Running head: INTERDISCIPLINARY CURRICULUM

Interdisciplinary Curriculum
Regent University
Mike Lewis

In partial fulfillment of UED 496 Field Experience ePortfolio, Fall 2015

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Introduction
Somewhere along the way, academic subjects have been divided and parceled into
arbitrary categories that are not allowed to touch each other, much like a child may separate her
vegetables from her mash potatoes, so they do not touch. Life does not separate itself in this
way, so why should educators? The world is full of grays, and education is no different. This is
why Graham says, learning is and should be unified, with subjects relating to one another [a]
seamless coat of learning. (Graham, 2009, p. 194). This means that, if done right, teachers
have the opportunity of weaving one subject with the next. So much so that every standard is
being met, but it is taught so seamlessly that it is difficult to figure out where one subject ends
and another begins. For example, the math lessons will teach language arts lessons. The
language arts lesson will teach social studies. Social studies will teach science and math. This is
all because of intentional, cross-curricular lesson planning. Please excuse this large quote, but I
think Graham knocked it out of the park when he said:
The solution which I am urging, is to eradicate the fatal disconnection of subjects which
kills the vitality of our modern curriculum. There is only one subject-matter for
education, and that is Life in all its manifestations. Instead of this single unity, we offer
childrenAlgebra, from which nothing follows; Geometry, from which nothing follows;
Science, from which nothing follows; History, from which nothing follows; a Couple of
Languages, never mastered; and lastly, most dreary of all, Literature, represented by
plays of Shakespeare, with philological notes and short analyses of plot and character to
be in substance committed to memory. Can such a list be said to represent Life, as it is
known in the midst of living it?" (Graham, 2009, p. 194).
Rationale
I included a two artifacts to demonstrate competency in this area. I have a Language Arts
lesson that wrapped in science, math, and social studies. I also included an artifact that was a
read aloud for a language arts lesson that introduced and enriched understanding of probability.

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Language Arts Lesson

During this lesson students were given a packet of five separate readings. There were
four tables of four students each. After modeling the first page, this allowed for one page to be
read and questions to be answered on the one page by each table, allowing their table to become
content experts on the page assigned to their table. After a certain amount of time, students were
sent to another table where they were matched up with one student from each other table. Then
each expert was given a certain amount of time to teach their page of the packet to their new
table. Three of the pages reviewed different information in math, one of the pages covered social
studies, and the other covered science. This was not only a cross-curricular activity, but it was
completely student centered as well. This jigsaw strategy was a great way to combine these
subjects into one cohesive lesson.
Read Aloud
In this artifact, I read a book that helped me introduce the idea of probability to the class.
This was a great way to talk about probability even though we were not technically in the math
portion of the day. It truly is all connected, and books like this help bridge that gap for the
students. In this book, the boy makes predictions based on what he understands about
probability.
Reflections
Graham goes on to say, The experience of life itself is sufficient to tell us the truth of the
concept. We experience the diverse events of life as individual events, yet they make sense only
as we are able to relate them to other events and perceptions in a holistic way. (Graham, 2009,
p. 194). As models of life and conduct, teachers can make more progress with students by
aligning multiple disciplines in a single lesson. This has a better chance of connecting with

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students on a deeper level because this kind of lesson looks a lot more like what life looks like.
Life is a serious of interconnected events and experiences that have molded and shaped people
into the people they are and who they are going to be.

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References

Graham, Donovan (2009). Teaching Redemptively: Bringing Grace and Truth into Your
Classroom. Purposeful Design Publications. Kindle Edition.