How-to Homeschool High School with Unit Studies

Question: We have always used and loved unit studies. Now that my children are in high school, I’m concerned that the unit study approach will not be sufficient. Should we add something more traditional? Are unit studies appropriate for high school? Thanks.

Answer:

Unit Studies, the method of teaching math, science, language arts, history, geography, and fine arts through the means of immersion in one student selected topic, have been the greater part of my children’s homeschooling experience. As they have approached high school level, I’ve pondered the same question – will unit studies be sufficient?

There is no doubt in my mind that Unit Studies are sufficient if your goal is to nurture a well-rounded, thriving, educated young adult. Georgetown University Medical Center has found that those who learn through immersion hear, retain, and apply the information learned more quickly and thoroughly than other methods because it “cures” in the brain. My personal experiences validate this finding.

If, however, your goals include collecting up credits to form a transcript, determining whether or not Unit Studies will be “sufficient” will depend on many factors.

1. What “track” is your teen on, General or College?
2. How many credits do you and/or your state require to graduate?
3. How many credits does a potential college require for admission?
4. How do you feel about logging hours spent on unit studies?

First, some terms we need to familiarize ourselves with:

Track – This is the high school plan of action determined by the student’s goals after graduation. A student on the General Track is one that does not necessarily plan on attending college. He/she may be looking into an apprenticeship position, immediately joining the work force, entering a technical school, enlisting in the military, or working from home after graduation.  A student on the College Track is planning on attending college soon after graduation. While Unit Studies can be made sufficient for either of these tracks, the way that you evaluate and document them may be a little different.

Credits – One “Credit” reflects approximately 150 hours of work on a given subject. A good rule of thumb is that a one credit course would require 50 minutes a day, 5 days a week for 36 weeks. A student can also receive fractional credits.

Transcripts – A transcript is an accurate record of the courses your teen took through the high school years, typically 9^th-12^th grades. It will include student information, courses taken in each grade, credits and grades earned, and date of graduation. A transcript is usually necessary for college admission and enlistment in the military, and may also be required for admission to technical schools or for employment.   It’s probably better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. A college is going to want to see more on a transcript than an employer, the military, or a future spouse.

General Track

The goal of the teen on the General Track is to accumulate enough credits to graduate, usually around 20-22 which equates to between 3000 and 3300 hours. These may include:

• Language Arts –4 credits or 600 hours
• Math – 3  credits or 450 hours
• Social Studies –  3 credits or 450 hours
• Science –  3 credits or 450 hours
• Foreign language –  2 credits or 300 hours
• Physical education –   1–2 credits or 150-300 hours
• Fine arts – 1–2 credits or 150-300 hours
• Electives -5 credits or 750 hours

College Track

The goal of the teen on the College Track is to accumulate enough credits to get into the college of his/her choice. Check the college you’re interested in for credit requirements. Generally, 24-28 credits are needed or between 3600 and 4200 hours. These may include:

• Language Arts – 4 credits or 600 hours
• Math –  4 credits or 600 hours
• Social Studies –  3-4 credits or 450-600 hours
• Science –  3-4 credits or 450-600 hours
• Foreign language – 2-4 credits or 300-600 hours
• Physical education –  1–2 credits or 150-300 hours
• Fine arts –  1–2 credits or 150-300 hours
• Electives – 4 credits or 600 hours

 Unlike a typical boxed curriculum that itemizes credits for you, a Unit Study user needs to log hours spent on unit studies to determine the credits earned. I personally would not get totally anal about counting minutes, but would let my conscience be my guide.

A typical larger Unit Study may look something like this:
(click photo to enlarge)
While a smaller one may look like this: 
Or like this:

To keep track of credits earned, you can log and add them as each unit study is completed, like this:

You can then tweak future resources and/or unit studies to accumulate enough credits to reach your teen’s goals. Depending on the frequency, length, and intensity of the units your teen completes, you may or may not need to beef up subjects with more traditional curriculum. Personally, I have a hard time integrating enough maths into unit studies, so we use a separate math curriculum. We also complete most foreign language and physical education separate from our unit studies.

So, yes! Unit Studies can be sufficient for High School! Here are some logs to help get you started:

Unit Study Log          High School Credit Log