
GRADE LEVEL: All ages; Secular/Christian
Comments: "This page will offer resources for developing the unit study approach." Many links listed!
The Mining Co.--Unit Studies--Homeschooling Net Links
GRADE LEVEL: All ages; Secular/Christian
Comments: The Mining Co. has a page of links to find more unit studies on the web.
Archives of MomCaroe's FUNSCHOOLING UNITS
GRADE LEVEL: All ages; Secular/Christian
Comments: These are an archives of unit studies developed by this webmaster. Units so far are on: 1) Lewis and Clark, 2) Deserts, 3) Leaves, 4) Christmas, 5) Japan, 6) Kings, Queens, and Castles and 7) Flight. In addition you can follow the link to view the current unit which changes periodically. She also prints reviews of other available commerical Unit Study curriculum.
GRADE LEVEL: All ages; Secular/Christian
Comments: First, get a definition of a unit study. Secondly, follow the link marked, "UNIT STUDY PLANNER" to get some nice forms and checklists if you are developing your own unit study. Finally, follow the link marked, "USEFUL UNIT STUDY IDEAS" for some more help and tips. Many more helpful links are on this page regarding the unit study approach.
Unit Studies for Home Educators Message Index--Unit Studies Forum
GRADE LEVEL: All ages; Secular
Comments: This is a message board created to help homeschoolers specifically with unit study questions. I found some help on a medieval history unit. If you don't see something here you can use, ask! This is part of the Kaleidoscapes site.
GRADE LEVEL: All ages; Secular
Comments: There are over 200 unit study topics listed. Sometimes you'll find related internet links, sometimes you'll find activities and lessons plans to use while studying a specific topic. Alot of the links seem to be tied into the Ask Eric system. Worth a look around!
GRADE LEVEL: All ages; Secular
Comments: This is a site created BY teachers and FOR teachers. It would definitely aid parents who are using the unit study method and want to use the resources on the web to help with that which they are studying. For instance, are you studying clouds? Type "clouds" into the FIND A TRACK BY KEYWORD". You can then specify grade level. You can do a simple search or a more advanced one. You will then have information and related links for your selected subject--sometimes even a lesson plan to follow! A great resource.
Unit Study Guides
GRADE LEVEL: Elementary; Secular
Comments: This page comes from Mary Sampsel's web site. On this page, she lists several complete unit studies she has developed for her children: Beatrix Potter Author Study, A Clean Home, Spring, The Human Body and Rainbows. These are her current offerings but she appears to be adding more all the time. In addition, if you click here, you will go to another one of her pages which will give you help in planning unit studies.
GRADE LEVEL: Elementary; Secular
Comments: At this page you can join a Unit Study e-mail list! The units on this page were developed by members of the HSF unitstudy emailing list. Topics available so far are as follows: Baseball Unit, Birds Unit, Egypt, Garden Unit, Insects Unit, Inventions, Lighthouse Unit, Native American Unit, Ocean Unit, Pioneers Unit, Rainforest Unit, Solar System Unit, States unit and Weather Unit. Don't forget to check this site regularly for new units!
Surfing the Net With Kids: Guide to the BEST KID SITES for Kids of All Ages
GRADE LEVEL: All ages; Secular
COMMENTS: This is the most wonderful site I have ever seen! Barbara Feldman keeps up with what is out there on the web that is safe, fun and educational for your child. Be sure to sign up for her semi-weekly e-mail newsletter which will keep you informed as to more educational sites on the web. I am impressed that her newsletter contains not only links to great sites but a commentary as well...a great time-saver for Mom. This is one newsletter you can't afford to not sign up for if you are homeschooling OR if you have children who like to visit educational sites. Her newsletter usually is centered around a theme too, especially helpful for those homeschoolers who do unit studies. Hats off to Barbara Feldman and her wonderful site!
****SUBJECT-SPECIFIC UNIT STUDY PAGES****
HomeschoolHouse--Unit Study on the 4th of July
GRADE LEVEL: All ages; Secular/Christian
Comments: An excellent on-line unit study. It contains throughout the entire page, internet hot-links to resources pertaining to this subject.
HomeschoolHouse--Little House on the Prairie--A Unit Study For Homeschoolers
GRADE LEVEL: All ages; Secular/Christian
Comments: An excellent on-line unit study. It contains throughout the entire page, internet hot-links to resources pertaining to this subject.
GRADE LEVEL: All Ages; Secular
COMMENTS: Scroll down to find the greatest section here for homeschoolers! The link is entitled, "CASTLES FOR KIDS" and it contains links for the following: (1) free software to build your own castle so you can better understand it's parts and workings, (2) Castle Builder: find out how "the Medieval castle played an integral part in the daily lives of the various classes of Medieval people. It will also help the students gain a superficial understanding of Monarchy, Feudalism, and serfdom." (3) Ian's Land of Castles: a 10 year old answers some questions about castles for kids, (4) Journey Through the Middle Ages: developed by an elementary school, this is "an excellent learning tour all about castles and Medieval Times. (5) Life in the Middle Ages: learn about nobles and knights, (6) Gothics Window Puzzle: "made of colorful triangular panes in a symmetrical arrangement. Each time you click the 'New Puzzle' button a unique puzzle window is created. When you click on ''Start', some of the panes are dimmed to dark gray. Your challenge is to re-light all the panes in the window."
