Integration of Skills
by Judith Gold

Many teachers express the concern that having an integrated social studies curriculum takes away from time to teach specific skills. Teachers do not decrease their emphasis on the acquisition of skills. Instead, they discover that the social studies curriculum provides a context for children to acquire basic skills and to make authentic use of their developing skills.

Language Development

The studies offer a myriad of opportunities, both formal and informal, for children to develop and use oral language. Teachers become more conscious of ways to extend children’s language, more aware of themselves as language models, and more convinced of the importance of giving children the time they need to express their ideas in group meetings, with the teacher, and when working collaboratively with their peers.

The excitement and investment that children develop in the course of a study motivates them. They want to talk about their experiences and to be a part of the group meetings because the work is important and meaningful to them.

Reading and Writing

An integrated social studies curriculum gives children the opportunity both to read and to write and helps them to understand the necessity of being able to read and write. They have lots of questions about the study, and books provide answers to some of these questions.

Children become invested in the study and are eager for the information they learn as a result of the trips. Recording the information on trip sheets makes sense to them. Having authentic reasons to read and write helps to motivate children.

Teachers use the books from the study to work with children on strategies for reading in the content area. They also collect and read books of fiction about the study.

Teachers chart many of the classroom discussions and hang the charts around the room, making the classroom a print-rich environment. Children do many different kinds of writing during a study: trip writing, research, journal writing, book reviews, and reflections.

Math

Teachers continue to teach the math programs that their schools have adopted. The projects that evolve from the study give the children many opportunities to apply the math skills they are acquiring. Teachers help to make this process conscious for the children by having meetings and giving them math problems that connect to the study.

Homework

As frequently as possible, teachers design homework that relates to the study. Teachers find that children’s investment in the study gives some children the additional motivation they need to get their homework done.

The homework usually contains information that the class will be working with the next day. When age appropriate, the homework might be a passage to read about the study. Reading homework gives the children additional reading experiences and extends their knowledge about the study. The homework also helps to involve families in the study.

About the Author

Judith Gold, M.S., M.Ed, has worked extensively with teachers to develop integrated social studies curriculum. She is currently the Project Director of LEARNS at Bank Street College of Education. LEARNS provides training and technical assistance to all Corporation for National Service projects focused on literacy, tutoring and mentoring. Previously, Gold taught in the Bank Street School for Children and Graduate School. She has worked as an educational consultant in New York public schools and in countries including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Bulgaria, and Nepal.