Interdisciplinary Units That Work

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Interdisciplinary Units That Work
Presented by NYSUTs Subject Area
Committee Sylvia Smyntek-Gworek - ELA Kathleen
McIntosh - Science
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NYSUT Subject Area Committee

• New York State United Teachers (NYSUT)
• We are made up of a committee of teachers just
  like you that have been appointed by fellow
  teachers and the NYSUT Board to respond to the
  needs of fellow teachers.
• We listen to and work with teachers, professional
  organizations, and SED to provide an educational
  voice for our profession and discipline.
• Go to NYSUT.org if you would like more
  information about educational issues in New York
  State

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Units

• Interdisciplinary Spelling
• Newspaper Unit
• Animals That Arent Cuddly

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MST Standard Performance Indicators

• 1.1 Compare and contract the parts of plants,
  animals and one-celled organisms.
• 4.1 Observe and describe the variations in
  reproductive patterns of organisms, including
  asexual and sexual reproduction.
• Observe and describe developmental patterns in
  selected plants and animals (e.g., insects,
  frogs, humans, seed bearing plants).
• 5.1 Compare the way a variety of living specimens
  carries out basic life functions and maintains
  dynamic equilibrium.

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• Social standards
• Standard 3 Geography
• Use a variety of intellectual skills to
  demonstrate their understanding of the geography
  of the interdependent world in which we live.
• Standard 5 Civics Government
• Use a variety of intellectual skills to
  demonstrate their understanding of the necessity
  for establishing governments the governmental
  system of the U.S. And other nations the U.S.
  Constitution the basic civil values of American
  Constitutional democracy and the roles, rights
  and responsibilities of citizens.

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ELA Standards

• ELA STANDARD ONE Students will read, write,
  listen and speak for information and
  understanding.

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Some READING benchmarks

• -Locate and use school and public library
  resources to acquire information.
• Compare and contrast information from a variety
  of different sources
• -Preview informational texts, with guidance, to
  access content and organization and select texts
  useful for the task

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Some WRITING benchmarks

• -Take research notes, using a note-taking
  process, with assistance
• Use outlines and graphic organizer to plan
  reports, with assistance
• Use paraphrase and quotation correctly
• -Cite sources, in footnote and bibliography,
  using correct form, with assistance.

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Interdisciplinary Spelling
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Spelling lists used in ELA are generated by other
subject area teachers.
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Requirements

• Subject area teachers with vocabulary that needs
  to be reinforced provide a list and
  fill-in-the-blank questions. Words and worksheet
  are presented and completed in English class.
  Graded worksheets are then sorted and passed
  along to the subject area teacher who also takes
  a grade.

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Advantages

• Important vocabulary and concepts are presented
  to students twice by two different individuals.
• The worksheet provides another opportunity to
  reinforce concepts.
• Trading graded papers between classes and
  teachers reinforces the fact that correct
  spelling and capitalization is necessary in
  classes other than English.
• A great way to review for any test.

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Modifications for Special Education

• Special Education students copy spelling lists
  and receive worksheets along with their
  classmates. At the discretion of the special
  education teacher some students receive printed
  spelling lists.
• Special education students frequently begin
  worksheets in academic support and spelling tests
  are modified according to IEPs.

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Example Science Name___________________________
___ Science period ________Cell words
mitosis organic nucleus proteins ribosome org
anelles chloroplast carbohydrates cytoplasm respir
ation membrane lipids mitochondria osmosis compou
nd resolution mutation lysosome diffusion functio
n __________1. Compounds that contain carbon
are ___ compounds.__________2. The control
center of a cell is called the ______.__________
3. Small structures inside the cell are called
____.__________4. The part of a cell that
controls what enters and exits the cell is the
cell ___________.
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Example Social Studies - War of 1812
Massachusetts Virginia charter Crusades royal
colony cash crops tobacco proprietor House of
Burgesses Pennsylvania compact investors Nothwest
Passage New York monopoly colony joint-stock
company Mayflower Pilgrims Georgia -Fill in
each sentence with a vocabulary word. 1. Crops
that are sold for money are __________________ 2.
William Penn founded this colony.
___________________ 3. ____________________ was
founded by James Oglethorpe. 4. The Dutch were
the original settlers in ________________ 5.
Settlers traveled over the Blue Ridge Mts. to
expand ___. 6. Pilgrims bound for Virginia
landed in this colony. ______
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Example Spanish
Name _____________________ Spanish period
__________ aficionado conquistador desperado vig
ilante renegade cilantro guacamole jalapeno ques
adilla huarache poncho serape sombrero canasta
vaquero barracuda incommunicado armada pueblo ha
cienda I. Fill in each blank using a spelling
word. 1. The cows were protected at night by the
_________ 2. The cowboy slept under his
___________________ at night. 3. Mom ordered a
chicken __________________ for dinner. 4. Billy
the Kid was a ___________________ in the Old
West. 5. She bought a new pair of
___________________ for summer.
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Example Art

