This article, "A Natural Integration," by Tracy Coskie, Michelle Hornof, and Heidi Trudel, falls under the category of inquiry-based articles (link to article). This type of learning is new to me. I have been a student when this type of learning was applied, but I have never read about it or taught it before so I wish to gain as much knowledge as I can about it so that I can seamlessly implement it in my future science classroom.
This article follows the same principle as our teacher guide book for the aquatic unit, Seeds of Science and Roots of Reading, in that it uses an inquiry based activity that involves science and writing. In this article the teachers had the students out in the nature around their school creating field guides about different plants. The students began by simply getting outside, around their school, and observing what was there. They looked at field guides as mentor texts to know what it should look like, sound like, what is included, and how they are written. The mentor texts showed students the organization and detail that are needed.
The next step for this project was the information phase. Students gathered information through observations and through research. The teachers taught lessons throughout these phases on areas they noticed students needed help, for example, using pictures and writing on the same page. Teachers also helped the students with their online research to determine fact from fiction online.
The students were now ready to write their field guides. The teachers used the mentor texts and mini lessons again to help the students' field guides look, and sound like, real field guides. The students were given a few days to revise by themselves and with peers after writing their guides and then finally the teachers reviewed their work for editing and fact checking purposes.
I loved how in the article the teachers gave the students a publication day where the students' parents came in and used the field guides to find each of the plants in cumulative field guide. This article listed the state standards linked to this activity and advice on creating a rubric for grading this type of activity. There was an additional section as well for extending the integration and learning past the field guide.
My personal opinions of this article are high. I thought the article was well written and to the point. There was enough detail I would feel comfortable conducting an activity like this and the student examples in the article seem like the students loved the activity and produced outstanding work.
In regards to the title of this blog post, why is this natural integration approach not the norm if it makes so much sense? The answer I see is work. These types of learning experiences require a lot of work from both the teacher and the students. This is the same reason Thematic Units and Science Fairs are falling out of favor. Another reason may be the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) which place an emphasis on high stakes testing and have rigid standards for what curriculum must be met. These reason to avoid natural integrations and inquiry based learning may be valid, but they are not good enough to do away with a type of learning as powerful as this. No teacher should ever be afraid to work- no students ever commented on how much they learned from a state test- few people remember lessons they were not engaged it- and these types of learning experiences, if done right, can seamlessly fit in with the CCSS and the curriculum they require.
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