breaking it all down

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breaking it all down
By Carolyn

There are those who say that we can always "integrate" so that we can teach it all. I will probably really have to focus heavily upon doing that this year. I had to do it some last year, just to cram in all of the math
that was required by the state. I didn't teach graphing in math, for example; I taught it in social studies.
My principal is really hyped up about a new computer program which is, in reality, a computer workbook for skills practice, and he wants us to schedule our kids to go to the computer lab for this three times a week for 50 minutes at a time! Okay, I can do this, sure. Now what

about TEACHING?!! I had just about squeezed everything into a compressed schedule as it was last year. I can't begin to imagine how this year will be with the kids going to the computer lab so much. BTW: We had a few trials in the lab last year with the computer math and reading, and the kids were bored to tears with it after several sessions.

What I have considered doing, Carol: We can use social studies text not just to teach history, but to teach reading and writing from time to time. There are reading skills of cause/effect, main idea, drawing conclusions, etc., which are typical reading skills. You could use all of Bloom's taxonomy. I guess the focus would be more upon teaching reading with the text than having the kids learn facts, as kids traditionally have done. I think that maybe some kids will need to get away from the mindset that each subject area is an area unto itself, though.

Just some thoughts.