We've been putting together our own unit studies for quite a bit of our schooling this year which has been fun. I've tried to think of some different projects for the kids to do to use what we read about. Lately we've been studying different countries and cultures and thought I'd share the 2 ideas that have worked well for us.
One easy thing to do to help remember the basics of what has been learned is to make bingo cards for the unit you're working on. We print out 3 (for my 2 kids and I who are doing this schooling) blank bingo cards and then as we read, we write down words that have to do with what we've learned. Right now we're studying Japan so in reading about Japan we've written down, "sumo wrestlers, Mt. Fuji, Children's Day (a festival they celebrate), tatami mats etc....". Then by the end of the unit we have 3 bingo cards filled in and can make up the cards to read the words from and play bingo with to remember what we learned. Then I can store each of these bingo games and have a review day where we go back and play some of the old bingo games to remember what we learned about a while ago. It's a simple, great way to remember what we're learning!
The other thing my 9yo ds likes to do is to make power point presentations. He often uses the bingo cards we've made to remember what he's learned from the readings. Then we make an introductory slide with the title of the unit we're studying and then he makes cards for the different categories we've studied in that unit. He will often refer to the bingo cards to see what we've learned and see what categories are included in there. He makes a bulleted list of the items that fit in that category and I help him (supervise) as we find pictures and videos about these items on the web. I use google's image search (ALWAYS be sure to supervise if you do this as you could get some not so kid-friendly images), and youtube to search for videos (again, make sure to supervies!). In our Japan study we've found videos of volcanoes, earthquakes and typhoons in our natural disaster page to include. You can also add notes that the student would say aloud when giving the presentation. Then when the unit and the presentation is done, he can present it to his family and/or friends to tell them what he's learned.
I have yet to delve into lapbooking - that's another area I'd like to explore and start using. I doubt I'll get to it this year, but maybe by next year, I'll get that idea together for the kids to use in putting together what they've learned. Anyone have any great lapbooking resources to share? I'm hoping to learn over this next summer and maybe purchase a few things to use.
God bless as we continue this year of homeschooling!
I love the idea of doing power point. Improves research, organization skills, typing skills and solidifies material learned! We have power point because I do the program for our church! Thanks for the great idea! Where do you store them all when you are done?
I love the power point idea! I need to get that for my kids. I think my 10 yo would love that. Any excuse to "play" on the computer.
Did you want to make your own lapbooks? I know knowlegde box central and hands of a child have some good ones. I am new to lapbooking myself, so I am probably not much help.
And thanks for sharing your recipes. I think I am gonna give a few a try!
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• Sat 26 Jan 2008 - TAG!
I love the idea of doing power point. Improves research, organization skills, typing skills and solidifies material learned! We have power point because I do the program for our church! Thanks for the great idea! Where do you store them all when you are done?
Thanks! Eva