The Only Unit Study List You’ll Ever Need | 875 Ideas

If you’re like most homeschooling parents and teachers, you’re always on the lookout for new and interesting unit study ideas. The good news is that you’ve come to the right place! This list contains 875 of the best unit study ideas, perfect for any subject or grade level.

So whether you’re just starting out or looking for something new, you’ll find what you need right here. Let’s jump right in!

Animals

Everyone loves learning about animals, and there are so many fascinating animals to learn about.

Alligators
Bears
Camels
Cats
Crocodiles
Deer
Dinosaurs
Dogs
Ducks
Elephants
Flamingos
Foxes
Giraffes
Hippos
Horses
Kangaroo
Koala
Leopards
Lions
Monkeys
Moose
Panda
Penguins
Pigs
Porcupines
Sheep
Skunks
Tigers
Wolves
Zebras

Oceans

Ocean unit studies are so much fun and there is so much to learn that you can spend a year on this unit study topic!

Arctic
Atlantic
Coasts
Coral Reefs
Dolphins
Fish
Glaciers
Indian
Islands
Jellyfish
Manatees
Marine Biology
Ocean currents
Oil spills
Oysters
Pacific
Penguins
Pollution
Rip currents
Sand
Scuba Diving
Seahorses
Seashells
Seaweed
Sharks
Shipwrecks
Southern
Starfish
Stingrays
Submarines
Temperature
Tides
Tsunamis
Whales

Reptiles

Alligators
Chameleons
Crocodiles
Dinosaurs
Frogs
Iguanas
Lizards
Snakes
Turtles

American History

Teach your kids to learn about American History by choosing one of these topics.

911
Amelia Earhart
American Revolution
Betsy Ross
Boston Fire
Boston Tea Party
Branches of Government
California Gold Rush
Charles Lindberg
Civil Rights
Constitution
Declaration of Independence
First Thanksgiving
Flags
Founding of America
Gettysburg Address
Industrialization
JFK Assassination
Lincoln Assassisination
Louisiana Purchase
MLK Jr.
Pearl Harbor attack
Rosa Parks
San Francisco earthquake
Seward’s Folly
Slavery
The Alamo
The Great Depression
Underground Railroad
Washington DC
Watergate Scandal
Whiskey Rebellion
Wright Brothers

Video Games

Kids love choosing topics they enjoy learning about. If they want to learn about video games, embrace it! It can be so educational!

Angry Birds
Arcades
Benefits of playing video games
Candy Crush
Coding
Dangers of video games
Game design
Gameboys
History of video games
Mario Bros.
Mario Kart
Minecraft
Roblox
Sims
Strategies
Violence in video games
Virtual reality
Xbox vs Playstation

Healthcare

Altzheimer’s
Anxiety
Burns
Cancer
Diabetes
Doctors
Drugs
Hearing
Heart attacks
Hospitals
Injuries
Insurance
Mental health
Nursing
Obesity
Pharmacies
Pregnancy
Smoking
Stress
Surgery
Vaccinations
Vision

Money Management

This is such an important topic to discuss with kids before they become adults! I highly recommend doing a unit study on money management.

401k
Allowance
Banks
Budgets
Coins
Compound interest
Credit cards
Currency
Debt
Dollars
Entrepreneurship
Income
Investing
Life insurance
Net worth
Paying bills
Poverty
Retirement
Roth IRA
Saving
Self-control
Taxes

Wars

American Revolution
Civil War
Gulf War
Indian Wars
Iraq War
Korean War
Mexican War
Military branches
NATO
Peace
Spanish-American War
Veterans
Vietnam War
War in Afghanistan
War of 1812
Weapons
World War I
World War II

Fashion

Here’s another non-traditional school topic, but if your kids want to cover this topic, it can certainly be turned into a learning opportunity!

