Connecting The Curriculum Through Interdisciplinary Instruction

Interdisciplinary education has been considered a key element of middle level education since the 1960s. Interdisciplinary teaching teams and multi-disciplinary and interdisciplinary units of study have been frequently found in middle level schools since then. Although changes have been incorporated to support it, actual implementation of interdisciplinary education continues to fall short of its full potential. While recognizing the need for schools to reflect the reality of life in an interdisciplinary world, it remains difficult to restructure content-separated curriculum into a more interdisciplinary, or integrated, one. This collection of articles offers guidance to both new and established teaching teams implementing integrated instruction programs. Articles in the first section focus on the positive aspects of team organization for teachers, the effects of teaming on students, and student evaluation of interdisciplinary units. The second section offers suggestions for organizing the teaching team and techniques for developing an integrated curriculum. The third section presents several examples of interdisciplinary instruction units that were implemented successfully in schools across the United States. The final section examines the evolutionary development of the interdisciplinary team, methods of evaluating the teaching team, and some of the limitations of, and problems associated with, interdisciplinary instruction. (TJQ)

The popular Interdisciplinary Teaching Through Physical Educationis back and better than ever. This new edition guides you in integrating the content of language arts, math, science, social studies, and the arts (music, theater arts, and visual arts) with the content of physical education through active learning experiences. This book has the following features: -It provides 24 learning experiences in the five academic areas, 193 additional ideas for developing those learning experiences, and 37 new, ongoing strategies for teaching physical education through cross-curricular methods. -It is revised and expanded, offering you more teaching tools to supplement, support, and enhance your teaching. -It delivers new practical ideas and activities for classroom use, based on current theory and best practices. In part I, you'll learn about the theoretical need for and benefits of interdisciplinary teaching and learning. The authors identify models for planning and implementing interdisciplinary experiences and provide ideas for getting started, building a support network, and assessing learning. In part II, the authors describe sample learning experiences in each of the five academic disciplines and offer ideas for developing additional learning experiences. They also present suggested scope and sequence of concepts for each grade level and describe the concepts and skills that are appropriate for primary- and intermediate-grade students. Interdisciplinary Elementary Physical Educationwill give your students a wealth of knowledge while they're being active. They'll have fun while they conjugate, calculate, investigate, explore, dance--and move across the curriculum.

If you've ever thought that standards-based teaching and required content prevent you from integrating subject areas, then here's a book that will change the way you think and alert you to exciting new possibilities in your approach to teaching. Learn how to identify the connections in your standards that provide the basis for interdisciplinary units. Explore all types of integrated curriculum and how they bridge content standards to authentic, relevant learning experiences. And understand how to create interdisciplinary units that provide data-based evidence of student learning. A planning template and detailed examples of successful integrated curriculums are included to help you implement integrated curriculum in practice. Discover how you can make learning more exciting for students--and rewarding for you. Note: This product listing is for the Adobe Acrobat (PDF) version of the book.

The fifth edition of this practical guide to interdisciplinary instruction focuses on the thinking and reasoning skills mandated by the Common Core State Standards and the content-learning standards required by an increasing number of states. The author provides an easy-to-follow, step-by-step guide to designing, creating, and implementing unit and lesson plans for all learners. Both pre-service and in-service elementary and middle-school teachers will find Wood’s approach to be comprehensive, with a strong theoretical foundation. Using Wiggins and McTighe’s backward design process, Wood offers specific protocols for creating unit and lesson plans at the elementary and middle-school levels. By emphasizing differential instruction, constructivist educational philosophy, application of skills in meaningful context, and the art of engaging student interest, he demonstrates how diverse student populations can benefit from the interdisciplinary approach. Prospective teachers will learn to create interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary plans that promote problem solving, creativity, and social interaction. Examples abound, with an appendix of sample unit plan designs filled with ideas for lessons and activities.

Discusses the trend in high school classrooms away from subject-based instruction and toward interdisciplinary instruction in which students learn to apply lessons from school to areas of relevance in their lives, and includes examples of excellence from around the country, as well as ten full-length case studies.

For undergraduate/graduate-level courses in Interdisciplinary Methods in Elementary and/or Middle School or Thematic Instruction, or a supplement to a Math, Science, or Social Studies Methods course. Building on current teaching philosophies and strategies, this text covers the what and how of developing techniques for exploring interdisciplinary connections across the curriculum using thematic units. User friendly in approach, it provides a principles-based perspective, step-by-step "how-to" guidelines from planning, to implementation, to evaluation and 10 detailed example application units with classroom-tested materials that can be used immediately with students.

This practical, user-friendly resource provides a step-by-step process for restructuring blocks of learning time to improve student-teacher relationships and promote more positive learning experiences.