Running head: INTERDISCIPLINARY CURRICULUM 1

Kimberly Witham

Content Knowledge in Interdisciplinary Curriculum

Regent University

In partial fulfillment of UED 496 Field Experience ePortfolio, Spring 2017

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Introduction

One of the most difficult demands on a teacher in the classroom is time. Todays teachers

are required to teach an ample amount of material in a short amount of time. One way a teacher

can rectify this problem is by creating interdisciplinary curriculum. By doing so, the teacher can

use one time frame to cover more than one subject. It also benefits the students by allowing them

to learn on a deeper level. Coffey (2009) recommends to select a focus topic and to design

activities that fulfill the goals of the unit.

Rationale for Selection of Artifacts

The first artifact that I selected is a lesson on telling time to the nearest hour and half-

hour to second graders. I integrated The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle into the lesson because

in Language Arts, the students were learning about making predictions. Before I began reading

the story, I passed out Judy clocks to all of the students on the carpet. As I read the story to the

class, I would pause so that the class could make predictions. Whenever I came upon a time in

the story, the students would have to put the correct time on their Judy clocks and hold them up

so that I could check for understanding. This was aligned with Virginia SOL 2.12 The student

will tell and write time to the nearest five minutes, using analog and digital clocks.

After reading almost all of the story (except for the last two pages), the students had to

cut out pictures of clocks representing time to the either one hour or half-hour and place them in

the correct pocket. They also had to make a prediction about what they thought the grouchy lady

bug was going to do next. This was aligned with Virginia SOL 2.8 The student will read and

demonstrate comprehension of fictional texts. a) Make and confirm predictions. After completing

these two tasks, the students came back over to the carpet with their predictions, and I read the

last two pages. Bigler, Doyle, and Drosinos (2014) say that by using curriculum integration,
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teachers will make learning more meaningful to the students, which will accomplish more

standards within a course of study (p. 40).

For my second artifact, I decided to integrate Science and Language Arts. The pacing

guide was steering me towards teaching about comparing and contrasting, so I decided to

incorporate a book about rocks. The comparing and contrasting was aligned with Virginia SOL

2.9 The student will read and demonstrate comprehension of nonfiction texts. We read the book

as a class and then talked about the similarities and differences by creating a Venn diagram. We

started off by doing it together, and the class was able to work independently to finish. I was able

to differentiate this lesson by having the higher students work on comparing and contrasting

igneous and metamorphic rocks. This required a higher level of thinking, but these students did it

with great results. The next day, I had the students create sentences (Writing) by using

information from their Venn diagrams to compare rocks. I recorded them on the document

camera, and as a class we suggested ways to make the sentences more detailed.

Reflection on Theory and Practice

Just the other day, I had to cut Social Studies short because I spent too much time on

Math. I do not want to be a teacher that teaches to only one objective. I will become a more

effective teacher when true integration occurs and the objectives are mixed together (Bigler,

Doyle & Drosinos, 2014, p. 41). Just by doing these lessons, I can see how the students are

capable at such an early age of being captivated and motivated by what they are being taught. It

doesnt even occur to them that they are learning multiple subjects at one time; they are naturally

doing it. By doing so, they are being provided with a deeper understanding of the content and

making content area connections.

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Throughout the day, the students are being presented with opportunities like never

before. They are the future, and as a teacher I am truly honored to be a part of teaching them. I

continue to tell my students how important it is to be a lifelong learner. I believe that by

integrating the curriculum, we are demonstrating to the students that learning is everywhere. We

need to teach them that learning can also take place outside of school as well. Integrated

curriculum provides students with opportunities to apply what they have learned in and outside

of school and encourages lifelong learning (Contardi, Fall, Flora, Gandee, & Treadway, 2000).
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References

Bigler, P., Doyle, S. A., & Drosinos, K. (2014). Teaching is tough!: a practical guide to

classroom success. Quicksburg, VA: Apple Ridge .

Coffey, H. (2009). Interdisciplinary teaching. Retrieved March 26, 2017, from

http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/5196

Contardi, G., Fall, M., Flora, G., Gandee, J., & Treadway, C. (2000). Integrated Curriculum.

Retrieved March 26, 2017, from

http://www.users.miamioh.edu/shermalw/edp603_group3-f00.html