Lesson 5: Building Blocks & Boilerplates: Tools for Creating Unit Studies Part I
5-3 Basic Learning Tools Worth the Investment
Books
We cannot overestimate the value of using well-written material. In our textbook, How to Create Your Own Unit Study, sections IV, V, and especially X "Using Games and Teaching Aids" discuss the value of dictation. Reading, writing, and listening based on well-written material can be very uplifting and positive influence regardless of the topic being studied. Consider employing all these methods wherever appropriate in your unit study planning.
But textbooks? Not necessarily. Much of the material you need to cover is better handled through more original source material. The textbooks are regurgitated bits that fit established norms and may be unsuitable for your plans. Far better to have your students learn to research as early as possible, often preparing your or their own material as you go. I must confess I felt more secure with textbooks in the beginning. However, I rapidly discovered the early texts were too simplistic and downright boring for my daughter and me. I had to scramble to supplement the pricey texts to sustain her interests and meet my own expectations. By our second year I found that in some subjects like social studies, I could space out doses more interesting from 5th or 6th grade texts which we used for many years, skipping the textbooks recommended for many subjects and grades in between. Eventually I relied mostly on a list of recommended topics by subject in the Duffy curriculum guide books . . . although we seldom followed the grade-level schedule. By the time Jenny was ready for college, we decided which topics still needed to be covered and in our last 12 months or so concentrated on those so we would have a well-rounded record to provide for college admissions and to pass the SATs. To study for the actual SAT We purchased one of the excellent study tools for taking such tests. Otherwise, we tackled topics in subjects as it suited us, only tied to a final goal met just before college. The route we took caused many moments of doubt, soul-searching, and occasional feelings of panic that we were not jumping through all the hoops in proper sequence. These are symptoms of taking the path less traveled. As home schoolers I should have been used to it by high school, but that was not in my personality. I worried right until the college acceptance letter came . . . and beyond occasionally. But now that she is an 18-year-old Honor Society junior -- a self-starter with a passion for learning -- I believe it was a better path than my own traditional education which led me to burnout by sophomore year of college.
Reference books become of primary importance when textbooks are not the mainstay of your curriculum. First have a good curriculum guide book like Cathy Duffy's books discussed above or Rebecca Ruff's listed again in this Resources section. Also basic resources like encyclopedias and a thematic list of books will help you gather the material you need on a particular topic or theme. Don't forget the wealth of information available just browsing through some of the great home ed catalogues like Rainbow Resource Center http://www.rainbowresource.com/. Many such references are included in my Suite topic links section: http://www.suite101.com/links.cfm/christ...
Periodicals
The many excellent home education magazines like Teaching Home and Home Education Magazine are some of the best idea resources you'll find. Raiding the "professional's" resources yields many great ideas, too. Teacher's magazine likeTeaching K-8 and the many Good Apple newspapers and magazines have a wealth of resources available.
Supplementary Ed Resources
These cover a wide array of styles and types. Only a few are listed here. A good educational catalogue or store will supply you with all you could want.
- Educational Kits - Science and other subjects are often brought to life by kits with useful tools like magnifying glasses, compasses, electronic circuits, magnets, etc. Edmund Scientific is excellent for these as well as the more general educational suppliers.
- Teacher's materials - These are often free for the asking. A great resource for background material and topic ideas for science came to us free compliments of the PBS television show Newton's Apple. You can often request study aids from educational programs, through educational magazines, from corporations like Fleischman's yeast or the White House -- a few we've explored. Often these materials are conveniently available through their web sites.
- Flannel graph sets - We created many of our own flannel graphs from favorite stories by drawing with colored markers on pieces of flannel-like material from my fabric collection. A large 4 X 6 foot flannel board room divider graced our basement schoolroom for several years. The panels were sides of a bookcase box covered with a yellow flannel material. We acted out Jemima Puddleduck and The Velveteen Rabbit using photocopies of book images glued to flannel. When it came to numbers and letter, however, we found it much easier to buy ready-made alphanumeric flannel sets.
- Manipulatives - Math rods are probably one of the best manipulatives for early years and for kinesthetically-oriented learners. Catalogues like NASCO carry a wide array of manipulatives for all subjects as well as many educational stores.
- Stamp and sticker books - This started as fun projects when Jen was just four or five. I remember Barbie, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles decorating her room. As education took hold, we found early reading, Bible, geographic, historical, and animal sticker books were a natural next step which she enjoyed.
- Posters - Basic concepts like grammar, periodic tables, timelines, maps of the world or USA, or favorite topics like whales and fish can be continually and visually enhanced by a colorful wall display of posters. We even received many free posters over the years through educational magazines and simple inquiries to various publishers regarding products I was interested in.
