In this unit study, the students will learn about what happened at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. This lesson is designed to engage the student in what they are learning. It is created to be facilitated by a leader with group interaction or if the child is old enough as a Give ‘N Go Study.
The “Give and Go” series is designed so that the child, with your permission, is given the unit study and can independently learn it on their own. The child must be able to read and follow directions. If following directions is a challenge, this is the perfect way for them to boost their capabilities.
Pearl Harbor Unit Study
In this lesson plan, we are studying the bombing of Pearl Harbor during World War 2. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked the US Navy in Pearl Harbor. Over 2,400 people died. The war had been occurring for two years without the US. The next day, President Roosevelt declared war on Japan.
Before we go any further, I just want to say thank you for visiting our website! We are so glad you are here! My name is Kaycee Hobbs and I am a homeschooling mama to our large family. We are blessed with seven beautiful children and want to give them the best education we can. One of the things we have found to make things easier for us is to use unit studies. It helps us keep track of our multiple children’s progress while we learn together.
What is a Unit Study?
If you already know what a unit study is, skip to the Pearl Harbor Unit Study information HERE.
A unit study combines a variety of subjects while you study one topic. It is a homeschool lesson plan that is used as a curriculum. I like to think of it as taking a topic and placing it under a magnifying glass. Within the study of that topic, you will explore a variety of subtopics. It allows the child to create a file folder in their brain to all the information that they learn under on topic.
There are several advantages to learning through unit studies so let me share a few with you:
- Multi-level Teaching
- Saves Time in Your Homeschool Schedule
- Sensory Teaching
- Accommodates Different Learning Styles
- Makes Memories
- Saves Money
- I Learn Stuff Too!
Multi-level Teaching
Since we have seven children, the unit study method is a perfect way to combine the teaching of different age levels and grades. We get to incorporate everyone no matter their ages and levels of development. I just change the activities to be something every child can do based on their skill level. Don’t be afraid to alter any of a unit study to fit your child or the dynamic of your family.
I wrote an in-depth post about how we multi-level teach, check it out here!
Saves Time in Your Homeschool Schedule
When you teach all the children together, it saves time in your daily homeschool schedule. Instead of meeting individually with every child, you can teach them the same thing as a group all at the same time.
Now, I am going to be very honest with you here. We use a boxed curriculum for our Language Arts and Math subjects. I do this because I know that you can’t teach these subjects on the same development level.
However, if I have the chance to throw in an everyday math word problem into the unit study, then you can guarantee that’s what I will do. If I can have them list adjectives for a piece of our unit study, then I go with that. If it fits, then I am going to incorporate it wherever I can.
Homeschool Homepage
Click the image above to see their homeschool curriculum page.
We use Christianbook.com to buy our homeschool curriculum. I have found they tend to offer the best prices! Almost everything else is taught with unit studies. This is what we use for our math and language:
Math-U-See ShopSensory Teaching
In a unit study you want to let the child act out or experience as much of the unit study as you can. To do this you want to include as many of their five senses as you can. I have a rule that I try to follow… I try to include a minimum of 3 senses in every activity. I figure that sight and hearing are going to automatically be a part of the lesson, so I intentionally try to add touch, taste, or smell to it.
I give lots of tips and practical ideas in this post! Check it out!
Accommodates Different Learning Styles
So, as I mentioned before, we have seven children and guess what? They are all different and they have a variety of strengths and weaknesses which creates a variety of different learning styles. It can get chaotic when you start to think about how differently each of the seven kids learn. When we use unit studies we can adapt and customize their learning plan easily.
I wrote a unit study on how I taught my kids the 8 Great Smarts. Check it out! These concepts based on the book by Kathy Koch is a game changer!
Makes Memories
Learning together as a family gives us the opportunity to learn stuff together. We design it so we get to experience the activities together, so we have the chance to make memories together. When our children get older, I want to hear the “remember when?” stories and these experiences make that possible.
Saves Money
For us using unit studies saves quite a bit of money. I have a good-sized school supply collection that I keep on hand and so I try to use those. It helps the bottom line when you can use common supplies instead of supplies that are hard to find. Even with the cost of field trips, I spend less on unit studies than I do on buying boxed curriculum for our large family.
It also saves money because I can customize to the child and their specific needs. We all know that homeschool curriculum is NOT one size fits all.
I Learn Stuff Too!
