How to Plan a Unit Study (Step-by-Step Guide for Homeschoolers)

So, you’ve heard about unit studies and love the idea of making learning more engaging, hands-on, and connected—but where do you even begin? We’ve got lots of tips on how to plan a unit study right here!

First, if you’re still wondering what a unit study is and why homeschoolers love them, check out What Is a Unit Study? A Beginner’s Guide for a full breakdown.

Now, let’s dive into how to create your own unit study step-by-step—even if you’re brand new to homeschooling or feel like you’re “not creative enough” (trust me, you are!).

Step 1: Choose a Theme

Planning a unit study starts with a single topic that connects multiple subjects, so the first step is choosing what to focus on. When I first started using unit studies, I made the mistake of picking random topics I thought would be “educational” rather than following my kids’ interests.

Guess what? They were not interested.

I quickly realized that the best unit studies start with something the kids are already excited about. If your child is obsessed with dinosaurs, you have a built-in attention-grabber. If they just read a book about pirates, you can expand on that. Following their natural curiosity makes homeschooling easier because they’re already engaged.

Ways to Pick a Theme:

Follow Your Child’s Interests – Their current obsession is your best bet for an engaging unit study.
Tie It to the Season – Fall = pumpkins & leaves, winter = snow science, spring = gardening.
Use a Book as a Starting Point – Charlotte’s Web → Farm animals, Magic Tree House → History.
Match Curriculum Needs – Studying weather in science? Expand it into a weather unit study with books, experiments, and history tie-ins.

I like to keep a running list of possible unit study topics in my homeschool planner. That way, when we finish one, I don’t have to scramble for a new idea. Sometimes I even let my kids pick from a few choices, which makes them feel more involved in their learning.

Step 2: Gather Resources

Now that you have a theme, it’s time to find materials to bring your unit study to life. Here’s where you can go as big or as simple as you like. In our house, I usually start with a great book (either fiction or nonfiction) as the foundation, then I add in videos, activities, and hands-on experiences.

What to Look For:

Books – Picture books, chapter books, nonfiction guides. I use our local library and Libby app to grab as many books as possible for free.
Videos & Documentaries – YouTube, CuriosityStream, PBS Kids. Some of the best homeschool lessons come from quick, engaging videos.
Hands-On Activities – Crafts, experiments, lapbooks, notebooking. I find tons of free ideas on Pinterest.
Field Trips & Virtual Tours – Museums, nature centers, online tours. Did you know you can take a virtual tour of the Louvre or NASA?
Printables & Worksheets – Freebies or unit study planning templates (grab mine here!).

For a Space Unit Study, you might use:

• Read There’s No Place Like Space by Dr. Seuss.
• Make a baking soda rocket for science.
• Paint galaxy art using watercolors.
• Take a virtual tour of NASA.

If you’re looking for the best sites to find these resources, check out Top 10 Must-Have Resources for Unit Studies for my favorite go-to tools.

Step 3: Plan Subjects & Activities

This is where unit studies shine—you can connect different subjects into one engaging learning experience. If you’re new to unit studies, don’t overthink this part. Just focus on incorporating at least 2-3 subjects naturally, and the rest will come together.

Break It Down by Subject:

• Science – Hands-on experiments, nature studies.
• History/Social Studies – Biographies, timelines, map work.
• Language Arts – Read-alouds, creative writing, copywork.
• Math – Real-world applications (measuring, graphing, problem-solving).
• Art & Music – Draw, paint, or study composers from that era.

For example, if you’re doing a Weather Unit Study, you could:
Science: Create a homemade barometer & track the weather.
History: Learn about the Dust Bowl & how weather impacted history.
Reading: Read Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs & write a fun weather forecast.
Math: Graph the daily temperature for a week.
Art: Paint a watercolor storm scene.

Step 4: Add Hands-On Activities

This is the secret sauce that makes unit studies so effective! It’s my favorite part of planning a unit study, and definitely the most fun. Kids remember what they experience, so looking for hands-on projects that bring learning to life is key. The beauty of hands-on learning is that it engages multiple senses, making abstract concepts more tangible and helping kids retain information longer.

Plus, it keeps learning exciting and encourages curiosity. Some of the best unit study moments in our homeschool have happened when we ditched the worksheets and got our hands dirty—literally!

Ideas for Hands-On Learning:

Science Experiments – Kids love experiments because they get to see learning in action. Try growing plants to learn about botany, mixing baking soda and vinegar to explore chemical reactions, or making homemade slime to understand polymers. One of my kids’ favorite experiments was making a baking soda volcano for a geology unit—it was messy but completely worth it!

Creative Writing – Encourage kids to step into history or explore a concept through storytelling. Have them write a diary entry as a pioneer on the Oregon Trail, a news article about the moon landing, or even a script for a mini-play where they act out historical events. Writing in different formats helps develop creativity and reinforces what they’ve learned.

Cooking & Baking – Food is one of the easiest ways to bring history and culture to life. Try making medieval bread while studying the Middle Ages, baking traditional Japanese mochi during a unit on Japan, or cooking Depression-era meals while learning about the 1930s. One time, we made ancient Egyptian flatbread while studying pharaohs, and my kids still talk about it!

Arts & Crafts – Some kids express themselves best through art, so incorporating creative projects is a great way to reinforce learning. Build a castle out of cardboard, make cave paintings with natural pigments, or create a model of the solar system using clay or foam balls. Art-based activities help visual learners connect with the material in a new way.

