How to Prepare a State Unit Study for Your Homeschool

What is really nice about a State based unit study is that you can cover it as a group with all of your kids. There are many homeschooling families that have a variety of age levels to teach. To help your children learn about all of the States you can study a different State each week. A week long unit study will give you plenty of time to go over all of the facts on the State. Below are some simple things that you can do in order to get started with your unit study. What is really nice about creating a unit study, is that it does not have to take a lot of time, and you can create most of the items yourself.

Create a State fact

A State fact sheet is pretty simple to create. All you need to get started is a plain spreadsheet document. You can use whatever computer program you feel is best for creating this document. You will want to create at least five fact lines, starting with the State name, State Capital, State Flower, and even the State bird. You can highlight whatever facts you want for each State.

Print a blank map

You can easily find a printable map online, just make sure that it is a blank map. You can have them write in the name of the State you are studying in the right spot. By the time you are done, with studying all of the States you will have a completed map, and your children will know where every State is located. Younger children can just sit and listen as you discuss the State, and then they can color in the map as you point out where the State is located.

Visit the State Website

For each State that you are studying you can visit the State website. On their website you will usually have no problem finding history about the State. Some States even have virtual tours of their historical museums that your kids can walk through. So when you are preparing the State unit study packet, be sure to make a note of the State link.

Get to cooking

There are some States that have recipes that originated from their State. Some list their famous State recipes on their website. You can add a recipe that is popular in the particular State that you are studying to your unit study as well. This really helps to break up the learning process during the course of the week.

Make a spelling list

With each State comes a list of new words that you can introduce to your children. For the older kids you can try more difficult words. For the younger kids focus on the easier words. The State name should also be on the spelling list and all of the kids should practice.

Learn about Historical figures

There are many States, that have Historic events, or are the birthplace of many Historical figures. You can add this to your unit study as well. Discuss those historical figures who used to live in the State.

Books are a must

A visit to your local library will turn up a nice long list of books on or about any State, for a variety of age groups. You can ask the librarian or look up the books yourself. Sometimes a simple online search will turn up a nice list of books which you can look for at your local library.