Writing curriculum has been quite a frustrating experience. I have so many ideas and experience so many waves of inspiration and excitement.  I come back from an exciting day at Duplin Winery or in the vineyards and have an “ahah” of how I can have my kiddos feel similarly enthused about learning.  I start brainstorming a lesson plan that’s engaging and relevant and will connect my students to real life and their community and world around them, along with potential future college and career paths.

Then, after a bit, I get disappointed and stop.  I realize how constrained I am by the essential standards and common core.  I feel restricted by the separated way we tend to teach at my school.  Our subjects are separate entities and we rarely work together to integrate our concepts, although it would be so much better for our students if we did.  A lot of the curriculum ideas I have serve to teach important real-life, real-world, lasting skills, concepts and mindsets.  I’m inclined to make my lessons to teach my students in a similar way to which I am learning through my externship.  The way I am learning is fluid and integrated.  Every aspect of the winery – planning, growing, processing, production, the bistro, the business, etc. –  includes aspects of science, math, social studies, technology and engineering.  So I make my lesson plans mimicking how things are actually happening in my externship, naturally integrating a number of concepts and subjects, along with lasting mindsets and skills.

I stop and I look over my work and realize that the lessons I have created include 6th and 8th grade science standards and 7th and 8th grade math standards, along with math, design and business skills that aren’t anywhere in standards and critical science, inquiry and laboratory skills that aren’t anywhere in the standards.  I become frustrated because I feel like the lesson plans are natural and integrated.  They recreate how things actually occur in real-life, which is a better way for my students to learn.  It makes sense for students to learn all relevant subjects together when they occur in real life that way.  And, I care about teaching my students mindsets and skills that will last beyond the classroom – that they can apply to their future studies and careers.  However, I teach 7th grade science and I am locked into covering all of my standards and preparing my students for the end of year assessments.  This makes me feel like I can’t stray too far from my set standards, even to teach important skills and mindsets and naturally integrate other subjects.

I am now trying to settle into making some lesson plans that at least integrate math standards and scientific inquiry and laboratory skills, but are built around my 7th science essential standards.  I hope to instigate some movement towards integrating subject areas at my school, especially if I can get other teachers to collaborate with me on the lessons when we come back for the new school year.  I am also thinking of doing a longer, integrated lesson at the beginning of the year before we move on to a set schedule of covering standards.  The project would be creating a mini-vineyard and garden at Charity Middle School.  It would integrate 6th grade science review, scientific method and inquiry and analysis skills, data and laboratory skills, math and design skills, etc.  It would serve as a backbone project foundations to relate the rest of my curriculum to through out the year and for other teachers to use.  It would also work very nicely into the beginning of our weather and atmosphere unit.