PLC 2013-2014

Model Curriculum in Connection

Rachel Contreras, Melinda Howell and Lois Stewart

Rationale for developing hands-on integration ofinquiry across curricula

http://www.fondation-lamap.org/sites/default/files/upload/media/4%20-%20integrating_science_inquiry_across_the_curriculum.pdf

• Sections of the Fibonacci Background Booklet ‘Learning Through Inquiry’ provide an introduction and rationale for cross disciplinary approaches in inquiry. One of the most important is that ‘mathematics and natural science lessons can be embedded in a whole cognitive development of the child’. There are many advantages to this approach:

• When successful, pupils find learning easier because it is less disjointed and more relevant. Consequently the pupils are more motivated. As only one context is used, language demands are related as the same words recur. This is particularly important where there are many different languages spoken in the classroom.

• Pupils are enabled to use similar skills in different subjects with the same context or problem. They are helped to see that events do not happen in isolation, thus showing the relevance of science ideas and skills in a wider context. Knowledge in the real world is not applied in bits and pieces but in an integrative fashion. This is increasingly important as modern technology is changing access to information, defying lock-step, sequential, predetermined steps in the learning process (Kysilka, 1998). After all, when pupils find information on the internet it is not usually presented in separate ‘school’ subjects.

• Pupils are more likely to develop creativity, critical thinking and problem solving abilities as they become more familiar with recognizing the complex demands of problems requiring knowledge and skills from more than one subject.

Benefits of Project-Based Learning“In our classrooms we support projects in all areas”…

Here’s why;For students:

 • Greater control over what and how they learn – Teachers set parameters for each project and

the students are free to propose their own ideas, pending their teacher’s approval. • A sense of educational ownership – Because they have greater control over what and how

they learn, students often feel more invested and responsible for their work. Project-based learning also makes it easier for students to learn at a pace that’s comfortable for them. 

• Acquisition of complex, real-world skills • An audience with their teachers – A key advantage of project-based learning is that each

student has more one-on-one time with their instructors to ask questions and share ideas. • Hands-on, “fun” learning – Project-based learning requires a level of participation not seen in

the traditional classroom, giving students a higher level of stimulation and a greater role in the educational process. 

For teachers:•

Greater student interaction – Traditional classroom learning involves a teacher more or less speaking to his or her students with little interaction other than to ask or answer a periodic question. Project-based learning puts the teacher into more of a facilitator role that allows for greater dialogue with each individual student. 

• Insight into student motivators – With each new project that’s proposed and presented, teachers receive a glimpse into the interests, passions and motivators of their students. No longer an army of one – The assessment process in a project-based learning setting usually involves more than just the opinion of the teacher and often times includes other instructors and even peers of the student. 

• Going beyond the classroom – The ability to draw in resources from the entire school and even the community. Learning is no longer confined to the walls of the classroom, but rather is conducted on a more boundary less scale, giving teachers an even greater pool of assets to work with.  See more @ Projectfoundary.com

Advantages of Cross-CurricularThematic instruction

• Students come to view school subjects as connected and interrelated.

• Practice reading different kinds of materials for varied purposes.

• Use prior knowledge of the world and past experiences with language and text to create relationships among various sources of information.

ELA Reading Street Program

SKILLS• Cause and Affect• Theme and Setting• Fact and Opinion• Compare and

Contrast• Sequence• Author’s Purpose

STRATEGIES• Monitor and Clarify• Summarize• Inferring• Questioning • Text Structure• Background

Knowledge

ELA (cont.)

LITERARY TERMS

• Imagery

• Foreshadowing

• Symbolism

• Point of View

• Imagery

• Sensory Details

Planning for Cross-Curricular Instruction

1. Select a Theme

2. Choose a Key Concept to Guide Instruction

3. Consider the Teacher’s Role (i.e. facilitate, serve as a resource or provide explicit instruction…

4. Implement the theme (i.e. students begin to engage in reading and writing, in discussing and researching, in creating and generating). Journals are kept; stories, articles, and poems are discussed; projects are created & presented; and minds are challenged.

Helping ALL Students Succeed

• “Support in Advance” for Struggling Students• Support for Students Acquiring English• Celebrate ALL Students’ Accomplishments

- Do so by offering study guides, samples of expected outcome (ie. Sample project – show what a pulley project should look like, or million $$ poster, etc)…

- Provide ‘guidelines” and tri-boards for extension activites Extension Activities this year - students create and presented a story board of guided reading novel “the Westing Game”, & info. Boards titled “Economics” and “Campaign 2016”

Research/Inquiry-’Reading Street’

Assessment

• Self-Assessment is Important• Opportunities for Formal and Informal

Assessment Abound• Tap Parents for Insights – i.e. “Family Times”

(discuss at p/t conferences how their child is relating to the themes discussed in class).

• What had your child talked about at home in relation to this theme?

• What appears to be the aspect of this theme that is most exciting to your child?

• How much help does your child require?

5th Grade - ELA/ScienceEcosystems UNIT

Skill: Research/Inquiry“What Eats What” project

Skill: Point of View“The Chesapeake Bay – View of the

Watermen, Ordinary Citizens, Recreational Boaters, Dairy Farmers and

land Developers”- work in groups and present to each other…

Note: Students use listening/speaking skills when projects are being presented…

5th Grade - ELA/SS21st century skills…

Ethics, Media Influence, Innovation, Cross Cultural Understanding, Critical Thinking

• Monthly Current Event – Bring the “outside world in” - (connect to math or character word of the month and present to the class)

Reading Street Skills – summary, comprehension, critical thinking, writing in sequence, etc…

Comprehension Articles (scholastic) – Includes Issues to debate…

• ‘Civil War’ Project• Walking Biographies

K-5th Grade – Word Analysis21st century skills…

Accountability, Collaboration, Cross Cultural Understanding, Critical Thinking

• Students will understand, apply, and analyze the meaning of words by utilizing various graphic organizers in a Word Work station.

• A Spanish area could also be added to define words in Spanish.

• Students can use dictionary.com or thesaurus.com to assist with the meaning of words.

• The graphic organizers can also serve as a place mat activity for vocabulary.