Cultures and Religions of the Himalayan Region

Sharon Stidfole-Sorlie, PhD.
Social Studies Department Head
Reading and Language Arts
Antioch Upper Grade School

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Who in the world am I ?

Unit Rationale

Recent theory concerning the nature of personal identity, character developement and the of valuesclarification stresses the elasicity of the concepts and the necesssity for their concious construction. .......(brain research, genetics, enviornment, learning styles and modalites.)

Middle School Philosophy

The National middle School Association(2001) describes the purpose and functions of exemplary middle schools as those that center on "the intellectual, social, emotional, moral, and physical developmental needs of young adolescents (Clark & Clark, 1993; National Middle School Association, 1995). Within a few years, young adolescents undergo rapid physical growth, changes in moral reasoning, the onset of abstract thinking, and introduction to a range of social pressures, including sex, drugs, and violence. Simultaneously, the lifelong developmental tasks of forming a personal identity or self-concept, acquiring social skills, gaining autonomy, and developing character and a set of values are begun (Irvin, 1995). Exemplary middle level programs foster appropriate programs, policies, and practices that foster the development of these tasks in positive ways."

Curriculum Integration

Curriculum integration is a curriculum design that promotes personal and social integration through the organization of curriculum around significant problems and issues, collaboratively identified by educators and young people, without regard for subject area lines. Planning for curriculum integration begins with an organizing theme followed by the question, "what significant activities might be done to address the theme?" Projects and other activities involve "integration" and application of knowledge in the context of a theme. Content and skill are taught, learned, and applied as they are needed to work on particular themes. While knowledge is drawn from the traditional disciplines (among other sources) students move from activity to activity, or project to project, rather than from subject to subject during the school day (as in the multidisciplinary approach). With its emphasis on real-life themes, contextual application of knowledge, and constructivist learning, the curriculum integration approach is particularly well suited to help students integrate learning experiences into their developing schemes of meaning. For this reason, the term "integrative" is often used to describe this approach. In one variation of curriculum integration, teachers and students plan together to create a thematic curriculum based upon questions and concerns students have about themselves and their world.Curriculum designs based upon the philosophy of integration have been referred to variously as uot;transdisciplinary," "problem-centered core," and "unstructured core." Note that unlike other non-separate subject approaches, "curriculum integration" does not have the word "discipline" as its root and the same may be said for its use in schools.

Curriculum integration is rooted in progressive educational ideas like the Project Method, Gestalt psychology, the experience curriculum, and the problem-centered "core" curriculum. Because of its emphasis on collaborative teacher-student planning and real-life personal and social issues, the curriculum integration design is frequently associated with movements for democratic schools and curriculum ("James A. Beane. "Organizing the Middle School Curriculum").