Accessories
Clothing
Costume design
Cultural fashion
Denim
Eating disorders
Fabrics
Fashion designer
Fashion styles
Handbags
Logos
Magazines
Make-up
Media
Runway models
Sewing
Shoes
Tie Dye
Trendspotting

Jewelry

Bracelets
Cleaning jewelry
Designing jewelry
Earrings
Metals
Minerals
Necklaces
Rings
Stones

Geology

This has been one of my son’s favorite unit studies so far! Fossil and Gemstone Dig Kits made this really fun for him. I highly recommend giving it a try.

Amethysts
Caves
Earth’s crust
Fossils
Gem mining
Lava
Minerals
Quicksand
Rock cycle
Rocks
Stonehenge
Types of rocks

Astronomy

Aliens
Atmospheric pressure
Comets
Constellation
Eclipses
Gravity
Landing on the moon
Meteors
Moon phases
Neil Armstrong
Planets
Rocketships
Solar system
Stars
Sun
Telescopes

The Bible

Books of Bible
David and Goliath
Disciples
Garden of Eden
Jesus
Jonah and the whale
Kings
Lessons
Memory verses
Miracles
Moses
New Testament
Noah’s Ark
Obedience
Old Testament
Praying
Resurrection
Ten Commandments
The Creation
Trinity

Classic Books

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Charlotte’s Web
Dr. Seuss
Great Expectations
Little House on the Prairie
Little Women
Oliver Twist
Pride and Predjudice
Robinson Crusoe
Stuart Little
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Wuthering Heights

Transportation

This is another unit study topic that could last all year long!

Airplanes
Ambulances
Bicycles
Boats
Bridges
Bulldozers
Bus lines
Buses
Cars
Construction vehicles
Drawbridge
Firetrucks
Fuel
Helicopter
Highways
Licence plates
Panama Canal
Public transportation
Railroads
Ramps
Safety
Scooters
Semis
Ships
Submarines
Toll roads
Traffic lights
Trains
Trucks

Hobbies

Turn your kids’ hobbies into a unit study! Who says learning has to be boring?

Birdwatching
Camping
Collecting
Comic books
Cooking
Crafts
Dancing
Drama
Fishing
Gaming
Gardening
Hiking
Hunting
Journaling
Knitting
Magic
Origami
Painting
Photography
RC Cars
Reading
Running
Sewing
Singing
Sports
Swimming
Tech gadgets

Botany

It’s so important for kids to spend a lot of time outside. Botany is the perfect unit study topic to accomplish this.

Bees
Ecosystems
Fertilizer
Flowers
Gardening
Leaf color change
Leaves
Nutrients
Parts of a plant
Photosynthesis
Plant cells
Plants
Pollination
Pumpkins
Seed to plant cycle
Soil
Sunlight vs Darkness
Trees
Vegetables

Art

Artists
Claude Monet
Color theory
Coloring
Creativity
Drawing
Genres
Graffiti
Impressionism
Leonardo da Vinci
Mona Lisa
Oil painting
Picasso
Playdoh
Sculpture
Sistine Chapel
Suncatchers
Textures
Theater
Watercolor
Writing

Construction

Architecture
Building codes
Building materials
Carpentry
Commercial
Masonry
Modern
Occupations
Residential
Roofing
Safety
Shapes
Skyscrapers
STEM
Tools
Traditional
Vehicles
Victorian
Woodworking

Time

Time is a difficult concept for some young children to understand. We use this Time Activity Set to learn about time.

Calendar
Clocks
Day
Days
Fall
Free time
Future
Leap year
Memory
Minutes
Months
Morning
Night
Seasons
Seconds
Spring
Summer
Sundials
Telling time
Time management
Time travel
Watches
Weeks
Winter
Years

Weather

Atmospheric pressure
Avalanche
Blizzards
Climate
Clouds
Dew
Earthquakes
Equator
Flooding
Fog
Freezing rain
Frost
Humidity
Hurricanes
Lightning
Mudslides
Precipitation
Rain
Rainbows
Snow
Solar panels
Sunshine
Temperature
Thermometer
Thunderstorms
Tornadoes
Tsunamis
UV radiation
Visibility
Water cycle
Wind

Interior Decorating

Interior decorating and design is such a great unit study because it incorporates all subjects easily.