Lego & Building Projects – If you have a hands-on learner, Lego bricks, clay, and household materials are great for constructing models. Have your child build a pyramid out of Legos, design a space rover using recycled materials, or create a Viking longship from cardboard. These projects give kids the chance to think critically and use problem-solving skills while reinforcing what they’ve studied.

The key to hands-on learning is choosing activities that fit your child’s interests and skill level. Some kids love detailed crafts, while others prefer quick, interactive experiments. If an activity doesn’t go as planned, that’s okay! The process of exploring and engaging with the topic is what matters most.

Need more ideas? Check out Top 10 Must-Have Resources for Unit Studies for even more hands-on activity inspiration!

Step 5: Assess Learning (Without Killing the Fun)

One of the best parts of homeschooling is that we don’t have to rely on traditional tests to gauge learning. Instead of a one-size-fits-all quiz, we can use engaging, creative methods to assess understanding in ways that truly reflect what our kids know.

Assessing learning doesn’t have to feel like “school.” It can be a natural extension of what your child is already doing—through conversations, creative projects, hands-on demonstrations, and even play. The goal isn’t to stress them out with formal assessments but to give them a chance to express what they’ve learned in a way that feels meaningful to them.

Notebooking (Perfect for Kids Who Love to Write or Draw!)

Notebooking is one of my favorite ways to document learning because it allows kids to process and record information in their own way. It can be as structured or as freeform as you like.

Ways to Use Notebooking in a Unit Study:

• Let kids write a summary of what they learned in their own words.
• Have them draw illustrations to go with their notes (great for younger learners!).
• Encourage copywork by letting them write out an inspiring quote or fact from their studies.
• Print out photos, maps, or timelines and have them paste them into a journal.
• Use notebooking pages with guided prompts (e.g., “Three things I learned about Ancient Egypt” or “My favorite part of this unit was…”).

If your child enjoys creative writing, let them turn what they’ve learned into a short story, a comic strip, or even a poem. This works especially well for history or literature-based unit studies.

Need a printable notebooking template? Download it here!

Presentations (Great for Kids Who Love to Talk!)

Letting kids “teach back” what they’ve learned is one of the best ways to check for understanding. A presentation doesn’t have to be formal—it can be as simple as your child explaining something they found fascinating while you’re making dinner.

Presentation Ideas for Unit Studies:

• Have your child pretend to be a news reporter and give a live “news update” about their topic.
• Let them create a short PowerPoint or Google Slides presentation with pictures and facts.
• Record a mini-documentary where they act as the narrator (great for kids who love making videos!).
• Have them put on a skit or role-play a historical figure from their unit study.
• Let them teach a younger sibling what they learned (teaching someone else reinforces knowledge!).

One of my kids loves doing “Ted Talk” style presentations for our family, while another prefers just answering a few casual questions over lunch. The key is finding what works for your child!

Project-Based Learning (For Hands-On, Creative Kids!)

Instead of a test, why not let your child build, design, or create something tangible to show what they’ve learned? Project-based learning allows kids to engage deeply with a topic and apply their knowledge in a meaningful, real-world way.

Project-Based Learning Ideas:

• Build a model or diorama (e.g., an Egyptian pyramid, a solar system, a medieval castle).
• Create a timeline of historical events from the unit study.
• Make a scrapbook or lapbook with cutouts, drawings, and pasted-in information.
• Write and illustrate a children’s book about the topic.
• Design a board game or trivia quiz based on what they learned.
• Plan and cook a themed meal based on the time period or culture they studied.

One of my favorite memories from a unit study on Ancient Rome was when my kids built a Roman aqueduct out of Legos to see how water flowed through it. They spent days tweaking their design until they got it just right!

Want an easy way to track project ideas? Download my project planning template here!

Meaningful Discussions (Easy & Low-Pressure Assessment!)

Sometimes, the simplest way to assess learning is just to talk about it!

Conversation Starters for Unit Studies:

• “What was the coolest thing you learned about [topic]?”
• “If you could go back in time and meet one person from this unit, who would it be and why?”
• “How do you think life would be different if [historical event] never happened?”
• “What part of this unit study do you want to learn more about?”

Casual discussions give you a chance to see what really stuck with your child, what excited them, and where they might still have questions. These kinds of conversations encourage curiosity and critical thinking—two skills that matter way more than memorizing facts for a test.

Step 6: Wrap It Up & Celebrate!

When you’ve finished the unit, make it memorable!
Have a unit study “showcase” day – Display projects & art.
Plan a themed meal – Cooking is a fun way to wrap things up!
Take a field trip – Museum, nature walk, space center.
Let your child choose the next topic! – Keeps them excited about learning.

Homeschooling is about flexibility & enjoyment—so celebrate the learning journey!

Planning a unit study is one of the most rewarding ways to bring learning to life in your homeschool. Whether you keep it simple with a short, interest-led exploration or dive deep into a multi-week study, the flexibility of this approach allows you to tailor education to your child’s unique learning style.

The key is to start small, stay flexible, and focus on making learning meaningful and engaging. Now that you know how to plan a unit study, grab your favorite topic, gather a few resources, and give it a try. You might be surprised at just how much fun learning can be!

Ready to Plan Your First Unit Study?

Grab your FREE Unit Study Planning Templates to make planning easier.
Check out Top 10 Must-Have Resources for Unit Studies for my favorite tools.
Read What Is a Unit Study? A Beginner’s Guide if you need a refresher.

You’ve got this! Happy homeschooling!