by Elizabeth Supan, Guest Columnist
Everything old is new again. It seems like with the passing of time, trends in education tend to come around full circle. I’ve been teaching for almost twenty years and when I first started, I taught primarily with thematic units. As the years passed, the use of thematic units seemed to dwindle in classrooms. During the last few years, there has been a resurfacing of the use of thematic units in classrooms. One of the main reasons for this shift is due to the fact that through Balanced Literacy, more and more teachers are beginning to combine science and social studies skills within their reading blocks. This can only be helpful to students.
Thematic Units to the Rescue
When students are able to read texts devoted to a unit of study in science or social studies, they become more immersed in the learning. If the class is reading a book on a certain topic, and then researching or investigating the concept further, more learning can take place. Students tend to be more excited about the concept if they are given the chance to explore the concept outside of the science or social studies block of time.
One of the most challenging aspects of thematic units, especially in the upper grades, is finding enough materials to successfully incorporate all of the science or social studies standards required within the thematic unit. Using technology can help. Students can use websites or apps on tablets to access a wealth of information that they can then use to learn about any thematic unit. Gone are the days of simply learning about science and social studies from the textbook.
Another important resource for students is the use of literature. Especially in social studies, the amount of standards required by the end of the year can be daunting. If students are given the opportunity to read fiction and non-fiction books relating to the standards, more of these standards can be met. Students tend to gain interest in a topic if they find a book related to that topic that interests them.
Students take pride in work that they create and tend to learn more when creating on their own. Simply learning the standards are not enough. Understanding and then being able to express what was learned is so much more important. When teaching with thematic units, teachers give students the opportunity to be creative. Students can create pieces of writing, or a piece of artwork or a simple craft that requires the students to express what they have learned about the particular concept being studied.
Teaching with thematic units gives students the opportunity to enjoy learning about tough concepts that might not be appealing to them by simply reading information from a textbook. Putting great literature, non-fiction resources and technology in our students’ hands will allow our students an opportunity to be more engaged in their learning. Thematic units can make learning fun.