I am a 4th grade teacher and will be teaching many subjects this year.  The subject that I am looking forward to teaching the most is history. In 4th grade we will be learning about the California history, the gold rush, and the missions.  My capstone project is going to be a unit of study centered Alcatraz, specifically the prison and what daily life was life.  I would like to also incorporate science, math, and English into my unit of study.  For the science aspect, students can take a look at the different types of rocks, wildlife, and vegetation found on the island.  For English, students will be expected to write an essay using descriptive language.  The value of interdisciplinary teaching makes learning real.  It teaches students that everything is applicable to the real world.  Some challenges with interdisciplinary teaching is that you need to prep a lot more and need to make sure that your students have a solid foundation of all subject areas.  If students are struggling in one subject area and you try to tie it to another, students may fall even farther behind.  Two website that will be good resources that will help students to enrich and broaden their knowledge are:

1.) http://www.nps.gov/alca/naturescience/seabirds.htm

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/Page.aspx?pid=1189

Can find out what birds are native to Alcatraz and then do research about a specific species.

2.) http://plants.usda.gov/java/

Can find out what plants are native to Alcatraz and then do research about a specific species.

Responded:

1.) Julianna Weghner