Boost Any Unit Study by Doing This!

Are you studying electricity? Invite an electrician. You can even use the people who work for your school district? I have used people who work for the district before. They brought many interesting things for the students to look at such as the wire that goes into the wall. They had circuit breaker switches and many interesting stories. There is nothing to compare to someone who actually works in the field you are studying.

A great capstone to any unit study is to bring in a guest speaker. Right now this is easier than ever before with the ability and prevalence of Zoom. This is a great confidence builder for your children! They can learn interview skills. We discuss how to ask open ended questions. I show them the video of Katie Couric but have to translate some of her advanced vocabulary. We discuss how to ask open ended questions instead of one word answer questions. I then have students practice their interview questions on each other.

Most recently, on a whim I called the local dive shop while we were studying the ocean. Guess what?! I had someone there who actually taught dive classes gladly volunteer to speak to our students. The children were so excited to show off their paintings and creative writing pieces to the dive instructor who had gone on trips ALL over the world. She had even explored a sunken ship!

We will be studying the stock market soon. Be sure I will be inviting a stock market broker in to speak to the children. Last time we studied the stock market I had a parent come to speak to the children. Never forget the resource of your parents!