One of the goals that I have been working on as a special area teacher this year has been cross-curiculum integration. As a special area teacher at the elementary level, you are one of the few teachers in the building that are able to see all of the students in the building. We see all different ages throughout the whole year, and have the freedom in our curriculum to work on the activities that we choose to work on. Although physical education still does have state standards and requirements, we are not buckled down with the limits of state testing. It is my goal this year to try to work on a cross-curriculum project with each grade level by the end of the year. There are two major benefits that I see for cross-curriculum integration and why I feel as though that all special area teachers should make an effort to add this to their teaching.
1. Allows you as a teacher to get a glimpse into each classroom and see what the students are learning throughout the year.
Sometimes as a physical education teacher, you lose connection about what actually is going on inside each of the grade level classrooms. I never spend any time in the classroom and sometimes you take for granted what some of the students have knowledge of up until the point that are at in school. By spending time working on a cross-curriculum project, you are able to get a glance at some of the learning that is taking place inside the different classroom. It not only gives you a an understanding about what different grade levels are working on, but it also allows you to implement some of the same principles into PE class. Certain games and activities can easily be modified to adapt to certain learning concepts, especially math and science.
2. Allows you as a special area teacher to build better relationships with classroom teachers in the building.
I am a huge proponent in building a positive school culture, and to do that, teachers need to build stronger relationships with not only the students, but also each other. In order to coordinate a project like, you have to spend some time with the grade level teachers, and have conversations with them about what they are doing in the classroom and how you can work together to further reinforce those topics. Reaching out to these teachers shows a level of respect and care for their classroom, and I have found that in return, these teachers are glad to help in the process of creating cross-curriculum material.
Classroom teachers, what are your thoughts on this? Would you welcome a special area teacher into your schedule if you knew it meant some reinforced learning would take place in another area outside of your classroom?
I'm eager to hear how others respond, especially when thinking about the time pressures many face to address multiple learning standards and attend to kids' SEL needs. How can Sean's interdisciplinary vision be optimally implemented? What kinds of structures would you need in place to help you participate in a deep and sustained way to the kinds of activities Sean proposes? Sorry--not to add more questions to yours, Sean--this is a near-and-dear-to-my-heart topic, though! Even the language of 'specials' signals certain limitations of the typical vision of curriculum, I think.
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