The Talking Earth Unit Study

The following are my notes for creating a unit study following the reading of The Talking Earth by Jean Craighead George. This is a work in progress that I hope to update as I add to it.

Note: If no "$" exists after the link, it is a free downloadable link. Most $ items are in the $4-10 range.

My Pinterest board for this unit study

Cover Page

Novel-ties optional supplemental study guide $

Supplemental reading books (Can be used as read alone or snuggle time reading in conjunction with TTE):

The Missing 'Gator of Gumbo Limbo by Jean Craighead George
Night Bird: A Story of the Seminole Indians by Kathleen V Kudlinski
Osceola: Seminole War Chief by Wyatt Blassingame
Everglades by Jean Craighead George
Welcome to the River of Grass by Jane Yolen
The Moon of the Alligators by Jean Craighead George (also found in her book Autumn Moon) 
Escape to the Everglades by Edwina Raffa plus bonus: Escape to the Everglades Teacher Activity Guide

Daily literature reading (one story per day):

The Wonderful Sky Boat and Other Native American Tales of the Southeast retold by Jane Louise Curry

Science/Geography: Everglades Study

Everglades National Park coloring page (shows a girl in a dugout canoe, makes a great introduction coloring page) from the National Parks Coloring Book 
Biome diorama 
Everglades Habitat & Mangrove Habitat

History/Social Studies: Seminole Native American Study

Green Corn Dance - info 1, info 2, video of Cherokee performing GCD

Sem-in-oli meaning "wild" 

https://www.floridamemory.com/onlineclassroom/seminoles/lessonplans/4thgrade/4th-pioneer.php 

Questions to answer:

Where did the Seminoles come from?

Where did they live?

What do they look like?

What did Seminole clothing look like? How did men’s clothing differ from women's?

What did Seminoles eat? How do you think their diet compared with other pioneers in Florida?

Where did Seminoles live? What type of houses did they build?

What types of families did Seminoles have?

What type of work did Seminoles do?

Information http://www.semtribe.com/Culture/Clans.aspx

Movie filmed in 1928: https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/232400 

http://schoolworkhelper.net/the-seminole-natives-history-life/

digging canoes: http://vacationmaybe.com/big-cypress-seminole-indian-reservation/ 

Story: http://kokkila.com/eight/Micco/Micco.html 
Chickee: https://www.warpaths2peacepipes.com/native-american-houses/chickee.htm 
http://msoutheast.wikispaces.com/Housing 

Coloring pages for Seminoles:

Seminole coloring page from the Indian Tribes of North American Coloring Book 
Clan wheel coloring page

Worksheet on Seminoles 
Seminole Unit study

History/Social Studies: Calusa Native American Study

http://fcit.usf.edu/florida/lessons/calusa/calusa1.htm
http://www.bigorrin.org/calusa_kids.htm
http://www.funandsun.com/1tocf/inf/nativepeoples/calusa.html
http://www.ancient-origins.net/history/calusa-people-lost-tribe-florida-early-explorers-wrote-home-about-005873
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xukK77RZoZc 
http://www.fourdir.com/calusa.htm

Seashell and Shell People unit study $ (also can be used for seashell unit study, has religious tones)

Science: Animals of the Everglades Study

For coloring books that are listed A, B, C, D, E look below for coloring book listings
Finger puppets of snapping turtle, alligator, manatee and deer
Notebooking pages for animals of the Mississippi (though the majority are revelant for the Florida Everglades)

Fresh water animals/reptiles/etc.:

Large-mouthed bass, coloring book C, coloring book D
Mud turtle - coloring book D
Alligators - info, coloring book D
Otter* - info, coloring page 1, coloring page 2, coloring book D
Garfish - coloring book D
Snapping turtle - coloring book C
Coral snake - coloring page 1
Water moccasin (cottonmouth), coloring book D
Muskrat - coloring book C
Gopher tortoise* - info, info 2, coloring page 1, coloring page 2

Ocean animals:

Sea Life Notebooking Pages $

Manatee**- info, coloring page 1, coloring page 2, coloring book D
Snook
Shrimp larvea - coloring page 1
Sand crabs - coloring page (lots of options)
Oysters

Insects:

Ant lions
Yellow butterflies
Golden spider, coloring book D

Birds:

Notebooking pages for birds $

Red-winged blackbird - info, coloring book C
Pileated woodpecker - info, coloring book D
Turkey vulture - info, coloring page
Barred owl - info, coloring book D
Wood storks - info, coloring book D
White heron - info, coloring book D
Red-shouldered hawk - info, coloring book E
Ibis - info
Egret - info, coloring book D
Brown pelican - info, coloring book D
Coot - info,
Bittern - info, coloring book D
Gallinule - info, coloring book D
Kingbird - info
Spoonbills - info, coloring book D

Forest animals:

Armadillo - info
Deer - info, coloring book A, coloring book B, coloring book C, coloring book D, coloring book E
Florida panther*- info, coloring page 1, coloring book D
Raccoon - info, coloring book A, coloring book B, coloring book C
Gray fox - coloring page
Fox squirrel - coloring page
Opposum - info, coloring book A, coloring book B
Rabbit - info, coloring book A, coloring book B, coloring book E
Yellow bat - info

*Create a profile of each of these 3 animals (the 3 animals that lived on Billie Wind's houseboat as she traveled). 

