CHRISTMAS NEWSLETTER

Thank you to everyone who entered the Christmas Card Competition for 2021!

We received many wonderful and very creative entries, which certainly made it very difficult for the Registrar to decide on a winner from each category!

The winners for this year are:

Ebony Pursell - Age 7 years (Image bottom left)

Naomi Filleul - Age 12 years (Image bottom right)

Congratulations Ebony and Naomi!!

Your designs will be made into e-cards and will be used by the Registrar during this Christmas season.

Exploring the Unit Study

Definition:

• A unit study brings many subjects together under one main topic: it is a collection of learning activities tied to a theme and integrates and relates several subject areas of study around one common topic, subject or idea. 
•  One topic can be studied intensively over a period of time covering subjects like language arts, math, science, nature, history, social studies, fine arts and whatever other subject areas might apply, or be made to apply.  In this way, the theme or topic is approached from many angles to saturate the student through a variety of activities and learning tools and sensory input.
• Unit study advocates believe that it is more natural to study one topic from several related perspectives, than to study several unrelated subjects in isolation from one another.  It is argued that knowledge is more easily learned and remembered when interrelated.
• Intense study of one topic is a natural way to learn. It is the way most of us learn as adults (when we can choose the way we wish to learn something) - we may have an interest and pursue that interest through research, reading, talking with others, etc. We will probably look at it from different angles and whenever it pops up in the future from another perspective, we will add that to our storehouse of knowledge on the subject. It may be a lifelong interest, or one that consumes us for only a short period in our life. We generally retain the information that we learn.

 Benefits:

• Subjects are taught in a natural and unfragmented way and the connections across disciplines are highlighted as topics naturally span a range of subjects.
• Students get the whole picture when knowledge is interrelated which makes learning easier. The unit studies generate curiosity, independent thinking and critical thinking skills.
• The subject can be linked to your child’s interests (also called delight-directed study) which encourages them to take an active role in their learning.
• It is an interactive, multi-sensory, integrated method that incorporates different learning styles. Multi-sensory and interest-based learning helps children retain what they learn.
• It can be easily adapted for different ages and learning styles with the same content being taught in a multi-sensory way thus allowing each child to learn at his/her own level and each child delving as deeply or as lightly into a subject as they are able.
• Unit studies also can be used to supplement other pedagogical approaches (e.g. doing a 2-week unit on a topic related to current study).

 Designing your own Unit Study

When you design your own unit study, you can choose any theme or topic that you think may be of interest to your child. It is fairly easy to create a unit study, or they can be sourced online (many free). The amount of preparation and time involved in creating a unit study varies depending on the level of complexity and activity you plan into the study.  However, if you do create your own, be aware that the unit study tends to need more time and preparation than other approaches.  

 Here is a suggestion on how to start:

1.  Take a large piece of paper or white board.
2.  In a circle in the middle write the topic you/your children wish to study.
3. Draw lines out from that circle and write down all the subjects* you wish to cover, for example: literacy, numeracy, art and craft, music/performance, law, history, geography, social science, science, technology and design, building, cooking/sewing, etc.

*Not every subject can be integrated into every unit study. That’s okay. Either ensure that a particular subject is in evidence at the next study (i.e. alternate the focus on which subjects your studies will explore) or supplement with another resource that will teach the missing subject(s). Do some brainstorming and write down everything that comes to your mind on this topic to fit in with each subject.

•  Review your available resources (books, games, and people), be aware of where you can access other resources (i.e. library, internet, family, other homeschooling families, etc).
• Try to include activities that appeal to different learning styles in your study (auditory, kinaesthetic, visual, etc) especially if you are teaching more than one child.
• Once your mind map is complete then work out how you will plan and teach the study, including aims/goals, expected outcomes, time-frame, etc.
• Collect all your materials together before you start so you are well prepared and ready to go.
• Enthusiastically present the unit study to your children! Even reluctant learners can be inspired to take part in a unit study if their mum/dad is enthusiastic enough and builds it up beforehand – and especially if the topic chosen is one of interest to the child. Also, if you allow some independence regarding which areas they wish to delve deeper into, and freedom on how they present their final projects then this will stimulate enthusiasm.

 It is good to finish a unit study with a bang!

• For example, a presentation evening/day where the children can present their projects. (Presentation and display are an important part of the unit. Include planning, presentation, and project work as part of unit study).
•  A lapbook project is one way the child can present the information or encourage other creative methods of presentation.
•  Another idea is to have a party and dress up or cook food from a particular region (if this is applicable to your study) or play games that relate.
• A final relevant excursion may work as a satisfying culmination of all the study.
• Another way that might satisfy parents (and other family members) that learning actually took place is to have a ‘Sale of the Century’ style fun quiz on the information studied!

 Using Unit Studies

Most unit study users agree that whilst some unit studies will include some practical numeracy and lots of reading, writing activities and discussion, you may need to ensure that foundational learning continues to be addressed (as relevant to your child) such as supplementing the unit study with a maths and/or literacy (spelling/phonics) curriculum. These are subjects that are foundational to a younger child’s literacy and numeracy learning and best taught systematically.

Some families will use the unit study approach exclusively, whilst other will chose to only do one occasionally, or as a term project along with their other learning.

 There are many Unit Study curricula available to buy (follow the link to a review site on many pre-prepared unit studies and all in one programs: https://cathyduffyreviews.com/homeschool-reviews-core-curricula/grade-level-packages-and-courses) or do a search for free unit studies online, here’s a link to get you started: https://faithandgoodworks.com/free-unit-studies/.

