Brainstorm and Explode your Home school Unit Study Topic with Questions
So, you've decided on a home school unit study topic, but now you are wondering how to brainstorm your unit study so that there may be 4-5 weeks of work, rather than 20 minutes.
I have developed some questions which will help you brainstorm your Home school Unit Study topic; These questions help you examine a History Topic using questions and ideas to expand the study - Ways to explode the study from history/ geography/ literature/ Biblical ideas/ Character study/ Reading/ Writing and Art ideas.
Brainstorm Historical Topics to create your home school unit study
Questions which can be applied to a Historical Based Study
History Questions for your Unit Study
- Where in history is……
- Investigate the time period:
- Cities, Towns
- Major Events
- What is this time period/ person remembered for in history?
- What happened before?
- What happened during…?
- What happened after……?
- What was happening in other countries at the time?
Expand the Unit Study with Geography Ideas
- Where did this take place?
- What is the geography of the region like?
- How did the geography of the area affect the people/ the wars/ the customs/ the clothing/ food/ resources?
- Make a salt dough map of the region.
Literature Questions for the Unit Study
- What was written in this time period?
- Is this person famous for some written work?
- If possible, read primary sources from the time period.
- Read historical fiction of the time period or of the character
Relate the Unit Study to the Bible
- Does this time period correlate to a Biblical time?
- Does the Bible mention these people?
- Examine the actions of these people or this character by Biblical standards
- What does the Bible say on their customs/ beliefs/culture?
- What were the beliefs ofthis group of people? How did their beliefs affect what they did?
Ways to include Copywork and Dictation in the Unit Study
- Choose excellent literature from the time period to copy;
- Choose excerpts from historical fiction to use for copy or dictation.
- Copy a poem about this person/ time period;
Broaden the Unit Study by Reading from various sources
- Read from the authors of the time period where suitable;
- Read about the time period using interesting, living books;
- Read poetry or Drama (Shakespeare's Historical plays) where suitable;
- Internet sites for research;
Write about the Unit Study Topic
- Oral narrations of passages/ books being read;
- Written narrations;
- Narration starters:
- More Narration Starters here.
- Describe the time period;
- Draw what it was like- food/clothes/maps/culture/houses;
- Write a play about the character or event;
- Describe the historical character using the 5W's &1H - Who,What,When,Why, Where and How?
- Draw the character or event on a page and spend 10 minutes writing adjectives describing the scene or person.
- Compare and contrast two characters from a historical fiction book or from other sources;
- Write passages from the read aloud novel which describe a worthy action;
- Write what you loved the most about this character/event.
- Write what made you sad? happy? disappointed?..
Add Drama and Oral Presentations to the Unit Study
- Write a speech about the character/event/time period;
- Present a short play on one of the events you enjoyed;
- Take partin a Shakespearian play based on the time period;
- Recite a poem
- Write and recite your own poem
- Dress up in costume of the time-period and people
Get Creative with Art in the Unit Study
- Make a salt dough map of the region and use flags to describe where specific events took place.
- Make the toys that children played with in that time;
- Make models of the houses/ inventions and so on;
- Perform a cultural dance of the native people;
- Make masks and costumes;
- View the art of the culture;
- View the work of the artists- art museum;
- Learn how to appreciate art and describe works of art in the critiquing process;
Music Ideas inside the Unit Study
- Listen to the music of the historical time period;
- Make musical instruments;
- Play and move to the music;
- Watch appropriate videos which show the culture, music and customs of the people;
Hopefully the above information gives you a taste of how to brainstorm your home school unit study topic.