5 Days of Unit Studies - Day 4

Unit studies have changed how we do school in our home.  They allow us to explore more topics, dig deeper, and be creative when showing what we have learned.  This week during this 5 day blog hop, I want to share what I have learned about unit studies with you and give you practical tips for using them in your school.  Here is Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 if you are just joining in.

So far in our week long discussion on unit studies we have talked about what a unit study is and things to consider for choosing a unit study for your school, the different types of unit studies and setting learning goals for the studies, and where to find resources and activities for your studies.  Today we are going to talk about methods of completing your unit studies.

There are several different ways to compile the information your student learns in a unit study.  There is no right way and no wrong way, just what works best for your student. Here are some suggested methods that we have used that work for us.

• Lapbook - A lapbook is a couple of file folders put together to display all the little projects and research we complete in the unit study.  We usually section it out so that we can fit multiple facts and projects in the lapbook and show all of our work in one place.
• Notebook - A notebook is just a spiral bound notebook where my student will put all the information they research for the unit study.  If you don't want to use a spiral bound notebook, you could always use loose leaf paper and a binder.
• Folders - This is another method we have used where we combine a lapbook and a notebook in a three prong folder.  We used the outside and inside flaps to glue down projects and then we use the prongs to hold our notebook pages.  
• Research Paper - I do this with my high school student.  I have him collect all the facts and information he finds in a notebook.  Then he uses his research to write a paper on the topic.  
• Create a Game - We have made file folder games out of the information we learned on a subject, but you could create your own board game too using cardboard and craft supplies.  
• Create a Newspaper - I've had my son use the information he studied in his unit study to create his own newspaper.  I had him write articles that contained facts, advertisements that fit the time period he studied, and entertainment articles that pertained to the study.  It was a fun way for him to present his research.

This is a list of just some of the ways you can have your students present what they learned in a unit study.  There are so many more creative options and how you choose to show your work depends on your student.  My elementary student loves to show her creativity and create elaborate lapbooks and projects to show what she learned.  My high school student likes to do reports or newspapers, something that shows what he learned, but doesn't have to have the artistic flair his sister likes to show.  Neither way is wrong, it just totally depends on each of my children.  I like for their personalities to show in their unit studies.  This gives them ownership of the study and they do a great job when they feel like it is theirs.  The bottom line is you know your student and you know how they learn best, so do that.

This week I am participating in the Spring 2018 5 Days of... Blog Hop from the Homeschool Review Crew.  We are all writing about different topics this week and sharing them with you.  We each got to pick our own topic so I can't tell you how excited I am to read what everyone is blogging about this week.  Click the links below or the banner above this paragraph to Hop on over to the next blog and read what they have for you, I know I will definitely be hopping to my friends' blogs to see what they wrote.