Ideas / Basics in context
An idea from Sui Learning
Basics in context
Teach the basics through what the child is already doing, one thing at a time, when it comes up.
In plain words
Math through money, cooking, and projects. Reading and writing inside projects: the golfer letters his own scorecards. History as one story at the right moment, like tulip mania when they ask about money. If a needed subject is hated, wrap it in their interest. Scorecards are writing. Game stats are math.
The research behind it
- Knowledge learned apart from its use rarely transfers to real situations. John Seely Brown, Allan Collins, and Paul Duguid, "Situated Cognition and the Culture of Learning," Educational Researcher 18, no. 1 (1989), as cited in Sui Learning.
- People learn by taking part in real work alongside those who do it. Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger, Situated Learning (1991), as cited in Sui Learning.
- Chores and self-sufficiency in childhood. Julie Lythcott-Haims, How to Raise an Adult (2015), as cited in Sui Learning.
Questions this answers
- How do I teach math in everyday life?
- How do I teach a child who hates reading or writing?
- What should a homeschool curriculum cover?
In the book
In Sui Learning: The Basics; subject chapters.
Read the full answers
How do I teach my child about money?What does a good homeschool lesson look like?What is project-based learning, and how do I start?
Related ideas
Cite this idea. Trenton Rich, "Basics in context," in Homeschooling to Create High Achievers in All Areas of Life: Sui Learning (2022), suilearn.ing/idea-basics-in-context.html. Free to quote, copy and reuse with credit under CC BY 4.0. The book itself is under normal copyright.