The real world is not organized by disciplines; therefore, teaching should be approached in an interdisciplinary fashion, connecting comprehensive life problems and situations to authentic learning. These authentic learning experiences should be engaging and require creative and critical thinking skills to solve problems that are meaningful to students. Lessons should be connected to local and global issues, STEM related activities, and allow students to work collaboratively to solve problems.

Connecting with Local Community

In my kindergarten lesson on the American flag, I connect social science issues with students’ local community.  Students learn about local places displaying the American flag. This lesson requires students to work collaboratively and use creative and critical thinking skills across multiple disciplines.

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

Including STEM activities in lessons helps students develop critical thinking skills to solve real world problems. I designed an engaging  second grade ELA lesson using robots to teach writing. Part of the lesson includes an instructional video I created to teach students how to safely use the robots. The students work collaboratively in small groups to develop code to make the robots move through a maze. They record the steps using time order words on a graphic organizer, which will be used for a future writing assignment.

Cross Curricular Lesson

I designed this real world lesson on needs and wants for kindergarten students. It addresses standards across multiple disciplines including, ELA, social science, and technology. Students learn important lessons about economics that will help them solve real world problems.