Architecture
Bedding
Color schemes
Design
Eclectic
Fabrics
Feng Shui
Floor plans
Furniture
Lighting
Modern
Modern farmhouse
Organization
Patterns
Proportion
Rugs
Space planning
Symmetry
Traditional
Trends
Tuscan
Use of color
Wall décor

Household

I’ve met far too many adults that do not know how to do simple household tasks. I really love this Life Skills Activity Book to help kids learn about life skills.

Chores
Cleaning
Cooking
Dishes
Fire safety
Grocery shopping
Home maintenance
Laundry
Lawncare
Meal planning
Money management
Organization
Pet care
Plant care
Relationships
Routines

Inventors and Inventions

Airplane
Albert Einstein
Alexander Graham Bell
Assembly line
Benjamin Franklin
Cement
Compass
Electric telegraph
Eli Whitney
Galileo Galilei
Henry Ford
Johannes Gutenberg
Light bulb
Morse Code
Printing press
Robert Fulton
Samuel Morse
Steamboats
Telephone
Thomas Edison
Wheel
Wright Brothers

Composers

Classical
Frederic Chopin
Instruments
Johann Sebastian Bach
Ludwig van Beethoven
Music
Music composition
Music theory
Opera
Orchestras
Piano
Symphonies
Wolfgang Mozart

Occupations

It’s important for kids to job shadow and learn about different types of careers so they can try to figure out what interests them. I love the idea of doing a unit study in early high school.

Accountant
Actor
Architect
Artist
Astronaut
Banker
Bus driver
Business owner
Car salesman
Coach
Consultant
Delivery driver
Dentist
Doctor
Electrician
Engineer
Filmmaker
Firefighter
Gardener
Graphic designer
Insurance specialist
Janitor
Lawyer
Librarian
Mail carrier
Makeup artist
Mechanic
Medical coder
Musician
Nurse
Paramedic
Park ranger
Pilot
Police officer
Politician
Preacher
Receptionist
Repairman
Scientist
Secretary
Singer
Software Engineer
Teacher
Veterinarian
Waitress
Welder
Writer
Zookeeper

Politics

Capitalism
Communism
Conservative
Constitution
Electoral College
Fascist
Federal
Freedom
Government
Inauguration
Liberal
Local
Parties
Patriotism
Presidential debates
Presidents
Socialism
State
Tyranny
Volunteering
Voting

Holidays

The week of a holiday, we like to learn all about the history of the holiday and bake together. We make sure it’s educational and tons of fun.

Christmas
Father’s Day
Halloween
Independence Day
Labor Day
Memorial Day
Mother’s Day
New Years Day
St. Patrick’s Day
Thanksgiving
Valentine’s Day

Sports

Baseball
Basketball
Bowling
Boxing
Coaches
Conditioning
Discipline
Exercise
Gymnastics
Hockey
Hydration
Juggling
Karate
Olympics
Perseverance
Practice
Rugby
Skating
Skiing
Soccer
Sports equipment
Sportsmanship
Surfing
Sweating
Teamwork
Tennis
Track
Triathalon
Volleyball
Water polo
Weight lifting

Presidents

Abraham Lincoln
Assassinations
Ballots
Barack Obama
Bill Clinton
Democratic
Donald Trump
Elections
George Washington
Inaugurations
Independent
James Madison
John Adams
John F. Kennedy
Oval Office
Presidential debates
Republican
Thomas Jefferson
Vice president
Voting
White House

Baking

Think about all the ways to incorporate learning when you’re baking with your kids. Fractions, reading, following directions, household responsibility, counting, and more.

