Reading Response #3

One of the most important resources I found from A Complete Guide to Integrated Thematic Units was the list of subjects and how ITUs could be applied to each one.

Anthropology

In the role of an anthropologist. The students can ask, "How can we investigate the cultures and the ways of organization of a society and make generalizations about the society's life?" or "How can our experience(s) in our culture help us understand the way other people live?" or "How might ethnocentric views and limited experiences hinder someone's understandings of other cultures?" When the students take this role, they show that they are getting involved in direct observation/participation as a primary way to gather data. They focus on a relationship between people's behaviors and their beliefs. While taking this role, students can see each culture as one variety of human behavior among many possibilities and can inquire, "What direct observations can we make to see a relationship between the behavior of people and their beliefs?"

Economics

In the role of an economist. The students can ask, "What economic problems can be identified related to scarce resources and unchecked human wants?" and "What resolutions to the problems can be identified?" or "What work is done in the economy by the people?" and "What changes happen in the economic system and in the people's values as the people respond to new needs and problems?" In this role, the students can show that they are interested in an economic system and in the resolution of problems (such as assistance for the unemployed and the need for conservation of limited resources) that exist in our society.

Expressive Arts

In the role of an artist. The students can ask, "How can we show what we know about the theme (topic/subject) through the visual and performing arts such as drawing, painting, music, dance, and sculpture?" Taking this role, the students can demonstrate they are interested in art, artists, and the messages that can be sent through visual and auditory representations.

Geography

In the role of a geographer. The students can ask, "How has geography influenced the theme (topic/subject) and what we know about it?" In this role, the students show that they are interested in several aspects: (1) the land- human relationship-the features of the Earth's surface and the effects of nature and humans on the features; (2) the cause-and-effect relationship of land inhabited by humans; and (3) the relationship of urban geography to other areas.

History

In the role of an historian. The students can ask, "How has information about this theme (topic/subject) changed over time?'' and "How have ways we receive information about this theme changed over time?'' In this role, the students can demonstrate that they are interested in a record of facts about a person, place, or event, including ancestry, environment, and past experiences.

Mathematics

In the role of a mathematician. The students can ask, "How can we express what we know about the theme through mathematics?" and "How can mathematics help us learn more about this?" In this role, the students can demonstrate that they are interested in a record of relations about known quantities related to the theme/topic/subject.

Political Science

In the role of a political scientist. The students can ask, "How have people organized themselves to express their values/information about the theme?" or "How well does the political system under study work in resolving problems/issues/conflicts related to the theme?" and "How close a match is there between the selected theme, people's values, and the functioning of the governing system?" In this role, the students expand their knowledge about government with its processes, institutions, and values.

Science

In the role of a scientist. The students can ask, "What problem do we know about and what is our guess about explaining its cause?" and "What experiment can we design to test the hypothesis, and how can we collect and analyze the data and arrive at a conclusion?" In this role, the students expand their understanding of ways science helps them learn more about the theme and discover which scientists operate to help them get information about the theme/topic/subject.

Sociology

In the role of a sociologist. The students can ask, "What groups operate in the society to bring us information about the theme?" and "How can we help in the community to resolve a real problem related to the theme?" In this role, the students can show ways they understand aspects of sociology that show the relationship between humans and their communities.

Other Disciplines                  

Disciplines selected by the students and teacher.