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How do you teach multi-levels of grades and cover everything adequately without feeling like there’s a little too much family togetherness in learning and run screaming for an afternoon coffee break!

One at a Time - Remember that each child came into your household one at a time. Even twins each had their own individual birth or entrance into the world. And, unless you are the parent of multiple births, you probably brought home one baby at a time and watched that child grow at least to some degree before welcoming another child into your household. In the case of multiples, you may have your hands full, but they are at the same age level.  And, while they don't progress entirely identically; they do experience similar levels of growth.

But, what happens when you have to span several years of different-aged children while teaching - Such as teaching a first grader while also teaching a seventh grader. Or, perhaps you have a high school level child and a third grader and anywhere in between? There can be quite a span of knowledge difference, so how do you bridge the gap and present lessons that are appropriate for both levels?

Multi-Level Teaching - Multi-level teaching is not a new concept. It probably even dates back before the one-room school houses where several ages of children at several grade levels learned under one roof. There may be numerous methods to use that work in regard to teaching multi-levels of students.  But, there are two most popular ways. One, is to follow a structured curriculum for each child. The other is unit studies.

Following a Curriculum “in a box” - Some families simply buy the entire grade level curriculum appropriate for each child and choose to cover the individual subjects at the same time. This is sometimes referred to as “box” curriculum since it comes as a kit, like a box full of learning. It comes complete with lesson plans and curriculum guides for the parent to follow.  To implement these curriculums, for instance, everyone might do English at the same time. One student might be on grade level 1 while another is on grade 4 and yet another on grade 9, but this is all done at the same time.  And, the day progresses in a structured pattern. Some families use computer-guided studies such as Switched on Schoolhouse (starts at 3rd grade level) or online curriculums or DVD or satellite courses from curriculum providers. They might even seek an enrichment or learning center program such as DaySpring Academy. In these cases, the parent has less preparation work, but still needs to be present to guide each child and help with questions, etc. when the child is learning at home.   If this works well for your household, then this is probably a great method for you.

While this might work well for some, others are left confused and overwhelmed as they try to decipher several grade levels of one subject over and over throughout the day. Even though the teacher’s guide is right there in front of you, it’s not easy to follow multiple curriculum guides.  Or, if you're learning via computer or television (DVD) screen, you might begin to feel like more of a traffic cop or police officer than a teacher as you keep directing the child's attention back toward the computer or DVD. It’s quite easy to start feeling your head spinning between 1st grade, 4th grade, 7th grade, 10th grade and back and forth. In an answer to this, one effective way that many families have discovered to carry out multi level teaching is the use of unit studies.

What is a Unit Study? - A unit study simply takes a subject matter and presents it as a whole lesson within which your child might learn history, science, literature, reading, writing, art, music and sometimes even get a math lesson as well. Though, math is one subject that many parents feel more comfortable buying a separate curriculum to work to make sure all the fundamentals are covered, and unit study the rest.

Unit Study Learning - By using unit studies, the parent is able to cover the same subject matter at the same time with all of the children. But, the work expected from the older students will be more in depth than the work expected from the younger ones. For instance, you might read aloud or have the younger students read a simple version of classic literature while the older students read the entire classical works quietly on their own. Or, you might have younger students create basic art works while the older ones learn more detailed types of drawing or painting. Writing a narrative from what they read or heard read will obviously be more detailed and lengthy for the older student. While, the younger student may copy a short sentence you dictate or place in front of them, or both.

Unit Study on Creation - One example of a unit study might be, for instance, if you use an account from the book of Genesis. You obviously can present a lesson in religious beliefs and character. But, you could also form a unit study on a lesson on creation encompassing every subject.

Science - You could learn the science of light vs. darkness, the earth and soils and plants and the oceans and waters along with the animals who live on the earth or in the seas. You could study the seasons as they began. You could learn about the planets. You could learn about anatomy and the physical make-up of the human body. Studies for the younger student could include basic animal recognition, the five senses, what belongs in the ocean/land. Studies for older students could become quite in depth on any of these science-related topics.

Math - You could introduce mathematical concepts of calendar skills using day and night and sequencing numbers as to what came first. The Bible says that, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” and then for a series of 7 days proceeded to create different elements of His creation until He rested. So, you could count and match what came on day 1, day 2, etc.

History – Of course, if you believe the Bible to be truth, then you would believe it is part of our history and count this as a history lesson because you are reading of a historical account. But, you could go a step further and teach younger children the basic concepts of our days and our calendar while older students could get more involved and even learn the history of our calendars and why we number and record our days in a certain manner.

Handwriting - You could have handwriting lessons by copying scriptures. Copying properly written sentences also helps with learning proper sentence structure as well as vocabulary.

English, Vocabulary and Spelling – Use words from the Genesis account to learn spelling. The younger students might tackle words like “day, sun, moon,” while older students would learn more challenging words such as “firmament, multiply, seed-bearing plant,” etc. This particular passage could even present a great lesson in the use of quotation marks and their proper use.

Reading/Literature - You could read books related to creation or parts of creation. Moody Press publishes some wonderful books and DVDs on creation.

Art - You could color with concepts of light and dark, study shadows and make drawings from shadows projected onto a sheet of paper or draw with white crayon on a white paper then paint a thin layer of black tempera paint overtop to reveal the picture underneath and teach that God created everything out of nothing – as the picture appears. You could even have the children "create" and form animals, etc. out of clay.  For the older children, you could study artists who have used creation or Biblical concepts as the basis for their artwork or have their works of clay glazed and fired.

Learning is Limitless – Then, expand your focus on areas of interest and check out books from the library. Using books that are not textbooks is calling using living books. Or, do internet searches to further your studies. It is endless how a unit study can spiral in so many directions while your children gain more and more excitement about learning.

Once you dive into unit studies, you’ll probably quickly get into the rhythm of learning & prepare your own lesson plans. But, if you’re new to unit studies, some great places to start if you want to use unit studies are:

Unit studies

Tapestry of Grace

KONOS (unit studies – because "God put the wiggle in children and we shouldn’t try to take it out.")

Visual Manna

Five in a Row

My Father’s World
 

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 Family Film Resources

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