Running head: CONTENT KNOWLEDGE IN INTERDISCIPLINARY CURRICULUM 1

Content Knowledge in Interdisciplinary Curriculum

Amanda Davis

Regent University

In partial fulfillment of UED 495 Field Experience ePortfolio, Fall 2017

Interdisciplinary Curriculum 2

Introduction

Although the integrating of two subjects into one high-quality lesson can be challenging,

research proves that interdisciplinary studies help students to develop a meaningful

understanding of the content area, provides positive educational outcomes, as well as enhances

the overall comprehension and retention of knowledge.

In order to demonstrate this competency, I choose a Science lesson on mammals, which

includes the integration of English into one high-quality lesson. In this, I applied the Virginia

Department of Education (VDOE) requirements of Science of the third-grade Standard of

Learning, (SOL), in which it states to apply scientific concepts, skills, and processes to

everyday experiences (VDOE, 2010, p. 1), as well as combining the SOL for Writing. In doing

so, this gave the opportunity to integrate two subject content lessons, in which the learning

outcome was not only exciting for the students, but also relevant to them.

Rational

For the first artifact, the magazine Ranger Rick was chosen because, according to the

National Wildlife Federation, Ranger Rick, the National Wildlife Federation's friendly raccoon

character, helps children of all ages discover and connect with nature so that they, too, become

good stewards of the environment (About Ranger Rick, NA, p. 1). In implementing Ranger

Rick magazines, students were able to dig deeper into the animal kingdom in an exciting way

that was relevant to them.

Furthermore, as the students learned about mammals and applied the SOL 3.4, in which it

states, The student will investigate and understand that adaptations allow animals to satisfy life
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needs and respond to the environment. Key concepts include a) behavioral adaptations; and b)

physical adaptations (VDOE, 2010), the students were encouraged to find articles that supported

the SOL as they learned more about mammals. In doing so, the students were encouraged to

choose a mammal of their interest from a variety of Ranger Rick magazines as to highlight their

knowledge of research and writing on the mammal of their choice.

In addition, this artifact was selected because it is a facts-based, childrens educational

magazine that helps support classroom instruction, and I felt it was a great way to get out of the

text-book and enable students to dig deeper into the realm of Science.

The second artifact is a writing rubric that helps students organize and write about their

learning from the mammal selected from the Ranger Rick magazine. The writing rubric targets

the Writing SOL 3.9, 3.10 and 3.11 in which it states The student will a) Identify the intended

audience. c) Write a clear topic sentence focusing on the main idea. d) Write a paragraph on the

same topic. e) Use strategies for organization of information and elaboration according to the

type of writing. f) Include details that elaborate the main idea. g) Revise writing for clarity of

content using specific vocabulary and information; 3.10, The student will edit writing for correct

grammar, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. a) Use complete sentences. b) Use transition

words to vary sentence structure. 3.11 The student will write a short report. a) Construct

questions about the topic. b) Identify appropriate resources. c) Collect and organize information

about the topic into a short report. d) Understand the difference between plagiarism and using

own words (VDOE, 2010).

I selected this artifact because I felt it was important to give the students clear

expectations as to what their writing was to demonstrate. By providing the writing rubric, the

students had a clear understanding of what components were expected in their writing, which in
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turn gave clear directions for the research when reading and selecting articles. For example, a

student first selected a short article on wombats, but then realized that the article only mentioned

the mammal as being in the marsupial family, and did not provide enough information to write

about the mammal itself. Without the writing rubric, the student may have selected this particular

mammal, and then struggle to gather enough information to write successfully about the topic.

Reflection on Theory and Practice

Reflecting back on the lesson, I feel the students were able to develop a meaningful

understanding of the content area, while providing a positive educational outcome, as well as

given the opportunity to enhance the overall comprehension and retention of the knowledge

learned by integrating Science and English into one high-quality lesson. The students were

engaged in both content areas and the transition between Science and English flowed easily.

In addition, this competency exemplified the integration of Science and Writing into one

high-quality lesson which is an important bridge that students must be able to connect how the

knowledge pertains to them and the world around them. According to Edutopia, In today's

dynamic global economy, centered on the development and exchange of knowledge and

information, individuals prosper who are fluent in several disciplines and comfortable moving

among them (Edutopia Team, 2008, p. 1). With this, the students are able to transfer learning

from one content subject to another area of discipline.

Moreover, the students retention of the Science lesson on mammals was supported in the

writing session of the student chosen topic animal. The students were able to apply what they

already knew about the animal as they dug deeper into the understanding of how to investigate

and understand adaptations, of both the behavioral and physical nature.

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As we learned in our Regent studies from UED_405 in Reading across the Curriculum,

from the text, Language Arts Patterns of Practice, children construct knowledge from their

experiences (Tompkins, 2016, p. 4). Therefore, it is important to encourage students to draw

from past experiences or background knowledge, as they learn new concepts.

In closing, although the integrating of two subjects into one high-quality lesson can be

challenging, it is well worth an educators time to develop interdisciplinary studies, which help

students to develop a meaningful understanding of the content area, provides positive

educational outcomes, as well as enhances the overall comprehension and retention of

knowledge.
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References
About Ranger Rick. (NA). Retrieved from The National Wildlife Federation:

https://www.nwf.org/Home/About-Us/History/About-Ranger-Rick

Edutopia Team. (2008, October 6). Why should schools embrace integrated studies? Retrieved

from Edutopia: https://www.edutopia.org/integrated-studies-introduction

Tompkins, G. E. (2016). Language arts patterns of practice . New Jersey: Pearson.

VDOE. (2010). Virginia Department of Education. Retrieved from Standards of Learning

English:

http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/english/2010/stds_english3.pdf

VDOE. (2010). Virginia Department of Education. Retrieved from Standards of Learning

Science: http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/science/index.shtml