Running head: CONTENT KNOWLEDGE IN INTERDISCIPLINARY 1

Content Knowledge in Interdisciplinary Curriculum

Micayla Chapman

Regent University

In partial fulfillment of UED 496 Field Experience ePortfolio, Spring 2019

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Content Knowledge in Interdisciplinary Curriculum

Introduction

Excellent understanding of a given curriculum’s content is a vital part of teaching. For

secondary education this is even more so, because there is an expectation of excellency in a very

specific field rather than broader elementary education studies. In my case, I am specializing in

English, so when I walk into a classroom, my students expect me to teach them and help them

understand any material related to English. If I do not completely understand the material, then it

would be very difficult for me to teach it to others. Also, it is important to recognize that even as

someone specializing in English, I should incorporate content from other subjects as necessary to

encourage literary across all the subjects. One of the most common ways to do this is to

incorporate science or history topics because those subjects lend themselves to more reading and

research opportunities which are large portions of the English SOLs. Interdisciplinary based

curriculum is not entirely just for elementary education which I will demonstrate through my

rationalization of my artifact selections and reflection on theory and practice.

Rationale for Selection of Artifacts

The first artifact I chose for this competency is a WebQuest I made during my first

Practicum experience in Fall 2017. In the lecture accompaniment to my observation hours, I was

assigned a project to create a WebQuest and I decided to create one that could be used to

introduce the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird. The WebQuest would aid students in understanding

that the fictional story about Maycomb, Alabama and Tom Robinson are rooted in greater

themes of racial injustice and prejudice that are significant to American history. The ties to

American history make it a great example of how an English class can be more interdisciplinary

and connect to other subjects in meaningful and relevant ways. The assignment’s main objective
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is for students to become familiar with the author, time period, setting, characters and theme of

To Kill a Mockingbird before they begin reading the text. Providing context for all these

components encourage the students to look for these elements while reading to aid

comprehension. The WebQuest begins with a YouTube video and article about Harper Lee with

questions that can be answered using these resources. Then the WebQuest directs students to

gain insight on the South in the 1930s using an article about Emmett Till, a real African-

American boy who was murdered for flirting with a white woman, and images of poverty during

The Great Depression. Then the students would have to create a Venn Diagram using a YouTube

video about Lee’s hometown and a Prezi about the novel’s setting. Lastly, the WebQuest briefly

introduces the characters and themes. Each component of this WebQuest is helpful for the

students to step into the world of the novel before reading which will help with reader

engagement.

This artifact addresses the following English Standards of Learning:

9.4 The student will read, comprehend, and analyze a variety of fictional texts including

narratives, literary nonfiction, poetry, and drama.

b) Explain the relationships between and among elements of literature: characters, plot,

setting, tone, point of view, and theme.

e) Analyze the cultural or social function of a literary text.

g) Explain the influence of historical context on the form, style, and point of view of a

written work.

k) Compare/contrast details in literary and informational nonfiction texts.

9.5 The student will read and analyze a variety of nonfiction texts.
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b) Make inferences and draw conclusions based on explicit and implied information

using evidence from text as support.

e) Summarize, paraphrase, and synthesize ideas, while maintaining meaning and a logical

sequence of events, within and between texts.

This artifact also addresses the following History/Social Science Standards of Learning:

USII.6 The student will apply social science skills to understand the social, economic, and

technological changes of the early twentieth century by

c) examining art, literature, and music from the 1920s and 1930s, with emphasis on

Langston Hughes, Duke Ellington, Georgia O’Keeffe, and the Harlem Renaissance; and

d) analyzing the causes of the Great Depression, its impact on Americans, and the major

features of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal.

The second artifact I chose was a Junior Scholastic article and accompanying activity that

I used to aid the introduction of the novel A Long Walk to Water to my 7th grade class during my

1st student teaching placement. Like To Kill A Mockingbird, this novel also lends itself to a great

deal of historical context because the main character Salva is a real Lost Boy of Sudan and the

story itself is based on Salva’s life. The students did not read the whole Junior Scholastic article

because I knew that we would not have enough time for that. However, I used the article to point

out text features that aid the students’ understanding of the article because I wanted to touch on

using text features in nonfiction which is a standard for 7th grade. The article is about the war and

famine in Africa and how colonialism helped shape the tensions within the continent. It also

discusses child soldiers which is an important concept related to the novel. The 5-question

activity was posted on their Schoology page for them to complete using the map on pages 14 and

15. It was an easy way to get them settled and have them focus before I gave them more in-depth
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background information. Context is especially important for this novel because the characters

live extremely different lives than the 7th grade students and they would have difficulty

understanding the characters’ perspectives.

