18 Ways to Teach Science through Literature
Trying to recreate public school at home, right down to the textbooks, is something new homeschoolers often do (especially those pulling students out of school). Literature studies, however, are so much more FUN! As an added bonus, because they incorporate knowledge through relating to a character and / or story, your students are apt to retain more once the year ends.
What are living books, and how can you use them to make your homeschool shine? Get all the tips & tricks in Using Living Books to Homeschool.
Novel studies can be used to cover concepts from language arts and history to science and math. It’s been our students’ preferred learning method for years, and we’ve created well over one hundred of them! If you’re looking to teach science through literature, here are 18 units to try….
- Fever 1793 + Epidemics in World History
- Willa of the Wood + Basic Foraging
- Shouting at the Rain + Severe Weather
- Nick & Tesla + Nikola Tesla / Electricity
- N&T Robot Army Rampage + Introductory Robotics
- N&T Secret Agent Gadget Battle + Spy Gadgets
- N&T Super Cyborg Gadget Glove + Robotics
- N&T Special Effects Spectacular + Making Special Effects
- N&T Solar Powered Showdown + Solar Energy
- Misty of Chincoteague & Horses
- Hugo Cabret & Clocks / Time
- Caroline’s Comet & Astronomy
- Fuzzy Mud & Microbiology
- Hatchet & Outdoor Skills
- Legacy of Flight & Airplanes / Flight
- The Science of Breakable Things & the Scientific Method
- Frankenstein & Human Anatomy
- Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation & Albert Einstein
Another fun option for teaching science is the Physical Science class offered through Sparks Academy! This is an online co-op, with weekly student interaction in the private classroom forum. Learn more here.
After polling several homeschooling families on what they thought was the one must-read book for high school girls, we’ve put together a list of thirty-two books that all girls should read in middle and high school. They include old classics and new favorites, and have lots of character-building lessons, too! Parents should always preview books first….many of these are only appropriate at the high school level.
