How Interdisciplinary Lessons and Technology Enhance Learning

Introduction

In a world where being an interdisciplinarian is practically essential to being a well-rounded person, teachers must focus on teaching interdisciplinary lessons to their students.  Gearing lessons that fulfill the concepts of many disciplines ensures that students are better able to make connections between disciplines and concepts.  "Many educators agree that interdisciplinary units further the development of higher-order thinking skills" (Educational Broadcasting Corporation, 2004, para. 5).  

Interdisciplinary Lesson Plan

One lesson plan that really interested me was "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs."  This lesson takes place over the course of five days and gives third graders the opportunity to cover multiple disciplines after reading the book "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" by Judi Barrett.  

This lesson plan covers Science, Language Arts, Health, and Social Studies in the following ways:

Science

Students discuss different types of weather, weather forecasts, and weather-related disasters. 

Language Arts

Students write weather words on a word wall, read various books, write and illustrate a story, and write a pancake recipe.

Health

Students discuss various types of food, simulate walking on peanut butter and jelly on gym mats, and make pancakes.

Social Studies

Students discuss a past weather-related disaster that caused people to immigrate, define and explain immigration, and find out the country of their ancestors.

To view the lesson plan, click the following link: Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.

Using an interdisciplinary focus in this lesson plan enhances learning because it encourages students to make connections through the four disciplines that are covered in the book "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs."  Students are able to read one story and relate it with the topics of weather, food, immigration.  Additional books are also read to further enhance understanding of immigration.  

Technology to Enhance this Lesson Plan

Ways that I might adapt this lesson to include some form of technology would be to have students use classroom computers to look up weather forecasts and view pictures of different types of weather and weather-related disasters.  Because this lesson is geared toward third graders, creating PowerPoint presentations wouldn't be grade-level appropriate although they would be an excellent way to assess student learning.

Students can use classroom computers to go to The Weather Channel's Web site to view the 10-day weather forecast.  The Weather Channel  

Students can use classroom computers to view pictures of different types of weather and weather-related disasters by going to the National Geographic Kids Web site.  National Geographic Kids

The use of technology enhances learning by providing students with various ways to research about topics they are covering in the classroom.  This also allows children to improve their computer skills (such as typing and navigating Web sites).  Using technology is a way of life for many Americans today.  To expose students to technology and its place in research and education will allow students to gain necessary skills that they can build on as they continue their educational journey.

Conclusion

The importance of an interdisciplinary focus in instruction, along with the addition of technology, ensures students find the content exciting and relevant (Educational Broadcasting Corporation, 2004).  Keeping students engaged should be a top priority for teachers because it can predict success in the classroom.  For those of you who feel apprehensive about writing interdisciplinary lesson plans, remember "though achieving integration is not easy, it is achievable, even for those new to the field" (Repko, 2005, p. 68).

References

Educational Broadcasting Corporation. (2004). Concept to classroom: Interdisciplinary learning in your classroom. Retrieved from http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/interdisciplinary/index.html


Repko, A. (2005). Interdisciplinary practice: A student guide to research and writing. (Preliminary ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Custom Publishing.


Teacherplanet.com. (2010). Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. Retrieved from http://www.sites4teachers.com/links/redirect.php?url=http://www.eduref.org/Virtual/Lessons/Interdisciplinary/INT0116.html


DISCLAIMER: This blog is an assignment for an Interdisciplinary Studies course at National University. It is not a real blog.