How To Plan a Literature-Based Unit Study

Literature-based unit studies are perfect for the family that enjoys books, especially the classics. And for good reason, they involve reading, researching and organizing! They are also good for when you don’t have enough money to purchase a full curriculum. Literature-based unit studies allow you to build up a homemade curriculum based off a book, and you can create more than one to do in a school year!

Books go a long way in unit studies, so if the library is available, you can find something there. If you can’t make it to your nearest library, consider their online resources. E-books and audio books are also a great resource.

Consider buying only books that grow with the child and you will get great use out of all of your books. It’s good to expose your students to great books!

There are six steps outlined below, that will help you quickly and efficiently plan and put together a literature-based unit study.

Planning a unit study is similar to building your own homeschool curriculum. Let’s get started with the steps listed below.

As you read the steps below, I will be refereeing to our Unit Study Planner that you can find in shop. However, feel free to use any unit study planner you want, you can also opt for blank paper, but the Unit planner we created is absolutely PERFECT for literature unit studies.

Step 1.

Decide how long you want to spend on this unit, write this down in the “weeks covered,” box.

Also decide what this unit will be about and decide what it will cover about that subject or subjects. Don’t try to get everything, just the information you want your kids to learn. You can add more for grades 6-12 if you want them to learn more details.

Write the unit and unit topics under the “This Unit,” box.

Example: My unit would be animals, some topics might be habitats, food, species, etc. (We have an already planned unit study for animals in our shop! Chek it out today.)

Step 2.

This step is the best, because now you get to decide what your main piece of literature will be.

Choose a book you and your kids will be interested in. Maybe even a past read aloud. You can also add more books, but make sure they are available to your students.

If you have older kids, allow them to choose a book or books, they would like for this unit study.

If you want to use the Bible as an ongoing unit of study for your youngsters and teenagers, check out these notebooking and journaling options below.

Before you go to the library or buy a book to add to your personal library, consider what you already have.

Step 3.

Explore your ideas.

What other books can I add or want to add?

How many chapters will we cover a day?

What materials will I need for the projects and activities?

Use the “full unit planning” page for this part. This will get you all organized and help you plan your weekly accomplishments in the unit.

Step 4.

What other subjects can I cover? Use the “subjects covered” box for this. Sometimes a unit can cover more than one subject, like the ones listed below from our shop.

Look at step 3 and see what can cross over for you.

• Is language arts covered?
• Art?
• Spelling?
• Writing?
• Science?
• History?
• Math?
• A life skill (like cooking, planting, cleaning, etc.)?

Remember, a good unit study will cross over and cover multiple subjects at a time. You want to do this in a way where you don’t have to think too much.

Step 5.

What resources do I need to meet what I am planning?

List your resources in the “Resources” box.

Are you using videos? Write the names and where to find them.

We have a homeschool resource list with excellent resources that can help your planning here.

Will you use videos? What are they, where can you find them?

Any video Clips, fieldtrips, online resources, etc. They all go in that area.

If you have Jr. High to High school students and want them to dig deeper, you might need more resources, but it’s definitely not necessary. Make use out of what you have available and free but utilize their skills in writing and research. Basically, any strong subject they like.

Step 6.

Search your books for activities and projects.

Why think of everything on your own?

Utilizing our animal unit as an example, I would have supplies to make an animal, or a bird house, or feeder. Maybe even teach my students how to make organic dog or bird food.

Similar, an activity can be a writing project, a timeline game to see historical facts, draw, cook or create.

Any activity you think will be fun to add to this unit, but make sure it covers one of those subjects you chose. This keeps everything in perspective.

Now, you can plan out each unit week by week. I would use my second page for this. Transfer details for that week on this page.

Write the topic under the “unit topic/s covered,” at the top. The week, and days in the week it will cover. I also advise as a visual, to write in the days you are doing the unit.

List any supplements needed for that week if something will not be covered.

Outline the week’s materials, resources and list the week’s assignments.

You can do this for every week you will be covering your unit, and there you have it!

You have just created a unit study and divided your topics and processes week by week. Now, think how easy it will be for you to get started!

Including basic Math

If you are really trying to get extra creative, supplement some of your student’s math assignments with critical thinking math problems to go along with your new unit. For example: How long does it take the flamingo to fly from Africa at 40mph to New York?

The ideas are limitless, and I encourage you to go for it.

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