Subject: Unit Study Program (Grade School)
Introduction
Welcome to the Grade School Unit Study Program for 3rd through 6th grade students designed to simplify and streamline your home education experience. Through an integrated literature-based curriculum, your family receives clearly laid out directions for the parent(s), hands-on project-based activities for students, and a once-a-week touch-base LIVE class where discussion, sharing, and learning takes place.
How it Works
Each full year is segmented into two parts occurring in the fall and spring-- incorporating History, Science, Language Arts, Art, and Religion -- to learn all subjects together in a unit that coordinates and dovetails into one harmonized year of learning.
Your Program Description
The Four-Year Sequence
The entire program spans a four-year sequence based on the four volumes of TAN Books’ History series, The Story of Civilization. The following years of study can be taken independently or in any order.
Ancient History (Volume 1, Year One)
Medieval History (Volume 2, Year Two)
The Making of the Modern World (Volume 3, Year Three)
US History (Volume 4, Year Four
Visit “The Four Year Cycle” article for more information on matching courses here:
http://homeschoolconnectionsonline.blogspot.com/search/label/4-Year%20Cycle.
The “Flipped Classroom”
The Grade School Unit Study Program uses a “flipped classroom” approach in a four-day-week course of study: families watch teacher-created videos and work together on interactive lessons (guided materials and instruction). In addition to home learning, the once-a-week LIVE online class “becomes the place to work through problems, advance concepts, and engage in collaborative learning” (The Flipped Classroom, https://www.educationnext.org/the-flipped-classroom/).
Daily Activities
Families are provided with daily lessons, checklists, and other resources and learning materials. Each week starts with a LIVE, twenty-five-minute online class meeting for parents and students together with the instructor covering student learning from the previous week.
Class Meetings
During each weekly class meeting, students discuss the past week’s readings, play games to reinforce the week’s learning, and have the opportunity to share project work and poetry recitation on camera.
Your List of Subjects Scheduled for the Four School Days (Per Week)
* History (45-60 minutes per day)
* Literature (45-60 minutes per day)
* Greek & Latin Roots (10-15 minutes per day)
* Poetry Memorization (10-15 minutes per day)
* Creative Writing (60-90 minutes per week)
* Geography (60 minutes per week)
* Science (60-90 minutes per week)
* Solo Reading (time varies per family choice; suggested 30-60 minutes per day)
* Project Work (time varies per family choice; suggested 60-90 minutes per week)
Grade School Unit Study Year 4: The History of the United States of America BOOK LIST Core Texts Purchase or borrow the following books for the school year (required).
1. The Story of Civilization (TSoC), Volume 4: The History of the United States, by Phillip Campbell (ISBN-10 : 1505111471 ISBN-13 : 978-1505111477) (All Year) ($10-$22).
a. Note: Supplementary TSoC Student and Teacher texts and Audio/Video products are optional. We recommend adding supplementary texts (as well as audio and video materials) as tools for further engagement. Choose one saint book for younger students. Older students should read both.
2. Kateri Tekakwitha: Mohawk Maiden, by Evelyn Brown, (ISBN-10 : 0898703808 a. ISBN-13 : 978-0898703801) (Fall) ($3-$12).
3. St Isaac and the Indians, by Milton Lomask, (ISBN-10: 9780898703559 a. ISBN-13: :978-0898703559) (Fall) ($3-$12).
4. The Reb and the Redcoats by Constance Savery, (ISBN-10: 1883937426 a. ISBN-13: : 978-1883937423) (Fall) ($6-$15).
5. Exploring Creation with Astronomy 2nd Edition, Textbook, by Jeanne Fulbright (ISBN 10: 1940110580 ISBN 13: 978-1940110585) (All Year) ($13-$38)
6. Stories of the Saints, by Carey Wallace (ISBN-10 : 0761193278 ISBN-13 : 978-0761193272) ($10-$17).
7. English from the Roots Up, Volumes 1 and 2, by Joegil Lundquist (ISBN-10 1885942303 ISBN-13 : 978- 1885942302 ISBN-10 : 1885942125 ISBN-13 : 978-1885942128) Any new or used volumes work. Some families prefer to only buy the flashcards. That works fine! In this 4th year, we will be reviewing all 200 roots from Years 1-3. If your student has not studied these roots previously, the review can be a learning exercise. (All Year) ($15-$30)
8. Charley Skedaddle by Patricia Beatty, ISBN-10 : 0688066879 ISBN-13 : 978-0688066871. (Spring 2023) ($2-$22).
9. Brave Buffalo Fighter by John D. Fitzgerald. ISBN-10 : 0688066879 ISBN-13 : 978-0688066871. (Spring 2023) ($2-$22)
AND/OR
10. By the Great Horn Spoon by Sid Fleischman. iSBN-10 : 0316286125 ISBN-13 : 978-0316286121 ($1-$15). (Note: Brave Buffalo Fighter is out of print. Many used copies are available, and a Kindle version is readily available. I recommend that students read both books (#9 and #10) if resources allow.
OPTIONAL BOOKS TO READ OVER THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY BREAK
1. St. Katherine Drexel, Friend of the Oppressed By Ellen Tarry ISBN: 9780898708899 Ignatius Press
2. Mother Seton and the Sisters of Charity By Alma Power-Waters ISBN: 9780898707663 Ignatius Press
- Teacher: Jackie deLaveaga