Creation Science Study Guides
- How long does it take to complete one of your unit studies? It normally takes anywhere form 4-8 weeks. An
average amount of time is 6 weeks.
- Which study should I begin with? I like to recommend you begin with Creation
Science a Study Guide to Creation. The next study that overlaps is
Creation Geology, then you may choose Anatomy or Astronomy to round out
your study.
- Can I use these studies for a full year of science? Yes, we highly recommend you take a year and delve
into the study of Creation.
Here is information from our study guides on how to prepare to teach one of our units.
How to Prepare a Unit
Study
What
is a unit study, and what are the advantages of teaching in such a manner? This is an often-asked question and one we
will attempt to answer. For additional information, one excellent book that we
recommend is Valerie Bendt’s (www.ValerieBendt.com) How to Create Your Own Unit Study which gives an in-depth explanation of how to plan a unit.
What is a unit study?
A
unit study is taking one topic, in this case Creation geology, and
interrelating all of the other subjects into a unified teaching approach. In
other words, while studying the topic of Creation geology, the children will read
Creation science and geology books and research
materials, write assignments relating to what they’ve read, spell
words they may have had difficulty reading or writing, learn vocabulary
words dealing with Creation science, do math problems based on
scientific principles, read and research historical periods relating to
Creation and time periods in which noteworthy evolutionists or Creation scientists
lived, study geographical locations of scientific discoveries and
Biblical events (e.g., where Noah’s ark now rests),
create art works dealing with the flood (such as drawing the animals
that went into Noah’s ark) and for music play instruments that make
sounds similar to those in nature. In other words, all the subjects will relate
to the main topic. (The authors suggest you supplement grammar, phonics and
math with other programs, where age appropriate.)
Why teach a unit study?
The unit study approach emphasizes that reading many
books interrelated to a topic, rather than isolated textbooks, encourages
discussion and research on the part of the children, therefore making learning
more natural and retention of information
much more successful. This is ideal for parents with children at
different grade levels. It makes teaching much easier. The main area of
interest can be taught in a group; then children can work on age-appropriate
activities individually. It keeps the family together most of the time, rather
than separating children to do their own individual work. It also encourages
older siblings to assist younger ones and thereby learn by teaching. Older children may wish
to write or illustrate stories while younger siblings may wish to give oral
presentations.
Traditionally subjects are taught in an isolated manner
in textbooks or workbooks with fill-in-the-blank format. Very few, if any, of
the subjects are interrelated and all of the learning is done in an individual
manner. Unit studies relate all academic subjects under one
main idea and can easily work with one child or a group of children.
Does a unit study cover all of the topics I need to
teach in every grade?
Yes
and no! It depends on the grade level of your child and what your goals are for
your home school. Many children know all they need to know for kindergarten by
the time they are pre-schoolers, leaving the
kindergarten year free to implement unit studies on many different topics.
Often, as the child progresses, because of all the reading research, projects
and experimentation that he does, his learning will surpass what is generally
considered “normal” for his grade level. Still, if you are concerned about
standardized testing, the authors recommend you use these study guides as
supplements to your core curriculum. However, in many cases, when homeschool
students who have been taught with the unit study approach take a standardized
test, they score in the 90+ percentile.
How long does it take to complete a unit study?
Unit studies
can take several weeks or all year depending on the depth of your coverage of
a topic and the varying abilities of your children. For example, we have used the Creation Anatomy study guide
in our family as a unit study covering three months. We will use it again as a
core subject for high school credit for Anatomy when the time comes. With units
you are not bound to a routine of one hour for each subject.
The relationships between the topics are natural, and you will often find many
subjects are covered without much effort. You will also be free to spend more
time on a particularly interesting topic as you see your children’s interest
level rise in that area. These study guides are designed to be either supplemental or the core of your curriculum, and you can tailor them to meet your
family’s needs.
How do I begin using the Creation Study Guides?
We feel this unit is an
excellent preparation to counter secular materials, where it is almost impossible to avoid the evolutionary viewpoint. We have done much of the planning for you with our ready-to-go lesson
plans (see below). If you are interested in planning your own lessons, the best place to start is with a calendar, blank lesson plan sheet, paper, pencil, and the Teaching
Outline in this study guide. Read through the outline and choose the points you wish to
cover.
Approximately 6-8 weeks in necessary for this study. You may use the topics provided in each of the three grade levels, or you
may utilize them as starters in creating your own outline. The grade level
teaching outlines are geared for each of three levels: K-3, 4-8, and 9-12. They are not as extensive as the Teaching Outline in the front of the book; therefore, the numerical labels do not
correspond exactly. Use the Teaching Outline to familiarize yourself
with the topic; it is designed specifically to be
read by the parent as preparation for teaching the topic. It will give you the
necessary information and background to teach the unit. We encourage you to
read portions to younger children and have older children read them alone or
with you.
As you write your outline or points you want to cover,
leave room for additions (you may later run across a book or topic that you want to include). Decide how long you want your unit to take. What months
are you considering? Is this time before a major holiday? If so, you may want
to do a shorter unit. Is it the beginning of school, summer, or other longer
period of time? If so, you may wish to do a more complicated unit or spend more
time digging deeper into the topic you choose. Decide what subjects you want to
incorporate and what days you will do each. For example you can work on reading, writing, grammar, and math every day, but perhaps science
experimentation and history will only be done three out of five days. You may
prefer a Mon.-Wed.-Fri./ Tues.-Thurs. type of routine, or if you take Fridays off,
your schedule might be Mon.-Wed./Tues.-Thurs.
