Lesson 7: Putting it All Together on an Ocean Cruise: Build Your Own Study Now!
7-2 Planning the Framework: Developing Objectives to Match Your Vision
DOWNLOADS:
Framework Planning Sheet
Character Keys
Where do we begin when we are thinking about creating a unit study? The most natural beginning may be when we are in the middle of a typical subject like History. You and your children have just read about the American Revolution. You know the times were exciting, the source of the life we enjoy in America today, the inspiration for many other freedom-loving peoples around the world. You want to bring the subject to life but your children have that blank, bored look. Then comes the dreaded question: "Do we have to study this?
This is the old foot-in-the-door opportunity you've been waiting for! Slam the textbook shut. "NO!" you boom back at them. Their eyes bug out, knocking the "cool" right out of their attitude.
If you anticipated this moment you will already have gathered the ammunition needed to fire the first shot of the revolutionary unit study you've cooked up just for them. If not, the pat response at this point is: "Let's take this topic and run wild with it!" . . . or something more in keeping with your approach. Now depending on your children's ages and learning styles – you did study lesson 2, right? – you can either begin brainstorming an absolutely irresistible study together or you can rub your hands together and gleefully remark, "Just wait until next week!"
To prepare you for that "next week" I'll walk you through a dynamite unit study which you can tailor to suit your crowd right now.
Okay. You're ready to take the plunge. The time has come to create your own unit study, a guaranteed show-stopper to please each and every learner under your guiding hand.
The Vision So, where do we begin?
. . . with a vision. Now, you may have your own vision of what you want to do first. That's fine. Go with it as you read through this lesson. I'll be giving general guidelines for you to follow as I provide a detailed working example.
Now the vision I had in mind was an ocean theme. A perennial favorite is the dynamic ocean cruise. I started with a little brainstorming. Knowing Jenny's passions, it had to have whales . . . lots of whales. And, if I could squeeze them in, birds. Birds fly or waddle into almost every study at our house. To study animals more seriously, however, perhaps a scientific research ship would work better than a vacation cruise. Pick whichever vehicle suits your study group best.
The Educational Objectives Educationally I wanted to make this primarily a scientific study with a strong literature connection. An earlier ocean cruise emphasized geography of the lands our cruise visited. We supplemented it liberally with National Geographic magazines for "local color". For this cruise, however, I wanted to emphasize the science of oceans and ocean life. Refining the vision a bit, an ocean cruise as biologists on a research vessel would fit the bill.
For other subjects, math was heavily into word problems and long division so I wanted to try to work some appropriate problems in. For an art connection, perhaps we could learn about the precise art of scientific drawings and the role they've played over the centuries. Historically it seemed like a good time to cover ocean explorers and traders, but that may be throwing in too much. It would depend on how long you plan to let the study run. Perhaps some ocean-going scientists of the past or the history of sea-going scientific expeditions would fit. I'll see what pops up in the research. For older students I'd recommend studying the scientific method in a study like this. For a great study complete with career applications, check the resources section for a free copy of "The Scientific Method: SM14 Formula" created by the founder of Edmund Scientific.
Now, for the occasional unit study, you don't need to be too concerned with covering "the required" material for a given subject. Just try to make the time an enjoyable excursion into "the wild blue learning". In fact, in those earlier years, I wasn't too concerned with covering "grade X" material at "age Y". Of course, we live in a state which does not require periodic testing so we could be more flexible in our approach. In practice, I simply tried to cover required material for, say, grades 1-6 by the time Jen should have completed grade 6. That's why you'll see me pulling material from resources covering many grades in this lesson. This means that sometimes I needed to pre-read sections and summarize or read excerpts from it so Jen wouldn't be overwhelmed. Go with the material you feel most comfortable using for now. You want to give this unit study your best!
The Character Key
I recommend emphasizing some character builder, an uplifting "key" to your study. This often takes the form of a character trait in our family and usually with Biblical and secular quotes to back it up. You may want to use a quote from a famous person covered in the study. To locate quotes do try this great site:
http://www.bartleby.com/quotations/
By plugging in "WATER" I got this old favorite somewhat expanded:
Water, water, everywhere,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, everywhere
Nor any drop to drink.
ATTRIBUTION: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, pt. 2, st. 9 (1798).
AUTHOR: Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834).
For "OCEAN" I found:
A life on the ocean wave!
A home on the rolling deep,
Where the scattered waters rave,
And the winds their revels keep!
Like an eagle caged I pine
On this dull unchanging shore:
Oh give me the flashing brine,
The spray and the tempest's roar!
ATTRIBUTION: A Life on the Ocean Wave.
AUTHOR: Epes Sargent (1813–1881)
Or for "SEA":
If the sea were ink
For the words of my Lord,
the sea would be spent
before the Words of my Lord are spent.
ATTRIBUTION: Qur'An. The Cave 18:109, ed. Arthur J. Arberry (1955).
For a bible quote my old standby is the online Bible search engines from either
http://crosswalk.com or http://biblegateway.com/tools/
A good list of character traits covered from a Biblical view is in Robin Scarlata's What Your Child Needs to Know When
My initial thought is one of these traits: "observant" (for the meticulous work of a scientist on and ocean research vessel) or "cooperative" (for the teamwork required to keep the ship in tip top shape). But I'll see what develops as I research the topic.
For younger students, You may want to consider creating character "keys", one for each student for each unit study you do. Copy this graphic Character Keys to write your trait on. Cut out the hole and string it on a ribbon for a necklace. As you introduce a certain character trait, create a new key to add to the necklace or make a new ribbon necklace. Try stiff colorful paper for a lasting favorite activity. You can hang it in a prominent spot and whenever your child displays one of the key traits, put it over their neck with a ceremonious flourish!
To put your initial plans to paper, you may want to use this Framework Planning Sheet.
