Lesson 6: Create Your Own Unit Study
Putting It All Together
Now you are ready to create your unit study. I will build mine to demonstrate the process. You should follow along with your own unit study. If you need help, post on the message board so we can all help. If you would like your study reviewed, you can also post it and receive feedback.
My topic for the month is Endangered Animals. This is a science topic, but we will incorporate a variety of subjects in our study. To review, these are my students: Katelin is six and very bright. She has no disabilities. She reads at a fourth grade level. Aaron is eight and has cerebral palsy. He has difficulty speaking and using his hands. Josh is ten and reads at a first grade level. He has dyslexia.
My first week will be an introduction to the topic. I want all three children to become interested enough to study this all month. I also want them to understand the causes of extinction and endangerment. I would like them to do as much of the unit as possible together, but this will require adaptation and tact.
I found several books, but all are on specific animals, rather than on the subject of endangerment. Instead of creating a lesson plan about a specific book this week, I will take the children to the library and show them how to select books on causes of endangerment. They can each read whatever they would like and then do a book report. They will be allowed to choose any method they like for this report, using ideas from this article: Book Reports for the Bored
This covers our reading for the week. The book reports will also cover another area, such as art or writing. We have now covered three areas of study: science, reading and either art or writing.
Next, I begin deciding how to introduce the material. I don’t want them to choose books until they know what they are studying. AMNH has excellent material on the causes of extinction. It is too difficult for my students, but I am going to study it for my own knowledge. I plan to make a poster simplifying the material for use in teaching my children. But is there something they can use themselves?
Kids Planet is just for children. This site has noise, so turn your sound down if you don’t want the children to know what you are up to as you research. I want to share with the children the link that explains the endangered species act and tells how an animal gets listed. However, I don’t want this to be first. I will print out copies of the page to place in their notebooks to read later in the lesson. I also notice they have fact sheets on many animals. I can let the children explore this page on their own during the week to learn about the animals. I decide this is a good unit for a written report, so I will ask them to look for an animal they want to do a report and a project on. This site also has games. My child with cerebral palsy can’t do most of them. The others can with help. How could I include Aaron? I will think about that.
I like the web of life story on this site. It explains how everything is connected and why we have to protect wildlife. Six year old Katelin will like it and because she reads well, she can read it alone. Josh and Aaron will find it dull and Josh couldn’t read it, but should have the material that is in it. I might ask her to read it to them both for her reading lesson. I’ll ask them to listen politely and then have them all quiz each other on the material.
I still don’t have an opening! Something only Katelin will really like isn’t going to work as my big opener. I like to start and end with a bang. I want to really capture their attention and their hearts. What else can I find in my favorites file?
I found my attention getter! Each of my children has email. It’s fun to send email back and forth as a way to practice writing skills. Care2 has endangered animal ecards. I prepare one that has a variety of colorful drawings of endangered animals. I announce the theme for the month and ask a question that will be answered during the first lesson. Then I email it to them. Each day, I will have the children check their email to find out what to bring, to get a link to a web page to explore, or to receive a question to be answered by them or by me. This lets me list technology in my list of subjects studied. Assignments that are typed can be emailed to me for correction, since we are studying an environmental issue and will want to conserve paper. (Final drafts can be printed for our portfolios.)