This artifact addresses the following English Standards of Learning:

7.6 The student will read and demonstrate comprehension of a variety of nonfiction texts.

a) Skim materials using text features including type, headings, and graphics to predict

and categorize information.

b) Identify an author’s organizational pattern using textual clues, such as transitional

words and phrases.

c) Make inferences and draw logical conclusions using explicit and implied textual

evidence.

This artifact also addresses the following History/Social Sciences Standards of Learning:

WHII.9 The student will apply social science skills to understand global interactions between

1800 to about 1900 by

d) assessing the impact of European colonization and imperialism on Asia, Africa, the

Pacific Islands, and Australia

WHII.13 The student will apply social science skills to understand the political, economic,

social, and cultural aspects of independence movements and development efforts by

b) describing Africa’s independence movements, including Jomo Kenyatta’s leadership

of Kenya and Nelson Mandela’s role in South Africa;

WHII.14 The student will apply social science skills to understand the global changes during the

early twenty-first century by

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a) identifying contemporary political issues, with emphasis on migrations of refugees and

others, ethnic/religious conflicts, and the impact of technology, including the role of

social media and chemical and biological technologies;

Reflection on Theory and Practice

Overall, both artifacts are good ways to aid students in the introduction of new topics in

English and providing historical context for historical fiction helps to connect students to their

studies outside of the English classroom. Creating a learning environment that encourages

meaningful learning is difficult, but according to Tchudi and Lafer (1997), “to provide students

with authentic rhetorical situations for both speech and writing, English must broaden its scope

beyond the teaching of reading, writing, speaking, and listening to concern itself with issues that

give rise to a need for reading, writing, speaking, and listening” (p. 22). These novels are prime

examples of giving rise to a need for English because they speak to greater themes of

perseverance, injustice, and prejudice. Showing students that stories have the power to shape

emotions and provide a platform for discussions about change is important. This means that it is

the teacher’s job to go beyond the classroom walls and think about ways to connect English to

the real world and that means connecting texts to history, current events, and tough issues.

Another point to make about interdisciplinary approaches to secondary curriculum is how

that can change the perspective of the teacher. Applebee, Adler, and Flihan’s (2007) case studies

on the relationship between interdisciplinary studies and secondary education concluded that

“the greater the degree of integration among subject areas, the more the teachers involved are

likely to themselves become learners exploring new ideas… this, in turn, seems to be correlated

with patterns of instruction that involve students in similar conversations” (p. 1035). I agree with

this from my own personal experience because when I was introducing A Long Walk to Water to
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my students and provided them information about Sudan, I was engaged and desired to learn

more about the history of Sudan as well. Before teaching that lesson, I had very little context

about The Lost Boys of Sudan, so it encouraged me to research and learn about real-life issues

beyond my own perspective. I have seen in my classroom that my students are engaging with the

story and have a desire to read it. Since I am excited to learn, I think that they are excited to learn

as well. DiCamillo and Bailey (2016) decided to investigate the impact that a more

interdisciplinary curriculum can have on urban schools who are academically behind, and they

found that “…the interdisciplinary curriculum assisted students who did not always do well in

traditional English classes” (p. 224). I teach two inclusion classes, so many of my students

struggle with learning disabilities which impact their reading and writing skills. Potentially using

a more historical or scientific context to teach English may help students understand better

because it is using subjects that they understand more. Interdisciplinary approaches to secondary

education help to encourage all students and differentiate their learning just simply through

content and appeal to their interests.

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References

Applebee, A., Adler, M., & Flihan, S. (2007). Interdisciplinary curricula in middle and high

school classrooms: Case studies of approaches to curriculum and instruction. American

Educational Research Journal, 44(4), 1002-1039. Retrieved from

http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.regent.edu:2048/stable/30069420

DiCamillo, L., & Bailey, N. M. (2016). Two teacher educators go to the source: Teaching an

interdisciplinary class in an urban charter high school. The Social Studies, 107(6), 218-

226. doi:10.1080/00377996.2016.1214904

Tchudi, S., & Lafer, S. (1997). Interdisciplinary English and the contributions of English to an

interdisciplinary curriculum. English Journal, 86(7), 21-29. Retrieved from

http://eres.regent.edu:2048/login?url=https://search-proquest-

com.ezproxy.regent.edu/docview/237290397?accountid=13479