Running head: Content Knowledge in Interdisciplinary Curriculum 1

Content Knowledge in Interdisciplinary Curriculum

Sarah Zajac

Regent University
Content Knowledge in Interdisciplinary Curriculum 2

Introduction

When learning something new, we always like to hear the content more than once. When

we hear something only once, it is very likely that we will forget it as soon as we hear the next

piece of information. This is why it is so important for teachers to teach a skill or a lesson in

multiple ways. Not only for different types of learners, but so that it is easier to remember. It is

especially helpful for teachers to integrate a previous lesson or skill into another subject. This

helps the students build connections between two seeming unrelated subjects. The students come

to understand that the subjects taught in school can all connect with each other.

Rationale for Selection of Artifacts

My first artifact shows an informative writing piece we did that focused on Thomas

Jefferson. We had recently worked on an informative writing piece, English Standards of

Learning (SOL) 1.13 on animals and were now moving on to one about a person. This particular

SOL states, “The student will write to communicate ideas for a variety of purposes: focusing on

one topic, revising by adding descriptive words, using complete sentences, beginning each

sentence with a capital letter and using ending punctuation, and correct spelling for common

sight words (Virginia Department of Education (VDOE)). We decided to write about Thomas

Jefferson because we knew that he was going to be someone discussed about in Social Studies

next in the unit on American leaders, SOL 1.2: The students will describe the story of American

Leaders and the contributions to our country (VDOE). Starting this writing piece, we first

watched a video on Thomas Jefferson and told the students to pick out information that they

believed was important. Next we made a class list of important facts where students volunteered

a fact that they remembered. When they started their informative writing, they could pick out a

couple facts that they wanted to include. They also had to think of other elements of an
Content Knowledge in Interdisciplinary Curriculum 3

informative paper such as a hook and a closing sentence. When they started learning about

Thomas Jefferson in Social Studies a week later, they were able to recall and pick up new

information faster.

My second artifact is an activity the students did during science. We had just learned the

seasons, SOL 1.7: the student will investigate and understand weather and seasonal changes

(VDOE), and some facts how the seasons were different from one another. We had also just

listened to a song that sang about the characteristics of each season. When the student returned to

their seats, they had to write at least one complete sentence about their favorite season and why it

was their favorite. After they wrote it, they had to double-check it using CUPS (capitalization,

understanding, punctuation, and spelling). They then had to illustrate their sentence. Even though

we were in science, we were reinforcing our SOL 1.13 writing skills.

Reflection on Theory and Practice

It is understood that the more something is repeated, the easier it is remembered. This is

confirmed by Bergin and Bergin (2012) when they state that everyone, especially children, need

material to have high quality exposure multiple times to remember it effectively. This repeated

coverage should be presented to the students in different ways. This can include ways to

integrate different learning styles or to show how the content can be present in different real

world situations. Either way, the idea is to help students find a way to connect with the content

(Rutherford, 2012). Integrated content across subjects not only helps increases exposure to the

skill, but it also helps build connections between the two subjects and can show the students how

they interact (Bergin & Bergin, 2012). When teaching seasons, we made sure to say that the

seasons progress in a repeating pattern. The students, who have already learned patterns, know
Content Knowledge in Interdisciplinary Curriculum 4

exactly what a repeating pattern looks like. This can help them understand that the order of the

seasons will never change and when the cycle ends, it will start right back at the beginning.

Integrating content can also really help teachers that struggle with time. If a teacher wants

the kids to write about something they just learned about in Social Studies, but cannot really find

the time, have the students complete that writing prompt during Writer’s Workshop. Teachers

cannot always find the time to complete everything they would like to do in one sitting, but

separating the two activities can be instrumental in getting everything completed without rushing

the students (Fulwiler, 2011). Teachers are always trying to go above and beyond when

planning fun activities, but integrating content across the curriculum allows teachers expand the

content they are teaching in ways that allow the students to really grasp the concept.
Content Knowledge in Interdisciplinary Curriculum 5

References

Bergin, C. C. and Bergin, D. A. (2012). Child and adolescent development in your classroom.

Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. 141, 147.

Fulwiler, B. R. (2011). Writing in science in action: Strategies, tools, and classroom video.

Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. 4.

Rutherfod, P. (2012). Instruction for all students (2nd ed). Alexandria, VA: Just ASK

Publications and Professional Development. 30.

VDOE: English standards of learning: Curriculm framework. (2010).

http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/frameworks/english_framewks/2010/framework_

english_k-5.pdf

VDOE: Grade one science standards of learning for Virginia public schools. (2010).

http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/science/2010/k-

6/stds_science1.pdf

VDOE: History and Social Science Standards of Learning Resources.

http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/history_socialscience/next_versio

n/stds_history1.pdf