Excellent Ways to Enjoy a Simple Soccer Unit Study UPDATED

 

Help your kids enjoy the greatest sport in the world with this soccer unit study.

Get recommended resources, ideas, and activities for learning all about soccer (or as it's known around the world-football) and why this sport is so popular around the world.

UPDATED:  You can now get a printable version of this soccer unit study with even more resources and activities. Make sure to check it out 🙂

 

 

How a Soccer Unit Study Can Boost Learning at Home

It will probably come as no surprise that you'd find a soccer unit study from a homeschool soccer mom.

My two older boys inherited their mom's love of the game. As a former player and coach, enjoying soccer with my boys has been second nature.

One of the many reasons that our family loves homeschooling is the freedom to incorporate interests in our learn at home adventures. In addition to our relaxed/eclectic curriculum, my boys and I use unit studies to build on topics that appeal to us.

Although my two older boys are obsessed with soccer, my three younger boys haven't been bit by that bug 😉 To help them gain a better understanding and appreciation of the game, I thought a soccer unit study was in order.

 

 

Get Ready for Some Soccer Learning Fun!

Do your kids go crazy over soccer?

Maybe they love to collect player cards or stickers, memorize stats, and make you watch matches with them? If so, then, “Goooooooal!”

You’ve come to the right place because a soccer unit study will get them learning as nothing else could!

And if your kids aren't that into soccer but you'd just like them to learn about the game (and maybe use as part of your homeschool physical education requirements?), this soccer unit study will be a fantastic resource 🙂

 

Preparation for Your Soccer Unit Study

If your child is a big soccer fan, then he or she probably already has a favorite team. Decorating your learning area in the colors of their team and hanging up their country’s flag is a wonderful way to get your child excited to start
learning.

Don't have a favorite soccer club or country to cheer for yet? You could go with classic soccer colors of black, white, and green.

Check out these sites to learn more about different soccer teams around the world:

• World Cup
• Premier League
• MLS (Major League Soccer) - U.S.

There are many other soccer leagues around the world. I encourage you do to a search. For example, Juventus is a popular team in the Serie A league. FC Bayern Munich is another popular team in the Bundesliga league.

 

 

Cooking + Math +Penmanship

You may want to try preparing a simple well-known food or meal from the country of their favorite team.

Cooking provides the perfect opportunity to introduce fractions and the metric system to your child. Pull out a scale or your set of cups and teaspoons and have fun while doing math.

If your child is in third grade or up, double or half the recipe you are using. But, have them do all the math first, check their work, and then begin cooking.

If you want to bring penmanship into this unit study, you can have them read and copy the recipe before getting started. Your kids could even start a special soccer cookbook for foods to enjoy while they watch matches.

 

Soccer Spelling Fun

If you want to make spelling fun, here is a fun, inexpensive TeachersPayTeachers download for soccer-themed writing paper.

 

 

Reading + Language Arts for Your Soccer Unit Study

The book Soccer Star is an excellent book for grades K-3.

If you want to bring Language Arts into this unit study, the book could be used as a resource for a book report.

Have your child make notes (one or two sentences) each day after reading and use his notes to write a simple report once he has completed the entire book.

Here are a couple of other choices for reading, as well:

• Winners Never Quit
• Hope for Haiti
• The Kicks (Book 1)  **This book is actually the first in a larger series by Alex Morgan so if your kids like the first book, give the set a try!

Soccer StarWinners Never Quit!Hope for HaitiSaving the Team (The Kicks)The Kicks Collection: Saving the Team; Sabotage Season; Win or Lose

 My older boys still look at these books (and others like them) to learn about famous soccer players and teams:

Stars of All Time (World Soccer Legends)Stars of World Soccer: 2nd Edition (World Soccer Legends)The World’s Greatest Clubs (World Soccer Legends)Stars of Women's Soccer: 2nd Edition (World Soccer Legends)U.S. Women's Team (World Soccer Legends)

 

Use this soccer-themed reading log to keep track of all the books you’re reading. If your child hasn’t been much into reading before now, being able to mark his progress with soccer ball stickers may be just the motivation he needs.

 

The History of Soccer

Learning the history of the game of soccer makes for a very educational lesson.

Check out this website with some interesting information on the history of soccer.

Here is a short video for children explaining the history of soccer and why it is called football in most countries of the world:

 

Geography for Your Soccer Unit Study

Doing a geography study of the country of your child’s favorite team (or player) would be very educational.

They could:

• Color their flag (get free flags to color here)
• Copy the shape of the country
• Label what continent is it on
• Find out what the climate is like, etc.

A wonderful resource is Geography Now channel on YouTube that does short geography videos that are
amazingly informative.

 

Science: The Physics Behind Soccer

Did you know that kicking a soccer ball is pure science?

In order to get the ball to go where you want and to trick the goalie, you need to know some physics
and practice A LOT!

Here's an interesting resource on the physics behind soccer or what is known as the Magnus force.

This video explains the science behind the Magnus force:

 

Here's another video explaining how the Magnus effect is used in soccer:

 

This resource is fantastic for students in Junior High or Highschool. It explains how the Magnus force formulas work.

 

Foreign Language for Your Soccer Unit Study

If you want to introduce a foreign language to your child’s education, learning the national anthem of your favorite team in their language might be a fun way to do that.

Your child could also practice writing and saying various key words from the anthem.

You could also look up how to say these soccer terms in that language. (We use Google translate.)

 

Soccer Fun and Games

This free soccer cootie catcher can be a fun way to finish off your unit study.

Your child will enjoy playing the game with you, his friends, and whoever else he or she can talk into playing.

 

Make It Super Fun with This Soccer Unit Study!

This Soccer Unit Study is a fantastic way to boost your homeschool P.E. or enjoy just because.

If you have a soccer (football) fan, they will LOVE these fun ways to learn all about their favorite sport 🙂

This PDF (printable) unit study includes:

• Introduction & overview of unit study

• Suggested materials (to make prep easy!)

• Recommended Reading

• History of Soccer (Football)

• Geography

• Copywork

• Vocabulary worksheet

• Writing (with prompts + special soccer-themed papers)

• Picture Study & Crafts 

• Soccer Music Suggestions

• Soccer Science Activities 

• Math Fun Activities

• Games for Soccer

• Coloring Pages 

• Fun Activities

In the printable pack for this unit study, you'll find specific recommendations, tips, and downloads to make your soccer` learning celebration as easy as possible and open-and-go.

Also, I've included simple unit study planning pages + a report form for documentation of completed work 🙂

Just click HERE or on the image below to learn more & get this soccer unit study!

 

Sports can truly be amazing ways to get kids excited about learning. When you break down a sport into different pieces, you can discover so many new things!

What other sports would your kids like to learn about through a unit study?
Leave your ideas in the comments area below. I'm making my list for future unit studies to share 🙂

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