Classroom Connections

If you’ve ever attended one of my professional development workshops, attended one of my sessions at a conference, or invited me to visit your school, you know how passionate I am about cross-curricular instruction. Integrating concepts and themes across the board and weaving objectives through each of the subject areas is one of my biggest academic passions.

So often we, as educators, look at our content through a compartmentalized lens. If our schedule says “Math from 1:00 – 2:00“, then we stick to teaching math in that designated time slot and teach it in that time frame only. I’m such a strong believer in making connections across the curriculum. The schedule might determine when I have a laser focus on a particular subject area, but you can guarantee that subject area and the skills taught within that time frame are being carried into other subject areas throughout the day.

Research suggests that students learn & retain more and apply their learning with more automaticity when they learn in an environment that supports cross-curricular instruction. In this type of an environment, students are able to make more connections across the board, expand their vocabulary, and see learning as a continuum. Those connections are so important!

In an effort to help teachers create these types of environments for their students, I’ll be launching a membership site where teachers will have access to a library of cross-curricular activities supported by mentor texts. These activities will apply to grade level standards (K-2) and provide teachers with opportunities to implement cross-curricular instruction in their classrooms. And because I don’t want the support to stop with just the activities, teachers will also have access to a video vault full of tutorials, read alouds (to accompany the mentor texts), and trainings, as well as a private Facebook group where we can chat about the things that are happening in your classrooms + provide additional support as needed.

For years I’ve been wracking my brain trying to create a way to provide more intentional support to teachers and I’m so excited to (finally!!!) embark on this new adventure. I hope you’ll join us when Classroom Connections launches on September 1st. I would love to see you there! In the meantime, feel free to shoot me an email with any questions you might have about this membership. I can’t wait to get started!