Did you know that a cow has four digestive components, not four stomachs? Does it surprise you that chickens are the closest living relative to the tyrannosaurus rex? That is only the beginning! Our latest unit study, On the Farm, is full of so much fun, hands-on learning. And today, I’m going to share a literacy activity from the unit study with you!

What is a Family Unit Study?

If you’re new here, let me explain. This unit study, like all of our ever-growing library of unit studies, takes one big topic—On the Farm—and breaks it down into ten manageable, bite-sized learning topics. This format gives you the freedom to dive into learning at a pace that works for your family.

Each of the ten topics included with a unit study contains everything you need for that topic, including:

• a curated YouTube video,
• suggested information to read,
• a “what’s happening” section,
• an interesting fact,
• discussion questions,
• literacy and math extension questions,
• and an ultimate-can’t-be-beat hands-on activity!

Perhaps you do one topic per day, perhaps one per week. Whatever suits your fancy! You can learn about farms and explore a topic from start to finish in about 1-2 hours.

Grab a sample and take a peek inside my Stars and Constellations Unit Study! You can also see the entire collection of Unit Studies available in my shop right here: https://shop.howweelearn.com/collections/family-unit-studies

Farm-Themed Literacy Activity

Usually, I like to share one of the hands-on activities from each unit study with you. But today, I thought I would switch it up and share one of the literacy enrichment questions!

Each unit study includes five literacy enrichment questions and five math enrichment word problems. These enrichment questions all have three difficulty levels, making them appropriate for children as young as 4 and up to 12. I’ll show you exactly how we do that with this “What’s in the Barn?” literacy activity.

What’s in the Barn?

To start, brainstorm the different things you may see on a farm. These may include crops, animals, machinery, or people. You could even watch a video or read a book first to get some ideas (Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown is a favorite around here).

Once you’ve brainstormed lots of ideas, it’s time to put all of those words in a barn!

You can use the barn template included with the unit study, or you can follow along with the step-by-step instructions to draw your own barn, also included with the unit. Whichever you prefer!

Using the words that you brainstormed, fill your barn with words written in a red marker, crayon, or pen.

Literacy Activity Modifications

Now, how can we modify this activity for different ages and stages? Let’s take a look!

• For little ones, you can lightly write the words in pencil for them to trace.
• Alternatively, you could write a few of the brainstormed words on a separate piece of paper for your child to use as copywork.
• Older children can try to fill each wooden plank with one word, practicing handwriting, spelling, and spacing. 
• Big kids can try to fit ALL of the words that you brainstormed in their barn, filling each and every little space!

Literacy Activity Extensions

If your children are really enjoying creating their barns, you could keep going with the art portion of the project. You could:

• Color in the roof, door, straw, and the little window on your barn.
• Cut out the barn and use construction paper or markers to create a farm scene with your barn on a separate piece of paper.
• Cut the side and top of the barn door so it opens, and draw a little scene for inside the barn!

Get creative and have fun! There is no right or wrong way to complete this literacy activity.

Want more farm-themed activities to enjoy with your children? Check out my latest Family Unit Study: On the Farm!

On the Farm Family Unit Study

See the topics and view a sample right here: https://shop.howweelearn.com/products/family-unit-study-on-the-farm

Thank you so much for reading, my friend,

xo
Sarah