Integrated curriculum has a long history in education
movements: “The idea that curriculum should be taught
from a holistic perspective with a child-centered approach
had been proposed by some of the pioneers in early childhood
education. The original advocate in the United States
was John Dewey” (Wortham 1996, 328). Dewey encouraged
active learning and meaningful, authentic activities and
articulated the many benefits of considering activities and
subject matter equally (Wolfe 2000). This approach made
sense then and continues to be relevant today.
Typically, the term integrated curriculum refers to an
approach to teaching that ties multiple subject areas (for
example, math, literacy, the arts) to a central theme. The
teacher implements the approach with careful planning,
including the outcomes toward which the children work.
The approach usually starts with teacher direction but
offers many opportunities for children to follow their own
interests. Teachers offer authentic, meaningful learning
experiences for all children. The children can work at their
own levels and pursue individual interests in depth.
In the section that follows, first grade teacher Susan
Gittings describes her use of an integrated approach to
teaching in her classroom.