An example of what a unit study might look like for aerodynamics and flight.

History and Social Studies – Look at the development of flying machines over the ages (including hot air balloons, helicopters and space flight). Study the use of planes in the world wars, the Battle of Britain, etc. Learn about some famous aviators and plane designers. Discuss the various time periods in which they lived and what was happening at the same time that stimulated their ambitions. This can include mythology stories such as Icarus and OOP Art (Out of Place Artefacts) such as ancient geoglyphs that can only be visually appreciated from air like the Nazca lines in South America.

Geography – Identify the locations of famous aviators and flights on a map. Plot out flights that set records or were “firsts.” Explore long-distance flights. Explore airports/plane companies/airlines around the world.

Math – practical activities such as estimating, measuring and recording distances that various paper airplanes travel. Studying plane dimensions, weight limits, etc. Passenger travel – cabin luggage limits (size of bag and weight). Identifying the numeracy concepts from the above geography learning and collating it in a mathematical way (i.e. distances, grid references, tables of data).

Science – Learn about the principles of aerodynamics and flight. Experiment with various types of flying apparatuses (from paper planes to drones/make your own toy parachutes/etc) determining what factors increase speed and distance, etc. Study advancements in flying such as space flight. Study flying animals and insects.

Writing - creative and factual – Write a creative story. Research and write about a famous aviator or keep a journal as if you were the aviator making your historic journey. Pretend you are a pilot in the Battle of Britain and write a letter to home describing your experience. Note-writing. Create lapbooks to set out the facts of the topic.

Language Arts – Read and discuss books/biographies about flight. Comprehension reading and writing activities plus grammar studies, dictation, and narration. Writing (above) can include vocabulary, definition, and spelling activities.

Art/Music – Design an aircraft using the principles of flight you have learned, draw diagrams of planes and other flying machines. Study famous artworks which contain images of flight (parachutes, balloons, birds, etc). Design your own airline with name, logo, uniform, etc. Make your own paper planes. Study an artist like Leonardo da Vinci who was also a designer and inventor of flying machines. Listen to music inspired by the topic, either classical or movie themes. Create your own piece of music to represent the topic.

Practical – visit an airport to watch planes take off and land. Interview somebody who works in the flight industry or a family member who has taken a special flight somewhere who can share their experience. Take a flight or helicopter ride. Use an app like FlightRadar to follow planes flying around the world. Visit local aviation museums or view online museum sites.

Viewing – source and watch movies, TV series and YouTubes that are relevant to your topic.

There is a lot here to cover, and you may decide to only explore the aeroplane, or you could give your child(ren) free reign to explore any flying machine. With this much information you could make this a term-long study or give a broad overview on the topic and then let each child pick and choose what they will focus on within each subject.

A recount of the Tasmanian Science Talent Search over the years - by Reuben and Zachary Allen.

Science investigation projects involve using the scientific method to test an idea that you are curious about. We like hypothesizing, but what we love most is that there is always the chance of discovering something new and unexpected. 

Our first projects in 2017 (when we were 10) and 2018 were based on the egg production of our chooks, and noise levels around the house and from musical instruments. As we got older, we focused on the environment around us. In 2019, after the January bush fires, we studied plants in our adjacent bushland and grouped plants according to how well they burned at different water contents, and how much smoke they produced.

In 2020 we investigated the chemistry of several waterways around Hobart. We predicted that Eutrophying chemicals would increase progressively downstream as they flowed through farmland and urban areas. However, we tracked down some anomalously high levels to leachate from an old landfill site active in the 1950’s.

With this project, we got to be a finalist in the BHP foundation science and engineering awards experience (BHPSEA). Here, they encouraged us to follow through previous projects and see where they would take you. So, this year our aim was to determine what plant characteristics that made them more flammable. We learnt that the most flammable plants were those with oils from the Myrtle family, followed closely by plants with phyllodes from the pea family but those with high water or salt contents such as those in coastal areas were much less flammable. In fact, they were good at dampening embers.

We encourage you to give a science investigation project a try. Test a hypothesis you are interested in. If you find any results that seem unexpected, try and work out why. And think about the significance of your results and application to make our environment a better place. Start the project early and present your results as a poster at the UTAS Science and Engineering Investigation Awards and write up a report for the TSTS and there is always a chance to get through to the BHPSEA.

Written by Reuben and Zachary Allen, Hobart.

The Beaconsfield Child and Family Learning Centre invites home educating families living in the postcodes mentioned below to utilise the centre.  This may include organising get togethers with other home educators, participating in playgroups and attending events; as little or as much as you would like. 

The Beaconsfield centre is located alongside the Beaconsfield Primary School.  They are a part of the Department of Education, with the focus of supporting families with children aged from birth to five years living in the postcodes of 7275, 7276 and 7270.  They have a lovely centre with quality early childhood toys and activities, along with an outdoor play space designed to engage children across all developmental areas. 

The Child Health and Parenting Service Nurse also works at the centre, as do many other allied health services.

Their Office is open 8.30am – 4.30pm and the playroom is open 9am – 3pm week days.

Thank you to those who have expressed interest in becoming a Volunteer Home Education Mentor in 2022. You should have received your Guidelines and Questionnaire Package via Schoolzine. If this has not been received, please contact the OER at registrar@oer.tas.gov.au. 

We are currently working through the final stages of the project plan and are looking forward to seeing this pilot project take flight in 2022!

If you have not yet expressed interest in becoming a volunteer and would like to, please complete the web form below to register your interest. The opportunity to express interest will remain open for the duration of the project timeline (six months).

We look forward to hearing from you!