(See sample
schedules on page 7.) Remember, it’s up to you.
How do I use the lesson
plans provided?
Included are sample
lessons for a six-week study for each grade. You will find these after each
outline. Here you will find specific Bible verses to read, as well as science
experiments or activities, language arts and spelling, history, music, and art
activities mapped out daily for you. You will notice that some areas are left
blank for you to include books of your choice. Many of the activities overlap.
For example we may suggest you go on a nature walk, study animals and create a
“fossil” print. You can incorporate language arts, science and art all in one
activity. We understand that not every book we specify will be available
to you. You may not find any of the books you are looking for. Do know
that the teaching outline gives you the major points you should understand
after the end of the lesson. If you do not like the activity we have specified,
feel free to omit it and substitute your own! We have supplied a blank lesson
plan sheet for you to photocopy on page 6.
Go through the age-appropriate outlines and look for the
activities and assignments suggested in the lesson plans. If you have a mix of older
and younger children, try to find a middle ground as a starting place. Check
off the activities
that interest you in each subject area.
Decide which supplemental books you will need, and plan on obtaining them. Interlibrary loans are able to obtain
books from private libraries. Did you know that in most cities you can order library
books online and have them ready to be picked up at the checkout desk? What a
time saver, especially if you have younger children.
This
study contains a list of a greater number of books than necessary so that if
you can’t obtain one particular book, you may be able to substitute another. Use the topics as your guide.
This is too overwhelming! Will I
be able to implement it all?
Don’t
become discouraged or feel overwhelmed. It takes one or two unit studies to
become comfortable and feel like an “old pro.” One way to fit everything in is a day-by-day approach.
You may want to do all of the reading and research on day one, geography or
history on day two, math and language arts
(vocabulary, spelling, and grammar) on day three, science
experiments on day four, art and music on day five. Day five can also be used as the catch-up day to finish any work not completed on the previous four days. I highly recommend a
“game” day on Friday for grades six and under. This entitles your child to
bring out educational games to play on this day.
Decide
which books you want your children to read on their own. Many times older
siblings can be a great help in teaching the younger ones and will have lots of
great ideas for projects. Remember, unit studies have the goal of tying in as
many subjects as possible, so you don’t need to supplement with a spelling
workbook or vocabulary workbook unless your child has a definite need that
can’t be met any other way. Consider that it might be overloading the kids with
seat work and creating frustration when they can’t get it all done. (We speak
from experience!)
How do I test to find out if my children have learned
what I am teaching with the unit approach?
We
have found that working closely with our children reveals what they know and don’t know. By reading materials
orally, and then verbally questioning them, we know what
needs review and what doesn’t. They will complete many
hands-on activities that reinforce previously read
materials. For example, in this book there is
a discussion of evolutionary principles. One of the
points is how evolution falsely claims everything starts out simply and gradually
becomes more complex, improving by passing on or acquiring more material. That in itself sounds very dry and scholarly, yet a
follow-up activity, “playing telephone,” demonstrates the problem with this concept. Normally
there is a “degradation” of information not an improvement. If the children can explain the concept to you, then you know they understand. After reading
all this, if you feel the need to create tests to find out what they know, feel
free to do so! You could easily generate oral tests for the little ones, and
essay questions for the older ones. One of the great things about homeschooling
is the freedom to teach as you wish.
What about co-oping?
Co-oping is teaching a unit study with another family
(or several families) and taking time—usually once
a week—to work together on projects, experiments, or activities for the entire day. Each family focuses
on the unit topic at home during the week by reading books or
completing additional projects the co-op will not be covering. The co-op is a way of reinforcing the subjects taught at
home with
hands-on and group activities. This unit
lends itself well to co-ops. There are many experiments that would be fun to do
as a group. Still, they can be done just as easily with a single family. A great resource is Co-Oping
for Cowards by Pat Wesolowski of DP& Kids Productions. Pat’s e-mail
address is bisb@juno.com, and her website is www.co-oping4cowards.com.
Why teach using a science approach rather than literature
or history?
Each
of the approaches has its pros and cons. We prefer
science because it focuses on experimenting, which encourages creative thinking
and exploration on a greater scale than either literature or history. Truly, it
is a matter of preference. We have done literature and history as well as science
units with our children. Of course we feel that the knowledge of Creation is
important to counteract what the secular media is teaching.
We pray that this will help you with unit studies. We
believe that learning should be fun for you and your children, while still being educational. When it’s fun, hands-on, and messy (especially messy!), the learning experience will stay with them. Try not
to get bogged down and become a slave to a schedule (recipe for disaster!).
While Jill was living in Washington state, a
friend was doing a unit on Washington
state history. They traveled all over the state visiting historical sites.
After a boat ride to see the orcas migrating,
they were so intrigued that they visited the Sea-aquarium
and beaches, etc. Soon they realized they were no longer doing a unit on
history but one on marine biology. That’s the way unit studies should
flow!
