Integrating Curriculum through Themes

Abstract

Integrating mathematics, science, language arts, and social studies within the middle school curriculum can be an important and worthwhile endeavor. With integration, students realize that, at least in the real world, disciplines do not exist in perfect isolation and that the separations so often seen in school are arbitrary and, at times, unnecessary. Although any one of these disciplines can be the center of the integration, mathematics may be the most natural choice, especially when we focus on mathematical models, descriptions of real-world phenomena through mathematics. The Connections strand of Principles and Standards for School Mathematics states that students across grade levels should be able to “recognize and apply mathematics in contexts outside of mathematics” (NCTM 2000, p. 64). Students can naturally make connections when the mathematics they are learning is presented through problems emanating from other disciplines, particularly in science. In turn, students may grasp underlying concepts of the other disciplines better when they view them through a mathematical lens.