Finding ways to incorporate as many different content areas into one lesson is a major challenge. Because I use project based instruction, I am always looking to see how I can work as many of my Language Arts standards as well as my Social Studies standards into the same unit as possible. When composing my units, though, I do try to see how I can integrate the arts or other subject areas that I don't teach into my lessons. This allows me to work with other teachers to collaborate on lessons. This is my way of "killing two birds with one stone". When writing my lesson plans, I started putting in a section dealing with Bloom's Taxonomy. I wanted to see if I was really getting at the multiple learning styles that my students had. This truly pushed me to create a more developed unit or project. I have recently found a manner of covering material that incorporates any content with Language Arts, Music (instrumental and Voice), Art and Dance (Physical Fitness). Have your students rewrite the lyrics to their favorite song using the material you are studying. This is an extremely engaging way of covering the material. And what the students don't realize is that they have to immerse themselves into the content in order to be able to write lyrics that make any sense. The students all of a sudden start spend a great deal of time looking through the content being studied, memorizing it, and committing it to long term memory. One of the other great things about this lesson is that no matter how inappropriate the original lyrics to the song are, the students can still use the instrumental version of the song. This allows them to actually use music that they connect with. Once the students have written the new lyrics to their song (Language Arts skill: Poetry), they are asked to make a recording of it. They do not have to perform it in front of their peers, but they do have to make a recording for me to listen to. I give bonus points if they choreograph the song as well (Dance: Physical Fitness). I have told the students that the best ones will be posted to this website, and we will use them as a class to help us prep for a test. I have never seen students so excited and ready to moving on an assignment than when I first assigned this to them. One of the last things that we are going to do is create an album of the top ten songs from the class. The students will have to compete to design the album cover (Art). The best one will be printed and thus a tradition is born. I will be able to have a collection of albums from each year for the different units that we cover in class. I guess you could call it a "Cover Album". Know that the more you can bring your students world into the classroom the bigger hook you will have. You need to hook them into the unit, project, lesson, or activity that you want them to do.
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