When we were asked to do an interdisciplinary lesson plan I was skeptical it would not work well with social studies, Spanish, and earth science. What lesson could possible encompass all three content areas? Off the top of my head I had no ideas. We decided to start brainstorming. We knew we wanted to talk about some event in history that dealt with Spanish culture and people, and then find a historical event in which science was a major factor. We landed on Spanish exploration of Latin America. The discovery of the Americas was one of the greatest events in history; the Spanish explorers came for gold and silver- minerals learned in an Earth Science classroom. Geography (Earth Science) shapes the way people move (social studies) and defines culture; dialects and language (Spanish). We got our unit plan on paper... see I told you it would be easy, why did you worry?
Now the question arises: How do we connect our unit plan to the community? There are plenty of ways to connect our unit plan to the community since we address three subject areas. If a student is of Hispanic descent we could ask them if their grandparents would want to come to the class and discuss living in Latin America during the revolutions. Additionally, the class, as a field-trip, could go to various parts of the community and take samples of soil to determine what minerals preside there. Then determine if their community would be a good location for explorers to exploit the resources. If the community does not provide valuable minerals what else makes the community valuable? Why do people want to live in the community? The students can find out what jobs citizens of the community have. Is the community growing in population or diminishing? Why? These are some sample questions that will get the students thinking about their community.
I can see why you would be wary of the subjects involved in your group, that sounds frightening. But I think you have some great ideas on h ow to involve the community and are on the right track :)
ReplyDeleteI'm on the same page Brad. I also found it difficult to find ways to bring another discipline into a history lesson. I like your idea of bringing family into the classroom. Forget experts, bring in down to earth everyday people who have stories to tell that are every bit as interesting as those of an "expert" or professional. There is so much to learn from oral histories from the people closest to us. Our parents and grandparents each have a very unique few of history that is impossible to sum up in a textbook.
ReplyDeleteBrad,
ReplyDeleteOur group, too, had thought about incorporating guest speakers into our lesson plan! I feel that students think that they aren't actually learning if the teacher isn't the one standing in front of the class and speaking to them! Guest speakers are definitely a way of tricking the students into learning! I also think that collaborative learning is a fun and engaging way for students to learn which they would be doing by speaking with Hispanic members of their community! Great ideas here!
I agree, I felt a little intimidated thinking about how to create lessons that would be interdisciplinary but once you start to brainstorm you realize how much things overlap. I really enjoy your ideas about how to include the community. I remember going outside for my earth science class and looking at the rocks and minerals that were around the school but not in our community, that would be awesome
ReplyDeleteI agree, it is challenging to work across diciplines. However, it is great experience to prepare us to do this in our future careers. Alot of schools are now dividing teachers into groups. At Saugerties Junior High, their are 4 groups, A, B, C, D. Each group has a different teacher for each content area. Students stay within this group for the whole year.
ReplyDeleteYou could create your own Story Corps or have the interviews submitted to Story Corp so that others can benefit from it.
ReplyDeleteI also think having students look at what resources their own backyard has is important. It can be mineral resources or human resources. If the area is good for farming they can investigate what makes the environment and soil good for that or other things. There is a lot of talk in this area about drilling and fracturing and what it does to the water and the environment. They might be something to look into.