• Name ______________ ART period ____________
• monochromatic criticism papier-mâché' intermediate
  analogous geometric collage complementary
  aesthetics tactile opaque emphasis mosaic calli
  graphy illustration caricature
  contour portrait proportion
• 1. The art of beautiful writing is called
  ________.'
• 2. In ____________ drawing, your hand and eye
  move at the same time.

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Example FrenchName _________ French period
__________French words and phrases have made
their way into the English language. We use many
every day and may not even realize it! Complete
these sentences with a French word. You will
not use any more than once.1. He waved and
called _________________ as he left.2. He
brought his fiancée (thats another French word)
a beautiful ____________________ of red roses.3.
My older brother eats like a pig (he is porcine)
so he enjoys going to a restaurant with a
_____________________.
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Newspaper Unit
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The final product is the front page of a
newspaper. It contains a student generated
masthead, and a minimum of 4 articles written in
core academic classes.
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Requirements

• One teacher willing to coordinate separate
  components and produce the final product. (art
  teacher)
• At least 4 teachers willing to participate
• Time 2-7 days of class time for each teacher who
  participates.
• Total project time about 6 weeks

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Students

• Write articles in all core classes which are
  graded by individual teachers before being
  forwarded to the art teacher.
• Work with groups in art class to choose articles
  that will be used in their newspaper. Groups
  create a masthead and do the layout of their
  page.
• Must each contribute one article to the groups
  newspaper

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Examples

• English - introduction of unit and requirements
• Social Studies - a political cartoon that is
  jointly prepared in art and social studies
• Foreign Language -factual article about France.
  It can be monuments, cooking, art, music,
  biography, or the Tour de France.
• Science - advertisement for an element in the
  Periodic Table
• Math - a computer generated graph, using data
  from student surveys or internet information
• Note These articles can be about whatever topic
  you are currently covering in class.

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• Hydrogen
• H
• Hear ye! Hear ye!
• Meet the 1 element. Its the first, its the
  best! Its atomic number is 1!
• Its colorless
• Its odorless
• Its a gas
• Used as a rocket fuel
• Used to make methanol
• Used to make ammonia
• Used to make WATER
• Buy now! Comes as a solid, a liquid or a gas.
  Great prices while supplies last!

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Social - cartoon
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French

• Write an article in your own words on one of the
  following aspects of French culture using the
  background information provided.
• The History of France
• Geography of France
• City Life/Rural Life of France
• The Loire Valley and the Chateau
• Paris, the City of Light
• Art or Music
• French Cuisine
• Le Tour de France

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Other details

• The library media specialist helps with research.
• Some teachers require bibliographies which are
  not included in the newspaper.
• The English teacher is available to proof read
  any article.

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Inclusion of Special Education Students

• In our district special education students do not
  take art in seventh grade. They have a full year
  of reading instead. They write the same articles
  as other students. They are then grouped together
  and, along with their special education teacher,
  attend art class for about a week to work on
  their masthead and layout.

