At Cedar Hill Academy, we are passionate to instill the love of learning in our students. To help them on the path of discovering that learning is fun, we use the teaching method of unit-based literature studies. In a study at Mercer University comparing traditional textbook based learning vs. a unit-based method, the evidence was overwhelming that unit-based studies helped improve student attitude, academic achievement and retention of material by a large margin.
Unit based studies are a natural and thrilling way to learn as you incorporate many subjects surrounding a central theme. Instead of reading a textbook and then doing worksheets to test for memorization, unit-studies are a much more effective (and we might add fun!) way to learn. As you crack open a wonderful work of children’s literature, such as Jan Brett’s The Three Snow Bears, you can watch the children becoming enthralled with the story, so much so, that they can’t wait to learn more about all the elements within the tale. In this particular story, it would be a natural progression to study about the Artic region, the properties of ice, geometry of building an igloo and comparing this story to the traditional tale of the three bears. These are just a few ideas to get us started on a journey of discovery based on one piece of literature. Unit based studies also leave room to explore student questions and interests, as it is a less rigid than a traditional subject matter curriculum. I like using rich children’s books as the center of most of my unit-based studies and expand our learning to many subject matters using the central idea or theme of the book. I believe that the natural flow of using unit-based studies encourages student to question and explore as they grow!
Some of the authors that we will be using next year for our studies include Eric Carle, Jan Brett and Maurice Sendak. I can’t wait to partner with you to help create an enriching educational experience for you children, give you guidance on your homeschool journey and help create a break in your week while your children attend classes to concentrate on your other life needs. Let’s create the best school year yet together!
♥ Mrs. Twani