The advantages of using an Annual Plan to map an interdisciplinary curriculum.

In my Integrating Social Studies and the Arts class, we are learning how to develop an interdisciplinary annual plans and I really cannot understand how or why teachers or PLTs would not use this method of “big picture” planning.  Teachers are required to know the content. We need to know exactly what it is we are going to teach and have some kind of plan for how to implement an integrated curriculum. Relevance is the key component that allows students to make a powerful personal connection to related ideas and disciplines.

I think a lot about the “real-life” skills that prepare students to become functioning members of our global society. In my day-to-day life, I struggle with having to do things that seem to have no purpose. I get terribly frustrated with assignments or housework that I find pointless or redundant. I am constantly finding ways to be efficient and develop systems to accomplish many things at once. No one wants to be bogged down with the things they’d rather not be doing and everyone prefers to focus on the things they care about.  In the classroom, teachers must plan for engaging, worthwhile activities because we do not want students to feel the same way about learning.

A good annual plan provides the structure through which students can explore and make connections to the content and find the purpose for themselves. The life skills that students learn by interacting with content in meaningful ways is how to find their niche, derive pleasure out of learning, and intrinsic motivation. With well-planned, interdisciplinary annual plans that reflect continuity and interconnectedness, we prepare students to be able to transform tedious tasks into explorations. Ultimately, we are teaching students how to become the innovators and thinkers that our society needs to solve complex global problems.