Integrating Around Themes: Lecture Notes

This goes beyond what I am expecting from your unit; goes beyond what a unit is; a unit is just part of an integrated theme study! Units cover one area, theme studies cut across all areas!

Discipline based: strict interpretation of disciplines with separate subjects in separate time blocks.

Parallel Disciplines: re-sequencing curriculum so lessons correspond to lessons in other disciplines; not deliberately connecting across fields but concurrent teaching of related subjects.

Multi-disciplinary: 2 disciplines brought together to investigate theme or issue.

Interdisciplinary Units: Periodic units bring together full range of disciplines for specific duration.

Integrated Day: Full day program based on themes and problems selected for study.

Complete Program: Student create curriculum out of their day-to-day lives; student life synonymous with school.

Why integrate around themes?

Time: continuing expansion of curric and no added time, growth of knowledge in our society, allows teacher to cover more subject areas in single time

Attention spans: with apparent decrease attention spans of kids, does it make sense to divide the day into tiny slots of time?? Fragmented schedules do not meet the needs of kids!! So kids can look further, investigate in depth. Responds to society redefinition of job skills toward balanced professionals. (quality circles)

Solutions to complex problems: Many of problems facing world today are multi-dimension. Need people who can pull together knowledge from many disciplines. Helps students see different points of view and inter-connections.

A richer context: Makes curriculum relevant to complex world of students' lives. Student can recognize connections, patterns, similarities, and global view: we live in a global village now!!

Process orientation: Student takes role of historian and researcher; process skills of research, synthesis, integration, and higher order thinking skills.

Criteria for selecting themes:

Applies broadly: broad enough to divide into interesting sub-topics: beyond 1 week into month or 2 or whole year!!

Applies to kids' lives: topics they can relate to concretely, are interested in

Discloses fundamental patterns: contrasting ideas and similarities which can balance the curriculum; connecting subject areas

Fascinates: Draws students deeper into subject matter, has powerful crosscutting ideas

Contributes to broader outcomes: develops desirable intellectual, social, and ethical values.

Designing Thematic Units

Resources: Develop in areas: Print (fiction and non-fiction), concrete materials, community resources, films/videos, children's and parents areas of experience and expertise. Teacher studies subject and tentative plans created.

Initiating Activity: Motivational, getting into subject; simulation, debate, role-playing, literature, etc. What else??

Research: Launch investigations/projects

General Activities: --hands-on experiences, group work, study, skill instruction, learning centers; --literature activities: pre-reading activities, journal-writing activities, learning activities, discussion questions, group discussions