**Another significant animal in story

Choose at least 2 (adjust this according to interest) more animals to learn about. Many of the animals listed can be found on this page. 

Coloring books that contain several pages that are relevant: (A) Backyard Nature Coloring Book, (B) Forest Animals Coloring Book, (C) Freshwater Pond Coloring Book, (D) Swampland Plants & Animals Coloring Book, (E) A Walk in the Woods Coloring Book 

Science/Botany: Plants of the Everglades Study

Grasses:

Bamboo - coloring page
Saw grass - 

Trees:

Tree Notebooking pages $

Cypress - coloring page, pictures
Willow - HRz $, coloring page
Mahogany - info, 
Gumbo-limbo - coloring page, 
Live oak - HRz $, coloring page
Royal palm - info
Pond apple - HRz $, coloring page 1, coloring page 2
Avocado - 
Orange - 
Fig - 
Sabal palm - info
Mangrove - 
Buttonwood - 
Pine - HRz $
Saw palmetto - HRz $

Questions to ask:
Which trees grow near fresh water and which grow near salt water?
Which would be found in a hardwood hammock? 

Plants:

Alligator flags
Orchids, coloring book D
Ferns
Spanish moss
Bromeliads (air plants)
Pickerel weed
Pitcher plant, coloring book C
Arrowhead, coloring book C
Poorman's patch, aka Mentzelia floridana 
Morning glory
Spider lily

Science/Weather Study:

Hurricanes
Droughts

Geography: Florida Study

~ Print out map of Florida. Pencil in boundaries for Everglades, Fakahatchee Strand, Big Cypress Reservation (use Google maps to locate)
~ Spend time on Google maps earth view (3D view is fun too, it shows modern day "chickees" aka houses on stilts) to see the land forms, especially around Ten Thousand Islands, Everglades, Fakahatchee Strand. Look for manmade canals vs. natural waterway formations. Observe how little of an area the Big Cypress Reservation is. 
~ Add key to color: Everglades, Fakahatchee Strand, Ten Thousand Islands, Big Cypress Reservation
~ Label: Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic Ocean, Everglades, Fakahatchee Slough, Big Cypress Reservation, Lake Okeechobee
~ Color appropriate areas 

Florida State Symbols
Notebooking pages from Harrington Harmonies
State Tree - Sabal Palm
State Flower - Orange blossom
State Bird - Northern Mockingbird
State Animal - Florida panther

Vocabulary words:

Hardwood hammock - a habitat that is found on higher elevations, making it a dry habitat. 
Sem-in-oli meaning "wild"
Chickee - a rough, open structure consisting of palm or palmetto thatching on a log frame with a raised floor  

Activities:

~ Build a chickee model or go outside and attempt real life shelter building 
~ Build a model or draw a picture of Billie Wind's houseboat. I love the description on page 114: "The houseboat looked more like a county fair than a vessel, with its sails flopping, animals tucked under eaves and in crates, and flowers swinging from the roof."

Optional studies:

This could break off into seashell studies. 

Montessori seashell unit study
Sunny Seashells $
Different Sunny Seashells - books, projects, etc. based on the Sunny Seashells unit
Beginning seashell ID Note - has religious tones
Seashell and Shell People unit study $ (also listed under Calusa above) Note - has religious tones
Seashells of the Florida Gulf Coast jigsaw puzzle

Or tidepool unit studies.

Harrington Harmonies Pagoo unit study on tidepools
What is a tidepool?
For kindergarteners but has some get ideas that could be expanded on

Or a carnivorous plant study.

Carnivorous plant study notebooking pages (join her newsletter for an updated version)
Murderous plants teacher pack

My 2016-17 Homeschool Planner

This has evolved over the years to become what I need for the year and will continue to evolve as those needs change.

It is about 1/2 inch thick. I use my coil binder and a clear plastic cover on the front with a black plastic cover for the back.

The cover page has the school year on it, a drawing of Jaden and Sage and the grades they are in. I have a separate book for each this year.

The first page is a print out from HSLDA of the Illinois Homeschool law. I also have a copy of our member card with our number on it.

The next page is an article about asperger children. Following that is a list of foods Sage cannot eat.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights, everyone should know them.

A list of reminders how to have a serene home life. Good to read over when I'm feeling extra frazzled.

A few pages of goals for my kids, plus life skills and practical skills everyone should possess, things kids should master (age appropriate) and then handcrafts to learn.

Jaden's Cecchetti Grade 3 theory pages.

Nature Study schedule.

Reading lists for 4th and 6th grade for book suggestions.

Next is our goals for the year, what we need/want to learn over the next 12 months.

The year at a glance on 2 pages so I can list all important dates for each month.

Each month on a 2 page spread to write out curriculum blocks/themes and map out time off for vacations and holidays.

Weekly pages for the kids. Each week is side by side, one for each kid so I can write out both at the same time. There are 52 weeks worth of pages for each kid. I switched to the 6 day week this year as we formally hs Mon - Fri but much learning goes on during the weekends too.

Trip logs for field trips.

Hiking logs for weekly hikes.

Reading logs to keep track of books read.

Media logs to keep track of videos, plays, etc. that were watched.

Attendance sheets to keep track of our attendance.

Grade sheets for spelling and math. (Jaden requested I start grading her last year).

A few checklist pages to jot down notes for things to add next year or things we want to learn in the future.

Pocket in back to stash brochures/collectables from field trips.