Baking
Beignets
Cake
Cake decorating
Cookies
Cupcakes
Donuts
Ice cream
Jello
Recipes
Wedding cakes

Scientists

Anesthetic
Aristotle
Cells
Charles Darwin
DNA
Energy
Forensic scientist
Hippocrates
Marie Curie
Medicine
Molecules
Physics
Sir Isaac Newton

Ancient Egypt

Art
Cleopatra
Clothing
Cuisine
Desserts
Great Sphinx
Hieroglyphics
King Tut
Mesopotamia
Moses
Mummification
Nile River
Pharaohs
Pyramids
Religion
Temples

Insects

This is an excellent way to get your kids outside and help them learn about the beautiful world around them.

Ants
Bed bugs
Bees
Behaviors
Butterflies
Diet
Dragonfly
Flies
Grasshoppers
Ladybugs
Metamorphosis
Mosquitos
Parts of insects
Pollination
Praying mantis
Roles played in nature
Slug
Worms

Birds

Birds are fascinating to learn about and there are so many fun hands-on ways to learn about them. Have fun!

Behavior
Bird feeders
Bird songs
Birdwatching
Cardinals
Cravens
Diet
Eggs
Feathers
Flight patterns
Geese
Hummingbirds
Kiwi
Migration
Nests
Ostrich
Owls
Parrots
Peacocks
Seeds

Native American Tribes

Apache
Aztecs
Battle of the Little Big Horn
Cherokee
Comanche
Corn
Crazy Horse
Culture
Dreamcatchers
First Thanksgiving
Headdresses
Hunting
Indigenious People
Iroquois
Names
Navajo
Reservations
Sacagawea
Sioux
Teepees
Trail of Tears

Continents

Africa
Antarctica
Asia
Australia
Climate
Continental shelf
Europe
Landmarks
Landscapes
Maps
North America
Oceans
Population
Sea level
Size
South America

Chemistry

Atoms
Chemicals
Compounds
Covalent bonds
Data
Electrons
Energy
Matter
Measurements
Medicine
Mixtures
Molecules
Periodic Table of Elements
Physics
Solutions

Technology

Cell phones
Circuits
Coding
Computers
Digital camera
Internet
Laptops
Programming
Robots
Screen time
Smart homes
Solar power
Television
Video games
Video recorder

Time Periods

18th century
19th century
Ancient period
Biblical
Classical
Early civilization
Early modern
Industrial age
Middle Ages
Modern
Prehistory
Renaissance

Countries

Austraila
Canada
Currency
Germany
Greece
Iraq
Japan
Mexico
Netherlands
New Zealand
Pakistan
Russia
Spain
Tourism
Travel
Ukraine
USA

Bodies of Water

Canals
Creeks
Fresh lake
Glaciers
Global trade
Great Lakes
Lakes
Oceans
Ponds
Rivers
Saltwater
Streams
Swamps
Tributaries

Human Body

Blood
Bones
Brain
Cancer
Central nervous system
Diseases
Endocrine system
Exercise
Functions
Joints
Liver
Muscles
Nutrition
Pregnancy
Reproductive system
Skeletal system
Skin
Spine
Stomach
Teeth
Tendons
Vitamins

Authors

A. Milne
Agatha Christie
Beverly Cleary
Charles Dickens
E. B. White
Eric Carle
J. K. Rowling
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Louisa May Alcott
Mark Twain
R. L. Stine
Roald Dahl
Robert Frost
William Shakespeare

Conclusion

With so many unit study ideas to choose from, you’re sure to find something that piques your interest and inspires your kids to want to learn.

If you have chosen your topic, you are ready to start building your unit study. Here’s an article that gives you all the information you’ll need!

If your favorite topic didn’t make the list, please leave it in the comments below. We would love to hear about all of the amazing ways you’ve learned and explored history, science, geography, and more.

And don’t forget – there’s still plenty of time to incorporate some of these ideas into your homeschooling plans for this school year. So get started today!