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Animals That Arent Cuddly
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This is an integrated project involving science,
English, and social classes. Students will work
to gather information about two animals. They
will compare the external and internal structures
of these animals as well as their reproductive
methods and patterns of development.
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Written Report on Two animals

• Animals assigned randomly
• One animal is a mammal/bird
• One animal is a fish/amphibian/reptile/insect
• All students (except a few special education
  students) get different animals

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Format

• Title Page
• Written Report on two animals
• Internal structures
• Scientific names
• Geographic areas and habitats
• Eating habits
• External appearances
• Reproduction
• Bibliography

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Requirements

• English teacher
• 2 spelling units - animal words and report words
  (double graded with science)
• Preliminary correction of section 1 Internal
  Structures which is a prerequisite for students
  receiving their animals
• 4-5 half class periods to present examples (good
  and bad) and to help with organization of
  individual sections of the report
• Reminders of deadlines on a regular basis
• Proofreading and correction as requested by
  individual students

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• Social Studies teacher
• Reinforces requirements for map continents and
  oceans labeled, key, location of animals
• Discusses range as determined by geographical
  factors such as deserts, mountains and extreme
  temperatures
• Corrects map and section 3, Geographic range and
  habitat
• Total class time 1 day

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• Science teacher
• one day for intro
• 8-9 days for research
• 10 minute segments of 5-6 classes to present
  examples and to help with organization of
  individual sections of the report
• Proofreading and correction on an as- requested
  basis
• Occasional reminders and explanations during the
  2 project due date..5 weeks between the end of
  the research and the

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Library Media Specialist

• Has worked with students several times previously
  preparing bibliographies.
• Introduces students to library print sources,
  WorldBook Online and other data bases.
• Presents a template for preparing a bibliography
  which is used throughout middle and high school.
• Corrects and grades all student bibliographies.
  This is done in time for students to easily
  correct and recopy a perfect bibliography for
  their finished report.
• Note She is then showered with gifts by grateful
  English and science teachers!

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Title page -include your name, names of
animals, your science and English
periods -decorated with images that portray both
of your animals
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Written report - Internal Structures

• Students receive a graphic organizer (see hand
  out) which helps them as they research
  information on two body systems. They use the
  same two organ systems for both animals so that
  they can see similarities and differences.

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Written report - Scientific names and types

• A short paragraph which gives the scientific name
  of each animal using correct form
• It also includes the type of animal. For example
  bird, insect, or mammal

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Written report - Geographic areas and habitat

• Tells where each animal lives
• Briefly describes the habitat

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Written report - Eating habits

• What the animal eats is the easy part.
• What eats the animal is much harder but students
  are encouraged to use good research and thinking
  skills to find out.
• Humans are excluded from the entire report

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Written report - External appearances

• A detailed description that includes measurements
  in metric units
• See graphic organizer
• Some students tend to be too brief and need
  encouragement to add detail

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Written report - Reproduction

• Includes information on
• How often and in what seasons young are produced
• Appearance and average number of young at
  birth/hatch
• Size of young at birth/hatch
• Which parent (if any) cares for the young
• How long it take young to mature

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Total length of written report is 3 - 6
typewritten pages.(or 6-12 handwritten)
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Bibliography

• Must be in correct form
• Is graded by Library Media Specialist
• Must have a minimum of 6 sources
• 2 sources must be print
• 2 sources must be internet
• 2 sources can be print or internet

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Map

• Students are given a blank world map
• Social Studies teacher reminds them
• Of continent names
• How to make a key for the map
• To use common sense when showing where animals
  live (I.e. all over the world does not usually
  mean deep ocean or the arctic)

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Other details

• Several sections of the report are collected
  early and given a preliminary grade. They are
  then returned for editing before being included
  in the final report.
• Students need to be reminded to be sure to have a
  working printer and enough black ink if they type
  the report at home.
• Extra credit is offered for turning in the report
  early, including extra sources in the
  bibliography, and including drawings, pictures or
  models.
• Every student does complete this report -
  eventually!

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Special Education Modifications

• Academic assistance students have the same
  requirements. Academic assistance teacher sets
  individual deadlines for each section of the
  report.
• Many special education students receive the same
  two animals. This makes research and writing
  manageable for the teacher to assist and
  supervise.
• Students with extremely limited abilities
  research one animal and do not complete the
  compare/contrast component of section one.

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Contact us atsgworek_at_wilson.wnyric.orgorkmcinto
sh_at_wilson.wnyric.org
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PDF files for the Newspaper Unit, the Animals
That Arent Cuddly Unit, and Interdisciplinary
spelling worksheets can be found
atwww.wilson.wnyric.orgclick on Middle
School, Departments,Kathleen McIntosh,SAC
workshop