Unit Study: Oceans

Posted by Jennifer Steward | 0 comments

Surfs Up and something’s fishy around here!

It’s time again for another Unit Study Idea and that means it’s time for another TIP for our readers! These tips are generally things that have helped me streamline my teaching and my kids learning and also are things I teach in my book Everything You Need to Know About Homeschool Unit Studies, and are also part of the instruction I present in my workshops.

Here comes a UNIT STUDY TEACHING AID from The Unit Study Queen – me!

COPYING – I use this thing we refer to as copying…ALL the time with my students. You may have heard of copying and dictation. These are both excellent tools to use to encourage students to improve some of their language arts skills, but copying is what comes first and then we move into narration and dictation when ready. I use a 2′ x 3′ wipe clean board almost every day in our school time. I use the unit study method which is very interactive so we do lots of brainstorming about what we’ve learned and write it on the board for the kids to copy. I call my wipe board “my right hand” because I find I cannot be without it. I pull it out each day and then tuck it back behind our sofa. I also have a laminated map taped to the other side of it so I have another handy visual tool at my disposal. When my kids tell me back what we just read or learned, this is referred to as narration.

As students progress, they should be able to have a paragraph dictated to them and they will write out what they hear. This helps them recall and think about how words are spelled and provides and exercise to build their skills. We do many hours (years) of copying before we get to this point! Some moms have given me a great suggestion for a wipe clean board: go to a building supply store and purchase a white, shiny, shower panel and cut it to the size that suits your home / wall.

Try copying – I think you’ll find it a helpful tool to getting kids to feel confident with their writing using this prewriting tool!

OCEANS
Okay, maybe you’re all feeling “done” with school but what better time to DIVE into a fun in the sun study like Oceans? Perhaps you have a trip to the beach planned this summer – this would be a great time to explore the tide pools and slip a little study in at the same time. So, here are some ideas you can use to study Oceans!

Areas to study
Name the oceans and continents
Learn “bodies of water” terms like: bay, peninsula, sea, marsh, pond, river
Study plants and animals of the ocean
Learn about ocean exploration
List resources we use from the ocean
The water cycle
Weather patterns
High and low tide
Lighthouses
Islands / Volcanoes / Coral Reefs
Ecology
Sharks and Whales

Writing
Find an adventurous story starter about pirates or the life of a sailor and finish the story!
Read a book like Captains Courageous, Moby Dick (abridged version), Treasure Island, The Cay, or 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea etc. and write a book report

Art
Paint a Sea Life scene on the outside of your sliding glass door. (Mix paints with dish soap so they will hose off easier)
Fingerpaint an Ocean picture
Make an Ocean diorama using a cardboard box. Fish can hang from strings and make stand up shells and plants

Bible
Look up Bible verses pertaining to oceans
Read the story of Jonah and the big fish

Activities
Visit an aquarium. Take notes. Make a journal / sketchbook
Draw a picture demonstrating the water cycle
Make sea urchins by sticking toothpicks into playdough

Geography
Make a map labeling the oceans and the continents
Chart the routes of some early explorers

Literature:
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
The Cay by Theodore Taylor
Magic Schoolbus on the Ocean Floor by Joanna Cole
Oceans by Beverly McMilan
Whale shark : the world’s biggest fish by Meish Goldish
Hungry, Hungry Sharks by Joanna Cole (A Step Into Reading book)
Diving to a Deep – Sea Volcano by Kenneth MalloryAn age of voyages, 1350-1600 by Merry E. Wiesner
You Wouldn’t Want to Sail with Christopher Columbus: Uncharted Waters You’d Rather Not Cross by Fiona MacDonald, David Antram, and David Salariya
The Oceans Atlas by Anita Ganeri – a great non-fiction resource
Under the Sea (a Nature Company Discoveries book) ISBN # 0-7835-4760-9 another really wonderful non-fiction resource
Easy Answers to First Science Questions About Oceans by Q.L. Pearce
Marvels of Creation Sensational Sea Creatures by Buddy & Kay Davis – a Christian resource put out Masterbooks
A Trip to the Ocean by John D. Morris – another Christian resource / Masterbooks
Discover California’s Pacific Coast coloring book – a great activity book for younger students
Sea Life Coloring Book by Dover Publications
AB Sea by Bobbie Kalman
Sealife Alphabet coloring book from Dover Publications
Draw Write Now Book 6
Steward Ship Study of…Guide for Oceans $8.95

Websites
http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/oceanblue.html
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/Photos/Gallery/Oceans
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/ocean/

Jennifer Steward is a happy wife married to her highschool sweetheart, mother to eight children, and grandmother to five grandchildren. She counts it a blessing to have been able to educate all of her children from home since the beginning. Four of them have graduated from homeschool high school…four to go! Jennifer is the owner of a home business called STEWARD SHIP, and author of the popular Choreganizer and Everything You Need To Know About Homeschool Unit Studies.