Also at this section: (1) Tours: "tour individual castles from around the world"; (2) Castle Collections: "tour castle sites that contain multiple castle listings"; (3) Palaces and Great Homes; (4) Abbeys and Churches; (5) Castle Photo Archive; (6) Glossary of castle terms; (7) Myths and Legends: from King Arthur and Robin Hood to magical creatures; (8) Medieval Studies: more links for serious students of castle studies; (9) Castle Books; (10) Heraldry
GRADE LEVEL: All Ages; Secular
COMMENTS: Doing unit studies? Then this is another exciting site! Follow the TEACHER TALK link and then scroll down through the long narrative to the hyper-link, LESSON PLAN ARCHIVES. There are craft ideas here and they tell you what unit of study could be used with each craft idea and they suggest correlated activities to go along with the craft! (You can also follow the CURRENT LESSON PLANS link for more craft/unit ideas. I have not listed what is available on that page...had to leave something for you to do! VBG)
Some of the crafts mentioned in the LESSON PLAN ARCHIVES section could be included in the following units: (I am quoting from their summaries at this site from here on) (1) Colonial Times and Candlemaking--for a unit on Colonial Times, (2) Buffalo Robe and Native Americans--when completing a unit on the Native Americans, this craft will give students exposure to both Native Americans and the use of art in their culture, (3) Immigration and Personal Tote Bag--This craft is a fun and creative idea that can be incorporated into a lesson or unit on immigration, (4) Safari Wallhanging and African Savannahs--add to a unit on life in the African Savannahs, (5) Memory Album and Writing Skills--help students learn the value of memories while improving their writing by completing this fun project, (6) Americana Vest & Shirt and Patriotism--if you are working on a unit about the United States and patriotism, (7) Family Roles and Morning Glory Picture Frame--useful in a family unit about the different roles people play in a family, (8) Valentine's Day Stenciled Heart Card--good with a unit on poetry, (9) Tropical Rainforests and "Good Luck" Gecko --for a unit on the rain forest or tropical regions, (10) Create a birdhouse--useful while doing a unit on birds.
Charles Dickens: Discovering Dickens!
GRADE LEVEL: Middle School-High School;Secular
COMMENTS: Learn about who the writer, Charles Dickens was and what the world was like when and where he lived. Great for a Unit Study. Specifically, "students will have a choice of five "Cases". Each requires visits to one or more Internet sites (links included) that specialize in specific knowledge about Charles Dickens. Students then transform the information into a project such as a timeline, diary, storyboard, or poster to demonstrate their newfound knowledge." Guidelines are even given for grading the projects!
Butterflies are Insects Unit
GRADE LEVEL: Ages 4-12;Secular
COMMENTS: Everything you need to have to study butterflies including lists of terms to know, related websites and book list. There are five lesson plans in this unit and they are very well done and detailed for easy following.
Snails for Kids and Teachers--kiddyhouse.com
GRADE LEVEL: Grades K-5;Secular
COMMENTS: Everything you need to have to study snails including easy-to-understand information about snails, snail worksheets, an original snail story, how-to-draw a snail, related websites and book lists.
All about frogs for Kids and Teachers--kiddyhouse.com
GRADE LEVEL: Grades K-12;Secular
COMMENTS: Everything you need to have to study frogs including easy-to-understand information about frogs, frog worksheets, frogs songs, stories and poems, directions to make an origami frog and other frog papercraft activities, frog games, related websites and book lists. Also learn how a frog differs from a toad and for older Jr. or Sr. students, there is a VIRTUAL FROG BUILDER where you must reconstruct a frog and all its organs--a great alternative to dissection! You may also download units that have been designed by other teacher's. Fantastic site!
GRADE LEVEL: Grades 3-8;Secular COMMENTS: This is a checklist of questions to answer about Colonial Life. Web links are provided so students can hunt for the answers right from the same page! Researching answers to these questions will give students practice in reading for specific answers and will teach them interesting facts about what it was like to live in Colonial America. A very interesting and well-done page.
Additionally, would you like to see what a hornbook looked like or see pages from The New England Primer? Click here!Want more links to more Colonial Life information? Here it is--the link about "manners" is really interesting!
GRADE LEVEL: Grades 3-8; Secular COMMENTS: In most curricula there comes a time when your child should study YOUR state's history/geography. "State Unit Studies created by About.com's Homeschooling Guide helps children learn the geography of the United States and learn factual information about every state. Complete the units and create a United States notebook." Although not all states are available, a new state seems to be added each week.
If you are not familiar with about.com's wonderful Homeschooling section, you are in for a treat just going to this page...it branches to some really wonderful resources! You can even sign up to subscribe to their Homeschooling Newsletter at the bottom of this page.
GRADE LEVEL: Grade 6; Secular Comments: A COMPLETE unit study based around the classic novel, Treasure Island (which is at a 6th grade reading level).
"This web site is the result of a year-long teaching objective to upload an entire unit of literature onto the Internet. The Treasure Island Unit has been highly successful over the past six years at Avon Middle School, CT, combining in-depth education with good old-fashion fun." Joan Bigelow, a teacher for over 25 years, is the creator of this unit. "Over the course of seven weeks, you will learn of the adventures of young Jim Hawkins and the crew of the ill-fated Hispaniola."
"Additionally, there are projects built around "pirate" themes that are both learning experiences and fun!" All you need to do the activities in this unit are available here, including a handout on "ship parts" and a whole page dedicated to web links about pirates. A beautiful job, Joan!
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A Virtual Field Trip Back to Colonial America
State Unit Studies by Your Homeschooling Guide
Literature Unit--Treasure Island--by Robert Louis Stevenson