Thematic Unit StudyYou've probably heard the name thematic unit study before. Teachers have been using unit studies since they became popular in the 1990s. A plan of study is called Thematic when the lesson plan is built around a central theme. Sometimes the theme can be broad in scope, for example a space theme or animal theme. Other times the theme has a narrow focus, such as Mars or tigers. Often the theme is based on a theme from a novel. Can you think of a theme from one of your favorite books? If Charlotte's Web is the novel of choice, the theme might be farm animals, spiders, nutrition, responsibility, emotions or family. When a plan of study is built around a novel, the unit study is sometime referred to as literature-based. This just means your basing your plan of study on literature. The literature could be a number of different genres, including fiction, biography, a non-fiction science, historical fiction, and more. I've made my own unit studies for years. They are usually broad in theme and literature-based. When I taught about historical Japan, the students read The Master Puppeteer by Katherine Paterson. We studied Japanese history through slide shows and interactive games. Our writing and vocabulary were all focused around the novel. We brought in artifacts, had a real Samurai guest speaker (with weapons), ate Japanese food, and listened to Japanese music. Ideal Unit Studies incorporate a blending of subjects and introduce interesting tactile (feel) lessons all based on the central theme. So, math, science, language arts, the fine arts, music, physical education, religious studies, and foreign language might be included as subjects. The central theme could be the season autumn. A teacher might blend the subject of art, science, and language arts by planning leaf print art and a leaf poem. Ideal Unit Studies introduce lessons that are sensory-based, where the student can touch, feel, taste, etc. Can you think of one way to teach math with the theme of spiders using a sensory approach? Perhaps you thought of multiplying by using spider legs or measuring a spider's web. How could you implement the lesson idea to include the senses? How about marshmallows with pretzel legs for spiders and estimating the lengths of different strings? For social studies (history), a child could research jobs involving bugs, make a poster about bug exterminators, dress up like an exterminator, and give an oral presentation. Is a black widow's bite as deadly as most people believe? Well, during a homeschool unit study, a child could research and find out. Unit Study lesson ideas are open-ended which allows variety and creativity in lesson planning.
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