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How does a 7th grade English teacher integrate her curriculum with the science teacher's, meet state education standards and allow the students to have fun while they are learning?
At Philip Livingston Magnet Academy, Ms. Mary Paley, English teacher; Ms. Kamila Smith, Pre-service teacher; Ms. Kara Ford, Science teacher; and Mr. Neil Shapiro, Media Specialist joined forces to encourage students to learn about nature in a virtual environment.
The goal was to create an integrated curriculum that sought links among the humanities, communication arts, natural science and art. The educators developed lessons that included cross-curricular activities and assessments. In this interdisciplinary project, the 7th grade science content provides a factual framework for the creative and persuasive writing tasks that follow.
These lessons merge the Science and English Language Arts curricula and allow the students to see the common thread that binds all academic disciplines together.
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here to visit the Philip Livingston Magnet Academy Web site
How to Use the Switch Zoo Lesson Plans
Suitable for grades 5 - 8
These lesson plans are designed so that they can be used for separate science, creative writing or persuasive writing projects, or for a larger, interdisciplinary activity as described above.
All variations begin with the Intro, and include Stage I and Stage
II, creating and naming the animal. From that point, a single discipline
can be studied by directing students to complete the science exercise
in Stage III; write a poem or story, or draw a picture in Stage IV;
or write a persuasive essay or letter in Stage V.
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