ABSTRACT

Originally published as a special issue of the Middle School Journal, this book presents integrative curriculum as a foundational element of the middle school.

By addressing the current gap in literature on curriculum integration in the middle grades, this text explores how learning can be organized around authentic concepts or questions which cut across disciplines and speak to young adolescents. Providing a current, nuanced, and comprehensive review of what it means to embrace and implement an interdisciplinary and integrative curriculum, the volume considers how educators can create and deliver a high-quality integrative curriculum which is enjoyable, challenging, and inclusive. Examples of implementation in teacher preparation programs and middle grade classrooms showcase integrative approaches and illustrate how curricula have been key in tackling social inequities, increasing engagement with STEM, and supporting collaboration.

This text will be of great interest to graduate and postgraduate students, researchers, academics and libraries in the field of Middle School Education, Curriculum Studies, Teacher Education, Theories of Learning, and STEM Education.

part Section I|80 pages

Scholarship Centered in Middle Grades Classrooms

chapter 1|17 pages

The Responsible Change Project

Building a Justice-Oriented Middle School Curriculum Through Critical Service-Learning

chapter 4|20 pages

Using Claims and Evidence to Support the Search for Extraterrestrial Life

Teacher Reflections Following an Interdisciplinary English—Science Argumentation Unit

part Section II|55 pages

Middle-Level Teacher Preparation

chapter 5|24 pages

Interdisciplinary Curriculum

Using Poetry to Integrate Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum

chapter 6|16 pages

Rethinking Content Teaching at the Middle-Level

An Interdisciplinary Approach