Solar System Online Unit Study by Techie Homeschool Mom
My 3rd-grade son and I have been working through the Solar System Online Unit Study from Techie Homeschool Mom for review as part of the Homeschool Review Crew. As always, all opinions are our own.
One style of learning that most homeschoolers are introduced to at some point in time is the unit study. This is where you dig into a topic and usually see a cross section of subject areas covered.
While some of us embrace this format and design our own at times, many homeschool parents prefer the ease of implementing a ready-made study. You can always add to the bones, but at least you have a starting point.
What’s Included in the Solar System Online Unit Study
With a combination of learning methods, students work through the basics about our Solar System. The unit study is housed on the Teachable platform. If you already have an account with them, you can choose to merge the login information. Plus, if you have multiple courses purchased from the same entity, you can see all the courses in one spot.
For each of the topics covered, there are smaller ‘bites’ to work through on the study. This may include watching a video and taking a short quiz to assess what you’ve learned. Or doing an experiment.
In the first section of this study, there are a few choices of books to read as you complete the study. Links to purchase the books are available on that particular lesson. Subsequent book club lessons offer the ability for the student to share what they are gleaning from the book.
The study concludes with a Solar System Model being constructed by your student.
Something that is encouraged is for your family to set up an Online Unit Studies board on Pinterest to chronicle your student’s learning. Additionally, hashtags are suggested for sharing on Instagram.
Solar System Online Unit Study Contents
The progression of sections in this unit study are as follows:
Solar System Overview
The Sun
Planetary Orbits
Gravity
Planets
The Rocky Planets
The Gas Planets
Comets, Asteroids and Meteors
Project: Solar System Model
About Techie Homeschool Mom
Beth is the homeschool mom behind this company and the unit studies sold. She started it after realizing not all homeschool parents geeked out on their quest to design studies for their children. The collection of links and apps embrace the use of technology in learning.
Now she has made all her hard work available to other homeschoolers through Online Unit Studies. The current unit studies sold include topics of art history, holidays, science, and social studies. She even has biographical unit studies on noteworthy individuals.
Our Thoughts on Solar System Online Unit Study by Techie Homeschool Mom
This online unit study is set up in such a way that is easy to use and track your progress. You have to mark the section complete for it to become gray with a check mark. Otherwise, it appears with a start button next to it.
One thing that surprised me at first was the instruction of using Google Sheets on some of the ‘experiments.’ My 3rd grader has never used a spreadsheet in his work and he actually liked filling in the cells and then creating a graphic representation of the data.
Of course, I was there helping him through the process. But, that was a very pleasant use of technology that is often overlooked in homeschool materials.
Another thing that stood out to me was the ability to comment on the individual lessons. This provides not only the ability to get feedback from Beth if needed, but also give a taste of interactive learning.
Some of the videos included in the study were met with enthusiasm by my son while others were not as well received. One that stood out is seeing a group recreate a scaled-down version of the solar system in the desert. Amazing to see the relative size of the planets compared to the sun as well as the distance between them.
Final Takeaway
I’d definitely recommend using one of the Online Unit Studies from Techie Homeschool Mom. They are well researched and not so heavy with busy work to complete. They can also serve as a launching board for your student to dig even deeper on their own.
Do you and your family enjoy science?
Would this particular program be appealing to your family?
Don’t just take my word for how we found this to be. Visit the Techie Homeschool Mom review post on the Homeschool Review Crew website to see what other homeschooling parents thought about this book.
