Sunday, February 28, 2010

Unit Study Input Desired from Teachers & Homeschoolers, Please

Hello! and welcome to my new blog.  There isn't much content just yet, but I am starting with a very short, simple survey appropriate for teachers and homeschoolers who have used unit studies in their teaching.
I am working on a new project - a unit study about birds.

I am attempting to learn from you which unit studies you enjoy using the most and why. To facilitate that, I have put an extremely short list of some of the unit studies often used by teachers and homeschoolers here on my new blog. You simply go to the following link and check those you like best (as many or as few as you like).

Then, if you wouldn't mind, please email the details of what features you find most useful in your favorite unit studies. Also, if you have a favorite brand of unit study I didn't list, tell me about it, ok? With your input, I will be able to create a very useful end product that will be posted free online to each one of you who follows this blog until it is completed. 

Here is the email where to send me your comments directly: karenmy7@gmail.com (where
your comments will be sorted and assessed carefully) or simply comment on the blog.

If you think you might like to use my unit study when it is done, simply sign up to be a "follower" of my blog while you are doing the quick survey on the front page of my blog. Then, I'll be sure to let you know when the unit study goes live. Hopefully it will be ready by summer in time for next school year and you can plan accordingly.

One last thing, if you have a favorite homeschooler or teacher egroup, a local support group, a circle of fellow teachers, please send them all a link to my blog so they can give me their input too.  They, too, will get free use of the unit study when it is complete if they become a follower of the blog. 

Thanks so much for any input you are willing to share. I appreciate any and all of your comments.

Malinda Zellman
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3 comments:

  1. Margaret-Ann BaxterMarch 13, 2010 at 11:19 PM

    Hi Malinda:
    Margaret-Ann here and I am one of the moderators of the Kindergarten at Home group. I have a 4 year old girl and a 13 month old girl and I haven't used any unit studies with Brianna, my oldest yet. I might use them in the future, but we are currently undecided if we are going to continue homeschooling next year. Brianna will be attending a Kindergarten class for 6 weeks in May and June and we'll see how it goes after that. The reason for the 6 weeks is the school wants to decide whether the put her in Grade 1 in Sept., or Kindergarten but send her to Grade 1 for Math and Reading. After her assessement in Jan. the school told me she belongs in Grade 1 not Kindergarten, but shes never been in Daycare or Preschool so isn't used to a scheduled day. We have a routine, but not a schedule and they are concerned she won't be able to handle a full day of scheduled academics. If we decide after the 6 weeks to continue homeschooling then we'll probably get into some unit studies in the Fall.

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  2. hey Malinda,
    My 5 year old is currently enrolled in preschool and we will be homeschooling this fall for kindergarten. I am very interested in unit studies as I believe it would be best for our situation. Our focus right now is learning to read and devouring what ever interests are expressed. Currently birds are the topic at the dinner table so we have begun a lapbook of four local birds we have seen plus one from a vacation spot. It is very interesting and I'm amazed at the level of information retention.
    Five in a Row is the one mostly recommended to me for this age. But again we are still up in the air about our curriculum choice at kindergarten level.

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  3. Hi Malinda:

    In response to your question: We have just started using unit studies. We are doing a Narnia unit study.

    My son just turned 4 and at present, we are only homeschooling him (the other 2 are 18 and 16). We are hoping to adopt again (would love more) and unit studies would be the only way I can see going at this point. I like the cross curriculum effects and being able to tie everything together in some way.

    Thanks for all you do!!

    Kim
    Martinsburg, PA

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