Page 280 - Powerful Social Studies for Elementary Students 4th Edition

The authors outline several ways in which teachers and students can meet cur- ricular expectations through desirable integration. Using content from more than one subject area in lessons, transferring skills from one subject area to another, and enrichment are ways of thinking about curricular integration that open up many classroom possibilities. For example in my classroom, students used their knowledge of people, places, and locations of the American Revolution to better understand the actions and motivations of characters in the novel, Across Five Aprils (Hunt, 1993). In addition my students used a variety of informational texts (including a textbook) to develop an understanding of the past. Using primary source material, they participated in a simulation and cooperative project on the founding of Washington D.C. In order to complete this project, my students used a variety of written resources to understand the geographic features of the area and existing laws of the United States in 1790. Then, they employed public speaking skills introduced in language arts, and they organized and presented ideas visually to share a proposal for a new capital city to a “mock” Congress.
At the heart of desirable integration is careful planning in which teachers thoughtfully use content, skills, and processes across subject areas to make mean- ingful learning experiences for their students. Plus, curricular integration reflects the way adults learn and construct knowledge—through study that draws upon multiple and varied areas of knowledge and skills.
252 Powerful Social Studies for Elementary Students
What do you think curricular integration means? How can social studies be taught in conjunction with other subjects in meaningful and powerful ways? At this point in the book, you know that curricular approach means the content or scope of the social studies program. The word integration means combining or adding parts to make a unified whole. For over a century, many educators have argued for the importance of integrating subject areas and integrating schoolwork with the world beyond school to make learning more cohesive and unified (Dewey, 1902). In fact, integrative is one of the five qualities of powerful and authentic social studies that NCSS has identified. NCSS explains integra- tive as “addressing the totality of human experience over time and space...” (NCSS, 2008, p. 278).
James Beane outlines four major aspects of effective integration: (1) integration of experiences, or framing curriculum around everyday problems or issues; (2) social inte- gration, whereby curriculum focuses on social problems that help students develop skills for democratic citizenship; (3) integration of knowledge whereby children use knowledge holistically (drawing on multiple kinds of knowledge in an integrative fashion) rather than using knowledge in fragmented, isolated ways; and (4) integration as a curriculum design, whereby curriculum is developed purposively to teach students about social issues and problems drawing upon relevant knowledge that can be applied in everyday contexts (Beane, 1997, pp. 4–9).
Curricular integration involves setting goals and determining powerful ideas. It also involves selecting content and thinking skills from subjects that can best help develop those goals and teach powerful ideas. It does not involve merely picking and choosing one’s favorite topics, materials, or thinking skills from a variety of disciplines or subjects and putting them together under one lesson or set of lessons. We encourage you to
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