One of my favorite things about doing unit studies is how much I get to learn alongside my children! You know how we all paid attention during our school years. Ha! When we get the opportunity to experience what our children are learning, it’s like a second chance for us too!
What subjects does this unit study cover?
This unit study covers these subjects:
- Math
- History
- Writing
- PE
Pearl Harbor Printable Pack Available!
This optional packet has the Pearl Harbor Timeline Project ready to go! It also comes with the materials for two additional games to be played by the child. We have designed this packet to save you time and offer the convenience of just printing the materials instead of creating them yourself.
There is a Do-It-Yourself option for this study if you choose not to use the Printable Packs. The student will follow the instructions given to complete their projects.
Supply List
I like to keep my supply lists quite simple so hopefully, you have the supplies around your house. Here is the list for this unit study:
- Printed Unit Study
- Pearl Harbor Printable Pack (Optional)
- Pencils
- Electronic Device
- Internet Access
- Scissors
- Large Indoor or Outdoor Space
- Stopwatch
- Glue
- Paper (DIY Option only)
Reading
I always like to pick a book or two for our kids to read that is about the unit study subject we are learning about. Because we have a large family with kids of multiple ages, I love to use books on audio so everyone can enjoy them.
We have an Audible membership and highly recommend it! Whenever I need a book for one of our studies, I can just download it using one of our credits. Check out Audible HERE!
We listened to I Survived the Bombing of Pearl Harbor, 1941 by Lauren Tarshis during this study. The kids loved the story and it really made our unit study come alive. We have a link to this book below in the Our Picks section.
Sometimes I will also download the Kindle version so I can share it with our children’s devices. This way multiple children can read the book or can follow along while it’s being read to us. Check out Kindle HERE!
Just another quick tip, use your drive time to listen to an audio book. This will help occupy the children while you are using the time wisely.
Here are a couple of suggestions for this lesson plan:
Our Picks
Teacher or Parent Directions and Details
YouTube Videos
There are several YouTube videos in this study about the history of Pearl Harbor. We recommend the parent preview the videos prior to letting the child see them.
Remembering Pearl Harbor by CBS Sunday Morning
Pearl Harbor (1941) by Simple History
Pearl Harbor: What Happened? By euronews
World War II in HD: Pearl Harbor by History
Schedule
There are four parts to this study, and it is designed to be completed in one week. I highly recommend that you read a book about Pearl Harbor with the child to deepen their understanding.
Part One: What Happened at Pearl Harbor
In this portion of the study, they will watch two YouTube videos that explain what happened at Pearl Harbor. After they have finished the videos, the student will complete the fill in the blank worksheet that is included. After they have completed the worksheet, they should check their answers with the answer key.
The purpose of Part One is to lay a good foundation of knowledge about the events of December 7, 1941.
Part Two: Pearl Harbor Timeline Project
This portion of the study starts with a short YouTube video. Then they will put together a timeline of events for that day.
If you choose to use the Pearl Harbor Printable packet, the students will cut out the Pearl Harbor Timeline Cards and glue them in order on the Pearl Harbor Timeline provided.
For the Do-It-Yourself option, visit this website to get the information needed for the child to complete the timeline:
Have the student create their own timeline of events.
The purpose of Part Two is to help the student recognize when everything happened that day. This is an opportunity for them to map out the sequence of events.
Part Three: Pearl Harbor Timeline Game
This part of the lesson plan offers the child the chance to learn how to figure various times. They will get the chance to calculate the difference in times between events.
If you choose the Pearl Harbor Printable Packet, the students are given games cards with questions written on them and they are to match up with the correct answer.
After they have mastered it, they get to play a relay race to see how fast they can do the activity. They will time themselves with a stopwatch and try to beat their own time.
There is a Do-It-Yourself option in the unit study.
Part Four: Writing Assignment
In the final portion of this unit study, the child is supposed to share what happened on that day in their own words.
Download
The Pearl Harbor Printable pack is available to make life easier for you! You can get it HERE in our TPT store! Thanks for your support! We appreciate YOU!
You can get this Pearl Harbor Unit Study for FREE! All you must do is sign up for our newsletter below and we will give you the FREE PDF download.
When you sign up for our newsletter, it will unlock the unit study and you will be able to download directly from this post on our website. If you have any difficulty, please contact us at thehobbscrew@gmail.com.
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